Bob Cable standing in front of his business at 525 E. Elk Avenue at the time he sold it after being in business as Ledford's Upholstery at that location for 30 years.

Bob Cable standing in front of his business at 525 E. Elk Avenue at the time he sold it after being in business as Ledford's Upholstery at that location for 30 years.

ELIZABETHTON — The city of Elizabethton lost one of its biggest promoters and supporters with the death this past week of Bob Cable. He served on the Elizabethton City Council for four years, from 2012 to 2016, but he made his biggest and most lasting contributions as a downtown businessman and private citizen.

Cable made his mark as owner of Ledford’s Upholstery, which he bought from the widow of Rob Ledford upon Ledford’s death in the mid 1980s. Cable remembered paying $24,000 for the business back then.

It wasn’t long before he began considering a relocation of the business from the Old Bristol Highway to downtown Elizabethton. The opportunity presented itself when Harrison’s Shoe Store was put up for sale after owner Johnny Harrison died. Cable bought the business from Harrison’s widow. Cable’s business would remain at that location at 525 E. Elk Ave. until he decided to go out of business and sold the building to neighboring Ritchie’s Fine Furnishings for conversion into Ritchie’s Sleep Shoppe around 2015.

During those 30 years, the location became more than just a site for successful business. It was also the center of a multitude of operations that Cable promoted to help his community and his fellow citizens. These included a series of 4th of July parades that would eventually draw a huge number of parade watchers. He also turned neighboring Lynn Mountain into a giant Christmas greeting. On the opposite side of downtown, he turned the western approach into a patriotic display with a giant American flag that he made sure was always in pristine condition. On the north side of town, where he had his residence, he made sure the Riverside Park was well maintained and manicured.

While all these efforts were well publicized, Cable also did many things to help and encourage his fellow citizens. Acts of kindness and love that he would never speak about and would not become known to the public except that the recipients of his good deeds would tell others about them.

One example was Jeannie Head, who worked in the offices of Richard Sammons, the accountant who kept books for Cable’s business and completed his tax returns. Cable naturally made friends with Head and the other workers in the office. One day, Head said she happened to mention to him that she never was given any flowers. She never thought anything more about the snippet of conversation until a dozen red roses were delivered to the office on her birthday. They were addressed to her, but came without a card. Head knew she had to find out who sent the extravagant gift in order to explain to her husband. She went to Broyles Florist and although the company did not normally divulge that information, they finally told her the flowers had been sent by Cable.

He also had a soft spot for children. After he moved his business to downtown, Cable began paying attention to the children who would come downtown.

“I would pick out some I wanted to help each Christmas by buying them a bicycle,” he said.

Cable was soon buying a dozen bicycles every Christmas. Cable and his lone employee, Jim Owens, also became noontime hosts to some men who worked downtown every day, including optometrist Bob Sams, financial adviser Dave Wortman, realtor Hoss Broome, policeman Carl Burrough, postman Jim Osborne and occasionally financial adviser Curt Alexander.

Despite the busy schedules of these men, they always seemed to have time to spend their lunch hour at Ledford’s Upholstery. They soon began to toss their loose change into a large tray. Underneath all the coins, there would be some bills barely visible, including several $100 bills. Every Christmas, the money would be counted and sent to one of Cable’s favorite charities, St. Jude Hospital.

As the years passed, Cable became even more engaged in the community. He became active in the Carter County Republican Party and served for years as treasurer. He found many ways to improve the bottom line for the party, especially with his pig roasts, and the incredibly tasty occasions became popular not just for Carter County Republicans, but for politicians from all around the region.

Cable’s next civic projects were centered around Christmas. He became involved in the annual downtown Christmas Parade; the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree; and the Christmas lights atop Lynn Mountain. At the time, the Christmas lights atop Lynn Mountain were rather weatherbeaten. Cable took charge of a considerable upgrade.

Cable managed to get a $5,000 grant from the city. He then took the money to an Elizabethton factory, Star Buildings, where he heard they had a steel-cutting laser. He negotiated with the plant manager to make large letters 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The letters spelled out M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S. When that project was completed, Cable talked to Tim Willis and his crew from the Elizabethton Electric Department to take the letters to the top of Lynn Mountain, wire them up, to transform the top of the mountain into a giant Christmas card.

He used the Elizabethton Fire Department for another big project. A large flagpole had been installed in the triangle section where Broad Street goes in one direction and Elk Avenue goes in another. That large flagpole had been placed there to honor the 776th Maintenance Company of the Tennessee National Guard for its service in Desert Storm. Cable decided the giant flagpole should have a giant flag and secured a garrison flag to fly from the pole. The flag was so big that it required at least three men to raise and lower it. That help came from the Elizabethton Fire Department.

“Bob Cable was a friend of the fire department,” said Fire Chief Barry Carrier. Cable was known to help first responders with rips and tears on their equipment. His upholstery shop quickly made expert repairs to prolong their equipment and uniforms. His shop also prolonged the life of the giant flags by stitching rips and tears and trimming frayed ends. That also helped Cable, since he was often the largest or only contributor for a new flag before an important holiday.

Cable’s biggest projects would be the annual 4th of July parades he held. The parades were very popular and full of fun and patriotism. Cable converted his office at the upholstery shop into his parade command post. He started working on the next year’s parade on July 5. He compiled workbooks and contact lists on all his secrets to throwing big parades. The contacts contained the names of the people to talk to at the National Guard for getting a helicopter company to participate and the contacts of all the organizations who had participated in the past.

Cable worked hard, but he also knew how to have fun. Jennifer Arnold, the executive assistant to the Elizabethton city manager had been his next door neighbor. She recalled that his back yard was a tribute to his favorite team, the University of Tennessee.

Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander’s long association with Cable goes back to around 1994, when he joined a group of Cable’s friends to attend every Tennessee home football game for several years. He said the group included himself, Cable, Reece Cole and Harold Lane. Alexander also accompanied Cable to Arizona for the 1998 national championship game, where Tennessee beat Florida State.

Alexander later served with Cable on the Elizabethton City Council. “He was really good for the community,” Alexander said. “He made Elizabethton a better place, he was one of the best city councilmen we ever had.”

Cable was defeated in his reelection bid when Kim Birchfield won in 2016. Birchfield said Cable never held a grudge and offered suggestions on things Birchfield could work on.

“He became a very good friend, and he was very kind to me. He took me on his golf cart down by Riverside Park.” Birchfield said. “I think we should name the new playground at the park in his honor, and I also think we should have a plaque with his name on it at the flagpole in the triangle.”

When Cable realized he was dying, he asked Alexander to give his eulogy. “Bob told me he didn’t want any tears. He wanted people to remember the good times and all the fun we had with him. That was the way he lived his life. If he cussed you, you know he liked you. When he didn’t say a cuss word to you, it was a sign you weren’t his friend yet. We have lost a tremendous asset in our community.”

John Thompson covers Carter and Johnson counties for the Johnson City Press since 1998. He grew up in Washington County and graduated from University High and East Tennessee State University

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