•Part 3
Continuing with The Big Four, as the late local lawyer and historian John Gallaspy called the four iconic stores on Columbia Street in his terrific book "'The City That Refused To Die' Bogalusa's First Hundred Years," the focus of this week's column is M. Marx and Sons. In order to do it justice, I must relay Mr. John's introduction, "The founder of Marx's was born in Minsh, Russia, son of Rabbi Ulvik Purdock, who was the Preeminent Rabbi of his province, and his son was accepted by the Jewish establishment as the inevitable successor to the father's dais. But when the son found out about his prospects, or more accurately his seemingly inescapable destiny, he took matters in his own hands and evacuated, ran away, and came to what even as late as the turn of the century was still considered the new world and the land where ones destiny was within his own control. And when he got here he changed his name to Max Marx and shed the last string holding him to the prearranged career. The rabbinical life was not to be for him." After arriving in America, Max Marx married Minnie Levin in New Orleans in 1895.
As I understand it, Mr. John relied on Rosemary Engerran Marx, widow of Louis Marx, for historical details of the Marx family and store. The couple married in 1942. But before that, she worked at M. Marx's, in the office. Digressing, Rosemary Engerran Marx (1915-2019), the daughter of Claude Neville Engerran (a local pharmacist) and Marguerite Babin Engerran, was the sister of Myrtle Engerran Dittmer who was "Miss" Myrt, a very kind lady, to me. She worked for my father in the bookkeeping office of the Bogalusa Community Medical Center for many years. While I regret not having gotten to know her sister Rosemary, I knew "Miss" Myrt well.
A devout Catholic and recipient of the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion Award, Ms. Rosemary lived to the ripe age of one hundred and three, and having run M. Marx & Sons with her husband Louie until it closed, she was a veritable authority on the subject. In addition after their own family business closed, Rosemary became the office manager at Berenson's. She and her husband raised their children in Bogalusa: son Barry Louis Marx (Wendy) and daughters Deborah Craig (Stephan) and Marsha Ingram (Denis). Not only was Rosemary Marx a wonderful dancer and bridge player, but also she was an avid sports fan, cheering for the LSU Tigers, New Orleans Saints, and Houston Astros. From all accounts, Rosemary Marx was a grand lady.
Back to the store, working first in New Orleans, Max Marx (1863-1936) put together enough capital to purchase from LeRoy Pierce two lots in the L.A. Pierce Subdivision for four hundred dollars on April 2, 1907. The property, which offered room to exponentially expand, was sagely positioned across from Great Southern Lumber where, as Mr. John noted, workers got regular checks. And the Marx family lived upstairs in the original store which was built on these two lots. Mr. Marx had the golden touch, growing the business into what became known as the Million Article Store. Reading an issue of the "Bogalusa Enterprise," dated July 1, 1915, which I found in my father's files, I learned that in just seven short years the store took up eleven thousand feet in floor space and the stock was valued at sixty to seventy thousand dollars. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.9 to 2.25 million in today's dollars.
While Marx sold hardware and building supplies, his store was all encompassing. As described in the "Bogalusa Enterprise" of July 1, 1915, "Dry goods, groceries, shoes, clothing, hardware, builders' supplies, fertilizer, seeds of all kinds, farm machinery, buggies, wagons, in fact everything from a needle to an elephant can be purchased here." So the store's slogan was perfectly logical, "We have it, we will get it, or it's not made." The newspaper also acknowledged what an enthusiastic citizen and booster Mr. Marx was, in Bogalusa. Mr. John shared the report in his book of Marx's even serving as a mortgage company, helping a widow who lost her husband during the 1918 flu epidemic build a home for her children.
But everything wasn't coming up roses on Columbia Street in the early twentieth century. I learned from Mr. John's book that there were "bandits," as Ms. Minnie described them, creating havoc and firing guns on Columbia Street. But William Sullivan of Great Southern Lumber engaged Wiley Magee and Bob Carson, who must have been much like "The Equalizer," to restore order.
From what I was able to discern, Max and Minnie Marx had at least seven sons: George, Joseph, Isodore, David, Louis, William, and Bennie. As I mentioned, Rosemary was married to Louis Marx. While certainly there are descendants galore, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Stanley Barry Marx (1929-2018), son of David Marx and wife Sarina Mondshine Marx. According to his obituary, he was both born and raised in Bogalusa. It was there that his family, the Marxes owned the "Marx Million Article Store." I kept his obit which appeared in "The Times-Picayune" on June 29, 2018. It was mesmerizing - Mr. Stanley who played running back at Georgia Tech was more importantly "the most productive running back Bogalusa High ever had." And a self-declaration, he was apparently a "Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech and a Hell of an Engineer." In addition, he was a Saints season ticket holder for fifty years.
Married to Carol Davis Marx for sixty-two years, Stanley was survived by son Stephen (Debbie) and daughter Leslie Gerstung. His grandchildren were Greta and Amelia, daughters of Leslie, and Jeremy, John, and George, sons of Stephen and Debbie Marx. And this was what caught my eye. My daughter Betsy grew up with Jeremy Marx; they were classmates in the gifted program. And they were also in orchestra/band together. Jeremy was exceptionally talented in music. And all the while, both had roots in Washington Parish. Jeremy's trace directly back to the Marx Million Article Store.
