USA > Massachusetts > Tracing the telephone in western Massachusetts, 1877-1930 > Part 23
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The opening of the new Williamsburg Exchange occurred
Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts 275
Jan. 14, 1905, the Gazette reporting that about 40 of the new instruments which were installed were now in working order and that the line was being kept busy by everybody.
The threat of a rival telephone company in Northampton was described in the Gazette of Jan. 16, 1905: "Although but little has been said in the papers recently about the progress of the Citizens Independent Telephone Co. of Williamsburg, work has been going on steadily and the instruments which have been installed are now in working order. Those who take it in this part of town (Williamsburg) are Bisbee Bros., G. M. Bradford and C. R. Damon. It is understood that there are 35 or 40 subscribers in Haydenville, and as soon as people begin to realize that it is a good thing for them to have, many more will be added."
R. F. Burke, who was construction manager of this company but who in 1948 conducted a general store in Wil- liamsburg, said the company was organized May 1, 1905, with a capitalization of $10,000, not all paid in, by a group of Williamsburg and Haydenville men and their attorney of Northampton. He displayed one of the Company's letter heads which listed the following officers: A. S. Hills, President; E. W. Goodhue, Vice President; Byron Loomis, Treasurer; S. Jor- gensen, Clerk; Louis H. Warner, Attorney; R. F. Burke, Con- struction Manager; and Edward T. Barrus, General Manager.
Mr. Burke said a little box switchboard was fastened to a wall in the residence of Thomas Dumphy to which were con- nected three wires. Mr. Dumphy's residence was on Main Street, Haydenville, just above the railroad crossing and still stands, apparently unimpaired by the wear and tear of the telephone business.
Mr. Goodhue, according to Mr. Burke, had moved here from Vermont, and his account of a thriving telephone com- pany up there prompted them to embark in the business here. Instruments and equipment were purchased from C. S. Knowles, Boston. Good transmission was provided by keeping their lines away from electric light lines and transposing their metallic circuits. He thought his company would charge $15 a year.
A franchise to conduct an exchange in Northampton was
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obtained and pole line locations were granted through Leeds and Florence and thence down Prospect Street to State Street. The company also obtained locations for conduits on State Street and Elm Street, and set 25 foot poles to the Hatfield line to connect with the Heath Telephone Co., which had extended a line in West Whately down to this point.
After expending about $3,000, the owners of this independ- ent company began to question the wisdom of risking ad- ditional capital. The options for their rights of way in North- ampton were allowed to expire before any wire was strung and, according to Mr. Burke, they finally sold their business to the New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. for $1,000.
A personal telephone item graced the columns of the Hamp- shire Gazette and Northampton Courier, still being published as a weekly paper: "Leslie D. Foss, who has been with the New England Telephone Co. for a number of years, has severed his connection with the Company. The work which he has been doing, placing lines in the farming districts, will be continued for the present by W. McComsey of Marlboro, N. H., who has been doing similar work for the same Company."
Cummington appeared to be the next community to have a Class F exchange. The first inkling was disclosed by the Gazette on Aug. 1, 1905: "Work on the telephone line pro- gresses well. The central office will be in the F. V. Bates house, Mr. Bates having sold it to the Telephone Co., for that pur- pose." The exchange was opened about September, 1905, with Robert A. Daley as Agent.
The telephone management decided that it was now time to provide Northampton with a new telephone building, equipped with a common battery switchboard, thus doing away with the hand cranking. A site was selected on Center Street, and by Aug. 15, 1905, the changing of telephone instru- ments was underway, which necessitated five visits to every in- strument connected with the exchange or a total of 5,000 visits. The girls in the telephone office received instruction by S. F. Parker of Boston, one of the Service Inspectors.
An account of the cutover of the new switchboard, which occurred Aug. 26, 1905, is taken from the Daily Gazette: "At 9:30 Saturday night the "cutover" was made in the old tele-
Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts 277
phone office and in four seconds subscribers were calling "Central" by the noiseless method. Many of the subscribers must have been waiting to call "Central" the instant the change was made, for the instant the current was turned on the little tiny electric lights, that call the attention of the Operators, quickly appeared all along the line of the great operating boards. The readiness with which subscribers re- ceived attention from the "Central" convinced them the new way was greatly superior.
"The 'cutting over' process was done in the old office and was under the direction of Asa Parker of the Traffic Dept. in Boston, and A. C. Reynolds of the Boston Dept. The 'cutting over' was done simply by pulling the heat coils in the old office and closing the connection in the new office.
"Among the telephone officials present were Everard W. Pinkham of Boston, the architect of the building, and of the Building Dept. of the Company; W. S. Barker of New Haven, of the Bell Telephone Co .; Supt. F. G. Daboll of Springfield; F. C. Buck, Chief Operator of the Springfield Telephone Ex- change; K. D. Lippincott of Boston, Chief Service Inspector; George Call of the Engineering Dept., Boston; H. G. Wheeler of the Superintendent's Office of the Northern Division of the New England Company, Burlington, Vermont; August McAulay of the Construction Dept., Springfield; W. A. Parker of Springfield, also of the Construction Dept .; and James Campbell, a Foreman from the Springfield Construction Dept.
"The force of the exchange now consists of the following: Manager, A. Proctor; Bookkeeper, Miss Cora E. Smith; Assist- ant Bookkeeper, Clara B. Smith; Office Tester, Henry E. Partridge; Collector, Daniel Banister; Outside Man, Frank Wyatt; Man looking for trouble on the lines, Alphonse Goulet; Chief Operator, Rachael Banister: Operators, Emma Wainwright, Margaret Kelly, Tillie Powers, Nellie Barney, Margaret Londergan, Julia Boudway, Grace M. Harris, Bessie Warner, Florence Hillman, Delia Torrey, Mary Lee, Elizabeth Carson, Mary Crafts, substitute; Night Operator, William Shea."
Alphonse Goulet, referred to above, joined a "floating gang" back in the 1890's, with headquarters at Springfield. After
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quite a few years of rough and tough going building pole lines, and very seldom coming back to headquarters, he was glad to settle down at Northampton, where he had relatives.
Frank Wyatt was one of the old combination men-a top man, trained to do everything. He was the Manager's right- hand man. "Shooting trouble" on toll and local lines kept him away sometimes for several days. He also installed and repaired telephones, set poles, ran wire and repaired the magneto switchboard, if called upon.
The first automobile story to be noted in the Gazette was at the time of the telephone move to Center Street.
Clerk: "Let me show you our latest machines. We have an automobile now that can climb any hill on earth."
Chauffeur: "That's nothing. The last one you sold me tried to climb a tree."
Swift River, Cummington, received a visit of some tele- phone men in September, 1905, who put up the wires for the new line and getting things in readiness to place the telephones in the residences of M. S. Howes, G. W. Guilford and E. F. Parker.
There was excitement in Chesterfield over the prospects of having a telephone exchange. William McComsey canvassed the town securing between 25 and 30 new subscribers. The canvass being considered successful, the Telephone Company, according to the Gazette of Jan. 30, 1906, had a large force of men putting up wires and installing the "machines", several already having them in working order.
The Chesterfield Exchange was opened Feb. 6, 1906, in the home of Albert W. Nichols, just south of the Center. Some of his experiences before and during his custody of the Agency are given in the next chapter.
The South Deerfield Operators were kept busy since the connection of Sunderland, Deerfield and Whately. There were 165 subscribers at the beginning of 1906.
It was an agreeable surprise to come upon the following item in the Hampshire Gazette of Oct. 17, 1905: "Lawyer and Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, who were married last week in Burling- ton, Vermont, have returned from their wedding trip."
The telephone situation in Belchertown was described in
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the Hampshire Gazette of Oct. 24, 1905: "The long wished for extension of telephone service to Pratts Mill near the head- waters of "Jabish" and also to the residence of W. B. Kimball, beyond the mill, has lately been completed and now Belcher- town has lines extending south to A. M. Bagg's place, east to Enfield, north to the Kimball place and west to the railroad. The Granby Telephone & Telegraph Co. covers the southwest section of the town, known as the 'Turkey Hill Section'.
Further mention of the Turkey Hill Section was made in the Daily Gazette of April 26, 1906: "The telephone extension in Belchertown is assuming quite large proportions. The Turkey Hill line with 16 or more subscribers has been sold to the New England Company, and the lines are being extended to connect with the central in Belchertown. It is understood that there will be an extension of the lines from "Pine Hill" toward the South Amherst road."
On June 12, 1906, the same paper spoke of the moving of the branch office in Belchertown from Mr. Dillon's hotel to the newly fitted quarters not far away: "The office was moved to the A. M. Baggs & Son building over the C. H. Snow Drug Store. Miss Mabel Shaw has charge of the central office for day service and Mason Sanford is the night Operator. Belchertown has nearly 100 telephone subscribers now.
North Hadley furnished quite a rush of business, according to the Daily Gazette of Feb. 26, 1906: "The New England Telephone men were busy Saturday putting in instruments and making connection. On their list for the day were the names of H. C. Russell, J. W. Lane, J. W. White, James Parent, R. H. Hibbard, E. H. Blodgett, Thomas Gerry, Arthur C. Howe, J. W. Clark, J. R. Hibbard, J. H. Lasalle, W. A. Wilson, W. A. Stockwell and W. H. Comins. The name of O. W. Prouty and perhaps others are to be added. It was said con- nection with Northampton would be made by Monday after- noon."
Hatfield was the next township that was deemed suitable for a switchboard. A report of the main features of this new ex- change was given in the Daily Gazette of March 3, 1906: "The New England Telephone Co. has almost completed the work of putting in its new lines and instruments and expects to
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have the Hatfield Exchange in full working order next Wednesday. This exchange will include the whole township, -the Center, Bradstreet, West Hatfield and North Hatfield. The Company has 39 new subscribers, which bring the total in town up to nearly 70. The central office is to be located in the house of Mrs. Emma D. Webber, 41 Main Street, and the Operators will be members of the Webber family. There will be all night service. Forty lines will enter the central office. The rate to Northampton is to be five cents."
According to the above article, the Hatfield Exchange was opened March 7, 1906. An item in the April 3rd Gazette refers to the subscribers having received their books and there being 62 numbers in the Hatfield list.
Mrs. Nellie R. Donlin provided the recollections of her long Agency in Hatfield which have been embodied in a narrative appearing in the next chapter.
Doctor (after examination) "Madam, you have a constitu- tion of iron."
Obese patient: "I have often wondered what made me so heavy."
In the fall of 1905, William R. McComsey spent two or three weeks in Worthington and secured about 50 applicants for service to a local exchange.
The New England Telephone Co. was encouraged by the results of the canvass to proceed with the establishment of an exchange, and the Hampshire Gazette of Jan. 9, 1906, reported that the company had a gang of men at work setting poles in this vicinity.
A pert Worthington item appeared March 10th: "The new neighborhood telephone will be in gossiping condition very soon as the wires are nearly all up."
The Worthington Exchange was opened in the store of Horace S. Cole about the latter part of March, 1906. A village type wall board was installed in a little room in the back of the store, and another board was put in the Cole residence, to be used nights and during an unusual rush of business. Mr. Cole had charge of the Agency.
An interesting account of the Worthington Exchange was given by Mrs. Cole, which appears in the next chapter.
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The Northampton Exchange had about 1500 subscribers in March, 1906.
Telephone Topics first appeared in May, 1907, and has proved to be all that was hoped for by its founders.
Miss Elsa C. Crandall was Chief Operator in the Easthamp- ton Exchange, according to the Jan., 1908, Topics.
August 1, 1908, the Operating Reorganization took effect, whereby the three different departments were established,- Commercial, Plant and Traffic. The Springfield District Heads were: L. B. Stowe, Commercial Manager; A. McAulay, Plant Chief; R. O. Nickerson, Traffic Chief.
Under the Reorganization, the Amherst Exchange was placed under Alex. Proctor, Commercial Manager at North- ampton, Mrs. Nella B. Root, formerly Manager, being made Chief Operator.
Sept., 1908, Topics-Robert A. Davis, who has for some time been in charge of the workshop in Boston, has been in the Western Division making tests on electrolysis. In Northamp- ton a leak of one hundred amperes was found between the tracks of the Amherst Street Railway Co. and our lines. He recommended bonding the tracks of this Company with those of the Northampton Street Railway Co. This work was com- pleted July 28 and has proved successful and satisfactory to us.
Miss Emma Wainwright, who for 12 years was employed at the Northampton Exchange, accepted a position as operator at the PBX of the Florence Mfg. Co., in Florence.
The Telephone Topics of April, 1910, reported that Miss Rachael Banister, Chief Operator of the Northampton Ex- change, has resigned after long and faithful service with the Company. Her position has been filled by Miss Ernestine M. Dutilly, formerly Chief Operator of the Palmer Exchange.
About 1911 William H. Shea was appointed Wire Chief of the Northampton Exchange Area. After joining the Company March 1, 1900, "Bill" served as night Operator in Northamp- ton, Brockton, Westfield and Springfield. Returning to North- hampton, he did some installation and testboard work, which fitted him for his promotion.
An event of importance to Amherst was cited by the Re- publican; "10:45 Saturday night, March 25, 1911, occurred
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the cut over of the Amherst Exchange from the old office on Pleasant Street to its commodious quarters in the new Rich- mond Block on Main Street. The common battery system has been installed in place of the old magneto. In a very short time the divided ringing system will also be in operation on two- party lines, whereby one half of the subscribers on a line will not hear the bells of the other half. The new switchboard has a capacity of 1500 lines. It now has 500 lines, 302 of which are working. Miss Julia Boudway has been Chief Operator for two years."
In spite of these costly improvements, Miss Boudway re- signed on December 30th, preferring married life to single telephone blessedness. Miss Essie E. Wright was promoted from Senior Operator to Chief Operator.
A story apropos of married life is taken from the Daily Gazette's columns:
Mrs. Chips: "Why, you're home early tonight, dear."
Mr. Chips: "Yes."
Mrs. Chips: "How cold your feet are."
Mr. Chips: "Yes, I wouldn't have been home so early if it hadn't been for that."
Easthampton had experienced quite a telephone growth during these years, the effects of which were reported in the Oct. 17, 1911, Daily Gazette: "The Telephone Company moved into their new quarters in Newkirk's Block October 14, just back of the old rooms in the same building. Inside the rail is the desk of the Chief Operator, Miss Elsa Crandall, the new Western Union Telegraph desk, and the switchboard, which accommodates three operators. In the public enclosure are two private booths each equipped with cabinet desk phones at which the user can sit while telephoning. The men who worked this 24 hour wire-changing stretch were Foreman "Bill" French of Springfield, as overseer, Henry Partridge with "Jack" Caverhill, Herbert Hibbard and Harry Munsey of Springfield and Donald Purcell of Easthampton.
"Henry Partridge in charge of the entire Easthampton circuit plant will have the former operating room as his office. There are about 600 telephones in this circuit which includes Easthampton, Westhampton and Southampton. The East-
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hampton force consists of Henry Partridge, in charge of plant; Elsa Crandall, Chief Operator; Etta M. Avery, Misses Ewing, Hanlon and Miller, Operators; and Miss Crowell, Western Union Operator. William Allen, a Williston student, is night Operator of both the telephone and Western Union lines."
On Feb. 7, 1912, the Western Union office at Amherst was taken over by the Telephone Company as a Class 10 joint office, the telegraph operator being located in the office of the commercial department.
James B. Powers joined the Company at Northampton, Nov. 4, 1912. He started in as a Time Keeper and Paymaster in the Construction Department, Ronald Campbell, better known as "Ronney", being Construction Foreman. At that time they had one little, old truck, so "Jim" had quite a few livery stable horses on his payroll. His Boston bag usually bulged with pay envelopes containing between $2,000 and $3,000, and he said he tried to look unconcerned as he boarded a trolley car and set the bag between his feet.
"Jim" found time to do some construction work now and then, but it was limited to a Groundman's duties. Linemen, he said, had to climb poles, do the cross arm work and tie in the wires, which required experience.
Ronald Campbell had joined the Company in 1898, work- ing with a 'floating gang', which was constructing pole lines throughout the State. "Ronney" was transferred to North- ampton about 1906, and in a few years was appointed Con- struction Foreman.
Miss Ernestine Dutilly, Northampton Chief Operator, re- signed from the Company June 15, 1913. Miss Dutilly started her Traffic experience two days before Christmas, 1905, at the Palmer switchboard. The latter part of January, 1908, she was appointed Chief Operator, and in March, 1910, she left her native town to become Chief Operator of the Northampton Exchange, succeeding Miss Rachael Banister.
The reason for Miss Dutilly's resignation was her approach- ing marriage to Homer J. Hebert. "Beau", who was Equip- ment Foreman in Springfield, met Miss Dutilly while install- ing a toll section in the Northampton office.
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Miss Elsa Crandall, Chief Operator at Easthampton, was appointed Chief Operator at Northampton.
Miss Hazel Burnett was employed as an Operator in March, 1907, and later she was appointed Miss Dutilly's Clerk. In September, 1913, Miss Burnett also resigned, the "voice with a smile" having won William H. Shea, the Northampton Wire Chief.
In 1913 it was decided to change the Belchertown office from a branch of the Amherst Exchange to a Class F or Agency office. The Agent selected was Harry E. Sessions, who had been working for the Telephone Company in Springfield, in charge of batteries.
The February Topics quoted the local Belchertown Paper as follows: "The telephone service in Belchertown is rapidly extending and, under the excellent management of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Sessions, gives more satisfaction than for some time."
Guy C. Emerson was appointed Acting Manager at North- ampton about September, 1914.
Alexander Proctor, who had been Manager of the North- ampton Exchange Area for eighteen years, died Feb. 13, 1915, aged 52. He was born in Scotland, came to this country when a young man, where he spent practically all his time in the employment of the New England Telephone Co. Before com- ing to Northampton he worked five years for the Company in Greenfield. He was also engaged in general telephone work in Northampton two years before becoming Manager.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette summed up Mr. Proctor's service as follows: "His efficiency in his work and fitness in every respect led to his advancement to the management of the business here. During his managership, the Exchange grew to a size several times greater than when he became Manager. The excellent service of the Exchange was very largely due to his pleasant relationship with the public and his faithful and conscientious interest in his duties. His geniality and uniform courtesy, the tact in the conduct of the business and obliging nature whenever there was anything to be done in remedying a complaint, and the cheerfulness with which he would always
Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts 285 say, 'I will see to it right off' was characteristic of him to a re- markable degree."
The retirement of Cora E. Smith was announced in Tele- phone Topics of July, 1915: "After twenty-eight years of service, Cora E. Smith was retired on March 1, owing to ill health. She commenced in December, 1886, as Operator in the Westboro, Mass. Exchange-her native town. Her duties, besides operating, were collecting bills and renewing batteries. She was employed there under John B. Hunt, Manager at Worcester. In November, 1891, she went to Gardner as Opera- tor and part time Bookkeeper under Manager Frank Towey. In July, 1897, Miss Smith was transferred to Northampton as Bookkeeper under the late Alexander Proctor, and in Septem- ber, 1907, was made Exchange Cashier, in which capacity she was employed up to the time she obtained leave of absence in November, 1914. She has seen the Northampton Exchange grow from less than three hundred subscribers to the neighbor- hood of three thousand."
The rapid growth of the Northampton Exchange, since the erection of the Center Street building in 1905, necessitated an enlargement of the building eleven years later, according to the Oct. 26, 1916, Gazette: "The New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. has started work of building an addition and adding a second story to its central office on Center Street. There are now more than 3400 telephones in Northampton. On the front of the building an addition will be placed 40 feet in length and 14 feet in width. An attractive second story, with a pitched roof and dormer windows, will provide much needed space for the use of the operating force.
"The first floor will be used by the Commercial and Traffic Dept. forces. Among other changes, 5 more positions will be added to the switchboard and Manager Emerson's office will be nearly doubled in size.
"On the second floor there will be a sitting room for the Operators, a locker room, and lunch room."
Margaret Griffin was employed Jan. 5, 1918, and served many years in the Northampton Traffic.
On Nov. 11, 1918, Mr. and Mrs. John Lacey, with their two children, moved to Cummington to take over the Agency.
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John had been doing installing and repair work in Northamp- ton since 1910. An account of their experiences in Cumming- ton appears in the following chapter.
"Guy C. Emerson", according to the Dec. 1919, Topics, "one of the most popular Managers in our territory, and for the past few years Manager at Northampton, resigned to ac- cept a position with the Florence Mfg. Co. Eleven years ago Mr. Emerson became a part of this business of ours, and dur- ing that time has made many friends all over our territory."
John Shaw, Manager at Westfield, was transferred to North- ampton to fill the vacancy caused by Mr. Emerson's resigna- tion.
About 1919 the Company began to paint the route numbers on the poles; and "Jim" Powers recalled that he and Edwin F. Harwood walked every line in Cummington, Worthington, Plainfield and Savoy carrying a plane or scraper, brass stencils and a pot of black paint-not to mention the brush.
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