These multiparty phone lines created a lot of problemsand a lot of good gossip.
Key Takeaways
Telephone technology has come a long way even in my lifetime.
As a young child, I loved the tactile experience of churning my great-grandmother’s rotary phone.
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The antenna’s signal was weaker than a watered-down cocktail.
My niece, now almost 3, snaps to attention every time my grandmother’s landline rings.
“What’s that?”
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she quizzes, looking around in a near panic.
What Were Party Lines?
But it’s in the rural areas where they were most utilized.
My dad recalls his family’s phone number: 299L.
But he doesn’t remember how many families were on the line with them.
My mom’s family shared a line with just one other family, their cousins up the hill.
Each home often had a unique ring to signify which home should pick up the receiver, too.
My mom recalls their line was two quick bursts of the phone’s bells.
The line next door was a longer ring.
Prolific talkers kept phone lines hotand kept others from using the lines.
Even then, not everyone complied.
There’s also the ability to listen into other calls.
As you might imagine, that was a goldmine for gossip and a source of old-fashioned entertainment.
Soon, the whole neighborhood knew the suitor’s name.
It also spurred a lot of irritationand even a letter or two to newspaper columnists.
The columnist, Mary Haworth, suggested advice seeker T.P.
give the line hog a taste of her own medicinedial over their protestations.
In 1957,St.
Their gambit didn’t last long, however.
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What Happened to the Shared Lines?
Party lines reached their peak in the mid-20th century.
In 1971, Southern Bell announced they were phasing out the use of party lines in North Carolina.
The Internet certainly couldn’t work on a shared line.
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. startedshutting downparty lines in West Virginia in 1989.
Texas held out a while longer.
In 1992,Southwestern Bell announcedthey’d stop offering the service and convert party lines to private.
Party lines are still used today, though rarely.
