James Williams
Well-known Member
Im tired of having trouble with my cell phone,so Im going back to using my house phone
- Thread starter James Williams
- Start date
SweetFeet
Well-known Member
Might have trouble with a few who "listen-in" on that one. 
I remember the old party lines... we had a neighbor lady who had an insatiable appetite for gossip. When that woman wasn't busy listening-in, she kept the party line tied up with gossipy gab.
My mom sometimes had to inform her that she needed to use the line for a few minutes to place an important call. (AND you can bet she listened-in as soon as mom placed her call.)
I remember the old party lines... we had a neighbor lady who had an insatiable appetite for gossip. When that woman wasn't busy listening-in, she kept the party line tied up with gossipy gab.
My mom sometimes had to inform her that she needed to use the line for a few minutes to place an important call. (AND you can bet she listened-in as soon as mom placed her call.)
Donald Lehman
Well-known Member
We did the same.
My mother used to collect for the phone company back when we had crank phones. People came here to the house to pay their phone bills.
I remember when we went to the dial phones,my uncle came here and wanted our crank phone to make something. He said it had something to do with catching fish. I wasn't old enough to get through my head what he was gonna do. I don't know if it had to do with electrocuting them or what.
I remember when we went to the dial phones,my uncle came here and wanted our crank phone to make something. He said it had something to do with catching fish. I wasn't old enough to get through my head what he was gonna do. I don't know if it had to do with electrocuting them or what.
rossow (mn)
Member
I love those old phones -- their design made them pieces of art (at least from today's viewpoint). I'm trying to remember our "ring" back in the early '50s --either three shorts or two shorts and a long, as I recall. I still have three of those phones, but none hooked up. As I said, today they're wall art.
Geo-TH,In
Well-known Member
Two cans connected by a string is trouble free. Connect another string for conference calls.
I dumped my landline line years ago and never plan to go back.
Some places in Indiana, Verizon works better. Other places AT&T or sprint may work better. Really depends who owns the towers and who is piggybacking off the towers.
I dumped my landline line years ago and never plan to go back.
Some places in Indiana, Verizon works better. Other places AT&T or sprint may work better. Really depends who owns the towers and who is piggybacking off the towers.
Sure does make you stop and think about just how much rural phone service did to connect far-flung areas to the rest of the world. Even makes you think more of how much the telegraph did in its day--imagine getting information about events in Europe or from the opposite coast of the US in minutes instead of weeks. My parents were still on a party line with my grandparents just down the road in the late 90's--one of the last ones around this area, from what we were told at the time--and I remember connecting up one of the old ringer-only phones they had still lying around from the days before dial phones in our downstairs to use as an extension when I was in my early teens--sometime in the early 80's.
Many years ago, there was a storekeeper in my county who did the same thing. He had one in the store, one in his house on one side, and one in his mother's house on the other side. The store and his house were on one exchange, but his mother's house was on another, which meant it was long distance to call a hundred yards.
Some years later, both he and the mother had died, and the store was closed. His widow was talking on the "regular" phone with a friend, when the crank phone started ringing off the wall. She called the sheriff, who arrived in time to arrest the teenagers that had broken into the store and vandalized it. It seems one of the idiots thought it would be funny to play with the crank phone!
Some years later, both he and the mother had died, and the store was closed. His widow was talking on the "regular" phone with a friend, when the crank phone started ringing off the wall. She called the sheriff, who arrived in time to arrest the teenagers that had broken into the store and vandalized it. It seems one of the idiots thought it would be funny to play with the crank phone!
I have an old wall/crank phone in my shop, and I have it hooked up to our phone line. When someone is in my shop when I get a call they look hard at the phone as the clapper really makes the bells ring loud. This phone is a Monarch...the best of the brands back then.
Years ago I took out the old batteries (they were corroded) and put in a dial so I can call out if needed by using the old dial setup. With the dial inside the front door there is nothing on the outside surface to ruin the looks of the thing.
My father worked on rural phone lines in Iowa in the 1940s and 1950s. He said when the modern black dial phones came into use they hauled the old wall crank phones to the dump by the pickup load because everybody was glad to get rid of them. In those days you could not "own" a phone, it was the property of the phone company.
I have been offered over $400.00 for my phone; some day my son will get it.
LA in WI
When small, I had a generator from a crank telephone.
I tried to use it to make worms come to the top of the ground before going fishing.
IIRC, It did not work well, probably due to impatience and the fact that I placed the wires into the ground about 6" apart.
The generator is still around here somewhere. Maybe I'll try it again.
Dean
I tried to use it to make worms come to the top of the ground before going fishing.
IIRC, It did not work well, probably due to impatience and the fact that I placed the wires into the ground about 6" apart.
The generator is still around here somewhere. Maybe I'll try it again.
Dean
farmerjohn
Well-known Member
Early 1900's facebook.
Eldon (WA)
Well-known Member
(quoted from post at 09:11:10 01/05/17) Might have trouble with a few who "listen-in" on that one.
I remember the old party lines... we had a neighbor lady who had an insatiable appetite for gossip. When that woman wasn't busy listening-in, she kept the party line tied up with gossipy gab.
My mom sometimes had to inform her that she needed to use the line for a few minutes to place an important call. (AND you can bet she listened-in as soon as mom placed her call.)
We called listening in on another call "rubbering"....not sure why. Later, when you could make "person to person" long distance calls, my parents would have us kids call and ask for an unknown person when we got back to college 200 miles away....just to make sure we made it. No charges that way...
Russ from MN
Well-known Member
- Location
- Bemidji MN
I have one of those too! They do put out a fair amount of voltage, don't know if I ever tested it, but it will give you quite a shock.
farmerwithmutt
Well-known Member
Maybe short for rubbernecking
Geo-TH,In
Well-known Member
Don't care who owns the towers. When I'm in AT&T territory, my phone says extended coverage. During peak times, AT&T customers get priority and I get crap. Opposite is also true when AT&T customers are roaming in Verizon territory. Yes they may share the same tower, but good luck getting service if you aren't connected to the right tower.
When I was traveling in Michigan my phone battery was drained looking for a tower to connect to. I don't know who owned those towers but I got crappie service.
Just my experience.
geo
When I was traveling in Michigan my phone battery was drained looking for a tower to connect to. I don't know who owned those towers but I got crappie service.
Just my experience.
geo
Mark - IN.
Well-known Member
I have one that looks very similar to that. Lift the handset and the radio turns on. On the right side, the generator crank tunes the stations. There's a volume knob on it too.
Mark
Mark
When I was a kid we had a 4 party party line. My father called my grandmother, who was on our line and lived next door, to tell her come over for dinner. He said "come and get what the cat dragged in while it is hot". She didn't answer, the "busy body" down the road decided to pickup and listen but she picked up to fast and she is the one who got the invitation. We laughed about that for a long time.
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