There’s a narrow dirt road, blocked by guardrails, snaking its way along a ridge on the edge of Millersville.

Drivers on Highway 31-W between Goodlettsville and White House may pass it without a second thought.

But Orlinda native Terry Eden knows that road well.

Built by Hand—and Determination

In the winter of 1976, Terry dug the holes by hand for the electrical poles lining that very road.

“With a jackhammer, a case of dynamite, a case of caps, and an air compressor,” he recalls.

After a miserable first year at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Terry came home with a firm decision—college wasn’t for him.

“I told Dad, ‘I’m not going back. Either you give me a job, or I’m going somewhere,’” he says.

His dad gave him that chance.

A Family Trade

That first assignment became a proving ground. Terry’s father placed him at P & E Electric, the power line contracting company he founded in 1969.

“Dad was a lineman. He started climbing in 1952. I grew up with that culture,” Terry says.

Electrical work wasn’t just a job—it was in his blood.

“I enjoyed it. I was good at it, my father was good at it. It just fit us.”

Answering the Call

Never one to shy away from hard work, Terry embraced what he calls “the good life.”

His career took him across the South—stormwork in Florida, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and everywhere in between.

While others evacuated, Terry and crews drove in.

Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Ice storms.

“You’re a hero when you turn somebody’s lights on,” he says. “That’s really gratifying.”

Lighting the Way Forward

Tennesseans felt that gratitude firsthand during January’s Winter Storm Fern.

As homes sat dark for days, the moment the lights flickered back on brought more than electricity—it brought hope.

Ice may have slowed connection.

But linemen and women--and the electrical industry behind them--pushed through, working long, grueling hours to restore it.

A Trade Worth Taking

Today, Terry encourages young people to consider the trade.

“Daddy probably gave me the best advice,” he says. “If you’re not going to college, get you a trade—and you’ll never be without a worry.”

It’s advice he lived by.

“I never drew an unemployment check my whole life.”

Still Living the Good Life

Now retired after selling his electric company, Terry spends his days raising cows in Orlinda—still grounded in the same hardworking values that shaped his life.

A Legacy You Drive Past

So the next time you pass an electric pole—or drive that stretch of road along the ridge—think of Terry Eden.

Think of the holes dug by hand. The storms faced head-on. The lights brought back to life.

Because behind every switch that flips on…

…there’s a story of determination, grit, and someone who showed up when it mattered most.

(Cover Photo: Terry joined by his dad, son, and grandson)