John E "Jack" Mann & Noel Lee Mann
by John F "Jack" Mann
Born at the dawn of the Great Depression, Jack Mann and Noel Kramer grew up and went to school in the New Dorp section of Staten Island, which is part of New York City. However, before the Verrazano Bridge was opened in the early 1960s, life on Staten Island was much more suburban than big city. Travel to Manhattan was by ferry boat across New York Bay. The southern half of Staten Island was actually rural. At the center of Staten Island, the character of New Dorp was that of a moderate size town.
Class of '49
Noel Kramer and Jack Mann, senior year at New Drop High School prom, December 1948.
The Class of '49 graduated in January of 1949.
Bride To Be
Wedding announcement (as written);
"The engagement and coming marriage of their daughter, Noel Lee, to Pfc. John Edward Mann, US Air Force, son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Mann of 6 Bryant avenue, New Dorp, has been announced by Mr. and Mrs. Frederick William Kramer of 40 Bancroft avenue, New Dorp.
Miss Kramer is an alumna of New Dorp High School and attended Baker Business School. Stapleton. She is employed as a receptionist by Ledward Bibby and Company,, Inc. Manhattan.
A graduate of New Dorp High School, Mr. Mann was formerly employed by the Guarantee Trust Company, Manhattan. At present he is stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., where he is studying electronics fundamentals and radar.
Mr. Mann and his fiancee plan a November wedding."
Note: Jack Mann actually lived at 65 Bryant Ave at the time.
1951, Gulfport Mississippi
Newly engaged
Jack was serving in the Air Force
Wedding Day
November 24, 1951
John E (Jack) Mann
&
Noel Lee Mann
Late 1960s
Noel & Jack Mann on vacation in the Caribbean
Through the go-go 1960s on Wall Street, Jack worked his way up to become head of "over-the-counter" trading with Shearson Hammill, then one of the major US investment firms. He was also involved with the formation of Nasdaq.
Excerpts from article (most likely Daily Home News of New Brunswick) late 1967;
"John E Mann, 37, of Kendall Park, assistant vice president in charge of over-the-counter trading for Shearson, Hammill & Co. Inc. has been named a vice president of the New York based securities investment firm.
Prior to joining Shearson, Mr. Mann was a bond trader at Freeman & Company, New York, from 1960 to 1965. He started his career in Wall Street with Cosgrove, Miller & Whitehead in 1955 as a stock trader. From 1958 until 1960 he was a trader for J. R. Williston & Beane, New York."
Similar article was published in the New York Times.
During economic turmoil of the early 1970s, Jack moved to another major investment firm, FI du Pont Glore, Forgan. On the verge of failure, Dupont was essentially "bailed out" by Ross Perot in 1971. Many observers believed that without such action, a domino-like collapse of the Wall Street investment "houses" could occur. Jack worked with the new president, Morton H Meyerson, installed by Perot.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,876994-1,00.html
In the mid 1970s, at the dawn of trading deregulation on Wall Street, known as the "Big Bang", Jack took the bold step of starting a new brokerage in Princeton, New Jersey. This venture did not work out, in large part due to resistance from established firms, such as Merrill Lynch in particular, using influence with regulatory agencies to harass and, ultimately, block operations. Lack of sufficient capital to endure the harassment was another factor. Jack was only slightly ahead of his time though, as new"discount" brokers, such as Charles Schwab, eventually captured a large segment of the investment market.
During his long career, which continued through the crash of 1987, Jack crossed paths with major players on Wall Street and beyond, including Warren Buffet and even Bernard Madoff. There are many fascinating stories to be told and we await his memoirs!
Extensive historical information about the stock market can be found online at the virtual "museum" of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC);
Along with raising 5 children, Noel began a "second career" in the late 1970s. She worked for 20 years at Princeton University, including a long tenure as research secretary for Shirley Tighlman, then head of the new Molecular Biology Department at the University. Mrs. Tighlman has since become the first woman president of Princeton.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_M._Tilghman
Noel worked until 1998 at Princeton and then continued to work at part time office gigs into her 70s. She has been a life long proponent of learning and even attended classes at Mercer County Community College at the age of 77.
During the 1960s, 1970s and even into the 1980s, Jack and Noel were both very active with recreation activities such as Little League Baseball and Girl Scouts. Jack also played a role in local politics during the mid 1960s in Kendall Park.
In later years, they managed two large family reunions (1989; Hamilton NJ & 1997; Staten Island, NY) and, for more than 25 years, have assembled many volumes of family history.
Plans to publish some of the family history in book form this year are underway.
Noel Kramer, 1951
Biloxi, Mississippi
Noel Kramer, age 6
Jack Mann serving in Air Force in Iceland, 1952
Jack Mann, age 1-1/2
