TABLE ROCK & THE telephone
Telephone wires long ago.
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and so it begins: the nebraska state journal, october 1, 1898
1899 - final preparations
April 6, 1899 Argus
April 6, 1899
site of the first telephone exchange -
w. c. fellers' store
south side of the square before the 1920 fire, w. c. fellers' store is the large light-colored building, considered the grandest around
The first telephone office has been said to have been on the second floor of the State Bank of Table Rock. However, the Argus of that time reports that it was in W. C. Fellers' store. The office over the bank came later. Note the town well at the location of the water fountain pagoda, which was built in 1926. By the time of this photograph in 1912, the telephone exchange had been moved to the bank, but you can see W. C. Fellers store here, the one with the bay windows.
Another view of the W. C. Fellers store, 1912.
1906
Argus 196. The telephone company in 1906. Erma Mitchell (operator) with Chester Fisher, M Purcell, & Lou Billings.
Have fun with a few excerpts of this photo:
a girl who would be a hello girl:
This is Della Purcell and brother Mylum in about 1888. Later, after she was married and had two little girls, she ran the Table Rock telephone office and also lived there. Photo and story from descendant Terry Hunt Korell. Della also worked at the Dawson telephone exchange. Here are Della and Stella McCoy in front of the Dawson telephone exchange building in 1908.
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Photo 1839, a family photo shared by Historical Society member Terry Hunt Korell.
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1907 - forces of men deal with downed lines
July 15, 1907 Argus
circa 1908 -- the exchange was now
above the bank
Photo 408. This is a postcard. The Society has a couple of versions and has seen others. The oldest postmark is 1908 but some are as late as 1914.
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Lifetime Historical Society member Larry Layden had this to say when he saw this photo:
The telephone exchange occupied the second floor of this corner building above the bank. Notice the wooden trough like connection between the building and the telephone pole. This no doubt provided protection for the bundle of telephone wires entering the exchange. There is a shelf/seat attached to the pole for the lineman to use while testing and splicing the wires. I have seen pictures like this in books describing telegraph wiring. There were so many wires at some locations that up to 24 cross arms were carried on each pole. |
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1911 - ordinances give monopoly
The ordinances of 1911 recognize the monopoly of the Table Rock Telephone Company. This ordinance was an accumulation of all ordinances to date and was probably not new, given the 1906 picture above. In any event, the Table Rock Telephone Company was permitted to operate "within the corporate limits" of the town "with all the necessary buildings apparatus, instruments, poles, lines, guy wires, and cities" needed for a "suitable and sufficient" system. And they were given a right of way to set poles and string wires.
1912 - everyone in the county: pick up your phone!
October 1912 -- if the telephone rings five times, everyone in Pawnee County needs to pick up their phone:
1912 - the telephone exchange when it was on the 2nd floor of the bank. take a look at the ladies sitting in the windows -- probably "hello girls" on and off duty
During a 1912 carnival -- are those "Hellow Girls" in the windows over the bank? Had the exchange moved by that time? It seems likely. It's no clear on on this picture, but there is a wooden trough feeding telephone cable into the bank from that giant pole on the corner.
1913, here's the phone book. what was your ancestor's number?
If you had family in Table Rock in 1913, and if they had a telephone, what was their number? 6, 12, 222?
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Telephone numbers -- one and two digits. In 1911, the Argus's phone number was 14. In 1920, the Nemecek Garage and Machine Shop had the phone number of 65. In 1930, C. W. Wood insurance agency's phone number was 2.
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1916 - new telephone girls!
October 1916 - two new "telephone girls" -- Mrs. Clara Goodenkauf and Mabel Linn -- are learing their jobs, i.e., "the art of prompt and efficient service."
1921 -- what's your phone number? lots more names in the exchange by now.
A May 20, 1921 article begins with a statement that these are the people who the "telephone girls" talk to everyday. On examination, it turns out that it's probably a list of everyone on the exchange. A free phone book.....
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Last names, as spelled in the list: Albin, Alderman, Andrew, Asher, Ault, Aylor, Babcock, Bain, Barnard, Barrett, Beck, Bedea, Bethe, Binder, Blecha, Bonham, Bowen, Boyles, Brock, Broyles, Burow, Carmichael, Carter, Chambers, Clark, Cochran, Cook, Cotton, Covault, Cramer, Crisler, Daily, Davis, Day, Dow, Dudar, Duncan, Fellers, Fencl, Fisher, Flider, Foal, Fountain, Frank, Freeman, Fritch, Furrow, Fuller, Gallas, Gates, Gilbert, Gilmore, Glenn, Gold, Goodenkauf, Greiner, Griffing, Groff, Gutzmer, Halverstadt, Hamilton, Hanna, Hansen, Harlow, Harman, Harms, Hastings, Hays, Herrick, Heuke, Hickmanm Hill, Hitzman, Hnizda, Hoton, Howe, Hruska, Hunzeker, Ilkenhons, Irwin, Jasa, Jennings, Johnson, Jones, Keiser, Kalina, Karas, Kent, Katalik (not Kotalik, but in alphabetical order for Kotalik), Kovanda, Kloepfel, Kreifle, Krofta, Kubick, Kucera, Lane, Layman, Linn, Madden, Marble, Martin, McCrea, McCourtney, McLaughlin, Mertes, Messenger, Michael, Miller, Morris, Morton, Morris, Nemechek, Nedved, Nickelson, Norris, Paben, Parker, Pattison, Petrasek, Petersen, Pettit, Phillips, Plihal, Pohlman, Price, Purcell, Raitora, Reuter, Ritchie, Rabstejnek, Sandusky, Schurr, Scott, Sedlak, Sherman, Shepherd, Shelenbargar, Shorter, Shubert, Smith, Snoble, Snyder, Sochor, Staford, Stalder, Stech, Stehlick (not Stehlik), Stepan, Strejc, Svanda, Swanson, Taylor,Tenk, Tickey, Tibbets, Tomek, Trout, Trump, Uhlir, Vitek, Vondrasek, Vrtiska, Werner, White, Wiar, Widdifield, Wilcox, Wilkin, Wood, Woods, Wopata, Whisler, Zelenka, and Zink
Businesses: Burlington Station, CB&Q Station, Central Granaries, Communitgy State Bank, R. C. Cotton Store, Farmers Union, Fellers Store, Dr. L. D. Harman, High School, Hnizda store, Lincoln Hotel, Masonic Hall, Dr. McCrea, Meat Market, Murphy Motel, Nemechek garage, Norris Store, Odd Fellow Hall, Dr. Plihall, Purcell Brothers Store, Standard Oil Co., State Bank, Table Rock Brick & Material Co., Table Rock Lumber Co., Table Rock Poultry Co., Town Hall, Trout & Phillips Store, Wood Produce Co., Woods Truck & Tractor Co. |
1927
July 1927, Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph buys our exchange, and Table Rock is praised. The Table Rock "exchange" is purchased from the Table Rock Telephone Company. The Table Rock exchange had 300 customers. The central office had a switch board that accommodated two operators, a Stromsburg-Carlson switchboard this article proudly states. They called it "Central" and when talking to the operator would say "Central," not operator. The Table Rock Telephony Company had at least five employees, as five were named as going over to the new owner - the Chief Operator Miss Pearl Freeman; Uarda Freeman (I believe the mother of Tom and Rob Freeman); Miss Ora Sherman; and the relief operator, Edna Griffing.
The premise of the remainder of the article is that Table Rock is a great place. It is an "alert, energetic little town."
The premise of the remainder of the article is that Table Rock is a great place. It is an "alert, energetic little town."
1930s-ish
1941 - no, do not pick up your phones all at once!
December 1941 -- The telephone company pleads -- not everybody at once, please! It was kind of the 21st Century version of crashing the server.
1957 - new telephone building
July 1957 -- the new telephone building is going up, a frame building south of the Odd Fellows building. By this time, the switchboard had been in the "building west of the barbership." (From S. Cerra: Which barbershop? Wasn't L. J. Wenzbauer's shop in the hotel at that time?)
1976, june 17 - another new telephone building
need a number?
In this undated holiday gift of business numbers, Floyd Vrtiska memorializes Table Rock businesses of all sorts. Some names offer no explanation. Dr. Glider was the chiropractor. Dr. Uhri was the vet. Charles Harlow? Clarence Schuetz? Don't know! Thanks to Kim Vrtiska for posting this on Facebook!
