OVER MY SHOULDER

Every time that I use the telephone, I am reminded of the old rural phone lines and the old rural party line that we had when I was a youngster. I can remember quite clearly the old oak case telephone hanging on the kitchen wall. Usually it hung at a height that the “mouth piece” was about the correct height for Mom to stand and talk into it----one could tell a “real phone fan” when the phone was mounted so that the mouth piece was the correct height for one sitting. The receiver was cradled on the side of the phone connected with a flexible wire to the phone.

I can remember that our “ring” was one long and two shorts. Christine’s ring was two shorts and a long---(don’t know why I remember that). On a party line, every one had a different ring, so that you would know when someone was “ringing” you----not that it made a lot of difference, as anyone could listen in----and many did. It was not unusual for some one on the line to volunteer information relative to the conversation----I suppose that some of these calls were the first “conference” calls. There were those who “visited” daily with the neighbors who were on the party line.

The phone system consisted of the telephone hanging on the wall, several miles of wire (I would guess about the #9 size) that connected each family’s phone to the system, and to the central office (we called the operator in the central office “operator”---and sometimes “Mom” when our mother worked as an operator---or Ida--when Ida Sams was the operator). When Mom worked the switch board, we kids never wanted to go through the operator---as she always recognized our voice---ask brother Frank and Ken Swender.

One could ring direct to anyone who was on their party line. However, if you desired to call someone in another neighborhood, or on another party line, you would have to call “central” --- “one long” -- and ask for the party that you were calling.
The operator would connect your party line with the other party line, and ring the individual that you wanted to call---usually, one would call by name not by number.

The operator knew every family in the area and the ring of nearly every family, or at least all of those who were on a party line that was connected through the local central office. If you wanted to call long distance, you would give Ida (the operator) the name of the person you were calling, and the town in which they lived, and she would call that town and their central operator would connect you to your party.

An operator would sleep in the central office by the switch board, in case someone needed to go through the switch board for an emergency or a family crisis---often to call Dr. Kennedy if someone in the family was ill---or if that new baby was about to arrive.----Dr. Kennedy would be there shortly. A late night ring to central or to anyone on the line would certainly bring others to the line to see if they could assist with any thing.

The operator also acted as an information center----If you called a party, and they did not answer, the operator might inform you that your party was not home, but that the party had planned to visit a given neighbor today, and would you like her to ring that neighbor to see if they were there? You see the operator needed to “listen in to be sure that you had gotten properly connected to your party”----besides she might have some information that you needed.

It was rather difficult to have a private conservation---with a party line where anyone and everyone could listen in, and where the central operator could and sometimes did listen in on parts of the conservation (Central had to “check” in on the conversation periodically to see if the conversation was completed, so that she could disconnect the lines for the next call). In todays world that sounds like “eavesdropping”,---I am sure that today we would not appreciate people listening in---however, back then we did not see our neighbors all that often, and it was good to hear from them (or anyone) on occasions.

Besides---It was real nice to have someone (the central operator in most cases) to know the location of those whom we were looking, or to be able to provide information that was needed. In general as I remember it, the operator provided considerable more assistance than the operators do today---(and even more and better information than that infernal answering machine)

In cases of emergency, or in cases where two (or more) individuals “tied up” the line too long ----- those talking would be asked to hang up so that you could use the line---usually those on the line complied with the request----(at least Christine and I always did)---for the most part everyone on the party line did pretty well in “sharing” the time that they were on the phone.

If there was information that needed to be gotten out to the entire community, the Central operator (or who ever was giving out the information) would give the line ring (which as I recall was 19--or thereabouts--short rings). This would alert everyone that there was an important announcement to be made on the phone.----Maybe an Annual School Meeting, the death of a beloved neighbor, or one that I recall ---the whole South side of Main Street in Blue Mound was on fire, and anyone who could assist needed to come to town.

The phone lines were strung on poles (usually poles that had been cut from the timber, or from a near by hedge row)---most party lines were single lines, thus did not need cross arms. The line at each pole was connected to the pole via a glass insulator, so as to keep the wire from being grounded to the pole. Brush, tree limbs or any other contact with the ground would weaken the signal to the point that one could not use the phone.

Each spring, the neighbors on the party line would meet and “walk” their section of the line, checking to see that it was free of brush or any other items that might ground the line, and to see that none of the insulators were broken (sometimes, the young men used the insulators as target practice for a BB gun or a rifle----usually not more than once if they were found out by Dad or the Neighbors). It really did not make much difference whether it was Dad or the neighbor---Dad found out anyway ---- besides having to work to pay for the insulator, there was a punishment attached to the deed.---(not that I was ever guilty of this infraction--I just recall what the “big boys” told me)

Sometimes, the line would get broken, or a joint would rust or corrode so as to render the line unserviceable----broken lines could be found quite easily, but a rusted or corroded splice was always difficult to find. Usually, each family would inspect and “keep up” the line along their property.

I remember that Dad would always caution us to not use the phone or stand near the phone during a thunder storm, as the phone line would “pick up” any lightning strike that was near the line. The lightning would then follow the phone line into the house---I have on many occasions seen a large ball of fire emit from the mouth piece of the phone and travel across the room. Usually after a thunder storm, either the phone or the line (or both) would require repair.

Today’s phones are perhaps more convenient, and certainly are more private, but the old wall phones and the party line were just pretty good for their time. They served us well, and “kept the neighborhood and community together”. In some ways I miss that informal folksy contact---and certainly miss the assistance of “central” on the switch board ----ever once in awhile when I am in our attic, I look fondly at that old wall phone, and the bucket of old phone line insulators. LDC