Original lot salesman made his home in Ocean Pines

The following appeared in the fall 2021 issue of the Ocean Pines Quarterly Report:

 

John Talbott has been in Ocean Pines since the very beginning, and more than 50 years later he still calls the community home.

After traveling the country, Talbott came to Ocean Pines in 1968 as one of the original lot salesmen and he never left, eventually buying property and raising a family.

Today, he continues to be one of the community’s best and most enthusiastic ambassadors.
 
On the road
 
Talbott is originally from suburban Philadelphia. He attended Millersville University (then Millersville College) in Pennsylvania and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.

In 1959, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
At Fort Sill, Talbott joined the skydiving club and made 47 successful jumps. He was also part of the Fort Sill wrestling team that competed with other Army posts.

"Aside from that, I did like the Army food, which many people complained about, but I liked it,” he said.

Talbott initially served in the infantry, but later had the opportunity to move into “a rather nice, air-conditioned building” in a new role. He was asked if he could type and fibbed “yes,” and then quickly taught himself.

“I dealt with allied personnel from all over the world who came to Fort Sill to enter courses pertaining to artillery,” he said. “I met a lot of people from various countries and it was a very interesting job.”

While at Fort Sill, Talbott said the Army circulated a notice that, “If you were dissatisfied with your present MOS (military occupational specialty), you could volunteer to be an advisor in a place called Vietnam.”

“I knew what Vietnam was and I was getting close to the termination of my duty,” he said. “I didn’t want to be an advisor in Vietnam for a couple of reasons, but mainly because I was getting ready to get out of the service. So, I declined the opportunity to go.”

After the Army, Talbott worked briefly as a substitute teacher near Philadelphia, and then landed a full-time job teaching history and geography in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. During the summers, he worked as a police officer in Ocean City, New Jersey.

After two years of teaching full time, Talbott said he realized he didn’t enjoy “being couped up in a classroom.”

“I was young enough that I wanted to venture out, so I decided that I would try something new,” he said. “I was single at the time and I was talking to some friends about this job where you travel around the United States, get paid good money, get to see the country, and you attend dinners and try and convince people to go down and look at property in Florida. So, I said, ‘I think I’ll give that a whirl!’”

Talbott loved the American West and enjoyed traveling. To date, he’s visited 48 of the 50 U.S. states – all but Alaska and Maine.

He later sold real estate in Florida, promoting the same projects he used to travel to speak about.

“That was a fun job and I enjoyed living in Florida, but then another friend of mine told me about these projects in various states throughout the country where you can sell lots on lakes. And that sounded rather interesting,” he said.
 
Dirt roads and tree stumps
 
Soon after, another friend mentioned a project selling lots near Ocean City, Maryland.

“I said, ‘Near the ocean?’ and they said, ‘That’s right.’ So, I said, ‘When do you want me there?’” Talbott said. “I pulled into town on the seventh day of July in 1968, and opening day was Friday, July 12. And the rest is history.”

That history now spans more than five decades, as Talbott watched Ocean Pines grow “from a stretch of land that was completely wooded, to the beautiful community that it is today.”

In the very beginning, most of Ocean Pines was dirt roads and “coming soon” signs.

“There were not even many dirt roads in the beginning, because they had to create roads,” he said. “But there were enough roads to show people the various lots and where they would be located, based on a map that we would show them.”

Back then, he said, water trucks drove up and down the dirt roads, spraying them to keep the dust down.

“If you were traveling and had prospects in your car, and you veered a little bit to the left or the right off the main area that they had cleared, you would get stuck,” Talbott said. “There was a gentleman by the name of Harry Wilkerson, and we used to call him up if we got stuck.”

Talbott also had the tricky task of selling people on what would eventually be built, including waterfront homes on lots with no water.

He remembers taking potential buyers to empty lots where part of the forest was cleared of trees, but the ground was still covered in tree stumps. He would point to a stake with a red ribbon and explain that was the width of the canal, and the stake with the blue ribbon represented the center of the waterway.

“Here is Mr. and Mrs. Jones and their family, standing there, and I’m telling them there’s going to be a canal – someday – and they’re looking at these tree stumps,” he said. “It was the same thing with the golf course lots. I would be standing there and saying, ‘Do you see where this has all been cleared, way over there where the stake is?’ And they would look at all these tree stumps and I would say, ‘Well, that’s going to be a beautiful fairway.’

“Some people had the vision to believe what was told to them and, of course, many people did not,” he continued. “Those that did became purchasers. And those that did not, years later, said, ‘Gosh, I wish we had done that. Look how it turned out!’”

Talbott said he reassured potential buyers that Boise Cascade would spearhead the new development.

“Boise was a company that some people were familiar with and they were on the New York Stock Exchange, so it was a reputable company and they had done other projects throughout the United States,” he said. “We would be able to show on a map where they had done the same thing – not as elaborate or as large as Ocean Pines – but they were successful projects.”

Although much of the early development was left up to the imagination, Talbott said he instantly fell in love with the area.

“When I arrived on the seventh day in July of 1968, that’s when I decided I wanted to stay,” he said. “I liked the area and I had already done a lot of traveling. And I really, really liked being close to the ocean, so I think that’s what prompted me to stay here.

“I proceeded to buy a lot and, as time progressed, I built a home and then I bought some other properties. We have one on the water now, which we love,” he continued. “I probably bought more property than I should have and at one time I owned quite a few lots, but I believed in real estate, and it’s enabled us to live the way we always dreamed.”

Talbott started dating a local girl from Cambridge in 1976, and they were married in 1979. Today, he and his wife, Karen, have two daughters and two grandchildren.
 
Looking back, and enjoying the view
 
More than 50 years after he first arrived in Ocean Pines, Talbott continues to sell real estate, now as an associate broker for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty.

“I don’t work as hard today as I used to,” he said with a laugh. “Being a Realtor, you have the ability and the freedom to work as much or as little as you wish. However, if you want to be successful and earn money, you can’t work as little as you want – you have to really do it full time. You’re working Saturdays and Sundays and those could be your two busiest days. You don’t really have off, like most normal jobs.”

Back in 1968, Talbott said he never dreamed Ocean Pines would grow into what it is today, in part because the community was being sold as a resort getaway rather than the largest residential community in the county.

“I didn’t foresee it being as successful as it turned out to be, but I’ve been in the community since the beginning and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said. “I actually marvel, every day, when I drive around. I like the beauty of the trees and the landscaping that the community offers, and the way that it was put together.

“And, of course, you can’t overlook the amenities! You can’t duplicate what we have here, and you can’t create waterfront properties anymore,” he continued.

“To this day, if I’m by myself running an errand, I will take in the beauty that the community offers. I really enjoy the environment, and I think a lot of other people would share the same feeling,” Talbott said.