(An excerpt from my memoir, My Life In The Sunshine)
I retired last year after fifty years of appraising real estate. Forty of those years, I owned Northland Research Corporation, following the path of my grandfather, father, uncles, and aunt.
My grandfather owned about sixty acres of land in Colt, Arkansas. His children, including my father, worked on the farm.
Each of my aunts and uncles eventually moved to Cleveland and carried on the tradition of self-employment and self-determination. My father started his real estate business in 1942 after being refused a promotion at Harshaw Chemical. My aunt was a nurse. One uncle was a college professor. Another uncle owned a milk route. A third uncle owned a cleaners. A fourth uncle became a researcher at NASA but also had his own home repair business.
After college, I joined White Motors as the Manager of the International Division. When the company began to fall on hard times, I became a systems analyst with Standard Oil Company. But like my elders, I felt that tug of working independent of corporate America.
My father had told one of his best friends that he wanted me to join him in his real estate business. All I knew about the real estate industry was that you sell houses. I knew that would not be a good choice based on my personality. But to appease my father, I took courses in real estate thinking that when I told him I wasn’t interested, he knew I had considered it.
One of the courses was Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Appraising. George Male was the instructor. After about a month, he asked me to stay after class.
“Everett, I think you should seriously consider appraising as a career. You are the only person in this room who understands what I’m saying.”
George, an elderly white man, then said, “This industry is made up of old white men. We need to change that. And if you decide and need help along the way, I’ll be there for you.”
That sealed the deal for me. Appraising was more analytical, which was right up my alley. So, I told my father I would join the firm if we focused on appraising. He agreed.
Later, I went on to start my firm.
I was telling this history to one of my friends, and his response was, “It was only natural, Prewitt. It was in your blood.”
Indeed.
