Sunday, January 15, 2017

"Number Please?"

The Old Bell Telephone Live Operator System, Scottsboro, Alabama

The replica phone plug key chain and the Sterling Silver award pin.  

The old Bell Phone company was located across the street from the Post Office in an upstairs office in Scottsboro, Alabama.  I am unsure of the “official name” of the building, but the Scottsboro  Florist was at one time located on the corner of the block of buildings which would have been next door to the phone company.   All these buildings were two story offices/businesses.  The rest of the building extended into the stock room toward the store front of the old Kennamer’s clothing store building which faced the Laurel Street side of the square. I am unsure of the exact businesses that were located in this block during the time the Bell Telephone Company was located there.  I am using these names to “place” the original building.    The old phone company was located in what would have been the 3rd office building from the corner.  I can’t remember what was located in the street level part of that office, but the Bell  phone/switchboard  company was located in the upstairs part. 

 I remember my mother talking about walking that flight of stairs every night on her way to work.  She, my mother Joycelyn Dean Johnson, worked for several years as a switchboard operator for the phone company. She, as an operator, would actually connect each and every phone call that was made in the area using phone jacks and a rotary dial station which was located at each operators “desk”.  When someone wanted to make a call, they picked up their phone and one of the operators would pick up and ask, “Number Please?” and then the operator would direct your call into the “wall” of connections that faced their desks.  If someone wanted to call “long distance” they would also direct the calls from the same station, only in a different manner.  I remember stories that were told about how all this took place. I remember the number that I called to reach my Grandmother Johnson at the old Johnson Plumbing and Electrical company.  When the operator asked “Number please, I responded 244-0”.  
The "live" switchboard operators in their work stations.
 My Grandmother would answer at the same time my Grandfather answered at the plumbing office.  I would state who I wanted to talk to and the other one would hang up!  This procedure was considered a “party line” connection.  This same procedure was also offered in neighborhoods where for a discount on your monthly bill, you were offered a “party line”.  When you picked up and someone was on the phone, you would merely excuse yourself and try your call later when they were finished with their call.  This process worked for the best most of the time, but there was always a “customer” that would abuse the system and use more time than their rightful share and would unfairly use more than their share of time.   All this sounds so complicated but it seemed to work fine at the time!  I do remember hearing folks talking about how the “new system that was coming” would not work as well and would not be “well received” as the old live operator, “number please” system that was in place. 

Photo was taken at a Christmas Party inside the facility.

Look at how far technology has come since then!     I do regret not taking more notes and paying more attention on this procedure  because there is so much information that I don’t remember in detail.  This phone system preceded the actual home rotary system.  When the “live operator” system was in existence the operators dealt with legitimate phone calls and a “mix” of many other prank type calls which included calls made by folks that may have had a few too many to drink and used the convenient live operator system as a “whipping post” for whatever reason.  After the new phone system was installed, my mother and the other operators, of course, lost their jobs.  Each of the operators were given a gift of a personalized key ring ornament that was an exact replica of the plugs that were used in the phone operation, a beautiful silver pin which was engraved with the new rotary phone,  and the actual headsets that they wore while taking all those calls.  My mother kept her headset for many years but unfortunately they were lost or destroyed in a home fire years later.  I still have the key ring replica and the lapel pin, (please see photo) and many memories of stories that she told about the old phone company.  My mother always worked the night shift but the company, being in operation 24/7, offered many shifts for the different operators.  Years later after the “live operator” Bell phone company closed, the “row” of businesses and offices on that block were burned in a fire.  I remember the florist, and two beauty shops and a couple of office buildings being completely destroyed.  I am unsure of the date of the fire.  No structures were ever built in replacement after the fire.  Today it is used as parking for the surrounding businesses including the Scottsboro Post Office.