Eagle River Pancake Encounter

On the morning of April 18, 1961, around 11 a.m., Joe Simonton, a 54-year-old chicken farmer and former deputy sheriff living near Eagle River, Wisconsin, was eating breakfast when he heard a loud noise like "knobby tires on wet pavement." Going outside, he saw a metallic, disc-shaped craft, described as two inverted bowls about 30 feet in diameter and 12 feet thick with exhaust pipes around the rim, hovering or landed near his house. A hatch opened and three human-like beings about 5 feet tall, clean-shaven with dark hair and wearing black outfits (one with a red stripe), emerged. They appeared of Italian descent. One was cooking on a flameless grill inside. Simonton fetched a jug of water for one being who motioned for it. In exchange, the being handed him four small, perforated pancakes. Simonton ate one, which tasted like cardboard. The craft then departed, knocking down a pine tree. He reported it to the local sheriff. The U.S. Air Force's Project Blue Book, via J. Allen Hynek, investigated; one pancake was analyzed and found to be ordinary buckwheat-like material. A passing motorist reportedly saw a saucer-like object in the area. The case received nationwide press coverage.