For Laughs and Giggles - Vintage Telephone Switchboard

I was a telephone operator from 1976 to 1978 for PT&T. I worked on the old cord switchboards and our switchboards weren’t like these, but much larger.

I believe that this switchboard was originally used in an office setting for either a hospital, department store, hotel or some other large business setting. But I doubt that it was used by a telephone company office for operator services.

Right after I was born in 1951 my Mom had to go right back to work 2 weeks after I was born because my Dad was in Law School and they needed the income. She had worked right up to my birth, but in those days there was no maternity leave, she lost her job and had to find another job after I was born.

She applied for and was hired for a job at Colgate-Palmolive in Emeryville, Calif, as a PBX operator. When she was interviewed they asked her if she could operate a switchboard to which replied yes, but in fact she’d never touched one in her life.

On her first day on the job she managed to disconnect several calls, and shock herself by touching the cord plugs with her sweaty hands. After about an hour the VP came out to the switchboard to see what the hell was going on and brought her back to his office. He said, “Young lady, you don’t know how to operate that switchboard do you?” Mom broke down in tears and said “No, I’ve never worked on a switchboard in my life”. To which the VP relied, “Well you must really need this job if you lied about being able to do it, what else can you do?” She said, “ I can type 80 WPM and take shorthand”. He said “well, it just so happens I could use a new secretary and would you like to give that a try?” Mom said,” I sure would Mr. Fowler” and she had a new job right on the spot!

Years later Mr. Fowler’s daughter was in my class at Catholic School and one afternoon his wife was picking up their daughter after school and she saw Mom and remembered her and they had a nice visit. People were a lot nicer back then.

Eddie

This post was last edited 11/13/2023 at 21:49


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Post# 1193555 11/13/2023 at 16:31 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Number please? hibid.com/lot/176291047/antique-...

Post# 1193562 , Reply# 1 11/13/2023 at 17:36 by JustJunque (Western MA)
Checkrate/Likes *That's different!* Thank you for posting that. My mom was a switchboard operator in NY, basically fresh out of high school. She said it could be hectic, but she loved it. I wonder if this looks like the equipment that she used. I can't ask her, because she's 92 and nearly blind now.

Post# 1193564 , Reply# 2 11/13/2023 at 18:28 by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)
Checkrate/Likes 4 I was a telephone operator from 1976 to 1978 for PT&T. I worked on the old cord switchboards and our switchboards weren’t like these, but much larger. I believe that this switchboard was originally used in an office setting for either a hospital, department store, hotel or some other large business setting. But I doubt that it was used by a telephone company office for operator services. Right after I was born in 1951 my Mom had to go right back to work 2 weeks after I was born because my Dad was in Law School and they needed the income. She had worked right up to my birth, but in those days there was no maternity leave, she lost her job and had to find another job after I was born. She applied for and was hired for a job at Colgate-Palmolive in Emeryville, Calif, as a PBX operator. When she was interviewed they asked her if she could operate a switchboard to which replied yes, but in fact she’d never touched one in her life. On her first day on the job she managed to disconnect several calls, and shock herself by touching the cord plugs with her sweaty hands. After about an hour the VP came out to the switchboard to see what the hell was going on and brought her back to his office. He said, “Young lady, you don’t know how to operate that switchboard do you?” Mom broke down in tears and said “No, I’ve never worked on a switchboard in my life”. To which the VP relied, “Well you must really need this job if you lied about being able to do it, what else can you do?” She said, “ I can type 80 WPM and take shorthand”. He said “well, it just so happens I could use a new secretary and would you like to give that a try?” Mom said,” I sure would Mr. Fowler” and she had a new job right on the spot! Years later Mr. Fowler’s daughter was in my class at Catholic School and one afternoon his wife was picking up their daughter after school and she saw Mom and remembered her and they had a nice visit. People were a lot nicer back then. Eddie This post was last edited 11/13/2023 at 21:49

Post# 1193570 , Reply# 3 11/13/2023 at 19:50 by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *Maybe nicer,* but no maternity leave. Unions had to fight for things like that.

Post# 1193573 , Reply# 4 11/13/2023 at 20:44 by bajaespuma (Connecticut)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Mr. Vidal?* I was hoping for a post on Lily Tomlin

Post# 1193581 , Reply# 5 11/13/2023 at 22:10 by CircleW (NE Cincinnati OH area)
Checkrate/Likes 3 That reminds me of the one Lucy was using in the movie "The Fuller Brush Girl", in which she plugged her lipstick into the jack, and blew it up. Eddie is likely right about where this would have been used. If it were used in a telephone company exchange, it would have been a very small one. My mom worked as an operator for Southern Bell in Hattiesburg, MS from 1943 to 1945, while my dad was in the Army. Local at first, then LD. By the time she left when the war ended, the operator consoles were equipped with multi frequency keypads - similar to Touch-Tone. There were 3 digit routing codes (forerunner of area codes) for major cities, and the LD operators could complete calls to those locations without having to go through another operator. When she returned to work at the telco again in the early 50's, she was a secretary to two Western Electric engineers. The Hattiesburg exchange was in the process of upgrading to dial phones, including what my mom referred to as "intertoll dialing", where the subscriber could dial direct to many areas. This was in 1953.

Post# 1193591 , Reply# 6 11/14/2023 at 06:38 by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Another one! hibid.com/lot/175547986/1930-40s...

Post# 1193597 , Reply# 7 11/14/2023 at 10:30 by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Re: Reply#3* Yes Tom, there was no Maternity Leave and it was Unions that brought better working conditions to the work force. When I made the statement that people were nicer then I was referring to the compassion of Mr. Fowler who recognized a young woman that needed a job and was willing to lie to get it and had faith that she could learn this complicated task on the job. That he gave her a second chance and a better job too boot is testament to his kindness. Perhaps the fact that he was a new father himself may have had something to do with his empathy for my Mom’s predicament. Mom had me by an emergency C-section which in 1951 was a BFD. She was still recovering when she had to go out and find another job. I believe that one reason there was no maternity leave then was because most new mothers were expected to stay home with their newborn babies. This was a luxury not available for my parents. My Dad worked 2 and 3 part time jobs all through Law School and Mom worked FT. They were ambitious and could see the light at the end of the tunnel once Dad passed the Bar, which he did the first time he took it. So, yes as far as employee rights in 1951 the workplace was cold hearted. It was the kindness of people like Mr. Fowler that helped to take the edge off of the cold heartedness for the lucky ones like my Mom. I remember when she first told me this story when I was in my 20’s and how proud she was of being able to rise to the challenge at that time and make it work. And she never forgot the kindness of her boss at Colgate-Palmolive.. Eddie