Actual truth in advertising (at least around here)

[Thunderface]

An advertisement from 1965. Love the telephone number.

 

[southernGuild]

8) Works for me.

 

[davismanLV]

I remember when I was a kid we had a phone number like that. Diamond XXXXX. My dads work number was Exbrook XXXXX. What's really funny is that I don't remember the exact numbers, but I remember my dad's extension was 652! After 55 years I still remember that!!

That Guild ad makes total sense to me....

 

[rampside]

That's a nice looking ad.

 

[evenkeel]

Great ad. I remember the "name and number" phone numbers. Ours was Sherwood (Sh) XXXXX. My grandmothers was Murdock (MU) XXXXX. Weird I remember. We only visited my grandmothers house in the summers and she passed about 1970. The Sherwood # was from our house in Kansas City and we left there in about '66.

 

[walrus]

Add me to the geezer list - I remember those numbers too - our number was PL 65880.

walrus

 

[fronobulax]

Franklin 7... (377...)

 

[Brad Little]

Someplace I have a 1941 calendar from my grandfather's business, list the phone number as 411. I remember when it was 4-1178. Our home phone was 4-0505. If you called in from out of the area, you's ask for Regent 4-****. In the late 60s, while at Acadia U in Nova Scotia, a friend came over one night to use our phone. Her grandparents in Nfld had just gotten a dial phone to replace the magneto system in their home town so she could dial direct. Things sure have changed.
Brad

 

[killdeer43]

When I was growing up, we had 4-digit phone numbers. You would simply lift the receiver and wait for the operator to say, "number please," and you would give it to her.

My aunt lived across town and her number was 1822. I remember her number because we kids would call her just to hear her say in her chirpy/cooing/syrupy/singsong voice, "1822." She never answered, "hello" like everyone else. Always cracked us up! :lol:

Ah memories,
Joe

*Oh yeah, love the ad!

 

[dapmdave]

I'll play...

I collected thermometers for a while, and still have a few. This one comes from the little hometown of my family, in western Illinois. Check those phone numbers!

Dave

 

[davismanLV]

I remember going to my grandparents home in West Los Angeles as a boy. I'd learned to use the phone at home. So I picked up the phone at my grandparents house and, I HEARD PEOPLE TALKING!! I was asking why there were people already on their phone talking. They said, "We have a party line. You have to wait until they're through to make a call." I thought that was so strange. Sharing a phone line, anybody remember that? :shock: :shock:

 

[killdeer43]

I remember going to my grandparents home in West Los Angeles as a boy. I'd learned to use the phone at home. So I picked up the phone at my grandparents house and, I HEARD PEOPLE TALKING!! I was asking why there were people already on their phone talking. They said, "We have a party line. You have to wait until they're through to make a call." I thought that was so strange. Sharing a phone line, anybody remember that? :shock: :shock:

Oh yes! My brother and I used to ease the phone off the cradle to hear what the neighbors were talking about. Of course, others might do the same thing to us!
Early eavesdroppers at work/play! :wink:

Joe

 

[fronobulax]

Sharing a phone line, anybody remember that? :shock: :shock:

Yes.

My grandfather was an engineer for Western Electric which was basically the equipment supplier for AT&T back when the phone company was a monopoly and they owned all of the equipment. Using parts scavenged from work and his own professional knowledge, my grandfather installed extensions in his house, in spite of AT&T's monopoly. However there was one part he was unable to obtain. The absence of this part meant that if you picked up any extension in the house, except the original AT&T installed phone, and made a toll call, that call was charged to some other party on the party line. This was A Bad Thing because not only was it stealing from someone else but an investigation would discover the unsanctioned extensions. Needless to say, the grandchildren were warned not to do this and the warning lingers 50+ year later even though it has been overtaken by events.

 

[chazmo]

Dave, those are actual phone numbers?? I'm confused.

 

[rampside]

I remember going to my grandparents home in West Los Angeles as a boy. I'd learned to use the phone at home. So I picked up the phone at my grandparents house and, I HEARD PEOPLE TALKING!! I was asking why there were people already on their phone talking. They said, "We have a party line. You have to wait until they're through to make a call." I thought that was so strange. Sharing a phone line, anybody remember that? :shock: :shock:

Oh yes! My brother and I used to ease the phone off the cradle to hear what the neighbors were talking about. Of course, others might do the same thing to us!
Early eavesdroppers at work/play! :wink:

Joe

Sometimes my grandma would have get on the line and tell the local chatterboxes to get off so she could make an important call. :lol: :lol:

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I was too young to remember, but my family's home started out with a four household party line. Our number was: SHadyside 1-8606.

 

[adorshki]

Dave, those are actual phone numbers?? I'm confused.

I think he's showing that there was time when they could get away with only needing 6 digits for a phone number. :lol:

I remember going to my grandparents home in West Los Angeles as a boy. I'd learned to use the phone at home. So I picked up the phone at my grandparents house and, I HEARD PEOPLE TALKING!! I was asking why there were people already on their phone talking. They said, "We have a party line. You have to wait until they're through to make a call." I thought that was so strange. Sharing a phone line, anybody remember that? :shock: :shock:

That kind of surprises me that they actually had telephones when you were a boy.

Speaking of phones, have you managed to get hold of that Patty character yet?
Myabe she's still on a party line. :lol:

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Dave, those are actual phone numbers?? I'm confused.

I think he's showing that there was time when they could get away with only needing 6 digits for a phone number. :lol:

I thought he was referring to the single and double digits at the bottom of the thermometer! :?

 

[adorshki]

Dave, those are actual phone numbers?? I'm confused.

I think he's showing that there was time when they could get away with only needing 6 digits for a phone number. :lol:

I thought he was referring to the single and double digits at the bottom of the thermometer! :?

Oh, I thought everybody knew that grain elevators only get 2-digit phone numbers.
:lol:

 

[dapmdave]

Dave, those are actual phone numbers?? I'm confused.

My Dad and I played golf this afternoon, and I asked him about the numbers.

This is prior to having the seven-digit numbers like everyone is referring to. They had that in the northeast early on, but out in the country in the 30's and 40's many of the little towns had privately operated switchboards. Bear in mind... people were just getting electricity out in these rural areas at this time, as well. Not everyone had phones.

Phones didn't have rotary dials. You'd turn a crank, which would ring the bell at the switchboard, alerting the operator. You'd then either ask for the number, or if you were familiar with folks, just ask the operator to ring someone in town by name. Calling to another town? You'd ask the operator to connect you with that town, then deal with that town's operator.

Later, the switchboards were bought out by AT&T, who unified the systems. As more phones were connected, the standard severn-digit numbers were used.

Dave