Telephones–Then and Now

12 responses to “Telephones–Then and Now”

1. Really Classic stills … Nostalgia … loved it

   1. Thanks!

2. Wow, your early phone is pretty modern by the standards of the phones with which I grew up. We had to lift the receiver and wait for the operator to say, “Number please.”
   It was the 1970’s before our telephone exchange switched to dial. (I think it was one of the last two exchanges in the U.S. to do so.)

   1. Loved your story—seems almost quaint now, doesn’t it? Kids today would never understand!

3. My grandparents lived in a rural area of New Hampshire and had a party line. When you were making a call, you might hearing a clicking which was another party picking up and hanging up because you were using the line. If you wanted to make a call, you had to pick up the receiver to see if one of the other parties was talking. When the phone rang, you had to count the rings in order to know who the call was for. Simpler times.

   1. No privacy on the party line! Just like in the movies…thanks for sharing that story. It is amazing the changes in our life time…I can’t imagine there will be that amount of change for the next generation. What is next???

4. Love your photos! The tulips yesterday and the great phone comparisons today!

   1. Thanks, Jeanne. I think pink is the perfect antidote to weeks of white snow!

5. Having worked for a communications company for 25 years, I’ve seen them all. HA. Once, some young kids got their truck stuck in the snow out on the lake and walked over to ask if they could use the phone (the Cell service was awful at the lake). I let them in our garage where there was an old rotary wall phone and they didn’t have a clue…never had seen one and I had to show them how to dial. They must have thought we were weirdo’s ha

   1. I would just love to see a “trip down telephone memory lane”. Thrilling changes! Loved your story! I’m sure they thought you were from the Stone Age. Of course you got the last laugh because your phone was the one that worked!

      Sent from my iPhone

6. We still have an old rotary that we hook up on ocassion. I too remember the party lines, but they were a pain, all sorts of secrets leaked because of those things. Cool post.

   1. How far we’ve come!