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SUNDAY, JANUARY 6. 1963
MEPFOBD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, OREGON
A Conversation With Daniel W. Fry, Scientist Living in Merlin
By CLEVE TWITCHELL
Mail Tribune Staff Writer
(Copyright 1963, Medford Printing Co.)
Few people who have mcl Daniel W. Fry in his new
hoine town - the community of Merlin, seven miles
northwest of Grants Pass - realize who he is.
Fry's husky, easygoing appearance tends to label him
as a typical outdoorsman. And friends who have known
him for years say he is so modest that it is often difficult
to get him to speak of his accomplishments.
People who have met him casually would probably be
surprised to learn that Fry possesses a brain that has
produced a number of scientific feats, Including the de
signing of several parts of the guidance system of the
Atlas missile.
Undergoos Fantastic Experience
And many would probably be shocked to learn that
the same Daniel W. Fry who lives in Merlin today under
went 12 years ago what must be (providing, of course,
that it did happen - and no one has ever proven that it
didn't) one of the most fantastic experiences ever under
gone by a resident of planet earth.
For Fry stales quite seriously - and rather con
vincingly when one can coax him Into talking about it -that
in 1050 he took a ride in a so-called "flying saucer"
and conversed with a man who was not born on earth.
And he states in an equally convincing manner that
during the first part of 1961 the man and his ship landed
in a forest clearing several miles northwest of Merlin.
Fry is in southern' Oregon today in an effort to ful
fill a dream that began 15 years ago - a dream that was
interrupted by his extra-terrestrial encounter in 1950.
To Develop Merlin Area
He is attempting to develop the Merlin area, in which
he has owned property since 1940. Fry made up his
mind to buy in southern Oregon the day the first A-bomb
fell on Hiroshima. He considered this area one of the
safest in the United States in the event of nuclear attack.
He bought 80 acres and spent the winter of 1947 in a
cabin on it. Then a job with Aerojet General corpora
tion drew him to southern California.
His post with Aerojet subsequently involved occasion
al trips to White Sands Proving Grounds in New Mexico,
and it happened that on July 4, 1050, a date Fry will
always remember, he, was at White Sands.
It was a hot night, Fry recalls, and the air condition
ing iystem broke down, so he went out for a walk on
the desert.
He had gone about half a mile beyond a rifle range
on tho outskirts of the base when he first noticed some
thing in the sky. He saw a star seem to go out, then a
second, a third and a fourth. Soon ho realized that what
was making the stars seem to go out was an object grad
ually increasing in size as it came toward him.
An Ovale Spheroid Object ..'
As the object came closer, Fry said, "I could see that
It was an ovate spheroid about 30 feet in diameter at the
equator, or largest .-art. It was now traveling at not
more than 15 or 20 miles per hour and seemed to be
decelerating at a rato that would bring It to zero velocity
by the time It reached the ground." '
As ho watched, Fry said, the object glided in lightly
and settled to tho ground about 70 feet away from him
without the slightest bump or jar. Except for the crack
ling of the brush beneath it when it landed, the object
made no sound.
Fry had been working in the rocket field for several
years and thought he was fairly well acquainted with
developments in the aircraft field, but this object's per
formance was far advanced over anything he'd ever
heard of.
Fry admits that at first he felt "a strong desire to be
somewhere else!" He said he considered going back to
the base to get more witnesses, but then he envisioned
the possibility of returning with other men only In find
that Ihe object had taken off. And so he decided to
approach the object.
Touches Smooth Surface
He approached cautiously and finally got up enough
nerve to place r finger tip on the hull of Ihe ship. It
felt incredibly smooth, Fry said. He stroked the metal
with the palm of his hand and felt a tingling sensation.
Just then a crisp voice "came out of the air" saying,
"Better not touch the hull, pal, it's still hot!"
Fry lept backwards several feel, catching his heel
in a low bush, causing him to sprawl nt full length in
the sand. He said he heard what sounded like a low
chuckle. Then the voice came again in a friendlier tone,
"Take it easy, pal, you're among friends."
The voice apologized for making Fry jump, saying,
"Sorry, buddy, but you were about to kill yourself and
there wasn't time to diddle with controls." The voice
went on to explain that Fry had lunched a force field
around the craft ralher than the actual surface and that
exposure for more than a few seconds could cau.se con
gestion of Ihe liver and eventual death.
Punled By Voice's Use
Fry was puzzled by the voice's use of not only the
English language but also tho American idiom. In reply,
Ihe voice cxplainrd that he had been studying the use
of the American language and idiom for the past two
years.
"1 have never yet set fool upon your planet," said the
voice. "It will require al le.i.it four more of your years
for me to Income adapted to your atmosphere and
gravity and lo become immunized to your biotics."
It took Fry what seemed lo him like a long lime lo
digest Ihe full meaning and implication of what the
voice had Just said. But as he looks back on the exper
ience, lie says he realized that if whoever was In the ship
had meant to do him harm, he would have done so by
that point, so he decided to go along with the "voice"
and learn whatever lie could.
Man In Second Craft
One of the first thing' he learned was thai the voice
was that of a man situated In a second craft some 900
miles above the surface of the earth, and that the object
before him was actually a remote-controlled device used
for gathering samples of earth atmosphere. The being
identified himself with Ihe name ALan (pronounced
"Ah-Lan ").
Fry learned the following concerning A Lao s purpose
In visiting earth: "One of the principal purposes of this
expedition is to determine the basic adaptability of the
earth race, particularly Ihe degree of their ability to
adapt their minds quickly and calmly lo conceptions thai
are completely foreign to their customary modes of
tbfigh1. Previous expedition by our ancestors met with
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iff
"-"-" Vliv.'W
This artist's drawing on the cover of Fry's book "White Sands Incident" depicts
the shape of the spacecraft which Fry says landed near White Sands Proving Grounds
in New Mexico in 1950 and took him for a ride. The craft was an ovate (egg-shaped)
spheroid. The marks around il were made by the artist lo denole motion.
Daniel W. Fry says an extra-terrestrial craft landed in this clearing near his cabin
in the hills northwest of Merlin in 1961. He went up to the cabin "on an impulse"
and found the craft already on the ground with his friend A-Lan standing nearby.
After a conversation of some 20 minutes, the man got back in the ship and took off,
Fry said.
imp ..
w i -i & r-x
fr; hh
in
Daniel W. Fry of Merlin says he look a 30-minute ride
a space vehicle from another planet In 1950.
almost l"lal failure in this respect. This lime there is
hope lhal we may be able lo find minds sufficiently
receptive so that we may be of some assistance in the
progress of your race." -
Descended From Earth People
Fry learned lhal A Lan was descended from men and
women who once lived on earth - on the continent of
Lcnuiria during an era when its inhabitants engaged in
war with a civilization on the continent of Atlantis.
A Lan said his ancestors were among a handful who
escaped in spacecraft lo Ihe planet Mars. Subsequently,
they began a new civilization, which eventually evolved,
the visitor explained, to the point where its people began
to dwell in spacecraft constantly moving about rather
than on an single planel.
During the half hour that followed, Fry said he kept
up a constant line of questioning, almost all of il on
scientific and technical matters. The conversation led to
an invitation for Fry lo take a short ride aboard Ihe
crafl, which he did.
The "short ride" consisted of a hop across the United
Slates to a point 20 miles over the city of New York and
back again. Judging that the trip took about 30 minutes,
he figures that the craft maintained an average speed
of fi.OOl) miles per hour - not so fast in 19H3 when satel
lites travel IB, (100 miles per hour, but in l!)5o it was
unheard of, Fry points out.
Feels No Accleration
The most amazing part of the ride was that Fry felt
no acceleration. "Instinctively I braced myself in Ihe
seal." he said, "but Ihe ground just fell away from the
ship with incredible rapidity. 1 did not feel the slightest
sense of motion."
The visitor's explanation of this phenomenon was
llt.it Ihe ship maintained Us own force field, like a tiny
planet. Therefore il could (all away from the earth as if
two magnets were repelling each oilier and no one on
Ihe crafl 'would feel the motion in the same way that
no one on earth can feel its motion as it rotates and
rco!ves around the sun.
Alter Fry was relumed to approximately the same
location where he had first seen the visiting craft, A-Lan
excused himself, saying he would contact Fry again, and
took off.
Feels Seme of Depression
"For a long lime 1 stood in the sand looking from the
crumpled brush (crushed beneath the landing eraftl up
lo the stars," Fry recalls, lie said he felt a strong scn.se
of depression, because only a few hours earlier he had
been a "self-satisfied technician" working on setting up
lest.s lor one of tho largest rocket motors ever assembled
mi earth, lie now realized lhal this big motor was hope
lessly obsolete before il had even been tested
Daniel W. Fry's life since Ihe night of July 4, 1M50,
has not been easy. He said very little about the exper
ience of thai night for almost four years until he finally
wrote a book called "The White Sands Incident "
He w.i.s t.ilkt-d into taking that step when hp exper-
ienced a second meeting with his cxtra-lerrestrial friend.
The contact took place at his cabin located northwest of
Merlin, Fry says. A-Lan asked him to make his story
known to Ihe public in an effort to open people's minds,
if nothing else - lo suggest that there are other inhabi
tants of the universe besides those of earth.
Diagnoses- Problems of Earth
In this conversation, Fry said A-Lan diagnosed the
problems of earth's peoples as basically arising from an
overdevelopment of the material sciences and undevelop
ment of the social and spiritual sciences. He urged Fry
to try to lay some groundwork toward correcting this
imbalance.
In the months that followed, Fry founded an organiza
tion and a magazine, both titled "Understanding," for the
purpose of "bringing about a greater degree of under
standing among the peoples of earth and making avail
able lo them more of the higher understanding of those
who are not of earth." Both are now in their seventh
year.
He also made himself available for lectures, often as
many as 250 a year. He spent his "vacations" from engi
neering work going on lecture tours, actually at a pun
ishing pace with an average of two hours of sleep per
night. His performances prompted one observer lo re
mark that Fry was the only person he knew who would
willingly drive all night to lecture for 16 people and
then go homo without requesting a fee for the talk.
Lectures Were Well Received
Many of Fry's lectures were well received. At one
lime he was Ihe most popular speaker on the service club
circuit in southern California and was in demand virtual
ly every week day noon hour.
But when oii the lecture platform he was also a
frequent target of insult and ridicule, particularly when
he first embarked on public speaking and had not yet
gained the polish his more recent talks exhibit. No one
who knows Fry, however, can recall an instance when
he has lost his temper. He answers all questions calmly
and methodically and more often than not gels in the
final word in an exchange with a heckler.
Fry received one of his greatest compliments - and
most concrete proof of the authenticity of his 1950 While
Sands experience - when an attempt at making fun of
him went awry.
In July, 1958, Dr. Parry Moon, scientist at the Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology, along with a co-author
published a paper in the Journal of the Franklin Institute
setting forth a new finding with respect lo gravity.
Shortly after the paper was published, Dr. Moon was
sent - as a joke - a copy of one of Fry's books, "Steps
to the Stars." The book, published four years previously,
contained the same finding, and some of the wording Fry
had used was almost identical to the sentences Dr. Moon
had used - four years later. So identical were several of
the sentences lhal Fry now possesses a letter from Dr.
Moon assuring him thai he had nol seen "Steps to the
Stars" before publishing his 1958 paper and that no
plagerism was involved.
Involves Theory of Gravity
The finding that Fry had published four years before
Dr. Moon involved the theory that gravity actually
reaches a zero point, beyond which it becomes negative.
In other words, the earth's gravitational field does not
act as an attracting force on into infinity. It reaches a
definite zero point, beyond which il becomes a repelling
force, Fry and Dr. Moon agreed. They use this conclusion
lo explain why the universe is constantly "exploding"
outward.
Fry said he arrived al this conclusion as a result of
his conversation with A-Lan during the White Sand;
incident.
From 1954 to 1961 Fry was vice president in charge
of research at Crescent Engineering and Research com
pany in southern California. It was during this time
that he designed a number of scientifically advanced
items, including several parts of the guidance system in
the Atlas missile. He attributes many of these accom
plishments to his White Sands experience also.
Meets A-Lan Face-to-Face
In the first part of 1961, Fry said he went up to his
cabin In the Merlin area "on an impulse" and met A-Lan
face-to-facc. The spaceman's crafl was on the ground In
a clearing next to the cabin. A-Lan was an ordinary
looking person wearing casual clothes, Fry reported.
After a conversation of about 20 minutes the visitor got
back in his craft and took off.
Fry hasn't said a great deal about the contents of that
20-minutc conversation with A-Lan, but from that point
on he began making frequent trips to Merlin. He
acquired more property and went about making it known
thai he hoped to establish a planned community at Mer
lin, one where "the niche a person will occupy is engi
neered for him even before he arrives."
Merlin could be used as a survival area in event of
a nuclear disaster. Fry said, but he was principally
interested in developing a largely self-sufficient, well
planned community of people with widely diversified
talents and backgrounds but with a common interest in
developing a deeper understanding of the universe about
Ihcm.
Perhaps Would Develop Advice
Or perhaps what Fry is really after is a community
that will follow some of A-Lan's advice and give its at
tention lo developing the social and spiritual sciences al
well as the material science.
About 10 families who might otherwise never have
heard of Merlin, Oregon are living there today. More
are planning lo move in.
Fry's plans also include the erection of a radio station
dedicated to broadcasting information along the lines of
what he has gained from his experiences.
Several new businesses have opened in the town, and
Fry himself has taken over the Merlin Trading post,
where - in testimony to the sort of man he is - he may
frequently be seen behind the counter or out front
pumping gas.
4 y -"SS i,
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t'l-
rt-trTF' $ .WiYi ' irt 'Mfc-M
Ha nit'l W t ry mow operates the Merlin Trading poft, where ho nmy frenuent I v be seen behind I lie srocery
eon liter or out pumpim: s.is
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