April 25, 2019 (Thursday)
On April 25th, we observe National Telephone Day.
The situation with phones used to be so simple. The telephone company owned the phone and all the equipment. If something went wrong, they came and fixed it. The company took care of installation of phones, wiring, and whatever else might be involved.
The telephone always starred in the radio program, “Duffy’s Tavern,” when Archie (Ed Gardner) answers it: “Hello, Duffy’s Tavern, where the elite meet to eat. Archie the manager speakin’. Duffy ain’t here–oh, hello, Duffy.”
Bob Newhart became famous with side-splitting one-sided telephone conversations, such as one from Sir Walter Raleigh in America to his boss in England, played by Bob. “Who’s that?” somebody asked. Bob replied, “It’s Nutty Walt again.” Then he tries to interpret what “Nutty Walt” is trying to tell him about discovering tobacco. Hilarious.*
One could either use a private phone, a business phone or a pay phone. Pay phones were usually found in a little booth on the street, near a business, or inside a building of some sort.
Most phones were connected to wires, but some rural communities were sparsely settled, and sometimes families in those places relied on telephones that worked via radio waves. The phone looked a little different but it had the familiar hand set and dial. If I’m not mistaken, the phones required batteries.
For years, it all seemed so simple, but one day the government decided that the existing system was a monopoly, and split the company up, inviting competition not only in service but also in equipment. That started a revolution that continues until today. And the arrangement changed: the company remained responsible to service to the house or business, but the customers were responsible for everything needed in the house.
I was an amateur radio operator for a while, and I had a radio in my car that could contact radio towers tied into phone systems. So I could make a phone call from the car. But that didn’t last long, because cell phones came into being and anybody and everybody had a phone with them in the car or wherever they were.
About that time there came into being the cordless phone, which could be carried about the house and used as if it were the same kind of phone we were used to.
Nowadays most people have cell phones, and most of those are “smart” phones that can cost up to $1000 and serve as computers, cameras, flashlights, and cameras that can make photographs or videos. People love their phones. Many people are discontinuing use of landlines and opting for cell phones altogether. Texting is very popular.
I wrote a blog a few years back about the telephone and it included some interesting pictures and discussions. Click here to see it.
Celebrate National Telephone Day by calling someone and telling them Happy National Telephone Day! Share your vintage telephone pictures on social media using #NationalTelephoneDay to show the different phones that have been used!