Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Party Lines, Radio, Getting Snow Swept off.

Used to be part of a 9 party line. Prior to that I vaguely remember the folks turning the crank and requesting a connection from the switchboard.

Dad used to lie in bed with his transistor radio resting on his stomach, listening to WCCO and cussing Bob Allison for striking out.

My wife worked as a switchboard operator in Cairo Illinois in the mid-1960's. Lots of party lines, and dial phones were slow getting to that part of the state. The three pay phones in town were also operator-assisted and callers would always claim they didn't have exact change. "Ain't gots no dime- - -only gots a quartuh"- - - - - - "No coin, no call!"
Jerry

Saving green stamps.

Used to wake the mornin before the rooster crowed, searchin for soda bottles

Ration stamps, war bonds, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, and the Andrews Sisters.

Phone was #124.

Long ago and far away.

L.W.

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.

Your mention of war bonds rang a bell. I was in 1st grade so must have been 1953. A Soldier came to our class selling War Stamps. I got a 15 cent one. Felt very patriotic.

Our party line ring was 1 long and 1 short. All of us kids would gather at the home of a friend after school to watch cartoons. It was the only tv in the neighborhood. Mom had us licking green stamps until we got sick from the glue. I don't think sponges had evolved yet.

I had a 4 party line.One of the families had three teenagers.Try to get a line on that.They would purposely leave the phone off the hook so we could not use the phone and then they could use it when ever they wanted. This was in 1976

1st color TV in the neighborhood where I grew up in SW PA a neighbor had it. It was a sheet of plastic. Blue on top,green on the bottom and sort of brown in the middle .Out of about 6 houses in the area,they ha d the only TV .We listened to the radio. It was one of those big tall ones.
Everyone had coal furnaces. On winter days ,when you walked outside,you could see this dark gray cloud hanging all along the hill top from the chimneys.Everyone kept a bushel basket full of corn cobs near the furnace to get a fire started

There was an old lady down the street that always listen in. Made my mother mad as hell!

A guy on my girlfriend's party line would bang pot lids together next to his handset while we were talking to each other. I hated that old geezer!
Jerry