Eight Party Line Back Then
When I was in high school we had one rotary black dial telephone that was an eight party line. It was located in the living room. This was around the late 1940. We had to wait a considerable amount of time after applying for a phone for the telephone lines to be hung along our unpaved country road in Tuscaloosa County. This was several years after WWII and wiring was still scarce.
Didn’t even have electricity
I ask a friend of mind about her experience with the eight party line and she replied, “Honey, I lived in Kentucky and we didn’t even have electricity, much less a phone until I graduated from high school!”
The bad part about having a phone in the country was that it was an eight partyline! My daddy would come in the living room sometimes at night to find that I had been on the phone an hour with my boy friend. He stressed that this was not being considerate of the other seven party line holders. I would smile and say good night and hang up.
Had to ask with emergencies
If there was an emergency and you needed to use the phone you could kindly ask to the persons talking that you had an emergency and needed to use the phone. Always, the other persons would comply.
Fast forward to today. I have several phones in my house… some portable and one stationary with a “hard line.” My phone gives me a blinking red light to indicate that someone has let me a message. Punching a button I can listen to a vocal recorded messages. When my phone rings I can even identify who is calling me by a digital ID system. So if I am busy and don’t’ want to talk to that person, I just let my phone take a message. Sometimes this new communication makes us rude.
Cell phones are the norm today
All my grandchildren have cell phones, some have graduated to I- phones. Now instead of talking they are texting. If someone from outer space came to earth what do you believe they would think to see people walking, riding in cars, eating lunch, etc with a cell phone held to their ear?
In this day of communication do you feel the need for peace and quiet? Do you take the time to watch a sunset or marvel at the stars without being interrupted with that familiar phone ring sound you selected? Maybe not.
The other day a neighbor’s child asked to use my phone to text my grandchild. I replied, “ you will have to use my cell phone, I don’t have texting ability.” To my surprise he took my phone and replied, “you can text on your phone.” I learned something that day. As of today, I haven’t learned to text. Slow grandmother!
Some time I wish to be back in those eight party line days. These days, too much technology for me!
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I remember
In 1962, while living in St. Croix Falls, WI (In Air Force at nearby Radar station), we had a central telephone operator;, the phones had no dial capability. You just picked it up and if no one was using asked the operator to connect you. My phone number was 16J ring two. BTW, everyone’s rings came in. There was an old lady who listened to everyone’s calls too.
…. and our phone number was #60.
I remember a party line at my grandmothers. Not many details however. How about you Annette, or Jean Arthur Judah, do you remember this?
We had one in quincy WA when I was 8yrs opd
I remember in Illinois, same thing, a party line & if a couple of the older ladies were talking, you had to wait to get the line!!
In the 30’s and 40’s we had party lines but never more than 4 usually 2 other families. We became casual “friends” like some we have now on FB. When ever arose the rare event of anything pressing or urgent, a simple request brought instant access; as I recall there were very few instances of “listening in” – I think the knowledge that it can work both ways provided a measure of privacy. I became an accomplished “emergency” phone caller by age 4. Our operator knew everyone and who we probably needed to talk to…it was a nice time to be a kid….and probably a grownup too. (Selma, Alabama)
In the 1970s our home still had a party line. The phone number was 4 digits.
Yes, we were on the party line with Lewie Cashwell, Sally and I can’t remember the other girls name (I think Judy). Lewie sure had a line for the gals. I learned a lot from his calls as a young person and pre-teen.
not so long ago, either, out in the country! I remember, as late as the mid-70s my aunt and uncle were on a “party line” and I remember her exchanging a few “pleasantries” with who ever was on the line (Oh, hello, Isabelle..how are you?”) when she picked up and with a cheery, “Oh, that’s alright, it’s not important..I can call later, ‘bye now” and the others would carry on their conversation. It was sort of “expected” that if you picked up and knew who was on the line, you’d chat briefly before you hung up.
We had a 3 party line and me being a teenager it seemed these old women were always on there when I needed it lol
At our rural home in Evergreen, Al. we had a 4-party line in the 60’s. No dialing as a local operator would ask “number please.” Our number was 365R4, meaning that 4 short quick rings was someone calling you.
David. Do you remember The Evergreen Ice and Fuel Company? I picked up a wooden Mallet thet had “Compliments of Evergreen Ice Company phone 191 ” printed on it.
We had one when we were growing up.
We share one with one other family.
My grandparents in West Tennessee had one with 2 other families through the 60s and early 70s.
We still had a party line in the sixties.
I remember these days .
My Granny Slatton was on a four party line! As a child I never talked on the phone much…..it wasn’t something children did back then!!!!! No gabbing for hours with friends….or texting! LOL….
We couldn’t afford a private line……just fortunate to have a party line!
I remember part lines. We have had them at times. Both in Athens, Georgia and here in Clay County, we have had someone who would listen in on our calls.
We had a party line in the early 70’s in Blount county
Still have to buy Internet from Verizon
My Speegle grandparents in Trimble (Cullman Co.), Alabama had a party line late 70s / early 80s. It never failed to pick up the line and two sisters were on the line talking to each other.
We never phones untill after I enlisted into the Marine Corps in 1962, no lines existed. Rural Route, Atmore, Alabama.
I remember party lines. Even had one in 1980 in Texas.
I remember, still had a two party after I married
We moved out off County Road 74, Selma, in 1972. We did not have a phone at all for 4 years, because Bell South would not run a line out there. They said it was not financially feasible. When we did finally get a phone in 1976, it was an 8 party line. A couple of years later it went to a four party line, and finally around 1984 we got a private line. Talk about hallelujah!
my grandparents had a party line. we were not allowed to use the phone or listen in
We had a party line in Cullman in the fiftys. If we used the phone we were allowed 5 minutes.
I grew up in Mobile/Toulminville area. We had on too – the tall black dial phone and party lines. Each had a different ring sequence. Didn’t stop others from picking up on our calls.
We had one growing up , and I had one for 5 years when I first moved to Opelika in1960
I remember when we had one.
I REMEMBER THAT.
Yes we had a 8 party line
We had a Party Line Back in the 70s, I think it was three families on it. Yipes! I can not imagine 8 families on one line.
My sister and I thought we had it good. We were on just a two-party line.
I remember my older siblings picking up the phone and chortling “Mrs. Fane and Mrs. Nesselroad, gabble gabble gabble.” then hanging up and being sure the above stated parties would never guess who was cutting in.
We had a 3 party line when I was in elementary school
1971 we had six party line took a long time to get the lines run.
Remember the 8s in mid 60s, hell, but even that low cost convenience quickly outpaced our budget & we ended up losing it cause we could not afford the fee. no obama phones back then, when tshf it’s going to be ROUGH for young survivors, they won’t be survivors for very long though.
We had a 5-party in early to late 50s, then 3, then 2 in 60s, to 1 in 64/65, in Rose Hill area.
Done that,. Not with eight, until I threaten the telephone co I would sue their pants off if I had any more troubly gettin on line, all it would take not being able to call for medical assistance for a riding student or an emergancy for a horse. 2 weeks later we had a private line.
This was before soap operas. My mother in law use to get all her gossip listening in on an eight party line!
I got one better. There was old man at end of line who would get drunk take phone off hook noone could use it or you would be talking and he would put his old goat on phone make it bray until you hung up. Someone would have to go to next party line call phone office for manager. He would have to come out make him hang phone up or get goat off the line. He got the first private line.
I remember my grandparents were on a 3 party line every Sunday afternoon for 3 hours or more a elderly lady would be talking to her sister.