Number Please! March 8, 2024

       Today when we want to call someone, we open our phone, find their name and call. No need to remember a number or use area codes or a 1 before the number. In the early 1900s it wasn’t that simple. Your call was handled by one of the ladies at a switchboard. For a time there were also two telephone companies. To encourage others to sign up with them, the Interlaken Exchange would publicize the names of the new customers.

       March 23, 1906,

Interlaken Review Among those who have put in Bell ’phones connected with the Interlaken exchange, or are about to be connected, are: Interlaken High school, Rev. E.B. VanAarsdale, Morrison Brown, Benj. Terry, L. C. Myer, Wm. H. Terry, Thos. Hyland, I. B. Wyckoff, Norman Wyckoff, Bert Covert, Bert Helfman, Marcus E. Sherwood, John Wixson, Geo. Helfman, Fred Quigley, Loren Reeves; Lewis A. Morgan, Samuel L. Wikoff, John E. Jones, Herbert Rappleye, Thad. R. Covert, Peter Townsend, A. D. Colgate, Wm. Rogers, Elmer Case, John Ike, Floyd Seeley, Fay Strong, Fred Medlock. When all are connected it will make 167 ’phones on the Interlaken exchange.

       The list of new customers continued, “The Bell telephone company are installing a larger board on their Interlaken exchange.” Interlaken Review June 12, 1908

       The February 26, 1909, issue of the Interlaken Review had a full listing of those in the community who had Interlaken Exchange telephones. With the header for the list was the comment, “Call by number to insure prompt service.”

Detail, Interlaken Review February 26, 1909

 

       Shown is a small piece of the total list. In addition to the name and number of the customers is a comment about location, residence vs farm residence, and type of business. They also list the locations of three pay stations. Not surprisingly, they are all at the public houses, “Goodman House, Robinson House and Hotel Roarke.” Not shown on this detail are the three Lehigh Valley Railroad Stations at Interlaken, Sheldrake and Covert. In total there are over 220 names of residents and businesses.

       Long Distance calls were not easy from home locations. The phone company encouraged subscribers to stop at the office and, “Use our toll lines and save time and money. Long Distance connections with 800 towns and 100,000 subscribers.” Interlaken Review February 26, 1909

       Interlaken Review January 28, 1910: “The Home Telephone Co. has just issued a new card directory of their Interlaken Exchange. Call at their office and get one. The complete list will appear in the Review next week.” That list contained almost 280 names.

       A notice in the December 30, 1910, Interlaken Review provided information relating to the Lodi subscribers. “LODI MOVES TO INTERLAKEN. By the time the Review reaches Lodi readers the N.Y. Telephone Co. (Bell) will have all its Lodi subscribers connected directly on the Interlaken exchange and will discontinue its central station at Lodi. This will facilitate matters for the company, and give Lodi subscribers a continuous service, day and night, as the Interlaken exchange is never closed.”

       Is this critical to early March 2024, maybe not, unless you are trying to research someone. If you are using the Interlaken Public Library digital newspaper collection, try searching for your person using the last name, first name format.

       I wonder how many of us have over 250 names in our cell phones. No need to look up or recall their number just search for their name.

     For a longer article about the early telephone service see January 15, 1931.

Dewitt’s Diary: Saturday, March 8, 1924, Cloudy and snow flurries today. The wind got around into the northwest and colder today. Had a heavy blizzard last night and got about 2 inches of snow in an hour and then it cleared away. I drew down the balance of my wheat. We had 456 bushels. Fifty bushels more than I expected. Dollar Day in town today.