Telephones... then and now

[ultrarunner]

My 12 year old nephew and 10 year old niece were visiting Grandma and were very interested in her rotary dial telephone... they had never seen one and asked how does it work... both kids have Apple 6S phones.

So I showed them and they made a call and were fascinated it still works...

Then I tricked them by calling the number and both jumped so high I thought they were going to hit the ceiling... the old Western Electric bell ringer startled them...

They then asked why Grandma didn't have a cell phone and Grandma said she wouldn't know how to use it... too many things to push... she has had the same phone and number 50 years.

 

[mjarrels]

We had a party line for many years. My dad grew up with oak hand cranks and operators. The only way to see a phone booth now is in old movies and TV. I use to have an old push button that would ring very loud, I called it my matlock phone. Dang wife tossed it out.

mark

 

[turnkey4099]

I grew uop with the hand crank party line system. Got a newsletter from a reunion outfit saying that the automatic dialer (doing away with the central operator) wasn't replaced there until in the 50s.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I bought my 1922 home from the original owner it was basically all 1922... high leg stove, kitchen and bath all untouched... and it had a real working telephone that you hold with your your left hand to speak and the receiver with your right... just like Mayberry... still have it tucked away somewhere.

The experience with the kids got me thinking just how fast things change...

Dad has been gone almost 17 years now... if he were to see their home today nothing has changed... rotary phone, Zenith Console TV same applicances... to the kids it must look like a museum.

The 12 year old has helped so many with Apple 6S issues... he knows that phone, apps, etc inside out...

At 12 I was only allowed to use the phone for emergencies and a few seconds when long distance...

The thought of a 12 year old walking around with a $600 phone and a $60 service plan boggles the mind...

 

[mjarrels]

When my son was young, I bought a six pack of coca-cola. He tried and tried to twist the cap off. These bottles required a church key to open and he had never seen a bottle opener or use one before. I bought a new chain saw last year and the chain needed to be tighted... read the manuel, no, picked up his smart phone for direction... yep, the information was there.

mark

 

[Thomas]

Party line...some youngster might think that's standing in line night club instead of telephone.

 

[k0ua]

Ah, yes the 500 and 554 series telephones. Remember them well. They are a mechanical marvel, the governor in them is quite complex. They were still available and we installed some of them when I was a puppy telephone man. Although the 2500 series (touchtone) were much more common by then. In a lot of ways the touch tone dials were quite a bit simpler. I adjusted many of the old BA 20 series ringers also. It was all so long ago...

 

[ultrarunner]

Never knew my old phone is called a candlestick phone...

Identifying Popular Western Electric Telephones in One Step

Yep... the 500 is what Mom has and a 554 at the cabin.

I guess there will come a day when rotary will no longer work?

 

[k0ua]

Never knew my old phone is called a candlestick phone...

Identifying Popular Western Electric Telephones in One Step

Yep... the 500 is what Mom has and a 554 at the cabin.

I guess there will come a day when rotary will no longer work?

Well, the real question will be how long will land lines for residential service exist? All of the station cards in CO's still accept rotary pulses, as far as I know. Of course I have been out of the loop for a while now.

 

[crackerjack222]

We had a "candelstick" phone until I was in high school. We kids were not allow to use it. When the rotary dial phones were introduced, the phone co conducted a school assembly to explain how to use it. Our prefix was to be DRake. That caused a few groans. The phone rep said we should be glad it was not "GOose". I have a rotary pay phone in my game room. I know it still has a dial tone, but I have not tried to dial out in years.