He would even gladly put them up for the night-the 11 room, inappropriately-named "Mansion house" alone was equipped with about 10 guest beds-so it was only natural for such visitors to flock to SITU Headquarters in droves, sustaining Sanderson-fueled parties that could last for a period of about three days and nights, occasionally four or more. Ivan would wine, dine, and entertain these people. International personages and renegade thinkers such as Charles Hapgood, father of the “earth crust displacement” theory, wandered about the grounds, freely intermingling with SITU scientists, members, and personal friends of Ivan’s who may have casually dropped in from neighboring farms, or who may have just flown in from some other continent. From the 1950s until 1972, the Sanderson Estate (or "the Farm" as everyone living there called it) was a rendevous for the famous, the near-famous, the non-famous, and even the entirely nondescript locals. Ivan Sanderson was an exceedingly generous fellow. Ivan also liked to listen to the comedian Bob Newhart, such as the album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, the comedian Victor Borge, and the lesser-known comic Johnny Standley." Standley was a musician and comedian from Oklahoma who in 1952 sold more than a million copies of his only "hit" record, It's in the Book, which was a song that included a parody / imitation of a country preacher, recorded at a live performance with the accompaniment of "Horace Heidt and his Musical Knights." He liked to play things like Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" from his opera Die Walkure and a three-record African anthology of music-I remember one evening he and Alma did a little dance liked they used to do professionally in the old days, and I still remember the look of love in their eyes. Grybos recalls, "Depending on the way the day had been, sometimes after dinner we'd retire to a back room, and Ivan had a collection of LPs he'd play. Right after breakfast, Ivan and Sabina would pour themselves their first drinks (Ivan liked Ron Rico Light rum and water) and headed for the office, where their desks faced each other.Īs Resident Staff member Richard T. Alma was a late riser and always cheerful. The "strictest" rule was, no one ever talked until they had their first cup of Tetley tea in the morning. First of all, the kitchen had to be kept spotless-something he had done since his days aboard his schooner in the Caribbean. Sanderson - Chapter 13 - Downfallĭied: SITU Headquarters 19 February, 1973Īt the old "Mansion House" (actually just a reasonably large old farmhouse dating from the 1600s) Ivan set out some some house rules for him and his live-in staff.
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