Villages chief buys forest land
 

July 16--The Villages President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Morse and his daughter Kelsea Morse Manly have purchased nearly 2,400 wooded acres just east of the Ocklawaha River in Marion County.

The father-daughter team bought the land from Rayonier Forest Resources through a newly created Florida company, Cow Hammock LLC. Both father and daughter are registered as managers of that company, according to state Division of Corporations records. The pair registered the company in April.

Neither Morse nor Manly returned a reporter's telephone calls. Their plans for the land, which is south of Fort McCoy and east of Ocala, are unclear. The property is zoned for agriculture use.

Cow Hammock bought the 2,391.42 acres for $7,041,566 from Rayonier, an international lumber, paper and real estate conglomerate based in Jacksonville.

Manly is part owner, along with her siblings, of Villages Communications Inc. The registered address of both the communications company and Cow Hammock is listed as 1020 Lake Sumter Landing, The Villages.

Morse and Manly were two of eight people in a well-publicized case involving illegal big game hunting in Montana. In 2011, Manly appeared in Yellowstone County Justice Court and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges.

Citing court records, the Billings Gazette reported that Manly pleaded guilty to killing a turkey without a license and hunting an elk without the proper license. Her attorney, Matthew Wald, told the judge that his client had an elk license but not the license required to hunt with a bow. She was ordered to pay $2,095 in fines but was not banned from owning a fishing or hunting license.

Her father pleaded guilty in Yellowstone and Big Horn counties earlier this year to hunting elk without a license in 2007 and 2008. He was ordered to pay fines totaling $4,500 but was also not banned from owning a fishing or hunting license. The other six charged were family members, friends and business associates.

Morse owns the M Square Ranch in the Pine Ridge area of Yellowstone and Big Horn counties. He also co-owns Wolf Mountain Ranch in Big Horn and Rosebud counties, Montana.

It's unknown if the newly purchased land in Marion County will be used for hunting.

amusement park?
 

maybe they are going to put an amusement park (with a shooting gallery) with free admission to all village residents,, as a thank you for all the billions they have bilked out of us.. guilt is setting in, and they are wanting to make amends for all the wealth they have created on the backs of senior citizens, with non -union illegal aliens.
this goes to show there is a God and we all must meet our maker and pay for our sins,, this just happens to be a 7 million dollar pay up,, not much for these folks!!!

maybe that's where the villages buffalo will go to roam?

Obviously not much oxygen in that box down by the river!

Smart people are from Indianapolis!

I'm more confused now than I normally am. Details please.:confused:

Still bearing the cross....Lot's of hate

.
...If you know a "GOOD" tax attorney.....ask them why they think the purchase of that forest land makes perfect sense.......

Heck, maybe that land will become "Villages-North"....at a later date.

Just look at "The Woodlands"....North of Houston,TX......
Mighty nice high-end homes were built in that old forest.

What the...?:censored::confused:

My guess too

Who cares?

Another negative hateful post...................

hooray
 

Good for them they deserve it, they make the investment and keep the economy rolling here.Where would we be without the Morses....

Hope they keep up the good work and have lots of fun. They earned it, they can spend it anyway they want. One thing I would like to see built here is an indoor shooting range. Hint, Mr. Morse. *S*

It is too far away to have an impact on our tee times!

With TV entering it's last stated/admitted phase, the "Villages-North" was my first thought as well.

Thanks for posting.

Bilked?
 

I'm confused. How has the developer "bilked" residents of The Villages? Are you alleging fraud? On what basis? Or is it your belief that creating a successful, high-value community where many people choose to buy/live/retire....while making a PROFIT constitutes bilking? Is profit a dirty word? When did it become a dirty word?

Land
 

Good for them. I hope it makes them another $100 million.

brownwood and woods just like going to torch lake

Wow, what a nasty post. Who have they bilked ? I think most of us are here of our own free will.
You must be a very unhappy person.

Thats what im thinking,The Villages II.

Good Lord VS, how in the world did you become so hateful of this paradise we call home. We thank our lucky stars everyday that we have found a place like this to enjoy our golden years in. As far as I know we're all here by self choice and I can't think of $1.00 that I've been bilked out of. I'm thankful that someone had the foresight to plan a community such as The Villages to give us our reward for many many years of hard work and sacrifice. If I was as unhappy as you seem to be the last place I would want to be is on this cruise ship.
Skip 2:spoken:

Outstanding Skip2MySue!

As my late old granny would say "Some people would cry if they were hung with a new rope"

Bosoxfan, this post by Indy answers your question. :laugh:

Cow Hollow is a neighborhood in San Francisco

Neighborhoods in San Francisco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


not to be confused with the Cow Palace in San Francisco

Cow Palace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Wonder why the Morse's picked that name for one of their corporations?

oops - just read the article again and the corp name is cow hammock not cow hollow
(at least it was interesting reading about cows in SF)


.

I totally agree with the comments from Skip2MySue

There must be something about the word Hammock that means something special to the Morses..They called the village where old Mr. Schwartz lived "Hickory Head Hammock"...which I thought to be whimsical.

I hope I live long enough to read a book that really tells us some of this stuff about our home town and it's creators.

Hi Jimbo2012,
Thanks for the interesting information. Only time will tell what their plans are for the property. Whatever their plans, I wish them well!

Again I say why don't you close the lid on your box and float down that river. You need help.

OP provided some new information to TOTV. Unforturnately one very negative poster, changed the whole thread. With all the responses to that post we can only hope it will be the last.

gg - according to wiktionary a land hammock is "A piece of land thickly wooded, and usually covered with bushes and vines." and the free dictionary states that the word is a variation on the word 'hummock' meaning, "A tract of forested land that rises above an adjacent marsh in the southern United States".

thanx for helping me learn something new today! it was getting late to do so! ;)

The Morse Family works harder than any of us
 

I have to say that after working for 'The Villages' for over 12 yrs, I know for sure that Gary Morse's children all work their butts off. It is a known fact that they are the 1st ones in and the last to leave and everyone better keep up. They are all down to earth and a pleasure to know.

I'm retired now and able to enjoy the rewards of "The Villages" and have to say, I love it here so much. No one has bilked anything from me or my husband. If they had, there would have been Hell to pay years ago.

We love how the landscaping looks when we leave the house. We love being able to enjoy everything that is offered without worry.

I say this to the "Morse Family"! Go and get 'em! You deserve every penny- oh and 'thank you so much-I owe ya one!':bowdown:

:BigApplause:

Jimbo, I curious to know where the article you posted was published.

Here's where I saw it:

Ocala.com

Bill :)

Just curious...does everyone else get the pleasure of a PM from the ""gentleman"" known as VS when they comment on his absurd, ridiculous posts....what's up with this guy????

Let's stick to the topic of land acquisition and stop discussing other members.

If I told U I'd have to ....;)

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