The Kettle Moraine State Forest encompasses some 55,000 acres of wild terrain formed by the last glacier—the Laurentide Ice Sheet—that covered much of Wisconsin until about 13,000 years ago. Today, the Kettle Moraine is home to countless varieties of flora and fauna. These protected natural areas are great for camping, hiking…and strange encounters with the unknown.
Dogmen, lake monsters, Bigfoot, Goatman, and various flying horrors all seem to be common occurrences. But Dundee Mountain, a 270-foot-high pile of debris left behind when the glacier melted, seemingly stands at the center of decades of extraterrestrial activity.
For 33 years, Benson’s Hide-a-Way on the shore of Long Lake near Dundee served as the UFO headquarters of Wisconsin—or at least the Kettle Moraine. Proprietor Bill Benson was always eager to share stories of the area’s bizarre phenomenon, from unexplained balls of light hovering over Dundee Mountain or glowing beneath the surface of the lake, to local police responding to reports of a wolfman on a backroad near Parnell Tower.
Bill and his friend Robert “UFO Bob” Kuehn hosted the first UFO Daze in 1989 for locals to discuss their experiences.
The tradition continued every July for more than 30 years, with guest speakers ranging from enthusiasts and amateur researchers to actual contactees, abductees—even people from Venus managed to stop by. Eveata, a female extraterrestrial from the Pleiadian star system and personal friend of UFO Bob’s, liked to swing by when she was in our neck of the cosmic woods. Some attendees brought unusual artifacts like time machines and inter-space communicators. Some were just there to drink beer and show off their elaborate tinfoil hats.
As the sun glided over the lake and sank behind the trees, visitors would pull out their lawn chairs and wait with their eyes on the darkening sky for the inevitable extraterrestrial light show to begin.
Bill Benson could always be found behind the bar, tending to patrons and joyously sharing his alien in a jar and binder full of peculiar photos while inflatable aliens and flying saucers dangled overhead.
Sadly, he passed away last December, marking the end of UFO Daze.
