âDear Mr. Holden,â the note read, âas you can see by the enclosed marks, Edwin has been here with us in flesh but not in spirit. However, we are keeping him on because he is a good center on the basketball team.â
This brief note sent by a New England preparatory school headmaster to Harry Holden, turned out to be a concise report on the early life of Edwin W. (Bud) Holden. His spirit and his flesh seemed destined to avoid each other until he stepped into the job as president of Holden & Stone Co., the family store in which he sold a controlling interest last week.