(gentle music) - [Announcer] This little Missouri town was just minding its own business until the night a local basketball coach looked to the sky.

- Reggie did not believe in UFOs until the night of February the 21st, 1973.

- [Announcer] How Piedmont became Missouri's UFO capital.

A story about too much stuff and why some people are willing to get in line to get rid of it.

- People want to do the right thing, it's just confusing.

- [Announcer] She spent 44 years as Maria on Sesame Street.

And while she's now busy with other projects, Sonia Manzano has found memories of those years and of her fellow cast members.

- I knew these characters like the back of my hand, I knew Oscar the Grouch 'cause they were such full blown characters.

- [Announcer] And St. Louis native Kathleen Nolan is turning 91 and looks back on a long career in show business that started out as a child on the Goldenrod Show Boat.

- For a period of time we lived on the boat.

It was a good foundation for me.

- [Announcer] It's all next on Living St. Louis.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - I'm Brooke Butler, our first story falls into the believe it or not category.

It's about something that happened years ago that still isn't easily explained.

So to find out more, Veronica Mohesky headed to a town that's in the State of Missouri on the planet Earth.

- [Veronica] Piedmont, Missouri, about two hours south of St. Louis, is known for its beautiful scenery.

- Sam A. Baker State Park is a favorite place for a lot of people to come.

Clearwater Lake, have a big crowd of people come from the St. Louis area into Clearwater Lake.

So this area was always an attraction for tourism.

And before the UFOs came to the Piedmont area, it was a quiet town.

- [Veronica] Yes, you heard that right, he said UFOs.

That's Dennis Hovis, the former general manager for the KPWB radio station in Piedmont.

He says, UFO sightings in Wayne County began with a man named Reggie Bone.

- He was a high school basketball coach, but he was well-liked, well-respected.

Reggie did not believe in UFOs until the night of February the 21st, 1973.

And that changed his mind.

- [Veronica] Bone and his basketball team were returning from a game in another town when they saw it.

- One of the boys had spotted a light in the sky and they commented about that.

And then, oh, probably 15, 20 minutes later, they were in an area in rural country we call Brushy Creek.

And as they came through that area, they spotted the UFO, an object they classified as a UFO, that was hovering with different colored lights.

And they got out and they looked at it for a while.

- [Veronica] Bone died in the late '70s, but Dennis Hovis interviewed him about the UFO sighting in 1973.

- [Reggie] And the only thing that we could see was a rotation of lights.

The lights were red, green, amber and white.

And of course, being familiar with... A little familiar with airplanes, I knew that, although I didn't say anything at the time, that this wasn't an airplane, it at least wasn't the markings of an aircraft of any type that I'd seen before.

- [Veronica] Hovis says that Bone and the boys didn't initially report the incident, but their story spread within weeks.

And, as it turned out, they weren't the only ones who saw something.

Over the next month, about 500 people would report seeing UFOs in the area.

This included many respected members of the Piedmont community.

- And there were probably many more than that.

A lot of people didn't want to talk about it, didn't wanna say what they saw.

- [Veronica] Piedmont resident Karen Ruble says she saw something strange while walking back from her chicken house one night in 1973.

- But all of a sudden there was just beam of light come down from whatever was above us just... and lit up the paths so we could see all the way, you know, to walk into the house.

And like I said, we lived way out, you know, no neighbors around or anything, just out in the middle of nowhere, kinda.

I mean, it's frightening, you know, the unknown like that.

- [Veronica] By March, news about the UFO sightings reached across the nation and reports continued into the summer.

- I went outside and noticed a... just briefly noticed an unusual light.

- [Veronica] Mike Henson, another Piedmont resident, says he saw something when he came home from college in the summer of 1973.

- Said, "Well, you know, hey, "what's that that funny light up there?"

And nobody knew what I was talking about.

So we grabbed a pair of binoculars, we went out and took turns setting it on a fence post.

And what we saw was pretty much what you'll hear about, you know, the flying saucer sort of thing.

A little light flashing, very playful, moved, darted back and forth at a reasonable speed.

And then, finally, just kind of took off in an unusual direction that would not be I don't think possible for any normal type of aircraft.

- [Veronica] Hovis says the sightings were so frequent that they began causing traffic jams at night in certain areas.

- But in 1973, everybody was looking for UFOs.

They would be large crowds gathering on Brushy Creek.

They would have the highway patrol there to direct traffic in a little rural countryside town.

- [Veronica] Robin Thompson was 14 years old that summer.

- Well, after the news of all these sightings came out, at least the kids in our neighborhood, we were out late every night looking at the sky and looking around 'cause we wanted to see something too.

- [Veronica] He says he and his friends saw a UFO above Clark Mountain.

- And then, all of a sudden there was red and white flashing lights really rapidly like you'd see on a police car, not like you'd see on a normal plane.

And it just lasted a few seconds and then it was gone.

- [Veronica] The large volume of sightings and media coverage soon attracted scientists to the area.

A physics professor from Southeast Missouri State, Dr. Harley Rutledge, came to the area around May 1973.

- And he set up a group, a scientific group.

And they spent seven years investigating the UFOs in this area.

- And though Rutledge came in a skeptic, he left Piedmont as a believer.

He claimed to have witnessed UFOs himself while there.

He even published a book about his research in Wayne County in 1981.

He and other scientists concluded that while many of the alleged UFOs could be explained as car, or airplane lights, or fires from the town dump, there were still some they considered to be legitimate.

And though, the initial sightings happened over 50 years ago Piedmont is still in touch with its paranormal past.

Their UFO capital of Missouri Park opened in May 2024.

Their title as the UFO Capital of Missouri was designated by Governor Mike Parson in July of 2023.

- And that was brought about by our representative Christine Dinkins, who introduced the bills at the state level.

- [Veronica] Vicki Eaton is part of a group of small business leaders in Piedmont who are working to boost tourism to the town by promoting its history of UFO sightings.

- We are who we are, and so we might as well embrace it and take advantage of that claim to fame.

- [Veronica] The town hosted its first ever UFO Festival in 2023.

And after several other fundraising events, the group had enough money for sculptures in the UFO Park.

- We have a 16 foot UFO that was welded together by a local welder, which is even that much better.

It was landed in town with a police escort.

- [Veronica] And though, no aliens were ever reported to be seen in the town, there is one in the park.

In fact, you'll find statues and images of UFOs and aliens all over town.

And according to some, you can still see UFOs in the sky around Piedmont too.

- Five or six months ago, a gentleman and his wife were fishing on Clearwater Lake and they witnessed a light hovering above their boat during the nighttime, and they became alarmed and they left the lake, but nothing happened to them, nothing bothered them, anything like that.

So yes, there's still some sightings, - [Veronica] There's still no official explanation for many of the sightings, but Hovis says the easiest way to make up your mind is to come look for yourself.

- As I tell people, if you will go out tonight on a clear night, and you look into the heavens and you sit there and you watch, you'll see something strange a lot of times.

I would suggest you go to Clearwater Lake and camp out and look in the sky, you might see somethin'.

- Our next story is about an actress, writer, producer, and longtime friend of Oscar the Grouch.

Sonia Manzano is best known for having played Maria on Sesame Street and she was in St. Louis recently to help this station mark an important anniversary.

It took some doing, but Jim Kirchherr caught up with her.

- Hello St. Louis.

(crowd cheering) It's so nice for me to be here, my name is Sonia Manzano.

You might know me as Maria from Sesame Street.

(crowd cheering) Thank you, yes, I was on Sesame Street for 44 years.

- [Jim] Her appearance at the Hispanic Festival in Soulard Park was just one of many stops when she came to St. Louis to help Nine PBS celebrate its 70th birthday.

She'd thrown out the first pitch at a Cardinals game, did an interview in the broadcast booth with Spanish language broadcaster, Benji Molina.

And she was our station's guest of honor at events celebrating our 70 years on the air.

- Oh my goodness.

- But she too has a place in broadcast, even American history.

When we sat down to chat, I started out by reading a quote from an article written about her.

"She played a pivotal role in reshaping "the representation of Latino culture in media."

- I suppose it's true, I was the first Latina on a national television show when I landed the part of Maria on Sesame Street.

- It almost was the first program to introduce the idea of diversity.

- Yes, it certainly was, but it was the '60s, America was a different place.

It was the Civil Rights Movement, it was because of all of those things happening in society that Sesame Street happened.

And, at that time, you did not see people of color on television at all.

And I know this because I watched so much television as a little girl.

- It was all around you, but it was not on TV.

- No, not on tv and not in books that... You know, there were no children's books that reflected a diverse society either.

So, I really understand the importance of having diverse images on television.

I know the power that an image can have.

- You spent all those years, you're still identified.

And I imagine, and I may do it myself, I may call you Maria at some point, but it probably happens to you a lot.

But you've never distanced yourself.

You're not like Leonard Nimoy trying to get away from Spock or something like that, right?

- Oh, no, no, no because I think Maria is Sonia on purpose or it's the better parts of of Sonia and it took me a while to find that because as an actor, of course, you wanna play a role.

It's easier to hide behind a character.

And they kept saying to me at Sesame Street, "Be yourself.

"We just want you to be yourself.

"We want little kids from," what was then called "the inner cities to look at you "and have somebody to relate to," I was very- - [Jim] She won 15 Emmy awards while she was with Sesame Street, all of them for writing.

She said she had soon learned that she could have real impact on the other side of the camera.

- And they were very supportive.

Dulcy Singer, the executive producer of Sesame Street at that time, handed me a book about this thick, which was the curriculum.

- Yeah, it wasn't simply a matter of coming up with a good scene, it had to have a purpose.

- Right, it had to have a purpose, it had to be entertaining.

I knew these characters like the back of my hand, I knew Oscar the Grouch 'cause they were such full blown characters so it was easy for me to put them in situations.

I knew exactly how they would respond in any situation.

- [Jim] While her Sesame Street fans are all grown up now she is reaching a new generation of kids with the Fred Rogers Productions program, Alma's Way, which she helped to create and serves as one of the executive producers.

- [Sonia] Oh my goodness, hi Alma, how are you?

- [Jim] Developing another children's show was not on her to-do list.

- But Linda Simmons (indistinct), PBS Kids asked me to, and she said, "You know, we want it to be a Latin family."

"Okay, I have no problem with that."

And I made the girl from the South Bronx from a real place that I was from.

But the mission of the show was left up to me.

I learned from Sesame Street, look around and see what the needs of American children are.

At that time, it was showing people of color on TV and reading.

So I looked around now and I saw that so many kids are overwhelmed by being tested and having to memorize information and they can't grow at their own pace.

They have to learn something at the exact moment as their peers.

And a lot of kids who can't do that, or can't speak English begin to think that they're dumb.

And so I thought, "Well, this is the mission of Alma's Way.

"Let kids know that everybody has a brain "and everybody has the opportunity to use it "and put two and two together as they will."

- A lot of times people have said, "I want kids to see kids like them on TV."

But I often thought it's also important for kids who don't look like them to see kids on TV.

- Yes.

- Of different ethnic groups, different colors, different backgrounds.

- So I think people like to see people who are not like them, but nobody wants to get hit over the head with that information.

They appreciate that the show is about thinking in the realm of all of these diverse people.

- So you're doing Alma's Way, you're doing some acting and voice work.

You're writing books, children's books, young adult books.

Why don't you take a break?

Is it, you can't stop, or- - I can't stop and I try to stop and then I get bored right away.

I try to not do anything and I simply can't help it.

It's a disease, I tell you.

- But we're all benefiting that's something.

- [Sonia] Oh, thank you.

That's very nice of you.

- So I wanna thank you for all the work you've done.

- Thank you.

- [Jim] The work you're still doing and the work you will continue to do.

- Thank you so much.

- [Jim] Sonia Manzano, Thank you, appreciate it.

(speaking Spanish) (crowd cheering) - [Crowd Member 1] We love you, Sonia.

- [Crowd Member 2] We love you.

(speaking Spanish) - Keep it or throw it out?

Not always an easy decision.

If you keep it, where are you gonna put it?

But just as important, if you throw it out, where are you gonna put it?

There are St. Louisans working to help you find the answer.

(upbeat jazz music) - [Reporter] It wouldn't be a St. Louis alleyway if you didn't come across things like an old couch, a broken table, a shattered computer monitor.

And while these things are eyesores and potential hazards, it's hard to know what else people are supposed to do with unwanted and unusable items.

(upbeat jazz music continues) That's why Earth Day 365 in partnership with St. Louis University host these Hard to Recycle fairs.

- These are really important to fill in a gap in the City of St. Louis, especially where there are high rates of illegal dumping in certain neighborhoods.

And the things that tend to be illegally dumped are not coincidentally the kinds of things that don't fit into the recycling stream.

And so, you know, you see rugs, you see furniture, you see metal and electronics.

And so, we're trying to create this space as an outlet so that it doesn't end up, you know, cluttering people's alleys and reducing the quality of life for people in many neighborhoods.

- [Reporter] There is clearly a desire for events like this, as you can see, by the long steady stream of cars, with people who chose to spend their Saturday morning recycling.

And the groups collecting these hard to recycle items also care about saving stuff from being abandoned on the curb, not only to prevent littering, but because lots of this stuff can be used again or made into something else.

- We really try to connect with organizations that are doing good with what they're picking up as well.

So a lot of these actually go to charity.

- [Reporter] People not only left with fewer material items, but they also contributed important data through these surveys as part of St. Louis University's efforts to better understand recycling habits.

- This event is all about being with people of St. Louis, being with this community.

So understanding their perceptions towards recycling, perceptions towards space management, and also understanding their habits of recycling and also hearing them out about what they need to feel supported with our project.

- [Reporter] But why rely on questionnaire data when you can see the real stuff?

Another aspect of St. Louis University's efforts are these sensors, they were placed in recycling and waste containers around the neighborhood where this recycling event took place.

And the technology is able to better recognize what items are being disposed of and even measuring contamination levels.

The idea is to collect the data before and after the Hard to Recycle fair to measure whether events like this make a difference in how residents recycle.

- Our sensors are there to, yes, understand what people are recycling and how they're recycling it but, more importantly, I view recycling problem, solid waste problem as an industrial problem.

And I think the solution, again, lies at an industrial level.

That's why we are scaling up these low cost sensors to address this industrial problem with an industrial solution.

(quirky music) - [Reporter] It's not realistic for everyone to get rid of their bulk items this way.

Not to mention many items are not accepted if they aren't in good condition.

And some items do require payment to dispose of.

But one of the goals of the event is to raise awareness as to why these items are so hard to get rid of and to encourage people to consider other options before tossing things next to the dumpster.

- People want to do the right thing and they want to be educated about how to do it correctly, it's just confusing.

(quirky music) - Finally, Jim Kirchherr takes a look back at a life that began 91 years ago and a career that began just a year later.

- [Jim] This week, 91 years ago, September 27th, 1933.

Joycelyn Schrum was born in St. Louis.

Now years later, the country would get to know her as Kathy Nolan on the hit show, The Real McCoys, which was just a part of a long show business career, stage, screen, television that, as she told us from her home in Los Angeles, was a career that started, well, pretty much from the start.

- First on the stage at 13 months, a little over a year.

- [Jim] She was born into a show business family, which was regularly performing on the Goldenrod Show Boat.

And she became part of the troop.

- It was anchored in St. Louis by that time.

For a period of time we lived on the boat, but most of the time we didn't.

- [Jim] She'd continue performing various roles in the regular melodramas throughout her childhood and teen aged years.

- It was a good foundation for me.

It was, I guess, the beginning and the lessons that I learned there, I still apply today.

- [Jim] The 1950 census has the Schrums living on Delmar and lists 16-year-old Joycelyn as working 30 hours a week as an actress on a showboat.

And she was still going to school.

- I did my lessons in the dressing room.

- [Jim] After graduating from Southwest High School, she was off to New York, changed her name to Kathleen, sometimes Kathy Nolan, and started getting work.

- I was very lucky because when I left and went to New York, it was really the beginning of...

It was mostly live television, then.

Studio One, Playhouse 90, all those early shows that were mostly out of New York, it was good times.

So you had to have some kind of a theater background, I think, early on.

- [Jim] She was back in the theater in 1954 on Broadway playing Wendy in the musical, Peter Pan, starring Mary Martin.

♪ I gotta grow And she was part of the historic live television broadcasts of the play in 1955 and, again, in 1956.

- And up we go.

- [Jim] A year later she was on Thursday night TV as a young wife, Kate McCoy in the popular sitcom, The Real McCoys with Richard Crenna and Walter Brennan.

- Oh, what did grandpa say about the lock on the hen house?

You know, it was in the top 10 for five years so we did very well.

- Hey, I'm so mad I could shoot 10 penny nails, you know that- - [Jim] It stayed on for years in reruns.

And, to this day, Kathleen Nolan is still getting fan letters, many from old fans of The Real McCoys, even though she did so much more after that.

There was the short-lived comedy series Broadside about World War II nurses in the South Pacific.

- I bet you two to one Commander Adrian is spying on us right now just praying that we goof off.

- Come on, girl, goof off.

(audience laughing) - Yes?

- Mrs. Hartman?

- Yes.

- My name is Jim Rockford is Mia in?

- [Jim] You had hundreds of guest appearances.

- [Kathleen] Yes, I did and they were very varied too.

- [Jim] I figure you could be typecast as the girl next door, but I think you could also do the femme fatal, right?

- Yes, yeah, there was a great variety then.

- [Jim] And in 1975, she was elected the first woman president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Not surprising when you hear the story about how back on the Goldenrod Show Boat at age six, she felt underpaid compared to the adult actors.

And one night marched in to see the captain.

- Yes, I did, Captain Bill.

I thought that it was unfair for me to get 50 cents a night and I think they were getting $2.50 or something at the time.

So I got a raise for everybody.

I guess, maybe that was the beginning of me being a union organizer later in life, yeah.

- [Jim] And I read an article about you and they called you the firebrand union leader.

- I'm okay, I'm okay with that, I think I was.

- [Jim] And still is, her son, actor Spencer Garrett, brought her to the SAG-AFTRA picket line last year and she led strikers in an old union song.

♪ I'm a union woman, as great as I can be ♪ ♪ I stand up for fair wages and for equality ♪ - Alright.

- Here's my kid.

- [Jim] As we were wrapping up, Garrett, who was currently shooting a Netflix series at the time, had appeared on an episode of Station 19 the night before.

And he joined the conversation.

- He was on last night, he was terrible.

- Yeah, I walked in the door she said, "You were terrible last night."

I was like, "Oh no, I didn't do a good job."

- No.

- I played a horrible person, which it seems to be my stock and trade, I play a lot of bad guys.

- No, you don't.

- Yeah, I do, I play a lot.

- [Jim] When asked about her proudest achievement, well, that's him, her son.

And he's just as proud of her, her acting, her activism.

And he's been campaigning to get her a star on the Walk of Fame in her hometown.

- I have all the fond memories of growing up in St. Louis.

It's kind of still my place.

You know, I still have friends there.

And it's very much my home, I think, very much so.

Yeah, I'm still the kid from St. Louis.

- [Jim] Happy birthday to Kathleen Nolan, born 91 years ago this week in St. Louis history.

(gentle music) - And that's Living St. Louis.

You can watch any of tonight's stories and much more on our Nine PBS YouTube channel and at NinePBS.org/LSL.

I'm Brooke Butler, thanks for joining us.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Living St. Louis is funded in part by the Betsy & Thomas Patterson Foundation and the members of Nine PBS.