Here it is, proof that there was life on the planet before cell phones. This phone was definitely not portable. It hung on the wall, probably the kitchen wall, and was connected to the rest of the world by wires and, usually, a telephone exchange. The exchange was operated by real people, not recordings that asked you to “press 1.” There were no dials or keypads on these models. No getting around it, you had to speak to a human being. It was the early 1900s.

When you wanted to call someone, you would turn the crank to alert a switchboard operator at the exchange. This person, usually a woman, would ask the number you wished to call, for example: 12 ring 3. Your line would be connected to the other party’s line and the operator would ring that number. In smaller exchanges you could simply tell the operator who you wanted to speak to and the chances were good that she would know if your party was at home, at work or out cutting firewood. If you needed to make a long distance call, which would be outside of your exchange, then you would be connected to a long distance operator who would pass your call on to another exchange. It might take some time so it was best not to be in a hurry.

In the 1930s, the Norway telephone exchange worked closely with the fire department. If you reported a fire at night the operator would connect you with the Chief’s home and stay on the line to receive the names of volunteers to contact. The operator connected the lines and rang the phones simultaneously. The information was given once and the men prepared for work to fight the fire. Since the firemen lived in the village the response time was quite short. They would head for the fire station and get the equipment rolling.

Party lines connected people. Several phones would be connected to the same wire or line. Privacy was next to impossible. There were people who would pick up the receiver, the part you listened with, whenever they heard the bell ring indicating someone was calling the exchange. Juicy information was intercepted and shared: who did what and who got caught. There really were no secrets in small towns.

The phone in the picture hangs on display at the Norway Museum and Historical Society and was donated from the Estate of Frank Towne. The only marking on this double box wall phone indicates Standard of the World, Ericson Telephone New York. Ericson mostly manufactured the working pieces of the phones that other companies purchased and mounted on their own wooden bodies. This model dates around 1931.

Beside the wooden boxes holding the pieces together, there are four main parts. The magneto, a small electricity generator that made bells ring along the line, operated by turning the crank. The crank stuck out of the wooden box that contained the magneto. The receiver which hung on the left side of that same box was for listening. On the front of the box was the transmitter that you would speak into. Lastly, inside the bottom box with the writing shelf were the dry cell batteries. The batteries provided the current to carry the voice to other phones if the exchange didn’t provide the power.

Telephones have gone through many changes since Alexander Graham Bell made that first brief call to Mr. Watson. Many style changes took place over the years and a number of manufacturers left their mark on the industry. Most phones were practical and utilitarian while others were decorative and flashy.

The last crank phone system in the United States was operated for thirty years from a switchboard in the Hathaway family home in Bryant Pond, Maine. In 1981 the Bryant Pond Telephone Company was sold to the Oxford County Telephone and Telegraph Company which eventually converted the system to dial and touch tone phones.

Although we must be closed to the public now, we look forward to welcoming you when we can reopen. To view some of our past programs visit us at www.norwayhistoricalsociety.org.

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