Phones

As Ernestine used to say: "Is this the party to whom I am speaking?"
The Early Days	I don't remember using one as a child. Heck, I can't remember where the phone was located in our Minneapolis house. I do remember my mother speaking German to her lady friends.
The Richfield Days	This one I do remember. It was on a kitchen wall and had a very long cable. It started out as a ROckwell prefix and changed to an UNion one. A black phone with the rotary dial which is why we "dialed" a number. During the first two high school years Kelley and Labiak would often call after supper to discuss homework. I also made my first long distance call when mom had me call Aunt Jeanie to organize a visit.
The Bloomington Days	This was an interesting experience in 1963. It was a party-line meaning several homes shared the same line. My mother quickly had it changed over to a private line.
The Runner	In 1963 it was my turn as, a senior student, to spend a day in the school office on Phone Duty. Basically, I would bring messages to anywhere in the schpool buildings.
The Old Trick	One summer in the 1960s we went to camp at the farm. Mr Daniels wanted to know that we arrived okay. So drove to North Redwood and used a public phone (remember phone booths) and called him using reverse charges (collect) and saying "so and so", a fake name was calling. She then would decline accepting the call and all was sweet. I am sure that operators knew what was happening but couldn't do anything about it.
The Old Folks	My aunts and uncles felt that my grandparents should have a phone. One was installed and I am pretty certain that they never made a call on it.
PBX	At the Holiday Inn we had phone operators but everyone manned the lines at some stage. It meant plugging in a cable to the flashing light which would be an outside line coming in or a room calling. One of the most common things that I would say was either: "Holiday Inn please hold" or "front desk, please hold" bacause of many simultaneous calls happening.
TELEX	At the Holiday Inn we had a Telex system that was used for reservations. It was similar to the one in the photo but also had a card reader. We had cards for the most common HIAs near us and would save having to dial in the long distance phone number. As you typed the message would be typed onto the receiving Telex. It made a loud clattering noise and since it was a live line I would rush to read it and then type a reply. At first it the machine was in the lobby so guests would be able to answer questions. Later it was moved into a back room.
Apartments	In 1968 and 1969 I rented two apartments with other guys. We had a phone in each place and I am sure it was under my name since I instigated the adventure.
Floating City	In the early 70's my friend Newsy was on an aircraft carrier and his job found him in telecommunications. There were 700 phones on the ship and he had to ensure that they worked.
Hawaii	The three months that I was in Peace Corps training I never used a phone. No big deal since I wasn't a phone user in the first place. I never called anyone, they called me.
Fiji	I was in a remote spot on the big island. A phone line connected the two high schools in the area. The bulky black phones had dry cells connected to ring the bell. To make a call you cranked the armature on a nearby box which would ring a bell on the secretary's box. I never used the one in the Food Store (I was in charge of that department) but Matron would call the bursar to place food orders. To make a call out of the school the secretary would connect to the PO in Korovu. She would tell him what number (mostly in Suva) she wanted. Then hang up and wait for him to call back when the connection was ready. If you wanted to make an overseas call you would have to book it for a future time usually the following day. Eric Sigston used to pick up the phone in the staff room and ask to talk to the Queen.
New Zealand I	1973. We applied for a phone ($35) and were put onto a waiting list. At that time phones were made in Australia and there was a limit on how many were brought in by the government. Ours took about three months. Since it was so expensive to call the US, when David was born we sent telegrams to the grandparents.
Dawson	In 1975 we returned to Minnesota for 7 months. We ended up in a small country town and didn't have a phone. Gail's mother needed to tell Gail that she had an interview the next day. So she phoned the Dawson police department and they drove over to deliver the message.
New Zealand II	In 1976 we moved into our first home and applied for a phone. Same problem as 1973 but this time a former student and now a friend, was working for the Post Office and he was able to wangle a phone for us in just days.
Crossed	In 1980 we moved into a townhouse in Maplewood, MN. Turned out that to get a phone you had to go to a NW Bell store in a mall and rent one. Soon we were getting bills for long distance calls that we didn't make. The first time they reversed the charges without question. The next month they put up a fight but did it. The third month they refused to do so. I then threatened to switch to another company. Guess what? They called the number in question and asked a few questions which proved we didn't make the calls. They then said it was crossed wires and the problem was fixed.
New Zealand III	I had smartly kept the phone active (for tenants to use) when we went to the States and had the property manager pay the bills out of rental income. That meant when we returned we had a phone from day one and everyone knew our number. We moved into a larger place and we got a newish push button phone and I added a second phone connection myself. Eventually, we had a teenage daughter whose best friend lived a toll call away. She easily racked up $200 one month, and I removed that second phone.
Pay Phones	This was before they switched to only using credit cards and people put coins into the phone. From age 4 Renee would check every phone (say in an airport) by picking the handpiece up and then pulling down the cradle. You'd be amazed how many people failed to do it once they finished, leaving change for their call in the machine. For a little girl she made a lot of money that way.
Internet	1995 and along came the Internet. So there we were with a modem and David's computer hooked up to it. But it also meant no phone calls could get through or go out when the Internet was engaged. When we moved to Waiuku in 1998 we signed up for a second line, meaning phone and internet could be used simultaneously. By 2011 broadband was in place in NZ and it meant you could use phone and Internet simultaneously.
Answer Phone	I began doing computer support in 1998 and eventually I had two particular clients who panicked over little things and always calling for help. So I had to get an answer phone and train Gail to not answer the phone until she heard who was calling and if it was one of those two, don't answer. One client got so upset with me not calling back immnediately that he offered to buy me a mobile phone so I could be reached anytime and anywhere. I declined the offer.
It Had To Happen	David was earlier cell phone owner because his job was similar to mine. Ne was next in the family to get one. I resisted until I began to see photos from them being good as with a real camera. So I bought one for that reason; plus a phone is handy in an emergency. But we kept the land line with an answerphone that has wireless handsets around the house. btw my high school buddy claims to live in 1965 and does not own a cell phone.
The Best	In 2002 my brother brought us to Mall of America. I admired a Goofy telephone. But it was too big to bring back on the plane. Big surprize for my birhday later that year he bought it and mailed it to me. Even better than just looking good it has Goofy speaking. And even better than that it works as a real phone, even here in New Zealand.
Future	I wonder if I will live long enough to get one of those things you stick in your ear for handless phone communication.
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