More
A brief history of Omega Mart’s Dram Family, how they got here, and where they might be going.
NOTE: This article has been updated with new information.
History is filled with many so-called “great families” – dynasties that defined society as we know it. The names are instantly recognizable — Kennedy, Hearst, Walton, Sackler. These are people who change the world.
With that power comes a kind of celebrity. These families often find themselves under a magnifying glass. No modern dynasty knows about this more than scions of business, purveyors of groceries and sundries — the Dram Family.
The Drams are a classic American success story. Starting from roots as day laborers and miners, the family remained in the working class until the Civil War era when Stephen Grover Dram started a newspaper in Lincoln, Nebraska. Within a decade, the family was one of the wealthiest on the plains.
Stephen Grover Dram, Jr. continued ownership of the paper, but the Great Depression brought an end to it. Embarrassed, Stephen Jr. pressured his two young sons to rekindle the family fortunes.
The name Walter Dram probably conjures a smiling all-American grandpa talking about Cheddar Bunker and Tattoo Chicken. This carefully crafted public persona hides a keen businessman. Born in 1946, Walter Garfield Dram was always drawn to business. As a child, he created seminars for other children on ways to mind parents and teachers.
By 1968, Walter found himself the owner of a failing grocery store. That store would be rechristened Omega Mart, and would become a wild success within a few years. He eventually started Dramcorp and led that company for decades before suddenly retiring in 2021 amid some scandal. His current whereabouts are unknown but Dramcorp PR claims he is “enjoying his time off on some tropical island somewhere.” We have doubts, but will leave it there.
Charles Stephen Dram — the other Dram. Walter’s older brother was a dreamer who ran away to New York City at 15 and never looked back. He dabbled in the hippie movement before vanishing in 1968 in the Nevada desert. Those Drams sure love to vanish! He has since written articles for various conspiracy-minded and paranormal magazines. There are rumors that he runs a gas station in a place called Seven Monolith Village, but no concrete evidence could be verified at this time.
By all accounts, the two Dram sons never seem to have gotten along. It is believed that Walter and Charlie have not talked since the late 60s, though there is evidence that Walter’s daughter, Cecelia, has attempted to heal this rift..
Known the world over by her vegetable-based portrait that has adorned Plenty Valley products for over 50 years, Hester Dram has been a farmer, a model, a writer, and a socialite.
Much has been made about Hester’s former life as an Abundantite and her current Jackie Collins-esque career as a romance and mystery writer. Walter met Hester when he formed business ties with the Abundantites in 1970. The Plenty Valley line of produce came out of that partnership.
Recently, her chaotic interviews and proclivities for pool boys has raised more than a few eyebrows, keeping her the topic of many clickbait headlines. Since Walter “retired” in 2021, she has been more reclusive though she has ventured on a tour for her new book, Pollen For Butterfly. Her reading in Little Thicket, TX was apparently one for the recordbooks.
Cecelia Dram is the only child of Walter and Hester. Born with Walter’s innate sense of business, but an undercurrent of Charlie’s dreaming — she understood the box, but also why thinking outside it was necessary.
At some point in 2003, father and daughter came to an impasse and Cecelia left. Cecelia’s vanishing act turned heads. The tabloids had a field day – did she join a cult? Maybe she had a love child with an extra-dimensional entity? Little is known of this era other than her very public re-emergence in 2004 that led to the launch of Additive S and her fancy new factory. All requests for a tour of that facility were denied.
This was all seemingly not enough for Walter. Within the walls of Dramcorp, a strange allegiance had been born in the year Cecelia was missing.
Kaz Matsumura is not a Dram. But he is Walter’s hand-picked protegee. This former marketing executive rose quickly with hotshot ideas about automation and new office spaces. Walter stunned the world, and likely Cecelia, when he announced that Kaz was his desired successor.
When Walter “stepped down”, the Dramcorp Board of Directors installed both Kaz and Cecelia as Interim Co-CEO. If leaks are to be believed, a tenuous power struggle remains.
It seems that Dramcorp, and the Dram family, are at a crossroads. Will their legacy be secured and the Dram dynasty continue? Or will their luck fade?
And who is Marin Dram? Right after publishing the first version of this article, two new facts emerged. First, Cecelia Dram has a secret daughter. Marin, who had been in hiding with Charlie, has been seemingly missing since the weekend that Walter “stepped down” in 2021. The Dram propensity for vanishing continues with each generation apparently.
Finally, it appears that Cecelia has given access to the Society of Peripheral Studies for a tell-all documentary. This new film — Empire of Source — is set to expose deeper secrets of the Dram Family and Dramcorp. Look for it on the Meow Wolf App soon. We cannot wait.
.jpg)