On Mon, 01 Jun 2015 02:36:30 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 01 Jun 2015 02:59:06 -0400, micky
wrote:


I have to tell you about when my mother moved to western Pa. in 1945,
from Indianapolis. While NYC and probably some other places had dial
phones already, we didn't. So my mother would tell the operator,
OLiver 4-1383 please, or Oliver 4-3343 please,and after a couple days or
weeks, the operator told her, You don't have to say Oliver 4, Ma'am.
They're all Oliver 4.

I remember when I came home and they had installed dials. They changed
the phone in my parents' bedroom entirely, but the wall phone in the
idtchen they took the top off, connected a couple wires, and attached a
top with a dial.

One time I called my best friend and I heard click click, click click
click. I hung up and our phone rang. He had been calling me. The
phone didn't ring at his end when I called.

When I was REAL young, my parents phone was on a "party line". Sometimes
I'd pick up the phone, and the other party would be talking. I still
dont understand how that worked. I assume the other party had a
different phone number.

Yes, somehow they would have a different ring, I think. You were
supposed to only answer your own ring.

When we moved back to Indy and my mother signed up for the phone, the
customer service person said she could get a party line with no other
party on it, so she'd save money with no inconvenience. I'm sure we were
not the only ones who got that.. And I think we had that for the whole
8 years we were there. But maybe we had to change to a private line
eventually and she didnt' mention it.

My guess is that they ran two phone numbers thru
the same wires to save on wires. My parents were glad when they got rid
of the party line, but I think they had to pay a little more.