Telephones

During a past life (college) I came to be employed at South Central Bell, as a janitor. My Dad was a telephone man and wrangled a job for me to keep me in spending money while attending classes. My boss wanted the job done during hours that didn't interfere with my class work, and because it basically didn't matter when the floors got swept or the trashcans emptied, I was free to do the job on a flexible schedule. It worked for us.

About three months into my janitoral career, I was introduced to the labrynth of the Bell supply system. Phones at that time were made by Western Electric, and we were just entering the touch-tone phase. No one had heard of a cordless phone, no one even dreamed of wireless technology or cellular service. If you wanted to talk on a phone, it had to be connected to a wall, and likely as not, you didn't even own the phone in your kitchen. It was leased from Ma Bell and you paid a small monthly fee for the privelige. (Ma Bell is a cheap mother.)

The deal was, the phones worked, or some lineman or installer was out in the middle of the night making damned sure they worked. Back in the days of One Phone Company, the professionals that served our communication needs were large strapping men who climbed wooden poles with spikes on their boots and dangled precariously above us, so that we could draw dial-tone. Fairly simple technology, with Tip on one side, Ring on the other, it was a basic three-wire communications system. What was the third wire for? Aaah, power. If the light company couldn't keep the lights working, you could still call it in, because your Mother Bell had her own power system.

Back to the story. I was introduced to the Bell supply system. One of the duties of the Stockman was to make sure that the trucks had phones on them before they rolled out each morning. The big seller was a phone that sat on the counter, or desk, and worked. It worked just fine. It worked every time. I don't recall if it was a black 500 or a black 535, but it was a basic set. No answering machine, no fancy ring tones, no flashing lights or buttons to confuse. It had a handset and a keypad and you could call anywhere in the known world.



You can buy one here.

For the basic installation fee, the phone man would even ask what counter or desk you wanted the phone to sit on. He would then string the lines so that your phone would be properly installed in that location. He would also, for a small fee, install jacks in any room of the house, where ever you wanted them.

It was a different world.