“Come here, Mr. Watson. I want to see you.”
Those were the immortal words of Alexander Graham Bell as he first demonstrated his new invention, the telephone, on March 10, 1876. Telephones have certainly come a long way since that fateful day, and Boomers have witnessed many amazing changes over the years.
During the World War II, Western Electric shifted production strictly to war-related products, but after the war there was a huge pent-up demand. Everybody wanted a telephone. By 1948, there were 38,000,000 phones in service. And at the time, Ma Bell, controlled all of the phone system.
Because supply lagged far behind demand, phone lines were rationed, with as many as 4 or more households on what was called a party line. Party lines were a snooper’s best friend. It was impossible to keep a secret. If you said it on the phone, and you were on a party line, everybody knew. On a party line, anyone could listen in to a conversation by any one on that party line by simply picking up the phone. It was sort of like having a Patriot Act back in 1952.
Though party lines were less expensive than private lines, most phone customers wanted private lines, but there were simply not enough to go around, especially in small and middle size towns.
By 1950, the Telephone Operator became the most powerful person in America. That’s because she determined who got calls and who didn’t.
Around 1954, my family finally got a private line. There would be no more snoops listening in, and in case of emergency, like asking a girl to the movies, you didn’t have to beg another party to get off the line.
The Telephone Operator managed something called the switchboard. Our phone had a number. It was 104. If my best friend, Dave Gladwell, wanted to track me down and discuss the latest Buddy Holly release, or something as equally earth-shaking, he simply lifted the receiver on the phone and waited for the operator to pick up on her end. Sometimes she would, and sometimes she wouldn’t. Depended on her mood that day. If she chose to acknowledge the attempted phone call, she responded in her best Lily Tomin imitation, “Can I help you?”
“Please ring 104, “Dave would say. Sometimes he didn’t even say that, he just said, “I want to speak to Jim,” and the operator knew. Then our phone rang and Dave and I spent as long as possible chatting about anything and everything until one parent interrupted with, “It’s dinner time” or “Do your homework.”
Around 1958, the phone operator largely went the way of the dinosaurs, because the Bell System introduced phones that could dial directly from one line to another. Instead of 2, 3 or 4 numbers, we now had 7 numbers. Our number was 645-2326, and I worried at first that with all those numbers I might forget, but I didn’t, and eventually committed to memory nearly every number of every classmate in town. It was like a mental speed dial.
But you still had to dial an operator for long distance. If you didn’t know the number, they would look it up for you.
“The Jacobs? Do they live on Seventh Street?”
“I think so, but they might have moved.”
“Well, let’s try that number first.”
Those were the days of genuine phone service.
Then came another major innovation. The area code. Telephones went from 7 numbers to ten. Who could possibly remember all those digits? But we did. And suddenly no operator was needed to complete a long distance call.
Telephones today are so complicated that the newer versions come complete with a fifth grader to help explain to those over 50 exactly how they work. Cell phones not only did away with operators, they eliminated telephone lines, to make contact through satellites – unless you happen to live or call from the western part Virginia, like Bath and Highland counties. In that case, smoke signals work just about as well.
Every day, there is a new “app” invented for cell phone users. There is seemingly an “app” for every possible situation. Apps do things like picking out a tombstone for your burial, booking a safari to Kenya, or giving step-by-step instructions on delivering a baby.
Despite the onslaught of technology, especially concerning telephones, Boomers often find themselves looking back to another time, a simpler time, when it was nice to simply pick up the telephone and chat with a real person – even if it was just the telephone operator.