I remember when we got our rotary dial telephone with the number: 636-8004. We soon learned one could dial only the last five digits and get a call through–6-8004. There were no area codes. And the phone the telephone company removed had no dial. You simply answered it when it rang. We weren’t on a party-line so every time it rang it was for you. But my wife remembers needing to listen to the ring pattern–say two little longs and a short–before answering as they were on a party line. To call, you simply lifted the receiver and the operator would inquire: “number, please”. And you’d tell her and she would put the call through.
I remember when we got our rotary dial telephone with the number: 636-8004. We soon learned one could dial only the last five digits and get a call through–6-8004. There were no area codes. And the phone the telephone company removed had no dial. You simply answered it when it rang. We weren’t on a party-line so every time it rang it was for you. But my wife remembers needing to listen to the ring pattern–say two little longs and a short–before answering as they were on a party line. To call, you simply lifted the receiver and the operator would inquire: “number, please”. And you’d tell her and she would put the call through.