2 longs and a short -- Hello
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Topic: 2 longs and a short -- Hello
Posted By: den/southern illinoi
Subject: 2 longs and a short -- Hello
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 7:26pm
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I may be giving away my age (70) or just how rural we were when I was a kid in the 50s but I remember the old phone on the wall that rang all the local phone calls and we had a certain ring such as 2 longs and a short (really do not remember what ours was for sure). Several years later we got a rotary phone but were still on a party line so if you picked up the phone, there could be someone on there talking to someone else. How many of you remember the old 2 longs and a short type phone set up? We've come a long way now with cell phones. Den ------------- Own 4 wheel 20, 2-5015, 5020 and associated equipment and 2 electric forklifts. |
Replies:
Posted By: Calvin Schmidt
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 7:35pm
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Until 1968 our phone number was 6 r 1 -2 (one long and two short) ------------- Nothing is impossible if it is properly financed |
Posted By: FloydKS
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 7:39pm
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We were on an eight party line...number was 502-j1.. don't remember the ring... memories ------------- Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die |
Posted By: JW in MO
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 7:49pm
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I remember our phone number, think ours was two longs. Always picked up the hand set and ask, "Line busy?" ------------- Maximum use of available resources! |
Posted By: jiminnd
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 7:57pm
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yes, I remember that, same thou don't remember the ring, had a party line and a guy started selling insurance, on all the time, phone company finally made him get a business line. ------------- 1945 C, 1949 WF and WD, 1981 185, 1982 8030, unknown D14(nonrunner) |
Posted By: LouSWPA
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 8:02pm
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Yep, but if my memory serves me right, ours was a four ring system. Mom would get really angry because our shut in neighbor used to listen in on everyone calls. there were four homes on each party line. and like Don said, you could not just pickup and start dialing, had to check to see if the line was clear. Long distance calls had to be made through the operator ------------- I am still confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Ps 27 |
Posted By: Scott B
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 8:05pm
How did you send text   ------------- D17 Series 1 Allis B- 1939 Allis B- 1945 |
den/southern illinoi wrote:Posted By: steve(ill)
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 8:08pm
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and............. there was only ONE PHONE in the entire house ! and........... it id NOT ring several times per hour !
------------- Like them all, but love the "B"s. |
Posted By: thendrix
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 8:33pm
Type writers and snail mail ------------- "Farming is a business that makes a Las Vegas craps table look like a regular paycheck" Ronald Reagan |
Posted By: Hubert (Ga)engine7
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 8:42pm
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We did not even have a phone. Had to go to my uncle ‘s house if we needed to call somebody and his phone was on a party line. About 1990 I made Mom and Dad let me put a phone in their home so I could call and check on them. ------------- Just an old country boy saved by the grace of God. |
Posted By: Dakota Dave
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 9:19pm
| One long ring one short ring. We had a party line till in the 70s |
Posted By: DSpears N IL
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 9:21pm
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Them ol wonderful days! Ours was 4 Shorts! |
Posted By: JoeM(GA)
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 10:25pm
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I had a bad wreck one evening back in the 70's in high school, crawled out of the ditch and walked to a nearby farm house, bloody and banged up I asked them to call for help for me, old lady up the road wouldn't relinquish the line, the old man threatened her to hangup, but she wouldn't, he loaded me in his truck and drove me to town to the hospital. I understand the sheriff stopped by the next day and had quite the chat with her. We lived about 60 miles North of Atlanta growing up, I can remember having to dial "9" to see if there was a line free to call there, many times the operator would tell us to try again later after the businesses closed and more lines were free. Times sure have changed! ------------- Allis Express North Georgia 41 WC,48 UC Cane,7-G's, Ford 345C TLB |
Posted By: darrel in ND
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 10:44pm
| when I grew up, we just had two soup cans with a piece of fishing line between them. darrel |
Posted By: JohnCO
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 10:52pm
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I think ours was long short long, but again, I'm also 70 and don't really remember for sure. I think we had 8 parties on the line at first then 6 and finally 4 before we had a single line. I remember some people visiting from town who would answer the phone as soon as it rang or would pick up the phone and start dialing while someone else was on the line. I kept our phone number until after my parents were gone but it cost quite a bit to have the number so I let it go. It's now the number for a women's shoe store in Boulder. Stopped in recently to see if they ever got a call for my mom (my dad was deaf). One of the owners thought they had a call a few years earlier. I gave her my number to put near the phone if anyone calls. Most of my folks friends are also gone and the ones still alive have my number but you never know. When I was in the Army in Germany, I remember it cost $1 per minute to call home collect. Only did it once. ------------- "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer" Allis Express participant |
Posted By: Wayne180d
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 10:52pm
| My grandparents had one until they moved off the farm in 1969 |
Posted By: Mr.P
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 10:56pm
| Two long and two short 10 party on are line. Up to two hrs. sometimes to be able to use the phone. |
Posted By: john(MI)
Date Posted: 18 Jul 2019 at 11:14pm
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We didn't have a phone like those. Our first phone was a black rotary on the dining room wall. I remember when we got it so I'm thinking 1960. I recall once when my brother(Army) called from Vietnam. When you finished what you was saying you had to say "over". I had to keep telling my mom to say over. We had a two party line so not so busy but them old ladies could talk for days. Our first phone number was plainfield 9-2545. Man that was slick when we got a phone and got modernized. Then the fight was on for color tv! ------------- D14, D17, 5020, 612H, CASE 446 |
Posted By: Mnfarmboy
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 8:50am
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I remember driving various places because Dad said it was cheaper than calling long distance. |
Posted By: Gordy
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 9:03am
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Back when we had a party line and I was a volunteer fireman our line would have one solid long ring when someone called the fire line to report a fire, Then everyone on our line would listen to hear where the fire was. ------------- “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough” |
Posted By: Tbone95
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 10:47am
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I'm not as old as some of you.....old enough.....and I still remember out party line. We live in a poor, forgotten area for the most part, so we were late to the game of private lines. Think ours was just 1 long, though maybe not. There was a notorious "listener" in our neighborhood also, pissed everyone off! Then we had a Sheriff Department Sub Station line in our house, because Dad was the only cop that lived on the west side of the county. Which meant he was pretty much constantly on call. One late night after working for the department all day then baling hay after, he answered the phone "Sheriff Department Stub Station....." We all laughed as Mom said, "Stubby here!" Dad was also on the fire department. Before pagers there was a fire department "ring" which was just a steady ring until you picked it up. You'd be halfway through getting the location of a fire from someone, some moron would pick up the phone in a panic, "FIRE DEPARTMENT!!" There was also a button on the side of the phone to set off the fire whistle in town. Yeah, like nobody ever bumped that accidentally! When Dad was in the air force in the 50's, he had a buddy from Warsaw, SC. He came over and wanted to borrow Mom and Dad's phone. He says, "Operator, get me Warsaw, South Carolina......................Hello, Ma?!" Hahahaha!!!!
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Posted By: Robert Musgrave
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 10:53am
| I remember when the folks had the telephone INSTALLED--It sat on their bedroom dresser--that was the corner of the house closest to the power-telephone line pole, hence the shortest amount of wire needed to hook up. The big, black Bakelite phone--no dial. You picked up the receiver and recited the number you wanted to the operator. Our number was Arlington 5-2740. And yes it was a party line. R. Musgrave |
Posted By: JoeO(C-MO)
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 11:11am
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I remember the longs.-shorts, but I do recall the number. 3504. I was in the service, early '60s, when it was changed over to exchange + number system. Also, there were telegraph type poles with glass insulators, with some rotational twists for noise cancelation ?, but I've slept since then, this is best I can recall.
------------- D10 III, D15 II 3 pt, D15 II SC, 170 Gas w/shuttle, 175 Diesel UI ROPS, 185 w ROPS. AC 653 w/6 way blade, ROPS AC 615 Ind. WD45 running/Parts. |
Posted By: DonBC
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 12:47pm
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I think that our ring was 2 longs and there were no more than three other people on our party line. You could ring others on your party line but you would have to go through the operator to talk to others on another party line. The operator could also do a "general ring" that would alert everyone if there was an emergency or there was a need for a community announcement. My parents were operating our small grocery store to help supplement their farm income at the time the new dial phones were installed. The store had a unique black candlestick phone with a separate ringer box. The installation crew said they had to take all the old phones but they didn't seem to take anyone's old big old wall hung phones. I think they knew it was rare and they could get big bucks for it. I was annoyed that my parents let them take it. I took our old phone apart to mess around with the parts. Those old hand crank magnetos could sure give out a powerful kick. ------------- Jack of all trades, master of none |
Posted By: Michael V (NM)
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 12:57pm
| I think ours was 2 short rings,, we didn't have a house phone until '73-74, was on a party line til the late 70's, or early 80's... |
Posted By: SteveM C/IL
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2019 at 1:58pm
| Yes I remember the time not the number of rings. Early 70's? when the switch happened. Didn't get some of them cables very deep in places.Got into them alot when working for the TWP. |
Posted By: den/southern illinoi
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2019 at 7:29am
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I wonder how many operators to make a call from mid America to like New York back then and what kind of cost it would have been. Den ------------- Own 4 wheel 20, 2-5015, 5020 and associated equipment and 2 electric forklifts. |
Posted By: exSW
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2019 at 7:50am
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You might be country if.... Pretty sure our party line lasted until the 90's. Still had a crank phone on the wall of the summer kitchen of the farmhouse(but it was inoperable). It wasn't quite Green Acres but close. Cable TV ended a mile and a half from us when I was in HS(graduated 1980). Hasn't come a foot closer since. No landline phone at all now all cellphone and hot spots.
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Posted By: JoeO(C-MO)
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2019 at 11:13am
I bet you had to hold the cans/wire tight in all that wind! ------------- D10 III, D15 II 3 pt, D15 II SC, 170 Gas w/shuttle, 175 Diesel UI ROPS, 185 w ROPS. AC 653 w/6 way blade, ROPS AC 615 Ind. WD45 running/Parts. |
Posted By: Ray54
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2019 at 8:05pm
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Had the crank on the wall till 1960. Local phone company went away and Ma Bell put in all new poles and wire. But still 8 on a party line,until about 80 when only 4 on a line. And if it was ringing it was for you,no more longs and shorts. Very shortly it was upgraded to private lines. Still waiting for good cell service. It keeps improving but not what I will trust for a emergency yet. Some add on's to go thru internet and such but all need electric service working,
so still with Ma Bell land line. Back in 03 in the 6.0 earthquake landline worked the whole time,cell     service not so much. |
Posted By: tomNE
Date Posted: 21 Jul 2019 at 8:32pm
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3602 was 2 shorts for the last number of 2. i think we had 8 on our line. lasted till around 1980 ------------- AC from the start of my families farming career till the end! |
Posted By: D17Milo
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2019 at 8:33am
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880r2. Two short rings. We had one on our party line, her conversation would start out in English and end in Danish. Another one on our party line had a Big Ben alarm clock that set next to their phone, you could hear it every time they were listening. You could also get a three way conversation going and this was back in the day when people actually answered their phones.
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Posted By: Ted J
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2019 at 9:58am
------------- "Allis-Express" 19?? WC / 1941 C / 1952 CA / 1956 WD45 / 1957 WD45 / 1958 D-17 |
Posted By: Ted J
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2019 at 10:02am
We lived on the last farm on the line. EVERYONE in the valley would pickup when it rang. I don't remember how many were on the line, but everyone knew everyone else's business. I wish I had kept that old crank phone. ------------- "Allis-Express" 19?? WC / 1941 C / 1952 CA / 1956 WD45 / 1957 WD45 / 1958 D-17 |
Posted By: CTuckerNWIL
Date Posted: 22 Jul 2019 at 10:13am
We had an Oak wall phone in the kitchen that was connected to one in Grandmas bedroom. She lived on the other side of the pasture, in the house Dad grew up in. She had one in her kitchen that went to the outside world. Her number was Albany 036. One long, one short and a kinda long, I guess There were times when she called to let Dad know somebody wanted to talk to him, so he had to walk over and use her phone to call them back. When Grandma went to the nursing home, Dad had a phone line ran to our house and we got one of those plastic dial desk phones, probably 1958 I imagine. ------------- http://www.ae-ta.com" rel="nofollow - http://www.ae-ta.com Lena 1935 WC12xxx, Willie 1951 CA6xx Dad bought new, 1954WD45 PS, 1960 D17 NF |