USA > Massachusetts > Tracing the telephone in western Massachusetts, 1877-1930 > Part 24
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Walter F. Tetro was appointed Agent of the Williamsburg exchange Nov. 1, 1919, succeeding Frank A. Brooks. Walter, a watchmaker and engraver, worked at his trade in several cities and then came back to Williamsburg and bought the house of his old friend Brooks. Mr. Brooks went with him to see the Manager at Northampton, who O.K.'d him as the new Agent, and therewith had him sign a contract. After that, all his busi- ness was with Mr. Dee of the Traffic Department in Spring- field.
Hazel Warner was one of the first operators. Mrs. Fred Sanderson and Iva Leonard, now Mrs. Henry Baldwin, were also employees.
Frank Brooks gave up his express business in 1916 when he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Parole by Governor McCall. He was re-appointed by many Governors, and held the office seventeen years.
Another telephone improvement was introduced to North- ampton in 1920, which was explained in the Gazette of May 19: "The New England Telephone Co. is installing a device by means of which a subscriber will be able to hear what will indicate that the station called for is being rung by the opera- tor. If the person called does not answer promptly the buzzing
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tone is repeated as subsequent rings are made. This assures the person calling that his call is receiving attention."
A change of Chief Operators in Easthampton was an- nounced in Telephone Topics: "Mrs. Hattie E. Healy, Chief Operator of Easthampton, who has been with the Company since 1911, has tendered her resignation to take effect May 1, 1920. Mrs. Healey has filled the position as Chief Operator here for the last four and one half years and has discharged her duties loyally and capably.
"Miss Grace C. Rohan was appointed Chief Operator of the Easthampton Exchange. Miss Rohan started her telephone career in July, 1913, as a student and by steady application and consistently good work has reached the position of Chief Operator of her Exchange."
Feb., 1921, Topics-Northampton District Established
To more closely coordinate plant activities within the area as well as on account of the unnatural association of the Green- field area with that of the Pittsfield District, as it was previ- ously constituted, a new district was established on Jan. 1, 1921.
The new district to be known as Northampton, on account of the location of its headquarters, is made up of the Green- field Area, from the Pittsfield District, comprising the Ex- changes of Greenfield, Turners Falls, Northfield, Bernardston and South Deerfield; and the Northampton Area, from the Springfield District, made up of the Exchanges of Northamp- ton, Easthampton, Amherst, Belchertown, Enfield, Cumming- ton, Worthington, Chester, and Williamsburg.
L. V. Gillis was reported in the Feb., 1921, Topics as being appointed Plant Supervisor of the Northampton District. He joined the telephone ranks in May, 1901, in Ipswich as a Ground Man. He rose steadily in the Plant Department until November, 1906, when he was drafted by the Commercial Dept. from his position of Foreman of Maintenance at Salem, and appointed Manager at Southbridge. In June, 1909, Di- vision Plant Supt. R. H. Keller thought "Gil" would be a fine Chief Clerk, which he did.
William F. Langan was appointed Cable Foreman of the new Northampton District Jan. 2, 1921. "Bill" started his tele-
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phone career somewhere in or near New York City May 27, 1906, learning the work of cable splicing. John J. Robinson, who later became President of the New England Telephone Co., was the Cable Foreman for whom he worked. "Bill" moved to New England in a few years and went to work in Worcester for the New England Co. Nov. 4, 1910, on a cable job. Upon its completion the next year, "Bill" was transferred to Northampton. He was a Supply Sergeant in the 401st Tele- graph Battalion during his army service, 1917-1919.
Daniel W. Baird was transferred from local Central Office Repairman to District Central Office Foreman Jan. 2, 1921. "Danny" had joined the Company at Northampton in 1905 as an Inspector, advancing to Testman and then Central Office Man. He is reported to have been given the duties of Wire Chief soon after the Reorganization in 1908. Prior to coming with the New England Company, "Danny" worked for the Western Electric Co., and it was while working on the installa- tion of the Northampton Common Battery Office in 1905, that he was offered a position.
Laurence B. Shepherd was Testman during the dynamic days of the Northampton District. "Larry", a native of the Shire Town, went to work as an Installer Oct. 6, 1911. His training consisted of going around with Fred Staples for two months. According to Larry, there were two installation forces in the Springfield District, one supervised by Charlie Lyons, of Springfield, the other coming under Supervisor Alphonse Goulet of Northampton, who looked after the Holyoke, West- field and Northampton Areas. "Billy" French was the District Installation Foreman. In the Fall of 1915, Larry was brought inside as Clerk to the Wire Chief, William H. Shea. The duties of Clerk, in an office of this size, called for the abilities of a Jack-of-all Trades. Once a week the floor of the Operators' room had to be mopped. Then there was cleaning, attending to the furnace, posting line cards, making out time sheets, helping on the testboard and sometimes clearing switchboard trouble. It was a little later that John Cotter, an ex-Lineman, became Janitor. Larry was appointed Testman about 1917, and also helped with the line assigning, until he was relieved
Tracing the Telephone in Western Massachusetts 289
of the latter duty by William G. Walker, who had spent four years in the Springfield Plant, prior to the war.
An ice storm swept across the middle of Massachusetts on Nov. 27th, 28th, and 29th, 1921, inflicting heavy telephone damage in the hill towns. About two years previously, the Con- struction Department had replaced the hemlock poles in Cum- mington, Worthington, Plainfield and Peru with chestnut and cedar poles, and now, alas, the storm took down most of them. In some places ice from 21/2 to 4 inches thick formed on the wires.
Seabury R. Colby was appointed the first Northampton District Engineer in 1922. "Zeeke" had joined the Company at Springfield in 1905 and had served as Line Assigner from 1911 to 1919 and as an Engineer until the Northampton ap- pointment.
Carl E. Parker was appointed Northampton District Traffic Manager. He was previously District Traffic Chief at Worces- ter.
Sometime in 1923, the Officials decided to take the Holyoke Exchange into the Northampton District, which expanded the scope of its operations and called for a larger district organiza- tion. The Commercial Department was not included in this District setup, however, but continued to function as before. Offices were secured on the fifth floor of the Central Chambers on Center Street, not far from the Exchange.
Oct., 1923, Topics-Libius V. Gillis has been appointed District Plant Chief for the Pittsfield District. All departments at Northampton united in giving him a "send off". Presents, refreshments and dancing contributed to a very pleasant even- ing.
Edward J. Quinn, Division Toll Wire Chief of the Western Division, who succeeds Mr. Gillis as Plant Supervisor, came into the telephone business 21 years ago as night Wire Chief for the Southern New England Telephone Co. at New Haven and in 1904 joined the New England Company as a Toll Tester in Boston; then becoming Toll Wire Chief at Worces- ter in 1905 and in 1914 rising to the position of Division Toll Wire Chief for the Western Division.
October 29, 1923, William H. Shea, Northampton Wire
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Chief since 1911, was appointed Special Agent for the North- ampton District, attending to claims, pole locations, and city council affairs.
Leslie H. Streeter, Wire Chief at Greenfield, was trans- ferred to Northampton, taking Mr. Shea's place.
Charles Ballou was appointed the Head District Line As- signer, previous to which he was the Wire Chief's Clerk and Line Assigner at Greenfield. Robert H. Dunbar came up from the Division Engineers in 1923 and did the line assigning for the Holyoke Exchange, and Edward Finn, who was employed May 10, 1924, was soon advanced from a Clerk to the Line Assigner for the Northampton Exchange.
Telephone Topics furnished the following: Robert D. Fuller, on Dec. 3, 1923, was appointed Manager at Northamp- ton succeeding John F. Shaw. He was first employed March 17, 1912, as Contract Agent at Worcester and was made Collec- tor there in April 1914. 'Bob' was appointed Manager at Great Barrington in March, 1916. After serving 13 months overseas, he assumed the duties of Commercial Representative in June, 1919, at Springfield, and on December 1st was appointed Man- ager at Westfield.
Employer (to newly-hired typist): "Now I hope you thoroughly understand the importance of punctuation?"
Stenographer: "Oh, yes, indeed. I always get to work on time."
The Dec., 1923, Topics reported that Safety Instructor Cush- ing in the Northampton District, had a class of 19 men ready to be examined and also the entire force of the Heath Tele- phone Co., a sub-license company.
A fire in a building adjoining the Amherst office was dis- covered at 1:45 A.M. in December, 1923, by Miss Mary Sulli- van, Night Operator, who notified the firemen and telephone officials. Wire Chief Bardwell, Supervisor Page, Operators H. Dudley, M. Dudley, and R. Reardon performed in an ex- emplary manner until the fire was controlled.
In November, 1924, Carl E. Parker, Northampton District Traffic Manager, was transferred to the Division Traffic head- quarters at Springfield. He was succeeded by B. A. Curry, who
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has been connected with the Commercial and Traffic Depts. since 1922.
In January, 1925, Ralph Dicker, who was District Plant Engineer, was transferred to Vermont in the same capacity, and Clyde T. Hubbard, who was in the Springfield Engineers office, was appointed District Plant Engineer.
Frank McCarthy gave up his position with the Springfield Union in April, 1925, and moved from Florence to Long- meadow, where he entered the antique business. He first went to work in the Northampton office of the Union in October, 1919, as a combination reporter-photographer. There was hardly a telephone function in the area that Frank did not cover, and his many telephone friends regret to have him leave.
John A. Proctor went to Northampton Sept. 21, 1925, as an "A" Install and Repairman. John started his career June 19, 1922, as an Installer in Springfield, having worked a few summers for the Company, while attending High School in Northampton.
Oct., 1925, Topics-Helen J. Barney, until recently Chief Operator at Burlington, has succeeded Elizabeth Doyle, who has resigned as District Clerk of the Northampton District.
James J. McCarthy was appointed District Plant Engineer, taking the place of Clyde T. Hubbard who was made Spring- field District Plant Engineer.
Dec., 1925, Topics-Ralph Beattie has been appointed Traffic Manager at Northampton, succeeding B. A. Curry, recently assigned to the Fitchburg District. Previous to his transfer, Mr. Beattie was in the Eastern Division Traffic head- quarters at Portland. Before coming to Portland, he was Dis- trict Traffic Manager at Lewiston.
About Sept. 1, 1926, the Northampton District was discon- tinued, the Northampton and Holyoke Exchange areas revert- ing to the Springfield District, while the Greenfield Area was restored to the Pittsfield District.
William F. Langan was transferred to Springfield Aug. 29, 1926, as District Cable Foreman.
Francis M. Smith was transferred from the Northampton
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District Engineers office to that of the Springfield District. Frank recalled that he was given a temporary position at Northampton Aug. 24, 1924, to help with an inventory of out- side plant, which was being made throughout the Company to determine the plant valuation, in preparation of a new rate schedule. This was the first complete inventory made, no records having been kept before. The results of this inventory were transferred to forms, made up to cover all types of plant, and constituted the beginning of the Division Record Depart- ments. Before the inventory was completed in 1925, Frank had helped in Vermont and in the headquarters at Boston, which was under the direction of Samuel Cushing. Frank's 'tem- porary position' has extended to this day.
William H. Shea, Special Agent for the Northampton Dis- trict, was transferred to the Division Office at Springfield about Sept. 1, 1926, as Special Agent. The Sheas, however, con- tinued to reside in Northampton, where "Bill" has always lived.
James B. Powers was transferred to Worcester Sept. 1, 1926, as Supervisor of Supplies and Motor Vehicles for the Worces- ter and Fitchburg Districts, this title supplanting that of Dis- trict Storekeeper.
Laurence B. Shepherd was transferred to Springfield, about the same time, as Transmission Tester, working for Dean Howland, who was Division Transmission Engineer.
Mary A. O'Donnell was transferred to Northampton as Chief Operator Feb. 6, 1927, from Holyoke, where she held the same position.
The July, 1927, Topics announced that E. P. Warner, Man- ager of the Westfield Office, was transferred to Northampton as Manager, taking Arthur Frostholm's place.
The Easthampton telephone quarters in the Newkirk Building on Union Street had served their usefulness, and in 1927 work was underway on a new building on Chapman Avenue.
There now follows a classic description of the grand opening of the Easthampton Common Battery exchange on Nov. 18, 1927, from the Daily Gazette:
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NEW TELEPHONE SYSTEM FLASHES INTO ACTION
"At precisely ten o'clock last evening William F. Coyle, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, pressed a button and in the fraction of a second Easthampton's new telephone system was in action. A moment before, the Operators at the old switchboard were responding to little shutter and buzzer signals, and then in a flash the new way came in and the old way went out. The new building woke to vivid life and the old dropped to a strange, dead silence, the first time in all the years since it was opened. Manager Warner of Northampton welcomed the assembled party. He said the new system was far more than a fine and wonderfully equipped building, it was a great service and a community asset of wide importance. He gave the signal, Mr. Coyle touched the button and the girls at the new switchboard were busily answering calls. The lay- men present had sort of held their breath, as if expecting some- thing sharp and dramatic, but it was all as silent as light itself and as swift. All of the women connected with the service were present, handsomely gowned as for a high social occasion. There were several visiting women of the service, gowned as guests at a reception. A large body of notably alert looking men of the Company were there, and the guests from the town at once became hosts to all who came from outside, welcoming them and congratulating them all on what had been accom- plished. A very nice lunch of fruit salad, ice cream and coffee was served in the old building by the Green Lantern Tea Room, and the company lingered long, inspecting the new plant and discussing telephone progress and kindred topics.
"The men whose quick accuracy "cut out" the old and "cut in" the new, were: at the old building cutting out, Robert Moriarty, Edward O'Neil and Edward Green, all Combina- tion Linemen, and all from Springfield; Myron Rogers, Cable- man, of Springfield, and Christopher Slocombe of Northamp- ton, who was Test Man during the cut-over process. At the "cut in" end in the new building, were William P. Ring, Wire Chief of Westfield, and H. C. Swanson of Boston. The hostesses of this unique occasion were the young women of the operat- ing force: Miss Grace Rohan, Chief Operator; Miss Ethel
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Flanagan, Miss Julia M. Daley, Miss Florence E. Kingsley, Mrs. Ethel Campbell, Miss Rose M. Connor, Miss Ruby M. Dyer, who is Night Operator; Miss Loretta McAuley, Miss Rose M. Menton, Miss Irene V. Menton, Miss Mary M. Smith and Mrs. Lena J. Allen.
"Those present from the town were Selectmen Coyle, Clapp and Brown; Town Clerk Walker; Milo H. Buzzee, Chairman of the Board of Public Works; Chief of Police Cook, John N. Lyman, G. Arthur Cook, Charles H. Johnson, Rev. George Thurlow, John Leitch and Postmaster Edward Diamond.
"The visiting telephone women were Miss Mary O'Donnell, Chief Operator of Northampton; Miss Mary Corcoran of Springfield, District Chief Operator; Miss Alice D. Forbes, Chief Operator of Amherst; Miss Julia Finn, Division Super- visor of Springfield.
"Other Springfield system guests were: A. D. Horton, Divi- sion Traffic Engineer; J. F. Shaw, Manager, formerly Manager of the Northampton Exchange; E. A. Wagner, Sales Supt., formerly Commercial Representative at Northampton; C. S. Parker, District Office Manager, formerly Acting Manager at Northampton; W. F. Langdon, Cable Foreman; M. A. Reli- han, Switchboard Man; George F. Warren, Job Foreman on the new building here; R. A. Streeter, Supervising Foreman on the new plant; F. V. Moulton, Traffic Supt .; T. F. Williams, Traffic Supervisor; H. J. Hebert, Supt. of Equipment Installa- tion, who supervised the installation here; Fred Marston, Dis- trict Manager; C. W. Dufresne, Division Manager; John G. Andrews, Jr., Traffic Manager, Manual; Carl W. Proctor, Traffic Manager of the new dial system; Division Plant Supt. Rockhold of Springfield, with Mrs. Rockhold, and George Holt, Division Traffic Foreman.
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"Northampton men present were, with Manager Warner, Leslie H. Streeter, Wire Chief; John Proctor, Class A Installa- tion Man, son of Alec. Proctor, long Manager and gratefully remembered; Miss Harriet Proctor, daughter of Alec. Proctor, Repair Clerk for the Northampton Area; E. L. Green, Com- bination Repairman; R. A. Bardwell, Testman; and J. E. Enwright, Commercial Representative.
"Other telephone people here were: H. C. Swanson of
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Boston, of the Engineering Department; W. H. Harrington of Amherst, Class A Installation Man; H. W. Emerson of Hol- yoke, Manager; M. M. Rogers of Amherst, Cable Repairman; William P. Ring, of Westfield, Wire Chief; A. E. Goodhind, Westfield Central Office Repairman; E. I. Morrow, Westfield, Head Lineman, and Charles Ballou of Holyoke, Line As- signer; Henry Partridge of the Easthampton system was host in general and had a busy evening. He has seen the whole system grow, and is full of pride and satisfaction with the solid things accomplished. Walter Connor of this town, Field Engi- neer for this division, knew all of those present, for his work places him in touch with them all, and he helped do the honors for his home town and exchange. Clinton Axtell, who is Jani- tor of the new building, showed the visitors how finely it is built, and how convenient to handle, and he had it warm, thoroughly warm, that's one of his much appreciated special- ties in any building with which he is connected. It was a nota- ble affair. It is a specialized and highly trained force that is conducting this great public utility."
The heavy rains which descended Nov. 2, 3, and 4, 1927, caused the Vermont flood, and also caused apprehension to the citizens of Cummington, especially to Mrs. Lacey. This was related in Telephone Topics: While John T. Lacey, Agent of the Telephone Company at Cummington, was working with other residents of the town to strengthen the dam less than 1,000 feet from the Central Office, his wife remained alone at the switchboard until the water in the street had receded.
When the water began to rise Mrs. Lacey sent her children up the mountain and determined to give all the help she could on the local switchboard. For several hours people expected that the dam might break. From time to time Wire Chief Streeter at Northampton talked with her and every time she told him that she was all right.
Maude E. Willis, former Cashier at Amherst, was appointed District Training Supervisor and D. Alma Denny was engaged as Cashier at Amherst, according to Topics of February, 1928.
Bernard A. Dwyer received a welcome to the Northampton Business Office as Commercial Representative in September,
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1928, while John Enwright was bade a fond farewell, as he departed to the Pittsfield District.
Mary A. O'Donnell, Chief Operator at Northampton, was transferred to the Division Office, Springfield, as Division Instructor.
Mary C. Corcoran was appointed Chief Operator of the Northampton Exchange in September, 1929.
March, 1930, Topics-New Office at Cummington
At 1 P.M. on January 11, Supervisor of Installation Homer J. Hebert gave word to "cut" and the new 105 B switchboard at Cummington became an active member of the rapidly in- creasing magneto "Better Service Society." Incidentally, an- other Village type board passed into oblivion.
Two strenuous weeks were experienced by F. G. Atchinson, H. W. Marks, and J. R. Howell, who worked to bring about this cut-over at the appointed time. After traveling to Chester- field in a driving sleet storm, Fred and Harry worked all night installing a phantom toll circuit to be ready when Cumming- ton was cut over.
After the smoke had cleared away, Manager E. P. Warner invited all to a dinner at the local hostelry, at which were several of the influential men of the town, who had partici- pated in the event.
March, 1930, Topics-George A. Shea, who had been con- nected with the Worcester Commercial Office for several years, was appointed Manager at Northampton and assumed his new duties in January, 1930.
George joined the ranks of telephone workers in 1925 in the Cable Dept., and some time later transferred to the Com- mercial. Here he found a chance to exercise his abilities in the line of selling and meeting the public, and being blessed with a pleasant personality he made good at once.
For some time he ran a class in salesmanship for Plant people, and at the time of his transfer, was in full charge of directory advertising.
The Wire Chief's office at Northampton on Center Street was moved to the third floor of the Woolworth Building on Main Street, May 27, 1930, more room being required for the Central Office equipment. By a strange coincidence, this loca-
HARRY L. JONES
ALEXANDER PROCTOR
THOMAS F. MAGUIRE
LILLIAN C. FAIRBROTHER
HAROLD F. WEST
ANNA E. WILBER
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tion was where the first telephone office was established way back in October, 1880. At that time, the building was called the Parsons Block.
July, 1930, Topics-Dial Office at Williamsburg.
Williamsburg, in Western Mass., will soon be operated on a dial basis; Supervising Foreman C. E. Davis and his crew are installing a Type 350-A office of 220 lines, which are mostly farmer lines. The system is strictly a community dial and will serve only the towns of Williamsburg and Goshen. The new Williamsburg unit has Northampton as its Master Office.
The Williamsburg cut over occurred February 28, 1931.
CHAPTER 22
Interviews With Telephone Agents
Chesterfield
Cummington
East Longmeadow Hatfield
Worthington
Albert W. Nichols
John T. Lacey
Miss Susan F. Delehanty
Mrs. Nellie R. Donlin
Mrs. Horace S. Cole
CHESTERFIELD
ALBERT W. NICHOLS was the first and only Agent of the Chesterfield Exchange, and he furnished the following infor- mation, as he sat at his large roll-top desk in his snug North- ampton apartment Jan. 3, 1948.
The first telephone exchange was opened in Chesterfield Feb. 6, 1906, in Mr. Nichol's house, just south of the center. Prior to this, service was furnished to two or three subscribers by means of a grounded line which had been built from North- ampton through Chesterfield to Worthington. The service was not a success-sometimes they could use it and sometimes they couldn't.
The New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. sent Wil- liam R. McComsey, a solicitor from Boston, to see if enough signatures could be obtained to establish an exchange. Per- ceiving that Mr. Nichols had a fine rig, he engaged him to drive him about the town. His mission proving successful, he also engaged Mr. Nichols to become Agent of the new ex- change and wrote the first contract.
The new Agent was born in Washington, D. C. July 29,
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1875, one year prior to the birth of the telephone. He became a resident of Chesterfield when one year of age. After his schooling, he went to Northampton to learn the jewelry busi- ness, first with A. S. Cooley and later with G. Henry Clark. He returned to Chesterfield to do watch repairing and then at- tended the Waltham Horological School to learn the finer art of watch making. He was again practicing his business in Ches- terfield when he signed the contract to be Agent of the new telephone exchange.
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