OT - The old phone - information please

I found this post on another forum today, but thought it worth sharing: http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=27798

My only memory of the early days of a phone for us in England (late 1950s) was a party line, and the speaking clock. I used to call several times a day to see if had changed

A sweet story; my earliest recollection of a phone was the private 4-party hand crank we had at a ranch in the Sandhills.
3 other ranches were connected, and another party had the only "real" phone (that could call the outside world)
The ranch workshop had spare parts; and when my brother found the parts, he asked me to "Hold these 2 wires"
Yeah, right! I'm not such a sucker now.

SleepyToo2 wrote:I found this post on another forum today, but thought it worth sharing: http://www.natmedtalk.com/showthread.php?t=27798

My only memory of the early days of a phone for us in England (late 1950s) was a party line, and the speaking clock. I used to call several times a day to see if had changed

And then when C. B. Radios became popular, you put one in the house and car, and spent your evenings going, "Breaker, Breaker, Can I get a 10:36!". Jim

chunkyfrog wrote:A sweet story; my earliest recollection of a phone was the private 4-party hand crank we had at a ranch in the Sandhills.
3 other ranches were connected, and another party had the only "real" phone (that could call the outside world)
The ranch workshop had spare parts; and when my brother found the parts, he asked me to "Hold these 2 wires"
Yeah, right! I'm not such a sucker now.

Inserting 2 wires into a power outlet in the UK gives you a h*** of a bigger kick than the US system - unless you happen to touch the prongs when unplugging the dryer! I learned my lesson in the UK - ALWAYS respect electricity, or it will kick like a .... mule (insert your own adjective!).

My brother's 2 wires were hitched to a hand crank--yep it was a generator.
It bit me pretty good.

chunkyfrog wrote:My brother's 2 wires were hitched to a hand crank--yep it was a generator.
It bit me pretty good.

Yep, up to 110 volt a/c, depending on the enthusiasm of the cranker, easily could light a 50 watt light bulb, or could also bring nightcrawlers out of the ground for bait. Jim