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1919, BARRON, WISCONSIN, USA, HARRY ANDERSON:

Brief summary of the event and follow-up:

In the 1970's, USA ufologist Jerome Clark indicated that one night of the end of the summer of 1919, Harry Anderson, 16-year-old, his family and some friends went for a tour in the new Ford model T family car.

At approximately 10 p.m., as they returned to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA, the car's engine had troubles. The father stopped the car on the Southern lane of Road 25, said it misses oil, passed the can to his son telling him to go on the road see whether a farmer would provide some oil.

The son walked on the dark road, found a sign at the edge of the road indicating that he was just outside Barron, Wisconsin, approximately 5 miles in the west of Rice Lake. He saw the roof of a farm on the horizon, took a shortcut through a corn field, found the farmer who filled the can with oil.

When he returned, he saw twenty small men walking towards him in single file. They had bald heads, white skin, and leather "knee-pants" held up by braces over their shoulders.

Harry was stunned and hid behind a red maple tree, out of sight, while the dwarves walked by. He heard fragments of their conversation, primarily mutterings and a quirky little song:

"We won't stop fighting
Till the end of the war
In Nineteen-Hundred
and Ninety-Four.
Sound off--one, two
Sound off--three, four
Detail, one, two, three, four
One--two...three--four!

The column of small men walked into the forest, leaving Harry terrified.

In another version by Jerome Clark, Harry does not go to seek a farmer, but a farmer who had been fishing walked by the stopped car and offered oil from his farm two miles away, and went there with young Anderson. The road now has only one track, the little men are chest-naked, they mutter but the song is not mentioned, and Harry is not aged 16 but 13.

Basic information table:

Narratives:

[Ref. jc1:] JEROME CLARK:

Jerome Clark indicates that on a late summer's night in 1919, 16-year-old Harry Anderson, his family and some friends went for a drive in the family's new Ford Model T. automobile.

At about 10 p.m., as they were headed back to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the car's engine began running a little rough. The father stopped the car on the southbound lane of Highway 25, said "We're running low on oil," and handled the oil can to his son, saying "Head on up the road, Harry, and see if you can get some old farmer to lend you some."

Harry hiked down the darkened road with the empty oil can swinging from his hand. A roadside sign told him he was just outside Barron, Wisconsin, about 5 miles west of Rice Lake. He saw the roof of a farmhouse on the horizon and took a shortcut across a cornfield. The farmer filled Harry's oil can for him, and as he was walking back, he saw twenty little men walking towards him in single file. They had bald heads and white skins, and wore leather 'knee-pants' held up by braces over their shoulders.

Harry was startled and ducked behind a red maple tree, staying out of sight as the dwarves marched by. He heard fragments of their conversation, mostly mutterings and a quirky little song:

"We won't stop fighting
Till the end of the war
In Nineteen-Hundred
and Ninety-Four.
Sound off--one, two
Sound off--three, four
Detail, one, two, three, four
One--two...three--four!

The column of little men marched on into the forest. Harrs was left, in his own words, "heart pumping and terrified."

[Ref. jc2:] JEROME CLARK:

Jerome Clark indicates that one hot summer night in 1919, Harry Anderson, 13, was riding with two friends and their father when their car ran out of oil and stopped east of Barron, Wisconsin. A farmer who had been out fishing walked by, and offered to give the stranded travelers some oil from his farm two miles away. Young Anderson accompanied him, and the pair walked to the house. After securing the oil, Anderson started back along the one-track road, and soon afterwards the bright moonlight revealed 20 little men walking in single file toward the youth but paying no attention to him. Their heads were bald, they were dressed in leather "knee pants" held up by suspenders over their shoulders, they were shirtless, and white-skinned. They mumbled but apparently not to each other. Anderson was terrified, continued on his way, not once looking back.

[Ref. jc3:] JEROME CLARK:

Jerome Clark says that one hot summer night in 1919 Harry Anderson, 13, was riding with two friends and their father when their car ran out of oil and stopped east of Barron, Wisconsin.

Presently a farmer who had been out fishing walked by and offered to give the stranded travelers some oil from his farm two miles away.

Young Anderson accompanied him, and the pair walked to the house. After securing the oil, Anderson started back along the one-track road. Soon afterwards the bright moonlight revealed 20 little men walking in single file toward the youth but paying no attention to him.

Their heads were bald, and the figures were dressed in leather "knee pants" held up by suspenders over their shoulders. Shirtless and white-skinned, they were "mumbling" but apparently not to each other. Anderson, terrified, continued on his way, not once looking back.

Jerome Clark indicates that the source is "Evans, 1978." and "Evans, Alex, pseudonym of Jerome Clark, "Encounters with little men" in Fate 31,11 November 1978, pages 83-86.

[Ref. go1:] GODELIEVE VAN OVERMEIRE:

The Belgian ufologist indicates that in 1919, at the end of the summer, in the USA, at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, one evening the young Harry Anderson (13-year-old), his family and some friends, left for a tour in the new Ford Model T car of his father. At about 10 p.m., returning towards Eau Claire, the engine made hear some worrying noises. Daddy Anderson stopped on the safety track of Highway 25. "There is no more oil, he says to his son, while putting a can in his hands, go check in a farm if one can lend some to us". Swinging the can in a hand, Harry went away on the dark road. A road signal tells to him that he was just near Barron, that is to say within 5 miles in the west of Rice Lake. He saw the roof of a farm at the horizon and goes there through the fields. The farmer fills his can and Harry returned towards the car. Suddenly he saw about twenty little men, arriving towards him, waling one behind the other. They had bald heads and a white skin, wore short leather trousers, retained by straps on their shoulders. Stunned Harry hid behind a tree and observed the display from there. He heard bits of their conversations resembling childish songs:

"We won't stop fighting
Till the end of the war
In Nineteen-Hundred
and Ninety-Four.
Sound off--one, two
Sound off--three, four
Detail, one, two, three, four
One--two...three--four!

The small column continued to walk and disappeared in the woods. Harry remained petrified and the heart still beating during several minutes.

The source is indicated as "Fate magazine for November 1978, 'Encounters with Little Men,' page 85".

[Ref. ar1:] ALBERT ROSALES:

Albert Rosales indicates in his catalogue that East of Barron, Wisconsin, on Summer 1919, about midnight, Harry Anderson, 13, was walking back along a dirt road to his father's stalled car with some oil for it when he encountered a procession of about 20 little men, about 4 ft tall. They all had baldheads and wore shoes that looked like leather. They walked along in single file, looking straight ahead, and mumbling something. Not one of them looked at Harry as they passed. He could see them well by the light of a bright full moon.

Albert Rosales indicates that the source is Jerome Clark.

[Ref. pr1:] PETER ROGERSON:

Points to consider:

There are notable variations between two versions.

List of issues:

Evaluation:

Possible invention. Not UFO-related.

Sources references:

* = Source I checked.
? = Source I am told about but could not check yet. Help appreciated.

• [jc1] * "Encounters with Little Men", article by "Alex Evans" (Jerome Clark) in Fate magazine, USA, Volume 31, #11, page 85, November 1978.
• [---] ? "Unexplained Mysteries of the 20th Century", book by Janet and Colin Bord, McGraw-Hill publishers, U-K., 1990.
• [jc2] * "The UFO Encyclopedia - Vol. 2", book by Jerome Clark, Omnigraphics publishers, USA, 1992.
• [jc3] * "Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1901-1959 - The Emergence of a Phenomenon", article by Jerome Clark, in Strange magazine, #10, page 89, 1992.
• [go1] * "Chronologie OVNI", web page by Godelieve Van Overmeire, Belgium, circa 1999, at users.skynet.be/sky84985/a1919.htm
• [ar1] * "1910-1919 Humanoid Reports", compiled by Albert Rosales, circa 2004, at www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1910.shtml
• [pr1] * "INTCAT 1901 - 1919 - International Catalog of Entity Reports", by Peter Rogerson, U-K., 2013, at intcat.blogspot.fr/2012/08/intcat-1901-1920.html

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This page was last updated on March 15, 2013