What Price A Purloined Pecuniary!

Feschino... A college kid late last century...
lookin' for a meaningful story regarding a film school project...
little did he know that it would, at great personal cost,
consume his adult life...

What Price A Purloined Pecuniary!

By Alfred Lehmberg

 

...Hate bein' that guy... the unpleasant guy... but some subjects, of needs and causes, must be broached. This writer's never been known to shirk from the unpleasant, militarily OR ufologically. Truth must prevail, or what's the point?

What follows, then, is a story that Flatwoods researcher & author Frank C. Feschino, Jr. won’t tell you himself out of modesty and self-pride. This writer, however, a retired career soldier and Master Aviator, does not have those self-same restrictions or constraints. Also, this writer does not ask Mr. Feschino’s permission for same. 

Too, this writer will take any heat ...and apologies to Mr. Feschino.

The proceeding is a story regarding one Frank Feschino, Jr., per se, and his selfless effort in putting the town of Flatwoods and their infamous "Monster" on the Map of historical relevance and fame, and so blessing them with any lucrative tourism at all. We'll get right to it, not burying the lead! Posted!

See, before Feschino got involved in his "Flatwoods Monster" investigation, the Flatwoods Monster was a dreaded and near-forgotten, dismissible, and even embarrassing memory of times past for the participants! Moreover, that it was considered an event wholly unconnected to the fervid ufological history of the time! ...A one-off of moonshiners and hillbillies seein’ ghosts in the dark around Halloween season. No.

The reader will remember! Publicly unspooling at that time of the Flatwoods incident was the infamous 1952 “Summer Of Saucers” affair! 

UFOs were being well-reported as appearing all over the United States (and the world!) daily! These UFOs were, however, impinging on various US airspaces prohibited from idle flyovers… airspaces like those over the White House, nuclear facilities, and other “sensitive” military installations extant at the time. Flatly? The Truman administration “declared war” on UFOs and ordered Air Force pilots to "Shoot Them Down."

Old Newspaper headline!
Stanton Friedman had a huge interest in the Flatwoods affair!

It is reasoned, with compelling support and bulletproof documentation, that the "Flatwoods Monster" was a downed alien aviator (!) whose craft was indeed “shot down”... a result of those Presidential orders aforementioned! The downed occupant landed in Flatwoods at 7:25 p.m. on September 12, 1952, after passing west over Washington, D.C... engulfed in flames just 25-minutes before! 

The New York Times reported it as "The Flame over Washington" and stated that this "blazing object" over the Capitol "came awfully low." …Strange meteor, that!

The seemingly damaged object continued west, flew over Virginia, reached West Virginia, and then passed over Burnsville, in northern Braxton County. It then redirected south, passed over Heaters... and then landed, subsequently, on the Fisher Farm in Flatwoods at 7:25p.m. This was one astonishing flight path for an alleged "meteor" as concluded by Air Force officials at Project Blue Book! This writer sneers! …Up to date, reader?

Well, the "long short" is that all this (and much, much more!) would never have been remotely revealed... but for the diligent initiative of one Frank Feschino, Jr.! Cut and print!

Yeah! This writer reports that Feschino’s initiative is the arguable basis for ANY profit-taking worldwide, forgetting Flatwoods, that one can currently avail for themselves regarding the convoluted story of one particular monster… the "Flatwoods Monster." Feschino is THE subject matter expert, the provenance of any COMPLETE knowledge on same, to be plain.

See? There are some “too many” people producing Flatwoods-based merchandise, including knickknack figures: a motley what-not of key rings, T-shirts, and art prints based on Feschino’s produced and copyrighted artwork. Furthermore, Feschino's paintings, illustrations, photographs, and even quotes from his books appear in online websites, in countless YouTube documentaries and podcasts without his permission… and they don't even show him the courtesy of throwin' a bone in a credit line! 

Recently, one of his posted photographs appeared in a YouTube documentary and, normally showing Feschino posing with the May family witnesses at an event... cut Feschino right out of the picture! That is… despicable and uncalled for! Frankly, this is at the root of all that profit-taking aforementioned… and Feschino is seeing nothing for it! That’s as unfair as it is wrong. ...Just... wrong.

Not many people are aware that "Flatwoods Monster" eyewitnesses Kathleen May, her son Fred May, and Frank C. Feschino, Jr., were the special guests at the very first "Flatwoods Monster" Festival, revealing the affair to the public! This was the first festival ever held in 2001 to commemorate the "Flatwoods Monster" incident.

The event was held over a 2-day period in Flatwoods at "Grand Dad's General Store" on Flatwoods’ Corner Road in Flatwoods. It’s been going on rather profitably and lucratively ever since. 

This was actually Mrs. May's first public appearance in fifty years, and Fred May's first-ever appearance in the public eye since he was a boy and a first-hand witness. This was a quarter century ago. Only Feschino remains as historical taproot to the Mays and other key witnesses. All the rest have passed.

The Mays were accompanied by a well-received Feschino, who’d brought along his massive collection of accumulated documentations and display articles on the "Flatwoods Monster" case… as well as his now purloined paintings, maps, and exhibits. It was also Feschino's first public appearance in the town of Flatwoods. There were many more. This writer made a couple of those himself!

Life-size Monster depiction w/ Primary eyewitness Kathleen May...
she holds an owl to mock the Air Force's speculative
"owl perched on a limb" explanation for the
"Flatwoods Monster" lit up with her flashlight! 

Understandably reluctant at first (The “monster” had only ever been a tedious embarrassment for them and gladly pushed into the past!), it was Feschino who drew them out, but only after he started working with them, proved he was loyal to the family, and abundantly demonstrated his absolute and due diligence dedication to a legitimate and potentially world-changing story… Still, they were a hard sell!

...Though he showed them all the information he’d found to that point! This included the bona fide government documentations he’d discovered while working on the case. They were impressed! You see, the Mays and the other witnesses were tired of the jokes, ridicule, and all the (government imposed?) negativity brought on by this incident over the years. 

Feschino had new evidence to profoundly suggest that a UFO cover-up had indeed taken place involving the incident, and that he was not scared to take on the skeptics. He still isn’t. He didn't care about the clueless naysayers then, and was out to finally tell the truth about this wrongfully dismissed and covered-up incident occurring that terrifying and fateful night in 1952… now!

During the weekend-long event, the walls of the Grandad's store were festooned with dozens of Frank's historical displays on the "Flatwoods Monster" case, his topical artwork, as well as many of the official documents not seen since 1952! Additionally, Mrs. May, Fred, and Feschino were met by an overwhelming number of people who came out to meet them! They did several newspaper interviews and also had their photos taken with countless individuals. These photos grace the picture albums of a plethora of Flatwoods’ citizenry and outside visitors! More are made all the time… This writer has dozens, himself!

Moreover, for the many people who came out to the festival, it was a privilege to have finally met with witnesses Mrs. May, her son Fred May, and Feschino, who had coordinated the entire event with Flatwoods Mayor Margaret "Peggy" Clise. Throughout the weekend, the witnesses, Mrs. May and Fred, talked about their first-hand encounter with the "Flatwoods Monster." Feschino assisted them by revealing the accumulated historical material he had collected on the incident, just to that time. There has been more since; it is a research ongoing! 

The Mays were vindicated! They were ensconced in an honored history! They would learn to have a great appreciation for our Mr. Feschino.

See, this was only the beginning of Frank Feschino's quest to expose one of the greatest stories of our time, but putting Flatwoods on the map in the bargain… and finally telling what is, very likely, the entire true story behind the cover-up of the "Flatwoods Monster" incident, extant… Flatwoods and beyond… into an "Air war with ET" provoking the whole affair!

Feschino made the “monster” real and energized Flatwoods’ lucrative and ongoing tourism in Flatwoods’ regard, at all! Posted!

Fred May, immortalized in honored history!

This is all pointed out for the purpose of establishing a deep history of relevance and provenance with regard to Flatwoods and Mr. Feschino over the three decades of a very constructive association between the two. Too? This writer was on hand to hear words from Fred May to the effect that Frank Feschino was considered family… even Kathleen May stated Frank was like her third son, it was said!

No… Feschino is the unsung, underappreciated, and unacknowledged ufological HISTORY of Flatwoods… those same UFOs in the News and debated in Congress as these words read! 

No… this writer’s considered opinion is that Flatwoods owes a not insubstantial part of its legacy of growth in the 2Ks to our Mr. Feschino. You can believe this well-informed writer: Flatwoods hasn't made HIM rich, if that is what was excusing the intellectual piracy and property theft... ...What do be done? 

Explorable?! What could be done to put things more constructively right? The reader is reminded that Feschino has written BOOKS providing a legitimacy and justification for the aforementioned T-shirts, hats, keychains, and collectible whatnots available in Flatwoods… What are people going to Flatwoods… for?

AVAILABLE  AT  AMAZON!