In August 1957, US military officials at the Pentagon examined evidence of extraterrestrial visitors. Robert Ewing said he was in regular contact with aliens, and he that they had appointed him their ambassador. At the Pentagon, he presented a 90-minute tape of a message from space.
It began in Florida with Enid Joan Brady. At the age of two, Enid emigrated with her parents from England in 1909 and settled in Ohio. She began her career back in the 1930s, training as a medium in Los Angeles, appearing in psychic demonstrations with Felicia Crossley’s Institute of Metaphysical and Psychic Sciences. By 1936, Enid was lecturing and performing on her own as a spiritualist, and soon became known as Reverend Enid Brady based in Canton, Ohio, speaking across the USA.
By 1954, she had relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, and was advertised as a "Noted Camp Worker, Spiritualist and Trumpet Artist." There, she held religious services as the "First Christian Spiritualist Church” in a dingy meeting room at the faded Prince George Hotel.
Brady later said her UFO fame came after “four year’s research,” which would mean she began in 1953, the year George Adamski and Desmond Leslie’s Theosophy-based book on contact with Venus was published, The Flying Saucers Have Landed. In 1955, Enid formed the Daytona Beach Flying Saucer Research Club, with an announcement published in the New Age and UFO newsletter, The Little Listening Post, Dec 55/Jan 56 issue. Publisher Clara John said Enid Brady had called to tell her about it, and that she also “gave much intimate ‘contact info’.” Max Miller’s Saucers, March 1956 carried listing of UFO Group Meetings:
“FLORIDA, Daytona Beach -- Flying Saucer Research Group, 8 p.m., 1st & 3rd Friday, Prince George Hotel, 212 N. Ridgewood. Contact Enid Brady (Clinton 2-9996).”
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| Home of Enid Brady's church, flying saucer club, and press center. |
In January 1957 Enid’s club began organizing a flying saucer convention and invited the Gray Barker of the Saucerian Bulletin and James W. Moseley of Saucer News to speak at the event. There’s no record of who attended, but it’s claimed that Donald Keyhoe lectured for them.
As a medium and spiritualist, Enid served as a voice for those in the spirit
world. Something changed in the mid-1950s when Rev. Brady began to channel voices
from Venus. But no one really heard about until she picked up a partner.
Robert Ewing lived in Edgewater, Florida. After graduating Dartmouth College
in 1937, he went to New York to sell small planes and manage a small airport
near Olean, NY. He moved south and was a television salesman when he met Enid
Brady. This profile from The AOPA Pilot magazine, May 1959 (Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association) provides a good introduction.
Ewing was interested in flying saucers, and when he heard about Brady’s contact in 1957, he became her partner and publicity agent. Bob Ewing’s business letterhead he described him as "Representing the Planet Venus." In late August 1957, he arranged a press conference and demonstration of contact.
Enid Brady sat in a chair, closed her eyes, and then her body stiffened, and she began speaking in low-pitched voice. For the press, Rev. Brady channeled Johan, a Venusian man stationed on “Satellite Five,” orbiting far above the earth. Johan told about how his people’s ancient civilization had been flying their ventlas (spaceships) to observe earth for over 200 years. The ventlas had small generators that converted magnetic space force into electrical energy for propulsion. After he was done, Cymatrili began speaking, a higher, elegant voice, a 250-year-old woman (Venusians could live to be 700), a master teacher. The Venusians said they were peaceful and that our planet was finally mature enough for contact. They would be sending a ventla landing party between November 22 and 28, touching down nearby, and the attending reporters would be notified for interviews.
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| Orlando Sentinel, Aug. 22, 1957 |
Later news articles described Johan’s voice as low, Cymatrili’s as high, as
if Enid Brady was using stage voices for different characters. Most of the
messages echoed that from other Theosophy-derived Contactee stories but the tales were richer
in texture, with the different model ventlas and the growing cast of characters,
Cymatrili, Johan, Mandall, Hamatra and the others stationed on the Venusian satellites
orbiting the Earth. Reporter Norman Wolfe covered the story as further details emerged
over the months in frequent articles for the Orlando Sentinel.
Ewing revealed that Venusians “look like Earth people but have finer features
and are tall.” However, “Martians are short, like Pygmies, and are very strong.”
The two planets were friendly, both spoke the same language and visited the
earth. “In 1954 three Martians landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California
and were taken into protective custody by the United States. From a study of
the Martian aircraft the U.S. learned how to make planes which now take off
vertically.”
Wolfe reported that merchandise was planned, “Ewing hopes to sell recordings
of Cymatrli’s voice and a book supposedly dictated by her. He says Columbia Records
is interested in an album.”
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| Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 8, 1957 |
A flurry of local press followed, but Ewing wanted to get the message to the
top. He travelled to Washington, DC and joined with flying saucer advocate, Wayne
S. Aho, a retired Army major. They were able to obtain a meeting with Defense
Department officials and play the taped messages from Venus for them.
Ewing said, “I visited the Pentagon several days ago and told them of my contact with Venus. They told me I would hear from them.” Meanwhile, back in Washington, Wayne Aho was getting impatient and told the United Press about the Pentagon meeting and played a copy of Brady’s tape for them. The story made the papers across the USA, but the press was unfavorable. After hearing the tape, the Defense Department concluded that it was at best, “Unimpressive and unconvincing.”
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| La Grande Observer, Sept. 19, 1957 |
The complete UP story ended with the final sentences:
“Also, when their ships fly over Dew Line (the radar warning network) they will signal in Morse code V-E-N-T-L-A. Aho noted that in agreeing to the signal system, the voices from Venus "were not speaking for ships from other planets, just their own."
In the flying saucer business, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Ewing
became a local celebrity, as a Contactee who spoke to aliens. Somehow, Enid Brady
was often relegated to a supporting role, like a magician’s assistant.
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| Orlando Sentinel, Sept. 10, 1957 |
Bob Ewing played another taped message from Venus at a Cocoa Beach fish fry in late September. Enid wasn’t there, but Wayne Aho attended to lend his support. A new voice was heard from, Hilee, director of flight training on Satellite Five. The big news was that Venus was monitoring our atomic weapons development and had recently destroyed the test flight of a faulty Atlas missile to prevent anyone from being harmed. Also, there was supposed to be a saucer landing at Patrick Air Force base that weekend. It didn’t happen, but there were some various sighting reports.
Ewing continued the publicity campaign with Rev. Brady, and they flew to
Miami for another press conference.
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| Miami Herald, Sept. 30, 1957 |
The same issue ran a profile on Ewing.
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| Miami Herald, Sept. 30, 1957 |
The Orlando Sentinel, Oct. 1, 1957, reported that Rev. Brady channeled the message from Venus that they were represented by six voices on earth, two others in the US, one in the UK, George King (of the Aetherius Society), and one each in France and Russia. Further details of the Venusian’s bases and ventla flights were also revealed, like the fact that they can bend light rays around their ships to become invisible.
In a United Press story, Enid commented on the Soviet Sputnik satellite program,
saying it was insignificant compared to what the Venusians already had done long
ago.
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| Orlando Evening Star, Oct. 5, 1957 |
Brady and Ewing travelled to attend the annual convention of the National Spiritual Association in Portland, Maine, and while they were away, there were a few local sightings back home.
The Portland convention trip resulted in a major media story by George W. Cornell,
who reported on religion for the Associated Press. His Oct. 17, 1957, article summarized
the events and relayed the negative opinion from the National Spiritual Association,
“At this time, we feel this communication with Venus has no bearing on spiritualism.”
Some new details emerged, including the claim that the Venusians’ original mission
was to halt the pollution of space from our atomic blasts, and they had sent the
“green fireballs” to neutralize the radiation.
Ewing said, "I thought it was all a lot of bunk at first. I'm a
practical guy, and I didn't believe it. But now I've talked to them enough to
know it."
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| Eugene Guard, Oct. 19, 1957 |
There was some notable flying saucer activity in November, like the Levelland, Texas UFO sightings, and far less credibly, the Reinhold O. Schmidt encounter in Nebraska. His spacemen were from the wrong planet, Saturn, but Wayne Aho latched on to the Schmidt story for a while and vanishes from this one. Enid Brady and Bob Ewing benefited from the late 1957 flying saucer flap but did not connect their franchise to the other events or overtly claim it as part of the Venusian contact program.
Minister Gilbert Holloway (a Contactee himself) capitalized on Enid’s celebrity
status while advertising her appearance in Miami for two shows at his New Age
Church of Truth.
The New Era
“Venusians Fail To Land As ‘Promised’.” The November deadline came without
any ventlas arriving. But there had been a caveat, the aliens allegedly told Ewing
they would land “when the time was right.” Prophecy never fails.
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| Orlando Sentinel, Nov. 29, 1957 |
Bob Ewing was back with another story later in the year. He claimed the
Venusians had sent a package of “vital information” to the US military to
assist them in their missile and rocket research. They’d dropped it in a lake. As
for the November landing, it had been scrubbed due to the presence of “unfriendly
people who apparently meant no good to the Venusians.”
Vivian McMillian’s column in the Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 19, 1958,
reported on the debut of a five-page flying saucer newsletter, The New Era:
"We have just read a copy of The New Era, a bulletin being published by Bob Ewing and Miss Enid Brady on their 'contacts' with the Venusians. According to the bulletin the ventlas will start flying again soon in the 'second stage' of their operation to penetrate the consciousness of the earth people and acquaint them with their plans for eventually landing and assisting the earth people to find peace and a better way of life. The bulletin goes on to say that Johan, communications officer for satellite five, flatly states that the Russians have definitely launched humans into space and furthermore that it was a woman who was sent into space in the Russian satellite. Also, according to Johan, Russia's Sputnik No. 1 will not fall to earth until June of this year."
Feb. 7, 1958, the Lions Club sponsored a Space forum held at Cocoa High
School. Besides Enid Brady and Bob Ewing, “Sitting on the panel will be men from
the following professional fields: Dr. J. R. Doty, physician; Charles B. Schneer,
electronics; R. Moehle, meteorology; Rev. E.L. Stanton, theology; William
Roundtree, law; James Glendinen, laymen; Comdr. A.L. Jacobsen, U.S. Navy Vanguard
project; and possibly a member of the U.S. Air Force.”
In March, the papers announced that Enid Brady’s Daytona Beach Flying Saucer
Research Club was holding a one-night convention at the Prince George Hotel, “featuring
(seven) principal workers in the field of unidentified flying objects,” including
authors and lecturers on the subject. No names were given, but the Miami
convention featured “Dr.” George Hunt Williamson, Rev. John McCoy, and Judge Frank
B. Dowling, talking about flying saucers, ancient peoples, and religion.
Bob Ewing managed to keep his name in the press with minor saucer news. While
visiting relatives in New York, Ewing made an unscheduled appearance on the Long
John Nebel’s radio show on May 30, 1958. He explained that “Miss Brady and I
are given to understand by the Venusians that we represent them, with the
little bulletin that I put out, ‘The New Era,’ …are given instructions and guidance.
We are unpaid employees of the planet Venus, as we see it.” Unfortunately, Ewing
did not bring a tape of Enid’s trance contacts to play on the air.
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| Long John Nebel with Bob Ewing, 5/30/58 (YouTube, 3 hours) |
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| Orlando Sentinel, Aug.17, 1958 |
We found no mention of either Brady or Ewing in UFO-related matters in 1959. According to an article in the April 19, 1959, Orlando Sentinel, Bob Ewing took a job with the spiritualist magazine, Psychic Observer, published in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Enid Brady carried on without Ewing, but she did not abandon the saucer business. She’d moved her church from Daytona Beach to its own home at 1531 Center Ave., Holly Hill. In May, “The New Era” bulletin was renamed “Golden Era Letters,” published and edited by Enid Brady.
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| Former site of Enid Brady's church |
No Venus? It had been previously revealed that the Enid had been talking to people on orbiting space stations, not with anyone actually on the planet Venus. Maybe they'd fibbed about being from Venus, or? Maybe she lost Venus in some kind of custody battle with Ewing. Bob showed up in a few Miami talk show listings, the last press we found for him was in Sept. 1960, billed as an “ESP specialist,” and “press agent for Venus.”
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| S.P.A.C.E. Sept.1960 |
Enid’s advertising frequently mentioned her “Space Contact” work. She published “Space Bulletin” through the mid-1960s, and around the same time she also published issued a 7-page booklet, “Atlantis Rediscovered.” She continued to travel to Miami, and in Dec. 1960, Enid lectured for the Mark-Age (UFO-related religious organization) alongside Contactee Gloria Lee, but apparently something was off. In S.P.A.C.E., Jan. 1961, Norbert F. Gariety carried a notice at Brady‘s request: “she is no longer associated in any way with ‘Mark-Age’ or ‘Cosmon Research.’” (Both connected to Gloria Lee.)
Throughout the early 60s Enid's lectures continued to deal with otherworldly contact, with such titles as “Voice From Outer Space.”
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| Miami News, Jan. 17 & 22, 1966 |
The last mention of Bob Ewing we could find was of his 1966, appearance on “The
Betty Groebli Show” on WRC. Skeptic Philip J. Klass interviewed Ewing, who was described
as a “space medium.”
The 1968 Oak Island Séance and the Space Entities
In 1973, Esquire magazine reporter Don Rosenbaum said he found transcripts
of three 1968 seances that Oak Island treasure hunter Dan Blankenship attended. Rev. Enid Brady of Daytona Beach was hired as a medium, and on Jan. 12, 1968:
“… according to Rev. Brady, it was successful. Two ‘space entities,’ as she called them, were summoned in the Mount Vernon seance, and in this and the ‘many’ others that followed, Blankenship was told facts about Oak Island never heard before. The two space entities, Athea and Hambul. confirmed the existence of the treasure, Rev. Brady said [and also] how to retrieve it.”
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| The Palm Beach Post, Feb 28. 1973 |
Enid Brady’s First Christian Spiritualist Church was renamed at the end of
the 60s, and from 1969 on it was called the Little White Church, affiliated
with the National Spiritualist Association. She continued to perform in public, but seldom mentioned anything like ventlas.
In the late 70s, Rev. Brady was teaching classes for the Daytona Beach community college for parapsychology at her church in Holly Hill.
In the article about her saucer days for the MUFON Journal, Jan. 1983, “Enid Brady’s E-T Contact Legacy,” Larry W. Bryant wrote, “In an effort to bring myself up-to-date on her status, I called her on April 16, 1982...”
We found no mention of Rev. Brady’s lectures or ministry after March 1983, and it seems Bryant’s piece seems to have written about the time of her retirement. We found no record of the death of either Enid Brady or Bob Ewing, but it's near certain they've since moved on to another world. We toast them as two Ufologists That Time Forgot.
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