I can recall when we had a party line in the 50's although I was so young I wasn't making phone calls to anybody. We did have two TV stations. If you didn't like what was on you could actually walk over to the TV and change the station. Got a third TV station in 1962 and I couldn't believe the luxury of three stations. I can recall going to a local tavern with my dad on a Saturday afternoon so he could have a beer and catch some baseball with friends on what was considered a "big screen" black and white TV. Must have been a whole 21 inch screen up there on a special built wall shelf. That tavern was also the first place I ever saw a color TV...... When they first came out they were super expensive and almost all TV shows were still in black & white anyway. Places like bars bought a lot of the early ones just to attract folks. Just like when the first big screen TV's came out. My dad stopped by the bar on a Sunday night with me just to catch "Bonanza" on TV. It was one of the first shows in color and you could only see it in color on a color TV. I was amazed at seeing color TV, having never, ever, seen such a thing.