Growing up one of the most influential people in my life was my maternal grandfather Albert Marx. Albert was a product of the Great Depression. It changed him in many profound ways for the rest of his life. He became very frugal because he knew firsthand what it meant to not be able to provide for his family. He learned the art of self-help because there was a time when he couldn't afford to hire anyone to help him. He learned the value of his faith because there was a time when that is all he had. Albert learned to save a little money (even though it was pennies) because he knew that what happened to him in 1929 could happen again. Albert lost his farm in the Great Depression. He ran the first commercial dairy business in Evansville and that also went into foreclosure. His four daughters were sent to live with relatives because he could not afford to feed them. His wife Olivia, a sickly but spirited woman was forced to clean houses for people just to survive. Through it all, Albert never lost his faith, his sense of family, his identity, his generosity, and his sense of humor. His perseverance is what I found admirable. In his latter years, I consulted with him before making any major life or financial moves. Having someone with his experience was a great asset for me while growing-up. Albert liked to play the ponies, (every day). He only bet the $2 minimum on each race and his favorite saying was "It won't make me or break me". At the end of each week, he would make a trip to his bookie and settle up, and he would collect all the racing forms from him to sell as scrap paper. When Albert died, he had 10,000 pounds of paper in his garage to sell. He was waiting for the price to increase but it never did. Albert's house was built on a lot only 25 feet wide, but he still managed to plant 100 tomato plants in his backyard and grow cucumbers on the fence. He shared his harvest with all the neighbors on the block and also bought them groceries when they couldn't. I think about him sometimes when I am placing my limit orders for a stock I want to own. I never buy so much that it would break me if it went bust and one individual order won't make me if it did well. But over time many different stocks, bought at reasonable valuations, can be very rewarding. Even though Albert never fully recovered from the Great Depression, the lessons he taught me have paid off handsomely.
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