Guzzo the Contrarian

The home that Ben Bernanke grew up in, fell victim to the mortgage crisis. According to the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Real Estate section: Fed Chief’s Boyhood Home Is Sold After Foreclosure.

According to an excerpt from that article:

Mr. Bernanke’s family sold the property more than a decade ago. It ended up on the block late last year after its former owners fell behind on their mortgage payments.

Even more ironically, Mr. Bernanke’s childhood home, located in Dillon, S.C. was recently purchased for $83,000.00 by banker, Travis Jackson, through a foreclosure sale. It seems as though Mr. Jackson, also a Dillon resident, jumped at the chance to own a piece of economic history and wants to keep the house as much as it was when Ben Bernanke lived in it.

While needing a little sprucing up, the home does have nice curb appeal. Watch the slideshow and decide for yourself. It seems to me like Mr. Jackson got a good deal on his purchase.

The article also provides interesting tidbits about Mr. Bernanke’s young life growing up in Dillon. What I found most interesting was:

Mr. Bernanke’s grandfather Jonas, a pharmacist, opened Jay Bee Drug Co. on Main St. in 1941. His father, Philip, and uncle, Mortimer, eventually bought the drug store and became admired figures in the community, famous for their personal touch with customers.

Bernanke was born in Augusta, Ga., but grew up in Dillon, S.C., a small rural farming and furniture manufacturing community located just a few miles from the North Carolina border. His father, Philip, was a pharmacist at the Jay Bee Drug Co., a store founded by Philip’s father, Jonas, who moved to South Carolina from New York in search of a quieter life.

His uncle, Mortimer Bernanke, RPh, is still the pharmacist in charge.

Hat tip to Tracy Alloway at ft.com/alphaville.