Telephones
I well remember the telephone system in our rural part of DownEast Maine. The telephone switchboard operater and equipment was located over the drugstore, accessed by a steep set of stairs. I saw it a couple of times as a kid since that was where the telephone bill was paid. We were in awe of the complexity of that tiny switchboard. Seeing the operator moving those jumpers into hundreds of holes and greeting everyone with the same "Number Please" was like magic. Whenever there was a fire in town, we could call her and ask where the fire was. As I remember, she was always polite and never seemed put out by all these kids and adults calling her.
Our phone number was 4-11, pronounced "four ring eleven". We had the usual crank phone on the wall, high enough to be inconvenient for kids to use. We were on a party line, so we would hear the clicks and breathing when the neighbors would check in for their entertainment. At first, we had to count the number of rings for an incoming call, but later it would only ring for our house. A telephone call was a big event, requiring that the radio be shut off and we kids had to be very quiet.
Later, we had a second phone installed by the fire department since Dad was a fire captain. It was colored bright red and had a very loud ring. When that went off in the middle of the night, there was much scurrying around as Dad jumped into his clothes and headed out to the fire. The town siren wailed, calling the other volunteer firemen to the station. We kids were absolutely forbidden to ever touch that phone.
When the phone system was changed over to a dial system, every phone in the town had to be changed out. One of the installers gave me a leftover phone which I promptly took apart, mostly for the crank generator. I had lots of fun with that and neon bulbs. Turning that crank and seeing actual light probably was one of the things heading me towards a career in electronics.
Our phone number was 4-11, pronounced "four ring eleven". We had the usual crank phone on the wall, high enough to be inconvenient for kids to use. We were on a party line, so we would hear the clicks and breathing when the neighbors would check in for their entertainment. At first, we had to count the number of rings for an incoming call, but later it would only ring for our house. A telephone call was a big event, requiring that the radio be shut off and we kids had to be very quiet.
Later, we had a second phone installed by the fire department since Dad was a fire captain. It was colored bright red and had a very loud ring. When that went off in the middle of the night, there was much scurrying around as Dad jumped into his clothes and headed out to the fire. The town siren wailed, calling the other volunteer firemen to the station. We kids were absolutely forbidden to ever touch that phone.
When the phone system was changed over to a dial system, every phone in the town had to be changed out. One of the installers gave me a leftover phone which I promptly took apart, mostly for the crank generator. I had lots of fun with that and neon bulbs. Turning that crank and seeing actual light probably was one of the things heading me towards a career in electronics.