08.03.2023

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Today’s Forecast

49º | Showers | 84% chance of rain | Sunrise 7:50 a.m. | Sunset 4:40 p.m.

Is the proof out there?

The 1950 UFO photos that thrust a local farming couple into the national spotlight

A black-and-white photograph showing the silhouette of the corner of a building, a power pole, distant hills, and a small, saucer-shaped object at a slight angle in the sky.

Paul Trent’s first UFO photo, taken May 11, 1950, from his farm in Yamhill County. | Photo by Paul Trent

One of the great mysteries of the universe is summed up with one question: Are we alone?

Last week, Congress listened to testimonies from high-ranking officials on sightings of UAPs, or “unidentified anomalous phenomena” — the federal government’s term for UFOs (though UAP can also include objects detected underwater). The hearing has once again sparked widespread interest in the age-old question posed above.

And the time is ripe to probe the depths of a local UFO sighting.

It was May 11, 1950. Evelyn Trent was at her farm in Dayton about an hour southwest of Portland when she spotted an object she later described as resembling “a good-sized parachute canopy without the strings, only silver-bright mixed with bronze.” She darted inside and got her husband, Paul, and a camera.

Paul took two black-and-white photos of what he called “a round, shiny, wingless object” before it noiselessly zipped away into the mist. The images would go unseen until Paul finished the roll of film and had them developed. They were published in The McMinnville Telephone Register and The Oregonian that June.

Word traveled fast. National news outlets ran stories on the couple’s claims and a US Air Force investigator visited the farm. Seventeen years after the sighting, military-commissioned research led by nuclear physicist Edward U. Condon concluded that it couldn’t be easily debunked like many others.

A grainy black-and-white image of a disc-shaped object in the air. — A zoomed-in scan of Paul’s second UFO photo.
|
Photo by Paul Trent

The report, which analyzed the original negatives, stated that “all factors investigated… appear to be consistent with the assertion that an extraordinary flying object, silvery, metallic, disk-shaped, tens of meters in diameter and evidently artificial, flew within sight of two [credible] witnesses.”

Though Paul and Evelyn died over 20 years ago, their story is here to stay, even inspiring an annual UFO festival in McMinnville. The question is — what else has decided to stay?

Events

Thursday, Aug. 3

August First Thursday | Thursday, Aug. 3 | 5-7 p.m. | Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave., Portland | Free | Listen to live music by the local jazz-fusion band greaterkind, browse the “On The Ledge” art exhibit by Blanchet House, and sip complimentary beer from Deschutes Brewery.
Portland Trailside Bike Repair Clinic | Thursday, Aug. 3 | 6:30-8 p.m. | evo Portland, 200 SE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland | Free | Learn how to fix a flat, adjust shifting, and other crucial skills for when you’re out on a trail; donations will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia NW.
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” | Thursday, Aug. 3-Sunday, Aug. 20 | Times vary | Deb Fennell Auditorium, 9000 SW Durham Rd., Tigard | $20-$60 | This 2013 Broadway adaptation of the 1957 musical will sweep you away with classic songs like “In My Own Little Corner” and new characters to keep the tale alive well past the stroke of midnight.

Friday, Aug. 4

Vancouver USA Arts & Music Festival | Friday, Aug. 4-Sunday, Aug. 6 | Times vary | Locations vary, Vancouver, WA | Free | This inaugural festival features local artists, world-class musicians, pop-up galleries, family activities, dancing, and food vendors.
Lee Farms Sunflower Festival | Friday, Aug. 4-Sunday, Aug. 13 | Times vary | Lee Farms, 21975 SW 65th Ave., Tualatin | $12-$99 | Billed as the “largest, most extensive sunflower festival in Oregon,” this country celebration includes hayrides, U-pick flower fields, live music, food and drinks, farm animals, and shopping.
First Friday Art Walk | Friday, Aug. 4, Friday, Sept. 1 | 5-8 p.m. | Historic Downtown Troutdale, 219 E. Historic Columbia River Hwy., Troutdale | Free | Spend an evening exploring historic downtown Troutdale as dozens of local artists display their work, restaurants and shops expand their services into the street, and musicians serenade passersby.

Saturday, Aug. 5

Pioneer Quilts Annual Outdoor Market | Saturday, Aug. 5 | 9 a.m.-3 p.m. | Pioneer Quilt Shop, 3101 SE Courtney Ave., Portland | Free | Forty vendors will offer deals on fabric, quilts, patterns, and more; bring your craft scissors for sharpening.
Makers Mercado | Saturday, Aug. 5 | 1-4 p.m. | Nico’s Ice Cream, 1615 NE Killingsworth St., Portland | Free | Shop for baked goods, jewelry, Mexican craft accessories, and more at this market with 15+ local small businesses.

Events calendar here

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News Notes

Try This

A tearoom in Portland’s Kenton neighborhood plans to live long and prosper in its new location. Emperor Georgiou’s Tea Room, formerly known as Lovejoy’s Tea Room, recently moved to 8237 N. Denver Ave. and continues to serve everything from scones to various teas — but in a “Star Trek”-themed space. (KOIN)

Theater

Innovation is the name of the game at Lloyd Center. The mall’s abandoned Victoria’s Secret will host Northwest Classical Theater Collaborative’s production of “Happy Days” — the organization’s second show in the space once clad in lingerie. Performances run Saturday, Aug. 12-Saturday, Sept. 9; tickets are $10 and seating is limited. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Festival

“Prost” will be the word on everyone’s lips at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday, Sept. 22, and Saturday, Sept. 23, for Portland Oktoberfest. German-style beers and imported brews will be flowing alongside Urban German Wursthaus’ brats and soft pretzels, with activities like costume and stein-holding contests, and live polka music. (Willamette Week)

Community

The Oregon Symphony will get a new president and CEO in October. Isaac Thompson will replace Scott Showalter, who announced earlier this year that he planned to step down and take a role in fundraising planning. Thompson most recently served as managing director of the New York Philharmonic. (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Sports

If only Ralphie Parker could have joined the Timber Beasts, he might have avoided breaking his glasses. Oregon’s only competitive youth BB gun team is based in Forest Grove and competed last month at the Daisy BB Gun National Championships in Arkansas, finishing in ninth place. (KGW)

Outdoors

Eleven northwestern pond turtle hatchlings are getting a head start at the Oregon Zoo. The creatures, which are classified as endangered in Washington, are currently the size of a quarter — making them easy prey for invasive bullfrogs. They’ll be released into the wild next spring once they’re bigger.

History

🏥 Throwback Thursday

Did a psychiatric hospital once exist at the site of the Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod?

An archway with a metal sign featuring the words "Hawthorne Asylum" stretches over an opening in a walled complex at a street corner with food carts and people visible inside.

The metal arch over the entrance is a modern addition created by in-house welders. | Photo by Cambrie Juarez, PDXtoday

Drive past the Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod in Southeast Portland, and you might find yourself asking, “Was there an actual asylum there?” The short answer is… yes.

In 1861, a doctor named James C. Hawthorne (the same person for whom the Hawthorne Bridge is named) founded the first treatment center in the PNW for asylum medicine — then referred to as “moral treatment” — on Southeast 12th Avenue and Salmon Street, according to the Oregon Encyclopedia. Within two decades, the facility had grown to 327 patients.

The Hawthorne Asylum closed after the state opened its own facility in Salem in 1883 and its patients were transferred. A fire destroyed the abandoned complex in 1888.

Today, the Hawthorne Asylum Food Cart Pod is home to 21 different carts serving everything from craft beer on tap to sushi. It officially opened in early 2019 with covered seating, a fire pit, and metal sculptures.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie

From the editor

If you’re looking for a sunflower festival to check out in Southwest Washington, I recommend visiting O’Keefe Farms in Brush Prairie. I spent an afternoon there last summer and had an amazing time — admission ($5-$10) includes two U-cut sunflowers and as much time as you want to wander the fields. Food and craft vendors are also on-site with live music on certain days.

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