Ugh, I remember being at my grandparents in the 70’s and they still had a party line. It was impossible to make a call from their phone because 2 old busybodies would be yapping away for hours.
My grandparents had a wooden phone with a crank handle on one side, Bakelite mouth piece in the center, ear piece on a cord on the side. They’d crank it, ask the operator by name to connect them to someone by name, and it was all one big party line. I really started my love of phones from that. My parents then got a big heavy black phone with a straight phone cord. Boy were they thrilled when those curly phone cords came out!
After the phone man came out a third time to replace a cat chewed cord on the wallphone, he installed the same type used on payphones. The cat did not care for that.
Those heavy old phones actually belonged to Ma Bell. They were so durable when the cat knocked them onto the floor, the phone still worked fine.One Christmas, we got an extension phone – a second phone to be used on the upper level of the house where of us girls slept.It was a yellow slim-line Princess phone.
LuvThemPluggers almost 9 years ago
And you’re an old plugger if you remember party lines, when you could hear the whole conversation and get the neighborhood news at the same time.
Lyons Group, Inc. almost 9 years ago
And despite all this modern technology, the “busy signal”still exist!
I'll fly away almost 9 years ago
Ugh, I remember being at my grandparents in the 70’s and they still had a party line. It was impossible to make a call from their phone because 2 old busybodies would be yapping away for hours.
ladylagomorph76 almost 9 years ago
My grandparents had a wooden phone with a crank handle on one side, Bakelite mouth piece in the center, ear piece on a cord on the side. They’d crank it, ask the operator by name to connect them to someone by name, and it was all one big party line. I really started my love of phones from that. My parents then got a big heavy black phone with a straight phone cord. Boy were they thrilled when those curly phone cords came out!
route66paul almost 9 years ago
After the phone man came out a third time to replace a cat chewed cord on the wallphone, he installed the same type used on payphones. The cat did not care for that.
neverenoughgold almost 9 years ago
A true plugger would just hang up the phone, get a pen and a sheet of paper, and write a letter…
ellisaana Premium Member almost 9 years ago
Those heavy old phones actually belonged to Ma Bell. They were so durable when the cat knocked them onto the floor, the phone still worked fine.One Christmas, we got an extension phone – a second phone to be used on the upper level of the house where of us girls slept.It was a yellow slim-line Princess phone.