In the 7th grade, we had two candlestick phones and a dry cell to play
with during ham radio club, and everything worked (except it didn't
ring, but that was ok because they had no bells. )

Any help appreciated.
Hmmm,
In this digital age, playing with analog?

Yup... It's called POTS Plain Old Telephone Service.

One thing to consider... Many fax machines and other devices have
dial tone detection circuits. The mere presence of DC voltage on the
line will not make them dial. Also, getting the correct 20 Hz ring
frequency and voltage (with the right current) in a home grown circuit
is a pain unless you are willing to get fairly elaborate.

Here is a fancy Ringdown Circuit from Viking Electronics. List price
is $106

http://www.vikingelectronics.com/products/pdf/dle-200b(sm).pdf

Beachcomber