Looking for a history book about a Jacksonville legend?
Raymond K. Mason, who died Jan. 2 at the age of 92, co-authored a biography of his mentor, Jacksonville-based financier Ed Ball.
It was published in 1976 and titled with Ball’s toast: “Confusion to the Enemy.”
Ball died in 1981 at the age of 93.
Ball’s interests included Florida National Bank, Florida East Coast Railway, St. Joe Paper Co., shares of General Motors and real estate. A bronze plaque hangs on the second-floor of the city-owned Downtown Edward Ball Building, which previously served as headquarters for the bank.
“He has fought unions, the federal government, and anyone else he felt was trying ‘to poke their heads into where they don’t belong.’ Most of the time he emerged victorious,” says the book jacket.
The book’s appendix is the marriage contract Ball signed in 1933 with his only wife, whose real name is not used. It has 19 rules, including one governing constructive criticism at a frequency that did not constitute “fault-finding or nagging, as these two latter qualities are at all times to be most studiously avoided.”
The union ended in divorce.
Mason’s daughter, Marcy Mason Moody, said copies of the 203-page book are available for free. Pickup can be arranged by calling (904) 396-8166.
