Hanging it up after 54 years on the line.

PositionEdwin Leland, Cater Leland sell Saluda Mountain Telephone Co. to Telephone and Data Systems Inc.

Edwin Leland, 85, just recently stopped climbing telephone polls. His son, Cater, 47, still climbs them.

That's the kind of service folks had come to expect from the former owners of Saluda Mountain Telephone Co. in tiny Saluda, southeast of Hendersonville. Edwin, an electrical contractor, bought the business 54 years ago for $1,000. He had 16 customers and cleared $90 the first year. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that he made enough after expenses and salaries to put money in the bank.

But Saluda customers (now up to 1,180) pay an average bill of only $7, and broken phones are repaired within eight hours.

Edwin's hard work at the company - which has never owed a cent of debt nor had more than four full-time employees - has landed him in The Wall Street journal and on CBS's Sunday Morning. "A lot of people thought I ought to quit and go fishing," he says, "but I've never been interested. My work is my hobby."

Cater doesn't share his father's devotion. He joined the company in 1968, after earning a degree in electrical engineering at Clemson. "This is Daddy's life, but it's not mine," he says. "I enjoy working most of the time, but I don't want to be on call 24 hours a day."

That's why father and son sold the company in March to Madison, Wis.-based...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT