I awoke this morning and flipped through the Guide on my Satellite TV until I settled on a movie entitled, “Public Enemies” and then began to watch it. Seeing some of the old cars, buildings and clothing caused my mind to amble way back down memory lane. All the way back to the time when the phone number of my Great Aunt, Dorothea Fischer Miller, was ‘Cedar’-359. I know that some of you will recall those days even if only passed down by oral traditions from the elders in your family.
I grew up in Greenville, South Carolina beginning in 1958 until permanently moving to another town in 1979. I was privileged to be a part of what was once a very close-knit Family which was proud of our Lineage and History. My early years were those of weekly and in some cases, daily visits to various family members’ homes and vice versa. All the children would play outside or in a remote garage where we wouldn’t be underfoot or within earshot of “the Grown-ups” as they talked over coffee, tea or the occasional drink of alcohol. Rarely would a Television be on even if one existed somewhere in the house because those things were still a relatively new thing and were so expensive as to prohibit anyone beneath the “Well-To-Do” level of income from owning one. Besides that, there were only three stations available the year I was born. Radio was still the big thing those days. Radios and phonographs (Record Players). Yeah, Man. That was the thing!
I can recall eavesdropping on a great many of my Elder’s conversations growing up which is why, I suppose, my mind drifted back to listening to my Aunt Dot, as I called her, talking with other family members about their times spent at the Switchboard at Southern Bell Telephone And Telegraph. Wait! What? “What’s a Switchboard”, you ask? Well. You see, kids, back in The Day all our telephones were usually in one location in the home or office connected to the ‘network’ by wire through the walls and out to where other wires were strung together along what is called, of all things, Telephone Poles. Before electrical lines began to be strung along all the existing poles found nearly everywhere, only Telegraph then later Telephone lines were hung along their paths and the name, Telephone Pole, was adopted and has stuck until today.
My Aunt Dot was charged with sitting in one spot for a minimum of twelve hours per day at a desk wearing a headset and plugging and pulling wires into and from various patchbays connecting callers and disconnecting them when their calls were complete. She would have to keep checking on in on the calls to see whether someone was still talking on the line(s) so she could disconnect them as they finished their gossip or business. She used to have some wild stories to tell and she always knew all the latest gossip on this politician's affair with the Wife of the business owner down the street and even family members! Yes, Charlie. Someone listening to part or all of your conversations is nothing new. Everyone complains that our Government and other agencies invade our Privacy when they do this but it was a necessary evil when the Telephone Operator connected your call. No one ever thought a thing about an Operator eavesdropping on your conversations back then other than the very savvy criminals.
I still remember some of those old Phone Numbers, some six-digit and some seven as well as the Call Letters of my Dad’s Ham Radio Operator License. How great it would be to pick up my iPhone and be able to “dial”, ‘Cedar’-359 and hear Aunt Dot’s or Uncle Dan’s voice again. What a kick it would be to key a microphone on my desk and speak my Dad’s Call Letters over the air and have him answer just once more.
There is so much of our local History which isn’t taught anymore and was never written in books or magazines. That History is a rich one in the Upstate as it is nearly everywhere else in this country and it’s those little stories which never made the Headlines which help to shape the bigger stories from our local History. If you forget everything else, remember it’s these kinds of stories from your own Family History which contribute to those bigger stories and events so pass those stories along to your children. Teach them about their Ancestors and their Heritage because if you don’t your own History will be lost as well as your Family History. Teach them just how important it is to pass the stories you heard from your Elders and the stories of which you were a part down to their own children. In short, keep the Legacy alive.
Toodles for now.
