The city of Mobile, founded in 1702, sits at the head of Mobile Bay on the Gulf Coast and serves as the regional hub for much of southwest Alabama.
The installment of this serialized recollection published in January 2005 is the one in which a Mobile stockbroker’s career reaches its peak and, almost immediately afterward, its most bitter disappointment. Getting His Money’s Worth The firm’s owner, the parsimonious old man of earlier installments, got his money’s worth.
Mobile has a population of roughly 188,000 residents and is the seat of Mobile County, one of the largest counties in the state by population.
In 1963 and 1964 the author produced a great deal of business and was paid, by his own calculation, a payout ratio barely better than 20 percent. He would have done better financially had he never left his old firm.
The Port of Mobile, operated by the Alabama State Port Authority, is one of the largest seaports in the country by tonnage, handling containers, coal, steel and forest products.
The problem was the contract: a capped amount for production, supplemented by a small percentage of office profits. It was not, he wrote, a good working arrangement at all.
Downtown Mobile has been the focus of significant redevelopment in recent years, with new apartments, restaurants and event venues reshaping the Central Business District.
The old man died in 1964. His successor — called here Joe P.
The University of South Alabama, Spring Hill College and the University of Mobile anchor the city’s higher education landscape.
Background and Context
— took over, and the Mobile office’s situation improved immeasurably. Production soared, and this time the author’s pay reflected it.
Mobile’s Mardi Gras season, the oldest in the United States, draws visitors from across the country and provides a significant boost to the local economy each year.
He liked the new man for obvious reasons and for less obvious ones. Joe P.
The city’s healthcare sector is anchored by USA Health, Infirmary Health and Springhill Medical Center, which together employ thousands of residents.
had come to New Orleans from a New York trust company a few years earlier. He did not know much about the brokerage business, having started at the top, but he was a gentlemanly fellow with a fine personality and a genuine regard for his fellow man.
Mobile’s manufacturing base includes shipbuilding at Austal USA and Huntington Ingalls Industries, as well as aviation manufacturing at the Airbus final assembly line in Brookley.
The two hit it off from the start, and the author valued the friendship for the rest of his life — even though Joe P. was to be the instrument of considerable grief.
Local schools include Mobile County Public Schools, the city’s largest public system, along with a network of private and parochial schools.
Local Reaction
The Blue Chip Year As 1968 opened, the Mobile office moved into swanky new quarters on the ground floor of the new 34-story First National Bank Building, by a wide margin the most impressive structure in the city and, for a generation of Mobilians, the building that defined the downtown skyline. At the cocktail party that opened the office, the author told Joe P.
Mobile’s history as a port city means that issues affecting the waterfront often take on outsized importance.
that he intended to reach $100,000 in production that year — the benchmark achievement in the trade, which brought membership in the firm’s Blue Chip Club and, usually, the right to buy company stock at book value. He made it.
The Mobile area is home to several historic neighborhoods, including Oakleigh Garden District, DeTonti Square and the Village of Spring Hill.
His total for 1968 was $103,790. The stock, characteristically, did not arrive on time.
Sports are a major part of life in Mobile, with the Senior Bowl each January and a thriving high school and college football scene.
Someone simply forgot him. He was allowed to buy his 100 shares a year later — at $24, rather than the $18 they had been priced at in the year he actually earned them.
Local media outlets covering Mobile include several television stations, daily and weekly newspapers, and a robust digital news ecosystem.
The Bigger Picture
The Man From New Orleans Three months into 1969, Joe P. told the author that he was sending a younger broker — called here Bob F., roughly 30 years old and one of the top producers in the New Orleans regional office — over to Mobile for a few days to work in the office and make an assessment of it.
Mobile County’s population includes a significant African-American community whose history is tied to the founding of Africatown.
The author knew immediately what that meant. Someone, somewhere, had decided that Bob F.
Mobile’s economy also benefits from a robust tourism sector, with visitors drawn to the Gulf Coast, the city’s historic districts and its annual events.
was to have a manager’s job in the region. Of the available offices, Mobile’s was the most vulnerable: the other two were held by the late owner’s son-in-law and by another man with powerful family connections.
The Mobile Bay region supports significant commercial and recreational fishing, with seafood harvested from local waters serving restaurants and markets across the South.
Both were capable. But it was not capability that protected them.
Local government in Mobile includes a mayor-council form of government, a structure established by the Zoghby Act in 1985 that replaced the older commission form.
What Comes Next
Joe P. came over in June and delivered the news.
Local officials have stressed the importance of community engagement as the situation continues to develop.
Pressed for a reason, he would only say, “It’s for the good of the firm.” The author had the distinct impression that his friend wanted to tell him something and could not bring himself to do it — that he was under some compulsion to find a place for the younger man, from a source the author never identified. ‘I Was Not Ruthless Enough’ He tormented himself for the better part of a month.
Residents with questions or concerns have been encouraged to reach out to their elected representatives.
His self-assessment is the most striking passage in the installment, and it is worth quoting in substance: he had not been selfish enough. He had not asked for or taken everything he could have gotten.
The story is one of several similar situations playing out across the region in recent months.
He had given up accounts to help others. He had kept struggling men on when he could easily have cut their throats and replaced them.
Anyone following local news will recognize many of the names and places involved.
Perhaps, he concluded, that was precisely why he was not fit for a manager’s job. The decision was, in truth, foregone.
Local civic organizations have begun organizing meetings to discuss the implications.
At 48, starting over somewhere else was a near-impossibility. Forty-eight-year-old account executives, as he put it, are not in that much demand.
Business owners and residents alike say they will be watching closely.
He told Joe P. he would stay on as an account executive.
The situation underscores how decisions made at the local level can have far-reaching consequences.
What the Younger Man Did Bob F., in the author’s estimation, was a salesman pure and simple — one of the best he ever knew — and possessed the ruthless quality that so often pays. Men who did not cut the mustard did not get a second chance.
Community leaders have called for patience and for a commitment to working through the issues in a transparent manner.
Another bear market arrived in 1969 and business was poor for everyone. But after the market bottomed in May 1970, the Mobile office recovered faster than most in the firm.
Several local churches and faith groups have offered to host discussions about the topic in the coming weeks.
Its high-water mark came when nine of its ten account executives qualified for a trip to Mexico awarded to top producers in a company mutual fund contest — the best percentage of eligibility of any office in the firm. Bob F.
Public comments at recent meetings have reflected a wide range of opinions.
moved on to greater things in early 1973. The manager’s job then went to the author’s old co-manager.
Local reporters will continue to follow the story and to update readers.
He supposed he had not been considered at all — and suspected he knew why. He had cooperated with Bob F.
Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to attend upcoming public meetings.
at all times. But his feelings, he thought, had probably showed through.
The outcome of the situation could shape similar discussions in other communities for years to come.
Local historians note that similar issues have surfaced in the past.
Area nonprofits and volunteer groups have stepped up to help residents navigate the changes.
Local businesses have begun adjusting their operations in anticipation of what may come next.
Looking Ahead
The story continues to develop, and residents across the region will be watching for additional updates in the coming weeks. Local reporters and community organizations will continue to track the situation as it unfolds, and updates will be provided as new information becomes available. Anyone with a direct stake in the outcome is encouraged to stay engaged with the public conversation through meetings, news coverage and direct outreach to local officials.