| A Century of Success
It’s the quintessential story of the American dream: A boy who delivered milk bottles before school, dashing to and from his father’s horse-drawn wagon nearly a century ago, is now financially positioned to care for his extended family and his favorite charities. Such is the story of Lincoln resident and NET supporter Les Brehm, who will celebrate his 102nd birthday in August.
Humble beginnings
Brehm was born in 1906 in Harvard, Neb., the son of Russian immigrants and the youngest of five children. The kids pitched in on the family’s modest dairy farm, milking cows, baling hay and delivering frosty bottles of milk to neighbors' doors at dawn. Industrious from the start, by the time Brehm graduated from high school in 1924 – he likes to joke that he's a "Harvard grad" – he'd banked $1,000, earned from selling handcrafted porch swings and doing other odd jobs.
After graduation, while managing the fruit department of his brother's Lincoln grocery store, Brehm was approached by Heinz and took a job in sales, earning $35 a week. His easy demeanor, “gift for gab” and strong work ethic made him a natural salesman. During his first year at Heinz, where he spent his entire career, Brehm sold $25,000 worth of goods in Lincoln; in his last year with the company -- he retired in 1966 – he sold over $500,000 worth of products.
A shrewd businessman
Throughout the years Brehm snapped up floundering farms across the state, and by the 1970s he owned seven, including his family's dairy. One by one he sold them off when the time was right, making a comfortable profit on each and slowly amassing his fortune. "The first farm I bought was my family's in 1939," recalls Brehm. "I paid my parents $3,000 – twice what they owed on the mortgage. Then, many years later, I sold it for $100,000."
A backward glance
Brehm fondly recalls the many evenings he and his wife of 70 years, Fern, (who died in 2000) shared with friends as they enjoyed a potluck supper and Lawrence Welk on television. Those memories are one reason he has included NET Television so generously in his will. “It was more than fifty years ago, but I still clearly remember those evenings. It was just wonderful,” he says.
He’s quick to downplay his success, insisting, “I was just at the right place at the right time” – but anyone who talks with Les Brehm knows the truth. He’s worked tirelessly, lives fully and genuinely cares about those who, even for just a moment, cross his path.
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