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The Marett Brothers | Highlands History
Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2020/11 - November
The Brothers Marett may have a lesson for us about conducting business in an upright fashion, but this article goes off the rails about half-way down.
Brothers S.T. Mar-ett and George Mar-ett (last names spelled the same, pronounced differently) were dominant players in growing Highlands business in the 1920s.
It’s not clear why the brothers, who got along fine, chose to accent opposite syllables in their last names.
Perhaps it was to distinguish one from the other. Or maybe it was because their personalities were opposite, one informal, the other, businesslike. S.T. was the reserved brother, George, laid-back.
Is there something in a name that was given you that shapes your character? Or does your character shape your name?
Think of all the Georges you’ve known: George Clooney, George of the Jungle, George Goble, King George, George Bush … Okay, we’ve gone too far. But George does sound more welcoming and accessible than S.T., which is definitely a bit stuffy. Then again, maybe S.T.’s role model was JP Morgan.
Could have been worse. . .the brothers could have been from the Jakob Fugger family. Fugger, a.k.a. Jakob the Rich, a German entrepreneur of the 1500s, was allegedly the richest man ever lived. I guess if you are the wealthiest man ever, you wouldn’t care what your name was. Who’s going to give you a hard time? They’re too busy cozying up to you. And that little name diversion carries us back to The Wealthy of the Modern Era.
In Ran Shaffner’s Heart of the Blue Ridge, he shares Bill Holt’s story about S.T., a banker:“ … whenever as a young man he (Bill) brought a dollar or two to deposit in his savings account at Highlands Bank, Mr. S.T. Marett would always say, ‘It isn’t what you make that counts, Richard, it’s what you save.’”
That doesn’t sound too stuffy; in fact, it sounds downright practical, unless one’s money is locked in a vault and never enjoyed.
George wound up buying Bascom’s Hardware Store and added a grocery to it. He was also a founder of Highlands Bank, his brother S.T. serving as director.
One thing they shared, aside from genes, was merit for helping shape the future of Highlands.
To learn more about Highlands evolution, read Ran’s Heart of the Blue Ridge. Or go to: www.highlandshistory.com or email [email protected]
