Monday Memories: UFO sighting launched life-long passion for Defiance youth

Congress took a serious look at military sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects last year, but Robert Easley endured plenty of ridicule for his interest in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Easley told The Blade he was 12 years old the summer he spotted a UFO and quizzed a Defiance College professor on the subject. Five years later he had acquired 62 books on UFOs, an extensive file of information on UFO sightings, and a collection of photos purported to be UFOs. In this 1968 Blade archive photo, young Easley points out a photo from his collection showing a V formation of four bright orbs. Despite pushback from skeptics, his interest didn’t wane over the years. A Blade article published in 1975 relates Easley published a monthly newsletter, “Ufological Thoughts and Ideas,” contributed regularly to Flying Saucer Digest, and organized the 12th annual National UFO Conference held in Defiance in 1975. His obituary published in the Crescent-News in April, 2020, claimed he had a local and national reputation for his studies, papers, books, and lectures on UFOs.