A noise described as a "single loud bang" by many who heard it shook Groveland Station last Friday, May 17, at about 10 p.m. The noise reportedly rattled windows and brought persons outside to check what was going on. There was immediate speculation that it might have been a great clap of thunder, a low flying plane breaking the sound barrier, a cannon firing or even a meteor entering the atmosphere.

However, four days later, after a thorough search of the area where the sound was heard, and after questing many residents, the noise remains as much of a mystery as when it was first heard.

Groveland Station resident Charles Keenan related, "It sounded like a black powder cannon or gun to me. It did not seem very far away from my home. The sound was enough to rattle the windows in my house and those of my neighbors who also came out to see what it was."

Keenan saw a Groveland fire truck driving down the tracks to investigate behind the houses.

According to Livingston County Undersheriff Jim Szczesniak, all that is really known is that a very loud noise was heard by many people in and near Groveland Station. However, those who are claiming to have heard an "explosion" may be making an assumption which is unwarranted. Szczesniak cautions against interpreting the sound as something more dramatic than it actually may have been.

"Fire and law enforcement first responders explored the area after the sound was heard and they were not able to come to any conclusion as to what it was," Szczesniak reported. "The possibility exists for any number of explanations, but we don't want to speculate what it could have been."

"Things were thoroughly checked out and no kind of environmental harm, or evidence of human injury, could be found," Szczesniak advised.

Livingston County Emergency Coordinator Kevin Niedermaier has suggested that volunteers go door-to-door during daylight hours, to see if there has been any damage - such as buildings shifted or broken glass - to any structure in the hamlet, including structures which are not occupied.

"Maybe something went wrong with a gas heater or some appliance of that nature," Niedermaier said. "You really need to do a good visual inspection of the entire area to see if something shows up that might have been missed that night."

Groveland Fire Chief Steve Teeter, speaking with The County News understands that the sound was heard by almost every person in Groveland Station. People as far south as Caldwell Road and as far north as Wise Road, at the southern and northern extremities of the hamlet, confirmed hearing and feeling the noise. To the west, the noise was heard by persons as far away as Route 36.

Teeter and his volunteers have scoured virtually all of Groveland Station, going door-to-door interviewing people and inquiring if anyone knows what happened. Teeter, who lives outside the hamlet, did not hear the noise himself, but said that persons told him it was more like a "quick flash" than a sound having any duration.