Just had a chat with the wife of the fellow who bought this ground (even though their names are out in some media outlets, I said I'd respect her request to keep their names out of our discussion). And remember, this is just one side of the story.
She said this was the one piece of ground her husband had been wanting for years. The other bidder was another local farmer, from the sound of it, more of a BTO than her husband (who's a dairy farmer). She said the other fellow had told her husband a couple of years ago (when they were friends) that he would do whatever he needed to in order to get that piece of land. Said her husband, from that point on, basically lost a friend. So, then it come up on for sale and it was just the 2 of them bidding. She said the bidding lasted about 10 minutes. Said the town, including their bankers, was behind them in getting the land and said they were excited when they did.
Funny part of it: She said she was actually at the dentist getting a tooth filled while the auction was going on, and her husband came in to get the checkbook from her. Said that was when she knew something had happened!
She said they're worried about the public view of them being negative simply because of the dollar amount they paid. But, she wanted to assure me that they've worked for every nickel they've made, and they're going to continue to do it. Said the best part of the process was having the support of their community all along.
I'm trying to hunt down some more information on this -- hope to have some more information up ont he site in the next day or so.
