[SINC]

I can remember when there were no pay phones within a hundred miles of home. The phone was a wooden box that hung on the wall with an attached mouthpiece and a receiver that hung on a hook. A turn of the crank on the side got you the operator who controlled your "party line" with perhaps four or five neighbours. Our phone number was 3 ring 2 which meant when it rang three times, paused, then rang two more the call was for you:

Yep, that's right gt, I'm older than dirt.

 

[SINC]

Sinc, I can't say that I ever had/saw those sorts of telephones in actual use.

My wife's parents still had one of these in their home on the farm in 1965, the year we married. They did not get dial phones until the early 70s in some areas of rural Saskatchewan.

 

[SINC]

To show my age. I believe I am a tad younger than you lads Dr.G and SINC.

I too recall the nickel call and station to station.

Back in the 60s when a teen, when I went on a road trip with friends, my Mom and I worked out a system to beat the station to station versus those expensive person to person long distance calls.

When I arrived at my destination safely, I placed a long distance person to person call to myself at my parents number. Mom would answer and tell the operator, sorry, he's not home. She would then know I was OK and the call was free.

I remember phone bills of $80 or more for long distance calls home to Sask. from SW Ont. in the early 70s just by calling once a week for 15 minutes or so.

For the record BigDL, I will be 63 on the 25th of this month.