Timberlands auction provides glimpse into Southern tradition
“Silence
descended as the
hands of the
clock moved onto
the bewitching
hour. ”
B> JAN LEFEVRE
The shadows of morning shortened as the
clock leaned toward the eleventh hour. David
walked to the open door and looked toward the
street. It appeared that ever>one had arrived,
but policy dictated that he remain patient for
the deadline. Three solidly-built men crowded
onto a deacon’s bench along the wall separat
ing David’s office from the lobby and others
had taken up positions in a circular fashion
around the room. Two conversed quietly in
the comer, next to the narrow loft stairway. All
were dressed in a various assortment of work
attire from khaki pants and plaid shirts to bib
overalls.
The small tum-of-the-century building rest
ed next to the old railroad bed. the track itself
long gone. Because of the odd angle of the
street to the railroad, the structure itself was a
peculiar shape. Maria. David’s wife, explained
that it formerly served as an old grocery store.
The beadboard lining the ceiling and support
ing the chair rail appeared original, but the
bright blue paint was fresh. Filtered light sifted
into the space through miniblinds on the old
windows. The refined grey leather wingback
chairs and large oriental rug on the polished
wood floor seemed to contrast with the old
logging tools, pieces of tree trunks gouged
with machete chops and blazes and deer
antlers protruding from the walls. I wondered
if the room represented the separate touches of
man and woman.
Glancing periodically at the clock. 1 couldn't
help but sense the anticipation that f>ermeated
the room. Firmly grasped in the callused hands
of each buyer was an envelope or two repre
senting the result of several days of exhausting
work, work that included carrying a heavy
machete, dodging poisonous snakes and
trekking through patches of dense under
growth.
David, prepared as a surveyor with engi
neered preciseness, had taken four or five
days, with three extra men. to cover the
Thomas estate himself, measuring, identifying,
recording and marking each tree to be sold.
Four colors of paint indicated various bound
aries and selected cutting areas
Preceding the arrival of the buyers. David
had briefed Dick with his professional litany:
“I'm doing what you hired me to do; tell you
what it’s worth, sell it and supervise the
harvest.” He explained that the buyers would
arrive only shortly before the sale, size up the
competition and present their bids. “They may
David Jennette, president of Timberlands Unlimited, Inc. (left), looks on as Dick Lefevre,
interim vice president for business affairs, congratulates timber buyers f\/lyron Hofler of H.
S. Hofler and Sons Lumber Company and Eric Welker of Union Camp Corporation.
sit outside in their pickups until five minutes
before the sale.” David said, “and I've seen
‘em go into the restroom at the last minute to
change their bid.” David smiled as he fondly
reminisced about his father’s method of
holding bids. “I’ve seen my Daddy carry three
bids on him. one in his sock, another in his hip
pocket and a third in his shirt pocket. Depend
ing on the competition that he saw walk in the
door, he'd pull out a low, medium or high bid
from its hiding place.”
Outlining the process. David explained that
bids would be collected separately for each
parcel and read aloud. He advised Dick on the
minimum bid to accept. “Access, timber and
ground conditions will sell it.” he said.
"There’s not a lot of lumber for sale right now.
I think we’ll have a good day.” His voice
sounded confident and a slight smile emerged
from the comers of his mouth, Dick smiled in
retum as he recalled how he had informed his
colleagues that the timber sale should exceed a
quarter of a million dollars in unrestricted
income. Intrigued with David’s optimism, he
was delighted with the prospect of anticipated
revenues greatly exceeding the original esti
mate.
Silence descended as the hands of the clock
moved onto the bewitching hour. All eye
contact and body movement ceased except for
my glance at Dick. As vice president for
business affairs, he represented the college in
the transaction and his face was expression
less. Yet as my husband. I sensed that his
Brenda Tinkham,
president of ttie
Murfreesboro
Rotary Club,
presents Chowan
College President
Stan Lott with a
$15,000 endowment
for the Murfreesboro
Rotary Club Schol
arship Fund. A
scholarship will be
awarded each year
to a deserving
Hertford County
student attending
Chowan College.
Looking on is Dr
Bruce Whitaker,
past president of
Chowan College
and Johnnye Lott.
exhilaration was rapidly exceeding the lack of
emotion on his face. With his formal suit and
tie, he appeared almost statue-like, standing
behind David on the periphery of the circle.
Precisely at eleven o’clock. David invited
the buyers to put forth any questions about
the property itself. It was critical that every
one understand the exact parameters for each
bid. A solemn buyer asked about right-of-
ways. David explained that loggers could not
traverse the yard surrounding the homestead
to reach timberlands.
“OK, we’ll do it in the order advertized.” he
finally declared. “We’ll start with lot one.’’
David briskly walked around the room and
gathered envelopes from seven outstretched
hands. The only sounds were his muffled
footsteps as he circled the carpet and occa
sional traffic clamor on the street beyond the
open door He carefully tore open the first
envelope, extracted its contents and read the
bid aloud. “Three hundred sixty one thou
sand, six hundred and fifty dollars,” he
declared. I didn’t dare look up. It was much
more than I had expected. David’s assistant
silently wrote down the name of the buyer
and the amount as it was read. David re
peated it. He went on to the next bid and
completed the process six more times. Trying
my best to remain composed, I could feel a
growing knot of excitement in the pit of my
stomach as each offer was read. I swallowed
hard as I realized that the highest final bid for
the first parcel had exceeded four hundred
thousand dollars. Keeping my head down, I
hastily jotted figures in my notebook, trying
my best to look experienced.
Bids were collected and read for the
second parcel. The highest bid again ex
ceeded David’s earlier estimate. He motioned
with his hands for Dick and me to accompany
him into his office behind the glass windows.
His assistant followed silently. As I sat on
the stiff bench next to Dick. 1 sensed e.xperi-
enced eyes observing us through the glass.
After merely a brief pemsement of figures and
David’s steadfast assurance that the highest
bidder on each parcel was reputable, Dick
confirmed his acceptance of the highest bids.
Retuming with an air of solemnity and
decomm, David walked to the outer room and
carefully announced the decision. All but the
highest bidders for the two parcels quietly
ambled out through the open door. The
procedure was now one of protocol and the
excitement of anticipation had retreated. In
what seemed like an instant, the college had
consented to a sale valued at $533,863.00.
As Dick executed the transaction with the
two seasoned buyers, a peculiar feeling edged
—See Timberlands on Page 5
Page 4 — CHOWAN TODAY, December 1996