LONGTIME AREA BUSINESSMAN DIES:
Bonifay resident Walter
Emmett Quattlebaum died July 16th at the age of 76 of his residence.
Quattlebaum was born Dec 22, 1922 in
Georgia and raised by his grandmother
Bettie Quattlebaum. He married Dorothy
Clewis and the couple had two children -- W E
Quattlebaum, III and Amalia Ann.
Quattlebaum and his wife were at one time owners of the telephone systems in
Bonifay, Cottondale, Grand
Ridge, and Seagrove
Beach. He was also part owner in three telephone companies in
Georgia.
Working with telephone systems was apparently in his blood. As a child he worked for his father who was the owner of several telephone companies, first working as a service man, and later trained to work the switchboard. A day's work was to work as service man during the day and work the switchboard at night.
Early trianing in the telephone field paid off for
Quattlebaum when he bought his first telephone company in Pinehurst,
Georgia at the age of 24.
In an earlier interview with a report of the
Holmes County Advertiser,
Quattlebaum said, "
Business is my life, that is my pleasure." Asked if he would mind being described as "thrifty"
Quattlebaum said, "I save over half of every dollar I have made in the last 15 years". And, a plaque in his office bore the slogan, "
Having money is no sin but squandering it is." Quattlebaum also said, "I would rather make money than spend it."
(SOURCE:
Holmes County Advertiser,
Bonifay FL, Wednesday, 21 July 1999, page 1; transcribed by Cathy
Strickland Popp, August 1999)