Press Release
328 Words
Ponderosa Telephone
Celebrates 100 Years of Family Business: Shares Secrets to Success
Ponderosa Telephone Company of O’Neals, CA is celebrating
100 years of business.
The Bigelow family story is the story of the central
San Joaquin
Valley
and the determined pioneers who tamed the rough and tumble territory in the
late 1800’s. This telephone business was founded by Harmon Bigelow and is one
of a handful of companies surviving 100 years in the
Central Valley
that is still family-owned and operated.
In 1900 young Harmon secured a contract to transport U.S.
Mail from
Madera
to Fresno Flats and O’Neals with just 2 horses and a small spring wagon.
The need for transportation services for the foothill and mountain
communities grew and a stageline business was born.
The telephone business started when Harmon’s wife Leota
ordered 2 phones from a mail order catalog so she could speak with her mother
who lived a mile away. Harmon grew
the telephone network from a family convenience, to an essential communications
tool for the stageline, ultimately extending to the surrounding foothill
communities.
Throughout the years there have been relatively few family
leadership transitions. When Harmon died, he passed the reins to his son Jesse
until the early 1980s when tragedy struck the family. Jesse Bigelow, Robert
Bigelow and Bob Silkwood (who married Jesse’s daughter Luanne) passed away
within an 18-month span. This left
the family leadership to Jesse’s only daughter
Luanne Silkwood
, who remains the president of Ponderosa today.
When asked for the secret to enduring a century of family
ownership, she responded, “Ponderosa Telephone is not just a business, it is 5
generations of a rural American family lifestyle that must be preserved for
future generations. In business, I am only as successful as the people I
surround myself with. With the talents of my managers and employees, a continued
flexible mindset from family leadership, plus commitment to our customers,
Ponderosa will continue to thrive.”
Experience a historic journey through interactive media
online: www.goponderosa.com/centennial
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