“One of the lessons to be learned is that falling in love with a local stock doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to make money,” Quinn said. “So many people knew people who were affiliated with Level 3 through Kiewit or elsewhere that it was very difficult for them to realize that they would lose.”

In recent years, Level 3’s stock price rallied somewhat, but only after a 1-for-15 reverse stock split kept its shares in mutual funds and other institutional portfolios. Its operating results improved.

Kiewit, Buffett and Scott declined to comment for this story, but Scott spoke at Level 3’s 2014 shareholder meeting, when he stepped down as chairman. (He was succeeded by James Ellis, who as a Navy admiral had commanded the U.S. Strategic Command in Omaha before retiring in 2005. Crowe retired as CEO at the end of 2013.)

“I wanted to stick around until I was convinced that Level 3 was solidly on a path toward its destiny,” Scott told the shareholders, according to the Denver Post’s account of the meeting.

“With the current management that you have, with your current finances, with the current opportunities that I think are available, and the fact that the market has finally decided that you’re doing a great job, I think my time has come.”