High Strangeness: Intergalactic UFO Headquarters -- Part II

Friday, January 10, 2014

Intergalactic UFO Headquarters -- Part II

I recently wrote about my interest in buying the fabulous Gobbler restaurant here in southern Wisconsin and turning it into an intergalactic UFO research and investigation center, and I am happy to report that the idea seems to have legs.

I had a long talk with the realtor the other day, and he loves the idea, but that's not surprising as he's desperate to sell. The flying saucer-shaped building has been on the market for over a decade, and as far as I can tell the price has been dropped to about a quarter of the original number.
Turkeys were all the thing at The Gobbler back in the 1970s.

So that means there's a real opportunity here... There's a great interest locally to preserve the building, but, inexplicably, there doesn't seem to be any interest in re-opening it as a restaurant. The realtor told me that the building has a huge basement that would be perfect for archiving historical documents and research materials, and the kitchen, the showy dining area and the upper dance floor create some interesting entertainment options...

I was up front with the realtor about the fact that I have no money for this, but that didn't deter him in the least. I think he's willing to pursue any possibility to unload this turkey; I just need to come up with a plan (I should point out that The Gobbler was built by a local turkey farmer, so that was a joke). What's not a joke is this genuine vintage TV commercial for the original restaurant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AajNoE2AqnY

My first idea died quickly: Kickstarter funds can not be used to purchase real estate.

My second idea died just as quickly: Approaching millionaire UFO fan Robert Bigelow and asking him to write a fat check just reminded me that when he offered huge money to MUFON it allegedly had a very large string attached -- namely, that he would own everything MUFON discovered using his money. Sure, that's fair if you're writing the check, but if I'm going to create a permanent home for decades of priceless UFO documents, they have to be available to everyone.

So, the funding is a hurdle. But the need grows larger every day. I have made appointments to visit the two CUFOS archives in Chicagoland next week, and the conversation about scanning documents elicited some heartfelt concern about the future of this material, and what a huge job it will be to preserve it all...

So, who knows? Maybe the time is right to make this happen. I'll be talking to the archive-keepers over the next few weeks to see how they feel about it, and I will report back to you.


Double Nought Spy said...

Seems like a great idea. Too bad about Kickstarter. I didn't know about the rule against purchasing property. There is probably something similar out there that you could use, I would think.

Setting up a non-profit for the project would have a lot of advantages, but it's a lot of work and there are expenses involved. I think you could get donations from a lot of us, but finding the right approach is key.

The building looks like it will need a lot of work no matter what it ends up being used for, and with so many non-standard features it will be more costly than an ordinary rectangular structure. Renting office space and meeting rooms is a good way to pay the utility bills.

Good luck!

Mark OC said...

All good thoughts, Double Naught, thank you! A friend who runs a not-for-profit recommended that I start a n-f-p foundation, which could be allowed under Kickstarter rules. Clearly, I have a LOT of research ahead of me... Thank you for the support!