Crop circles topic of CMLC speaker series talk
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. – Crop circles, those mysterious patterns that appear inexplicably in wheat or barley fields, gained international prominence in the 1970s after perfect circles of pressed wheat were discovered in southern England.
Some ascribed the circles to a UFO landing imprint, some to localized downbursts or undetectable energy fields, while others simply dismissed the geometric oddities as a prank or hoax.
Since then, more than 10,000 of the strange “agriglyphs” have popped up in at least 30 countries across the globe, covering areas as large as 200,000 square feet. The increasingly elaborate patterns grabbed the attention of Gerton resident John Myers, co-owner of Laughing Waters Retreat Center.
“I had heard of them way back in the '70s, but they were pretty simple back then,” Myers said. “Then about four years ago, I rented a DVD from a local movie place on crop circles and I was just amazed. They were all kinds of geometric shapes, with up to 50 circles in a formation. Some of them were similar to Native American and indigenous symbols.”
Intrigued, Myers and his wife, Jane Lawson, traveled to the European epicenter of crop circles — Wiltshire, near the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge — and to eastern Tennessee to view the mysterious forms. Myers will share his photographs and experiences during a presentation Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Henderson County Library.
His crop circle talk, scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Kaplan Auditorium of the main library in Hendersonville, is part of a free speaker series sponsored by the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy. The series kicked off Oct. 23 with a reading by Jeremy B. Jones, author of “Bearwallow: A Personal History of a Mountain Homeland.”
Crop circles aren't exactly conservation-related, admits CMLC Trails and Outreach Coordinator Peter Barr. But he added that the series is designed to offer the community a variety of thought-provoking topics, as well as insight into CMLC's mission of protecting wildlands, clean water, farms, public recreation and the quality of life for local residents.
In addition to being a crop circle aficionado, Myers is also a dedicated conservationist. He and Lawson sold 134 acres at below-market value to CMLC so the nonprofit could develop its Upper Hickory Nut Gorge Trailhead and Little Bearwallow Trail. He also put 35 acres of his Hickory Nut Forest Eco-Community into a conservation easement, protecting it in perpetuity.
“John is certainly one of CMLC's most interesting personalities,” Barr said. “He takes a really holistic approach to the natural world, from public trails and conservation easements to natural healing, hypnosis and crop circles. We know this will be a topic that will interest people because it's a quirky and mysterious subject.”
Myers is keenly aware of the skepticism surrounding crop circles. But he points out that architects have calculated the time it would take to create some of the more elaborate patterns using modern technology and found the timeframe was “weeks.” Yet many of the forms pop up overnight, or even in a matter of hours, he said.
“We went up in a plane over Wiltshire and a pilot who'd been doing this 20 years pointed out one we'd be in (on the ground),” said Myers. “He said he'd flown a photographer over the area at 8 o'clock and it wasn't there. And by 10 o'clock, it was completely formed. So in a two-hour period, in broad daylight, it just appeared.”
Crop circles in southern England tend to reoccur “over and over in the same spot,” Myers noted, and he's talked with researchers who've found pottery along the patterns' edges and believe many of the formations are laid down on ancient ritual sites.
“I can't give any answers about how they're created, but it's beautiful art,” he said. Myers doesn't doubt that some crop circles are created by humans, but he added they're usually “pretty obvious” because they're so imperfect. Others are too elaborate and precise to dismiss as the work of hoaxsters, he said.
“I guess my feeling all along, even as a little kid, was I didn't believe when people said we were alone in the universe,” he said. “When you know there are billions of stars and other galaxies out there, it just seems arrogant to think we're alone in the universe. If we're not alone, who knows?”
Local farmer Jason Davis has seen crop circles formed in his wheat, soybean and corn fields, but he's “never seen anything that was unexplained.”
Davis, who grows wheat and barley in Mills River, has had crops blown down in circles or other “funny designs” during summer thunderstorms. Micro-downbursts created by intense weather can sculpt crops in all sorts of ways, he said, laying down crops in odd patterns.
“I've actually been in the fields, cutting hay or working, and seen it happen,” he said. “It's usually the wind.”
For more information about the CMLC speaker series, visit www.carolinamountain.org or contact Sarah Harden at sarahh@carolinamountain.org or 828-697-5777, ext. 211.
Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.