Page 99 - a-columbia-county-boys-recollections-and-memories-of-columbia-county-florida-(2012)-lenvil-h-dicks

A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks

GETTING INTO THE LAND BUSINESS

In the spring of 1956, at the end of the school term in Lake Butler, I moved back to Lake City in
anticipation of taking over the Columbia High School Band in the fall of 1956. My wife and I rented a
small house on South Alachua Street in Lake City, and as soon as the tobacco warehouses opened for
the sale season I worked again for Mr. Rufus Carter at the Tobacco Warehouse, as scale man, weighing
tobacco. That was my last experience at working at the tobacco warehouse, although I feel I did much of
my growing up in that warehouse.

While Ruth and 1 were living in the small rented house on Alachua Street, I heard a rumor that an old
gentleman by the name of Ottis Jones, a retired army Sergeant, had a small farm southeast of Lake City,
and a 3 bedroom concrete block house which he had recently built, and that he wanted to sell the house
and the 138 acres of land.

That interested me greatly, as the location of that little farm was right next door to where my sister Fay
and her husband, Austin Gay, lived, and was about half way between Lake City and my daddy’s farm
where I was raised. So the location really suited me.

I went to see Mr. Jones to see what he wanted for the house and the 138 acres, and he told me I might be
too late. He said there was a Baptist Preacher, a Mr. Raymond Dykes, Who had told him he would be
back out to his place the first part of the morning on the following Saturday and tell him whether or not
he would buy his farm, but that he had not put up any deposit or made any firm deal with him. We
agreed on a price of SI 3,500.00, (which today would not even buy a 1 acre lot,) and the SI 3,500.00
included the 138 acres of land, and a 3 bedroom concrete block house. The house needed a little bit in
the way of finish work inside, but it was largely complete, and only took a little dressing up and some
carpet.

I went back out early the following Saturday morning to see if Mr. Dykes had showed up again and
while 1 was there in the yard talking to Mr. Jones, we shook hands on a deal and he told me to get my
attorney to draw up the contract. While we were talking, Mr. Dykes showed up, and Mr. Jones told him
that he was sorry but he had just sold the place to me.

All Mr. Jones wanted me to do was pay SI,500.00 down, and he would carry a mortgage for 512,000.00
at 6% interest for a 10 year period until 1 could get it paid out. Well, I didn’t have any SI,500.00, but I
made the deal anyway and was able to borrow the S 1,500.00 down payment from my older brother
Tribble, who had been in the Navy some 22 years by that time, and I assumed he had saved up a little
money. He loaned me the $ 1,500.00, and I paid him back $ 100.00 per month until it was paid off, at the
same time I was paying Mr. Jones on the other S12,000.00.

Looking back now, I cannot believe that I bought 138 acres of land, and a new house, for $13,500.00,
with the land being situated no more than 5 miles from Lake City. I still find that almost unbelievable,
but the Lord has always looked out for me, and I am thankful. Many people over the years have asked
me how I managed to get into the Real Estate Development Business, and it came about more or less by
accident. After I had bought the land from Mr. Jones, I had quite a number of people who came to me
and urged me to sell them just a 10 acre piece off of it. They did not want all that much land but they
would like to own 10 acres. I did not have any interest in starting to sell off pieces of my farm, but the

www.LakeCityHistory.com LCH-UUID: B423BA50-F22B-4D87-A44C-403308C92982