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C&B Drainage Systems
Call Us At: 803-806-8453 Columbia
803-530-9868 Cell
In loving memory of Claude "Big Daddy" and Sybil "Big Mama" Dreher
Since January 1994, we have been providing real solutions to difficult septic and drainage issues. Whether the problem is a overloaded septic system or ground water seeping through the foundation of your home, we will customize a drain system that will correct the problem - Guaranteed.
Chris and Betty Nance
Notably good service experience, can count on them, very fast, very polite and complete
I have used C&B more than once, for more than one location, and have always recommended them first.
JRD Elgin, SC
How It All Got Started
My father's very best friend was Mr. Claude B. Dreher. The two of them met in a court room years before I was born. My father was a lawyer representing another client, and Mr. Dreher happened to be in the courtroom on that day. Mr. Dreher owned and operated AAA Dreher Sanitary Drainage and Crystal Blue Swimming Pools, and he asked my dad (Mr. Bob Nance) to be his legal representative.
The first time I ever saw Mr. Dreher, he had come to our home just after my grandmother died in November 1965. We were having family visitation and the toilets were backed up. It was a Sunday night and he came and opened our sewer drains in his Sunday best. He did not even stop to change before coming to our rescue.
In August 1967, I was one month away from turning 14. Mr Dreher was building a swimming pool for Mr. Pat Tobias of Blythwood at his log cabin near Ridgeway, SC. On that Saturday he had planned to gunite this pool. Guniting is a process of spraying the walls with a cement mixture for those of you not familiar with swimming pool construction. I was flattered beyond belief that Mr. Dreher asked me if I would like to work that day. He would pay me one dollar an hour! Little did I know that I was in for the most intense and exhausting experience of my young life. I would not admit this to anyone for many years to come.
The next twenty-three years would find me working off and on for my dad's best friend Claude (He was always Mr. Dreher to me). I was attending various schools preparing for other "better" things. Mr. Dreher was a former Master Sergeant having served in the Third Army under General George Patton in World War II. Working for him was a life in perpetual "boot camp". He was a strict task master, and heaven help you if he caught you goofing off, and he would never, ever take no for an answer, nor would he tolerate a smart mouth. If you were the recipient of a fanny chewing, the surest (only) way to get beyond the moment was to reply "Yes sir, Mr. Dreher". Afterwards the matter was forgotten and at the end of the day, you just might get an invitation to go to the ball game or fishing or spend the weekend at his place in Myrtle Beach. He and Mrs. Dreher kept a place at Pirateland Campground.
Mrs. Dreher (Sybil) and my mother (Mrs. Teddy Nance) were special friends. They spent untold hours talking on the phone daily sharing their hopes, dreams, and concerns for their families. Mrs. Dreher was the sweetest and most endearing lady I have ever known. If you walked into her home you knew immediately how important you were to her. You had just as well plan on eating while you were there because she would not let you leave until you did. All of Mr. Dreher's workers loved her. They might have words to say about the "Old Man", but not one of the men could adequately express his deep feelings of love and affection for Mrs. Dreher. There was standing room only at Christ Lutheran Church that afternoon of her funeral, and every one of the Dreher employees were there to say goodbye to their dear friend.
My wife Betty Faye grew up down the street from the Dreher family in Denny Terrace. She was also a member at Christ Lutheran on Winyah Drive, and knew Mr. Dreher well. He gave her the nickname "Half-pint" when he worked with the youth there long before we met. Faye and I enjoy sharing our "Mr. Dreher" stories. Anyone who ever knew Mr. Dreher has delightful and funny stories to tell and wonderful memories to share of this old man who could seem so rough on the outside but whose soft heart was pure love.
I learned much from Mr. Dreher, not just about the job, but essential lessons in life. Mr. and Mrs. Dreher were second parents to me and my four brothers. All five of us worked for some period of time for Dreher Drainage. But it would be me that God would call into this service. I have made a poor attempt to emulate this giant of a man, but true to his teachings I have promised to never let money stand in the way of providing a very fundamental service to God's people, no one is turned down for service because of inablility to pay.
Mr. Dreher has been gone for a number of years now. He lived on after Mrs. Dreher passed away to a ripe old age of 94.
Chris "Kit" Nance
C&B Drainage Systems
