The Great Depression was three years old in 1932. Fifteen million Americans were out of work. Durward Howes had a problem. Sales at his luxury jewelry store in Los Angeles had slowed to a trickle. Who would buy a flashy watch or engagement ring when they could barely make three squares a day?

Durward didn't despair. He diversified. He kept his business open. But in the office behind the showroom, he began to create a publishing business. He wrote and began to promote what would become a widely acclaimed series of inspirational books. Titles like "The Ten Most Successful Young Men in America" and "The Ten Most Successful Young Women in America." The young people he featured were not necessarily financial wizards. He stressed character and quality and decency. He held meetings around America featur­ing appearances by the youngsters in the books – and the sales from these events tided him over until the jewelry business gradually began to revive.

That same year, Durward founded the Economic Round Table. He called 17 mostly young men together to discuss "economic matters" in the belief that regular discourse among them would be mutually beneficial.

Durward was a charismatic, natural leader. He showed amazing judgment in his se­lection of the appropriate people to be the first Rounders. All of them were haunted by the Depression in one way or another. But they were equally determined to survive and thrive – and they were there for each other during those trying times. And the Economic Round Table would also go on to survive and thrive – with a mysterious chemistry which is difficult to explain to outsiders, but which binds its members to this day with a rare sense of fellowship and understanding.

Beyond the creation of the Economic Round Table, Durward's exceptional energy, enthusiasm and organizational gifts were already widely recognized. He had been elected President of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1928 and again in 1929. He then became President of the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1930. And later he would become President of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles and President of The Lincoln Club.

When World War Two broke out, Durward was appointed Director for Los Angeles of The Office of Price Administration. This made him czar of gasoline and food rationing for Los Angeles for the duration of the war. Quite a few friends and acquaintances tried to get him to slip them some extra gasoline or food coupons. Durward always refused.

Durward was a delegate to several Republican conventions and was a close friend of both Herbert Hoover and Barry Goldwater. He considered Herbert Hoover to be one of the finest men he'd ever met – and he accompanied Hoover on several campaign trips by train in 1932. Later, as a fervent Barry Goldwater supporter, he actually opened a jewelry store in Goldwater's department store in Phoenix.

In person, Durward was a genial and engaging man. And Phil Swan, who was spon­sored into ERT by Durward, said that Durward "had a unique ability to make you feel you were the only person in the room when you were talking with him." Coleman Morton re­called that Durward was always warm and friendly, but never a backslapper.

Durward was born in 1899 in Clinton, Iowa, where his father, Durward Sr, had found­ed a jewelry store in 1870. The family moved to Los Angeles and Durward Sr established a jewelry firm downtown at the corner of Seventh and Grand. The store was on the second floor. After young Durward graduated from Stanford University, he joined his father and the firm was named B.D. Howes and Son.

In 1921, Durward married Maxine Ecclestone, who was a second-year student at UCLA. The marriage was extremely happy, lasting until Durward's death in 1981 at the age of 82. Maxine lived on for twenty-five more years, dying in 2006 at the remarkable age of 106!

Durward and Maxine started out their married life in a home out on mid-Wilshire Boulevard. The house was surrounded by empty open fields. When Durward came home at night, Maxine would see him get off the trolley at Crenshaw Boulevard and start walk­ing across the fields. By the time he got home, she would have dinner on the table. Later, they moved to La Canada-Flintridge with their five children. On their woodsy lot, family pets included a horse, a donkey and a pig.

As the Depression eased in the late 1930's, Durward's business began to pick up. But times were still tight. If someone wanted an engagement ring or a graduation watch – but had no money – Durward would give them the item and say: "Pay me when you can." Nobody ever stood him up.

Durward really knew the jewelry business. And he was an internationally recognized authority on pearls, particularly black pearls. He assembled a wonderful personal collection – so fine that the Smithsonian Institute bought all of it. And it is still there today in Washington, D.C.

Durward ultimately built a successful business, with ten stores extending from Hawaii to Arizona. But he told friends that he considered the creation of the Economic Round Table to be the crowning achievement of his public life.