AT&T Archives: The Phone Boom of the 1950s

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During World War II, not only were a vast majority of the Bell System's facilities and resources diverted to the war effort, but customers' reliance on and acceptance of a nationwide telephone network also increased dramatically. Demand for new domestic telephone service during the war was huge, and the Bell System had no supply to fulfill those requests. To catch up to the demand when the war ended, the Bell System had to amp up productions and installations. Most of that growth happened during the following decade.
This Technicolor film, from the 1950s, was filmed during that extreme growth period - during the late 1940s, the System added approximately 10,000 telephones per DAY. The number of telephones in the U.S. increased by 50% between 1945 and 1949. And by 1950, the companies within the Bell System employed over 550,000 people in America alone.
The film follows a structure that, once it gets past the 1950s tropes, is familiar to watchers of other Bell System films. The storyline follows a telephone order from start to finish, visiting all of the offices involved. The film then diverges into exposition on post-war military efforts and then-recent technological advances at Bell Labs.
By 1954, the Bell System caught up with the backlog of post-war telephone orders, and AT&T had turned its marketing efforts to selling telephone extensions and colored telephones. But behind the scenes, the company was improving the network's capabilities through a period of accelerated network technologies, including finding uses for the newly-invented transistor and starting work on electronic switching systems.
Footage Courtesy of AT&T Archives and History Center, Warren, NJ

[@JohnK8]

So proud of my time in the Bell System. 85 years of service between my dad, my brother and myself. Training was more like indoctrination. Providing good service safely was the top priority.

[@misterwhipple2870]

It was a great thing to work for Ma Bell. It was hard and discipline was strict, but the pay and benefits were some of the best in the country. People were proud to work for the telephone company. I know I was, I spent 28 years in Long Lines and I would be there today if my health had not failed. Most people stayed for life. I miss the old AT&T and I would go back if I could. My mother started as a operator in 1949; I told her she should have never left.

[@mitchdakelman4470]

This was actually a 1959 "orientation" film for new AT&T employees and was also made available to the public through the offices of the Bell Telephone Company. This was an update on a film that had been made about 10 years prior. Owen Murphy Productions was contracted by AT&T, NJ Bell, and NY Tel, to produce films for them, some were made for theatrical distribution as well.

[@c0t0d0s7]

Hey kids, ya wanna go see a movie? It’s a orientation/documentary from AT&T on telephones in the 1950s! Kids? Kids? 🤪

[@jkvelasquez84]

@@c0t0d0s7 I would, but then again I consider myself a nerd so.....

[@James_Knott]

There were a few clues it wasn't 1950. The most obvious was the cars. Some of them were from the late '50s. There was also a tech using a wire wrap gun, which couldn't possibly be before 1953. The type 500 phones were just appearing in 1950, so it was possible, though not likely most customers would see one, SAGE and DEW line were from the late '50s, printed circuit boards weren't commonly used until the mid '50s, there was no telephone cable crossing an ocean until 1956 and there certainly wasn't such a thing as a pocket size transistor radio in 1950.

[@altfactor]

I'd rather see "Ishtar" or "Plan 9 From Outer Space"!

[@friendofdorothy9376]

I saw a 1960 Cadillac, so this had to be fall of 1959.

[@timeimp]

To think that this was in a time when the transistor was _just_ invented. What a time to have been alive!

[@James_Knott]

The transistor was invented in 1947 but didn't become commonplace until the 60s. Prior to that, they were only used in critical applications, such as missiles and the first consumer use was in hearing aids.

[@nkmcfrln]

@@James_Knott1947

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@James_Knott Starting in 1957, you could get them in luxury cars like Cadillacs and Imperials, to get instant-on, no warm-up, failure-free TUBELESS radios (and it cut the size of the radio down by 2/3rds), but they cost hundreds more. That was easily 15% of the car's price.

[@James_Knott]

@@misterwhipple2870 Sorry, that was a typo, now corrected. I meant 1947

[@caidhg]

It's a trip to think when I climb up into some of this equipment. sometimes it's the same exact cable hung by these guys.

[@coreybabcock2023]

Right

[@LMacNeill]

Both of my parents worked at Western Electric in the '60s. That's where they met, in fact. So without Western Electric and AT&T, I probably wouldn't exist! :-)

[@scarakus]

My mom worked at western electric, until they tore it down in the early 80's, and stripped the land cause it was toxic, then she died of cancer a few years later. the land is still bare today in 2019.

[@scarakus]

@Sean Embry Yea she was a solderer..

[@rayfridley6649]

I disagree with this statement. Western Electric is not the only manufacturer of phones and other telecommunications gear. Kellogg Switchboard and Supply Co, Automatic Electric Co, Stromberg-Carlson and a few others also manufacture phone equipment. AT&T along with the Bell operating companies would certainly purchase from these.

[@libertyann439]

Or you would look different!

[@inkyguy]

LMacNeill , you’re the result a telephone connection.

[@TheOzthewiz]

Back when you had REAL LIVE people answering the phone instead of a machine. What a wonderful experience that was!

[@josephmarzullo]

I don’t like people

[@workingtheworld68]

The Bell System was a regulated monopoly. Their goal was 99.999% availability (five 9's) and to my memory they achieved it. Plus all the breakthroughs from Bell Labs to numerous to list here. The Feds finally deregulated it in the 1980s. I do miss calling information though - sharp gals and quick answers.

[@melaniexoxo]

Deregulation hurt everything IMO

[@americanspirit8932]

In my opinion break up of the Bell System in 1984 by judge green, was the biggest mistake ever made in the United States concerning business. Employed millions of people throughout the country with excellent benefits, the best communication system in the entire world, and they had to go break it up and put the two cents in knowing nothing about Communications. I was employed for 36 years starting with Western Electric then they changed names couple of times ended up under AT&T, Noki. Today September 14th 2022. I started working February of 1963. Seems like yesterday.

[@Open_DoorMedia]

@@melaniexoxo Not in all cases . In Nigeria, we are happy that our Federal Government ended the monopoly of NITEL, the National telecom company through deregulation. Today, Nigeria has the highest number of telephone and internet users in Africa .

[@friendofdorothy9376]

Growing up I never looked in the phone book. Always called information for everything.

[@mharris5047]

@@friendofdorothy9376 Most of the time I used the phone book (I actually had to keep both a local phone book and one for the large city containing the university I taught at) but remember when (on GTE) eight calls monthly to the operator were included in my telephone service. After deregulation it dropped to three and then to one and then to none. I haven't called the operator in 20 years, I did use 411 through my cellular phone provider when they had free 411 service but that is gone as well. I never got into making collect calls so I didn't need the operator for that, I think I have made one or two in my long lifetime. I did use a calling card when those were a thing, those didn't require operator assistance. Today, I can look up many numbers right here on the internet, also negating the need for operator assistance.

[@datboyjeff]

Beautiful training documentary. I cannot believe this is how things used to be done in a world before automation. It’s eye opening and make me have a different level of respect for field techs and my guys on the Network teams.

[@peterweatherley7669]

Am I the only one who enjoyed the music as much as the technological aspect of this?

[@Brian-yt8fu]

I was a technician assigned to work with an old timer with 30 yr experience. I always remember how paient he was as i asked a lot of questions.

[@tinasmith1391]

Back in the days when a person might have a 40 year career doing one job. It's like watching something from a different planet.

[@ilovemayo123]

It’s almost like everything swung the opposite way. The problems they had, we don’t have and the problems we have now, they didn’t have

[@Brian-yt8fu]

Your comment on the bell system one of my co workers retired after 42 yr service.

[@hankaustin7091]

This film is most definitely from the late 50s.. that '59 Oldsmobile at the start of the film proves that right away..

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

Yup, at 0:12. I had a '59 Olds 98.

[@hebneh]

There’s also a ‘59 Cadillac later.

[@CmdrKeene]

Just incredible breadth in this video. Really amazing picture of the early part of our modern society

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

At 25:25, a prototype Touch-Tone® phone is shown. They were first released to the public in 1964.

[@robertborchert932]

I noticed that! Early DTMF system before the familiar square Western Electric touch tone telephone. Note the round bezel on the prototype? Super cool.

[@StringerNews1]

@@robertborchert932 Note the lack of star and pound keys too, just like the 1st gen DTMF phones we got in 1967.

[@Janotes]

I believe that set was eventually the WE 1500 set. No star or pound symbol. Kinda looks like the government AutoVon sets..

[@James_Knott]

I noticed that too. There were a lot of clues this wasn't from 1950.

[@CARLIN4737]

Beautiful...Love the old days.

[@JamieToddBand]

Nice music. Sounds like an episode of Leave It To Beaver.

[@jeffgarrett4533]

Back in the old days when responsibility was taken on and taken seriously and more importantly it was taken personally.

[@dianaisom9206]

and racist

[@redd_cat]

@@dianaisom9206 bugman detected. go back to your pod and let us love our country and people in peace.

[@videodistro]

@diana I knew some moron like you would say "see all the whites". Didn't you see the minority kids on the playground? Or did you choose to ignore them? And, you apparently didn't live in rural America in the 50's. There we very few minorities. Hence the term "minority". Get it? Minority groups have grown leaps.and bounds the last 50 years. Next time.you try to inject race where it doesn't belong, try to gain some understanding before you open your mouth and sound like an idiot.

[@videodistro]

And, all races could order and have a telephone. Diana, YOU are the racist.

[@dianaisom9206]

@@videodistro 😂😂😂 aww is someone butthurt? Well at this time segregation was huge so there’s no integrated kids together playing anywhere. It was extremely taboo. I loved the culture in the 1950s but I wish it wasn’t racist. I wish we all were together as one race: the human race Don’t call me racist for saying the obvious. The civil rights bill didn’t come until 1964. Schools were completely segregated. And if they were not...they were breaking the law.

[@VideoNOLA]

8:04 I used to collect and use all those special technician/test numbers, like the "Ringback" one he dials in to make the new line ring. I doubt any of those still exist.

[@Janotes]

In NYC we had 660.. 660-7 used to shut the line off. 660-6 used to send ring generator back after you hang up. One time when I was playing around with different digits, I guess somebody from the C.O. answered me and threatened to shut off the service.

[@Janotes]

660-7 came in handy around banks of payphones. As kids my friends and I would dial the number at the payphones It would shut the dial tone off for 5 minutes. Anyone walking up to use the phone would lose their deposit until The dial tone came back. We always had Quarters for video games. This was the early 80s👍

[@Janotes]

@Brains00007 I will admit it's been a good 35 years since the early 80s for me but after a google search of coin telephone costs it appears the Bell System was granted a rate increase in 1984 for certain major cities up to .25 cents. We had New York Telephone As our carrier back in the day so I guess my comment should have Read this was the "mid 80s" instead.👍

[@James_Knott]

Last time I did that was just a few years ago. However, I expect it will disappear as the world moves to voice over IP.

[@James_Knott]

@@Janotes In Canada, pay phone competition appeared just in time to be put out of business by cell phones.

[@dariusanderton3760]

16:48 I remember the weird looking bills that used to come. They were little cards full of holes, and I think you had to mail the card back along with your check. I havent seen one of those in decades.

[@jpolar394]

Remember when they used to send you grocery store coupons to your house with the little key punch holes in them from the manufacturer ?

[@howardmifflin5439]

Those were the IBM punch cards and it was printed on your return envelope not to fold, spindle or mutilate it. Of course it they messed up your bill it is rumored that someone might actually do that. WHO ME!!

[@parteibonza]

@@howardmifflin5439 well...if you disobey they can disconnect your ass and blacklist you....so....

[@c0t0d0s7]

“Do not fold, spindle or mutilate” would be a cool name for a band.

[@James_Knott]

But first you had to fold, spindle and mutilate those cards. 😀

[@josephgaviota]

Even in the '60s, I had friends at school who did NOT have a telephone in their home.

[@nerdsrock243]

This was actually filmed in 1960, or perhaps the fall of 1959 at the earliest. (several model year 1960 vehicles spotted)

[@yuppiehi]

No, it was definitely 1950 or late 1940s. When the invention of the transistor is mentioned, it was mentioned within the context of it being recently invented, which was 1947 (1948 for bi-polar transistors.) Also, by 1960, there weren't as many switchboard operators, as by 1960 much of the country's phone switching system were automated. The central office equipment in this film is well dated around the late 1940s/early 1950s. And, if you look at the phone numbers, they were all four digits. In 1960, most of the country were already on the five to seven-digit systems.

[@nerdsrock243]

yuppiehi - Go to 5:41 in the video. The car behind the police officer is a 1960 Cadillac Sedan deVille. The car on the right is a 1959 Ford Thunderbird. Care to explain how vehicles from 20 years in the future are in a film that is "definitely 1950 or late 40s"? As a person alive when these cars were new, I know a '59 T-Bird and a '60 Caddy when I see one. As another commenter said, there is also a 1959 Olds at the start.

[@yuppiehi]

@@nerdsrock243 It is possible that, when AT&T restored this video from the reel-to-reel archive, portions of the video were ruined in some way. Therefore, they could have replaced portions of the damaged video, while retaining the audio, with pieces from other videos that were made years later. And, they probably didn't count on a car expert to pick up on these edits.

[@nerdsrock243]

lol Well, maybe less an expert and more an old fart that sometimes could learn to chill. Have a good evening! (or whatever it is where you are)

[@James_Knott]

@@yuppiehi There were several things that didn't exist in 1950. For example SAGE and the DEW line. These were defense networks that didn't exist until the late 50s. There certainly weren't any pocket transistor radios in 1950. Also, check out some of the cars.

[@allandavis8201]

I love these old promotional films, they are so simplistic into every way of life, a more laid back more easy and interesting story, everyone so well dressed and affluent, definitely a lot of poetic license, things back then were just as problematic as they are today, well maybe not 2020/21, these films have a way, deliberately, of making everything seem idilic and give you the ‘hard sell’ without you realising it. Thanks for sharing 😀👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@TattedIrishxxx]

You Do realize not everyone was “affluent” then?

[@mharris5047]

@@TattedIrishxxx Everyone isn't "affluent" or "rich" now. I live in a wealthy part of the country and there are people struggling even here.

[@TattedIrishxxx]

@@mharris5047 exactly

[@ppc7457]

Good old days

[@michaelprice_music]

I love these videos. The best sleep material out there!

[@jkvelasquez84]

This is one of my favorite videos.

[@donl1410]

9:09. Isn't that Sgt Phil Esterhaus from Hill Street Blues? "Let's be careful out there".

[@jaymeade9898]

I too thought it was Michael Conrad, but I’ve seen pictures of him in that era, and the person in the film looks different. Whoever he is, it’s definitely a familiar face.

[@MrWolfTickets]

25:26 WOAH!! I haven't ever seen this push-button prototype!!

[@misterwhipple2870]

They started developing Touch-Tone in the late 1940s. It took a long time to get it right (15 years) and even longer to integrate into the whole Bell System.

[@MaximRecoil]

25:25 - I wish they would have kept the model 500 shell that they used for their touch-tone prototypes, when they went into production. The 500 shell is the best looking and most iconic desk phone in history IMO; it is _way_ better looking than the boxy 2500 shell. Also, they should have used the 554 shell and guts for the touch-tone wall phone. Instead, they went with the tiny, internally cramped 2554 which didn't even have room for a dual-gong ringer, so they crammed the crappy single-gong Trimline ringer in there. Northern Electric knew better though, and made what they called the 3554, which did in fact use the iconic 554 shell and guts. ITT made a 3554 too.

[@BigEightiesNewWave]

operator get me Hootersville !

[@Dr.Pepper001]

Oliver, is that you, dahling?

[@junkdeal]

@@Dr.Pepper001 Pixley has an airport?! No...Than how am I gonna fly out of Pixley?!! You could buy an airplane!!! OH FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!!!

[@calbob750]

Back in the day Ma Bell owned the telephones. If you bought your own phone to have an extension you were supposed to notify the phone company so they could bill you.

[@Sparky-ww5re]

A little bit before my time. I was born in 1989. As a child i can remember my grandmother still having her rotary dial phone next to the washer and dryer in her kitchen and she was telling me stories on how if ever there was a problem with the phone, the phone company would come over to the house and repair it, free of charge. Of course those old company owned phones were tanks and so reliable and robust they very seldom if ever needed service. Her next door neighbor still has two that were left in the house when they moved in the spring of 1971, they are thought to date from the 1940s or possibly the 1930s. The base is made up of a die cast metal, and the handset is made up of a very hard dense plastic, possibly bakelite or whatever they had back then. And yes they still work, though they told me they don't use them very often.

[@Janotes]

@@h0tel1 "Carter Phone" really paved the way for "Crap phones"

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

In 1960, you simply could not buy your own phone. They weren’t sold, period.

[@mistergrandpasbakery9941]

I would love to put my electronics degree to work for this KZbin channel!!!!

[@Elodea]

The super imposed title at the beginning reads "1950" but there there is a scene with a 1960 Cadillac. Not a big deal as it's still an interesting film.

[@lestersabados1306]

All of them are now obsolete. If I'm not mistaken, there are no more analog switches. Remember the bell system vans. All gone.

[@joaodasilva8008]

I like the way they talk on this documentary

[@americanspirit8932]

The awards or where only operators would sit, or replaced by a system called traffic service position systems, tsps. What we call a cog would be like, a bicycle wheel with spokes going out, the main central office for the tsps, wood Branch out off each spoke, and at the end of each spoke there would be a tsps system with 64 operators, each position had two operators sitting down with separate controls switches buttons, it was a lot more efficient it was all done electronically, but it eliminated thousands and thousands of operators. This was all Electronics digitally controlled. I was fortunate enough to be trained on that system, I was also trained on, what we call number one ESS, electronic switching system. These were the first electronic switch systems to be installed throughout the nation. Along with that I was trained on, ETS electronic translator systems, they would be controlling the T1 carrier systems electronically. Also trained on number four ESS, which is the first electronic digital system. The last system that I was trained on, was number five, ESS, this was a digital fiber optic switching system, still in use today. Instead of talking over a copper wire you were talking over a fiber optic. My education is priceless. You couldn't go to college to learn the stuff it was all classified and proprietary. The later systems number one and then number five ESS, used Unix as their operating system. Prior to that number one ss use the combination of, Fortran and Cobalt, hybrid. Prior to that it was all Electro mechanical crossbar and before that stepper, and before that 100% manual. We would see like on Lassie cranking the phone saying Emma connect me to Mr Smith. That was 100% manual back in those days. I had a total of 36 years service. I calculated all the hours that I spent in communication School through the company, it would be equivalent to about 17 years of regular College. All our schools were six days a week 8 hours a day, months and months at a time, schools were spread out in various parts of the country, also went to various engineering schools, within the company in Oklahoma City, King of Prussia, Minneapolis Minnesota, just the name of you. I lived in New York at that time, on Long Island.

[@dianebrown9383]

I miss those days when the telephone man would come to your house and bring you any type of phone you wanted

[@zelphx]

I did not care waiting around for him to show up!

[@robertborchert932]

I do too. Today people want instant gratification. I remember chatting with the technician, choosing between the standard rotary phones, and the latest "princess" rotary phone. It had western electric logos on the handset. Ah, the old days....

[@Janotes]

Grew up in the waning days of the Bell System, I used to open up the telephone sets at home to explore- sometimes breaking something in the process. Then I would watch the repairman fix or Replace the sets. I have had a lifetime Interest ever since.

[@James_Knott]

Anything other than black cost extra per month, as did touch tone and phone jacks.

[@misterwhipple2870]

My mom got a super-long cord added so she could walk all around the house while she talked. One day she heard this grunting noise coming from the other room and she got up to investigate. My brother was trying to pinch the phone cord like a garden hose to cut off the conversation but of course that did not work. I think he was 3 or 4.

[@drh4683]

Another great piece of American history here. However, this video must be from at least 1959 as there was a '59 Pontiac stopped at the intersection at 0:18

[@LMacNeill]

drh4683 Or late '58, possibly -- '59 models were released in September of '58, give or take a bit. But definitely no earlier than that.

[@RJSchex]

Also, at 10:15 is a "Princess" phone-which debuted in 1959.

[@RJSchex]

Actually, I've narrowed it down more. The Bell System map at 21:14 depicts Pacific Tel. Northwest ("Pacific Northwest Bell"), which was formed in 1961.

[@misterwhipple2870]

One thing about those days - everybody dressed well, and by God, the women looked like W O M E N ! ! !

[@HenryBloggit]

This wasn’t even that long ago and it looks like a different planet.

[@Telecolor-in3cl]

I can only agree to that. People are forgetting...

[@puntme]

15:13 is the theme for early episodes of firing line lol

[@user-kn3qq4he7u]

Nice video

[@the_tux]

7:08 Hey sir, do you know what this whistle does I got from a pack of cereals?

[@milfordcivic6755]

I wish they still built affordable new starter homes in nice neighborhoods.

[@edwinkaris9602]

very educational..

[@geoben1810]

I remember when it was a big deal to have your own phone in the the house.

[@parteibonza]

Partyline was big shit when I was growing up.

[@ronireland6601]

I remember my grandparents getting their phone installed and when my mom got us a phone line installed talking to the phone man asking questions about the type of work he did and my Fascinatione as a kid Experimenting with batteries motors lights Becoming an electrician going to an apprenticeship now be in a wireman I don't install telephones but I have around a lot of phone wire in the home said I have lived in a terminated the connections my license allows me to do that they have the experience and I think the men that I spoke with as a kid about the work they did and why they did the work they did!

[@Janotes]

Yeah when Ralph Kramden got his Phone, Ed Norton ran down to congratulate him...

[@jeaniechowdhury6739]

I still have a land line & wont give it up.

[@James_Knott]

You might not have a choice. The traditional "land line" is on the way out. Even the phone company is moving to voice over IP.

[@cblizz730]

To think 40 years ago from when this film was recorded they didn't even have electricity or running water.

[@ricardorodrigues7304]

muito lindo, parabéns.

[@friendofdorothy9376]

Those experimental touch-tone buttons shown where so large and clunky looking when pressed.

[@bob4analog]

8:14 "you can call anywhere in the world if you want to." Yup, we had the technology even back then.

[@kathleenking47]

Through the IOC (international operator central) USSR was one of the last, to get country code of 7...then, in small areas of the world You had to go through 3 or more

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@kathleenking47 Can you imagine what the old man would do to you if a call to Russia showed up on the bill?

[@mharris5047]

@@misterwhipple2870 That would be a problem even today. Calls to third world countries cost big bucks!

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@mharris5047 One thing I forgot to mention at the time was that if you DID call Russia, the FBI would show up and say "Hey! Which one of you in this house called Russia? Who did you call, and what the F*&*#k were you talking about?"

[@jeaniechowdhury6739]

Love it. I ant to go back there for one year. No cell phones. No coved 19

[@kathleenking47]

We had lots OF PAY PHONES LOCAL CALLS WERE A DIME THEN TV, wasn't pretty bad, neither was radio

[@hebneh]

Ted’s supervisor, Jack, sounds like Bowser from Sha Na Na.

[@DanaTheInsane]

Now nobody wants a phone book and I have not seen a working payphone in years.

[@josephgaviota]

12:16 Ah, the Linotype machine ... I haven't worked on them since 1976.

[@jeffgarrett4533]

Business the way it used to be you always had someone to contact and speak to. I miss these days it was better much better. The Bell system truly was the only monopoly that did in fact provide this kind of service we broke it up and look what we have now ...sheesh

[@pressureworks]

Looking for the Mst3k or Rifftrax version.

[@WSNO]

Early 1960s, 5:40 has a 1962 or 63 Cadillac

[@zelphx]

You're right... a '60 model! Maybe that was filmed in '59, upon their introduction.

[@guyosburn5693]

Channel 69 WSNO I didn’t hire on until 1972 but those were still great days for ‘The Phone Company’. Back then, we were given time to chat with the customer and to make sure they received exactly what they wanted. Today everything is rush rush rush! Customer be damned! Those really were better times.

[@zelphx]

That supervisor is awfully familiar... I am sure he has had many roles on TV.

[@blueshells50]

The telephone numbers with names and numbers are super confusing

[@BK-uf6qr]

What a wonderful time it was I’m sure. Now, we can talk or text anytime we want. It exposes the a human truth however. When things are to easy they are not appreciated. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. A call back then meant more. More emotional I’m sure. Communication was valued more. Somehow with more technology people seem to grow apart under the false belief we are closer through tech. No one writes letters anymore. People don’t call each other more except for a select group possibly. Being unavailable/unreachable gave value to communication. People back then used to congregate more, face to face. Neighbors knew each other. People helped people. Today, it seems we are more isolated despite increased technology. Maybe we are more isolated BECAUSE of technology. I have an affinity for the olden times. Simpler times. People seemed more honorable. People had values. People NEEDED people to get through life. Relationships were closer buttressed by the needs of life.

[@josephgaviota]

14:25 "Houses run $20-$25,000 dollars ... Must have been a pretty swanky housing development! My folks bought their 3-bedroom 2-bath house in a suburb of Los Angeles for $16,000 in the mid '50s.

[@stevejohnson1321]

Today if you can get wired phone, you'll have to wait 20 to 30 days if you need repair service.

[@inkyguy]

Steve Johnson, despite a legal obligation to maintain their wired networks, it is obvious that the various telephone companies are divesting from their wired infrastructure by neglecting it and providing poor service to force people to migrate to cellular and cable or Internet service.

[@stevejohnson1321]

I do have prepaid cellular, which is far cheaper with more features. Unfortunately it's not always-on like plain-old telephone. More of us would remained customers if the service was maintained.

[@mharris5047]

You must have Frontier service. My phone service has gone down twice in the past 6-7 years. I had to wait two weeks to get it repaired and the fault was on Frontier maintained equipment.

[@stevejohnson1321]

Actually verizon in the northeast. In the four years since I posted, any service is done by subcontractors. Most wired phone companies are pretty horrible, driving residents to cellular or cable telephone. Though cellular is taking over the cities and suburban areas, it's not so good out here in the woods. I used to see a telephone truck in the neighborhood every day. That's no longer happening.

[@jaymeade9898]

The service supervisor looks familiar. Does anyone know who he is?

[@maxdutiel]

3:56 possibly the Owen Murphy lady from New York telephone intercept recordings.

[@CaptchaNeon]

Anyone from that time period know what a traditional phone bill cost each month back then? Also, did you have to pay to have phone installation, long distance calling and operator use? If so do you recall those costs?

[@junkdeal]

The basic monthly charge gave you access locally free. That was different things to different people and areas. From a few miles to maybe 30 miles in Northwest Indiana (Illinois Bell). The toll charges were a son-of-a-bitch! I remember something like 18 cents a MINUTE (mid-'60s) for the first minute, and maybe 8 to 11 cents after that. In TODAYS money that is like close to a dollar..........a MINUTE!!! (I had one of the earliest Cell Phones in Chicago

[@CaptchaNeon]

@@junkdeal OMG all of that you wrote is just sticker shock! It’s insane what things cost in the early times of cell phones and early internet connections! I can remember when I first got my cell phone in 2001, you never had a clue what your bill would be but it was always sticker shock. I’ve been with Boost Mobile for 13 years now, they run on Sprint Towers and I have unlimited talk, text, 3G data and 3.5 gb of 4G data which I never use because I’m virtually always at home for $30 a month and I paid $100 total for my iPhone 6s in Feb 2020 from Boost. I mean the monthly charge for all that is unbeatable, I can’t imagine going back to days of uncertainty. I read somewhere that in the 1980’s sending a fax was extremely expensive! So you mentioned about not having your own phone or they would find out, did they assign you a phone or?

[@junkdeal]

@@CaptchaNeon They did assign you a phone, and if I remember right, there was a rent charge. (if there wasn't then it was provided with the service) If there was NO rent charge, that was only for the first one because I DO remember they charged you for second or third ones for extensions AS WELL AS a line surcharge!! They KNEW if you hooked up an extension, because every phone added in, caused a voltage drop in the service, which they could EASILY find with a service analysis, which I guess they often did!...................back to cell phones and sticker-shock! I bought the actual 44th Mitsubishi 555 transportable phone ever imported into the United States from Japan back in the '80s! That damn thing cost $4000.00! ($9000.00+ IN TODAY'S MONEY!). But, boy, I was the cats-ass-hole walking around with that thing! The general public was mostly unused to, and even unaware, of cell phones, and here I was walking around with one! And it was a BIG unit, looking like a big black Geiger counter with a line cord and a handset! In a crowded environment like downtown, or in a mall, it would draw a crowd! AND it was HUNDREDS of times as powerful as phones today (in the sense of transmittable wattage, just to reach the far-away towers of the day) and if you rammed a cold hot dog onto the antenna, in 3 MINUTES that hot dog would be too hot to eat!!! Tin foil suit, anybody??!!!! I actually had a dark shadow on my leg for a while from the radiation effect near where I carried the phone in my right hand! I could feel a certain warmth after using it a while if I was walking! There was probably no harm done, it was a type of microwave rather than nuclear radiation, but still!!!...............

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

I don’t recall amounts, but the monthly charge in the 60s was a few dollars, plus monthly phone rental. Of course, it’d be ten times as much in today’s dollars. That was local service only. Long distance was very expensive. I don’t remember anyone who called long distance lightly. You paid a rate for the first three minutes (whether you used them all or not), then by the minute after that. Everyone watched the clock, because a 3:01 minute call cost much more. Middle class folks generally called long distance only for special occasions or bad news. The rest of the time, you wrote letters! In longhand! I had an aunt who typed her letters. She was unique in doing so. You could call station-to-station for less cost as long as you were willing to speak to whomever answered. Person-to-person calls cost more, if you wanted someone specific. I still remember the operators on the line, asking for that person as soon as the called number picked up...”I have a person-to-person call for John Doe.” I never quite understood the cost difference, unless station-to-station just used less time on the relatively few long distance lines. Collect calls, where the answering party spoke to an operator and agreed to pay for the call, were highest of all. I only remember them being used in emergencies. When direct distance dialing became available, it was as remarkable as smartphones today. People had to learn “1+” dialing. There was an installation charge, and we used to pay deposits up front. Operator calls were generally free; there were local, long distance, and directory assistance operators. Added services cost extra. I remember there was an extra charge for a decorator phone color; black phones were standard, and cheapest. An extension phone brought another installation charge and monthly fee. We were almost celebrities in a way because we had phone JACKS in 1965. I recall being told that Southwestern Bell was resistant to install a phone that plugged in. Almost all were hardwired to a terminal block. With jacks, you could carry the phone to another room in lieu of having an extra-cost extension...but we never did. We walked to the phone by the front door, or in the kitchen. Costs in sheer human work and incredibly complex electromechanical switching equipment were high, plus research and the buildout of telephone infrastructure in those days. To provide relatively inexpensive local service, the high long distance charges paid the costs. Most of this fell on businesses who regularly needed long distance, but who could better afford the cost. People like to diss those telephone days, but the companies maintained well over 99% of lines in operating condition at all times-something more like 99.999%, I think. At the same time, they developed newer systems, then the change to electronic switching, all while maintaining that service rate. And they did employ so many people, almost all of whom look back with happy memories. Customers were happy too. You can’t miss what you’ve never had, so we were all entirely content to have only wired voice service. It’s interesting that my family never uses FaceTime today, though we thought we would. We still call and talk in the same way people did with the first phones.

[@mybigfatpolishlife]

I think you leased the equipment

[@c0t0d0s7]

10:15 Two beds in the master bedroom? Is one for the mailman?

[@xeero24]

Nope. It was a husband and wife who wanted a good nights sleep.

[@mharris5047]

In this era it was considered unacceptable to even allude to two people sleeping in the same bed in movies or on television, even if married to each other. That was taking being prudish way too far IMO.

[@JensSchraeder]

What a great time in history

[@GmanMilli]

6:30 I guess John Gardner the monster wasn't even born yet.

[@libertyann439]

I had a phone just like Mrs. Gardner's!

[@chukchee]

I also have a lot to learn...

[@parteibonza]

@11:44 I also have a lot to learn...

[@jmulnick]

Ugh! Those phones are attached to WALLS!! 😫

[@DyoKasparov]

i want to live at that time

[@melaniexoxo]

Service to the community? Unheard of these days.

[@jkvelasquez84]

The skulls of the folks in this video would literally explode if they saw what was coming post-COVID for technology.

[@laureanoarantesnetto8175]

At& t Bell system and Western Eletric one groupe ?

[@syferdet]

25:17 I think there are better ways from keeping your teenagers from monopolizing the phone than this.

[@lestersabados1306]

A young man asked me how they texted on dial rotary telephones!!!

[@tictac-nscale]

"Operator connect me to Klondike-570 please"

[@ruthlessluder]

Would rather live in those days than today with our toxic social media.

[@cluclap]

Well, since I'm black I would beg to differ.

[@EmilFr]

@@cluclap as you can see from this film, there were no black people in those days

[@W1RMD]

Shout out to "the greatest generation"!

[@lloydtshare]

OMG I can have telephone on the terrace

[@BBC600]

200 Veiws This Deserves at least 300!

[@CaptchaNeon]

BBC600 It now has 26,000 and counting

[@riphihe]

@@CaptchaNeon May 7 2012 -2013 = 300 views last 3 weeks it has increased by 2000 views today March 6 2020 = 28,865 views

[@shailong3254]

its so strange to see a human have to take input from a computer and then give it back to a computer. Good thing technology illuminated the redundant switch board operator job.

[@kathleenking47]

We had TSPS and dialed overseas Not every prefix could dial overseas until later...with SMARTPHONES

[@DarthElk]

"The number is WRight 5-6240." "RIght 5-6240. Thank you." And that's how Mrs. Smith got the wrong number for Wilson's Meat Market.

[@PeopleAlreadyDidThis]

Such an instance would have been unlikely in practice. Exchange names were chosen for their uniqueness and intelligibility. People knew they’d be names or descriptive terms. Anyone who lived in a town for a week would already know the exchanges, and it was a simple matter to browse the phone book to learn them. I knew the local exchange names before I was ten, probably earlier. The Bell System published extensive lists of suggested exchange names. Names were intended to reduce confusion among similar exchange numbers. It was simpler to remember TUlip-2, TErminal-5, and ULysses-2 where I grew up than 882, 835, and 855. People weren’t as inundated with numbers then. Words were good, they added interest, and they also identified the exchanges’ geographical areas; ULysses was downtown, TErminal in the south of town. There was a character that is now lost.

[@kathleenking47]

They got rid of WRight..numbers in 1966..the same year Zone Improvement Plan codes went in ZIP CODES

[@AL-uv4tg]

If only they knew.

[@laureanoarantesnetto8175]

Here Vila Remo neighboard São Paulo city Brazil South América 😊😊😊😊

[@Andrew_Sparrow]

4:05 what does right mean?

[@TheLCPI]

74

[@marcfield1234]

There was a time when the phone number started with the central office name. This would be the Wright in Wright 5. So the number would be WR5 -6240.

[@robertcuminale1212]

@@marcfield1234 Those numbers usually identified a place. As a boy I lived near the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. The phone exchanges in that area were EVergreen, HYacinth and IVy. My grandmother lived a block away and was in a different central office on Glenmore Avenue in Queens. She had a GLenmore number. You could tell where a person lived then not like today with number portability.

[@mikepeterson764]

Exchange name. Ours was BLackburn7.

[@almostfm]

@@mikepeterson764 Ours was REdwood.

[@parteibonza]

today they are such crooks...one time we paid them to do a site survey to bring service to a building. they told us to pay them 5 thousand dollars for the survey. They never did anything but send a guy out to look at it. Then they sent us the survey results but it was only a few paragraphs of excuses and their resolution was for us to hire a contractor to string a line to a corner of our bulding ourselves. They kept the 5 thousand dollars. I like just calling them up and complaining day after day and keep hammering their customer service department. Eventually they get tired of it and just get someone to do it. The American Way now, sadly.

[@hebneh]

I knew there’d be a bunch of comments here of how wonderful and wholesome and perfect the USA used to be, as if this movie was real life.

[@Pentapus1024]

@hebneh Things weren't as pure and wholesome as depicted in old films, but it was far more so than today. I'm a child of the 80s/90s and have seen how grotesque things have gotten in my little lifetime. The fabric of society is threadbare, and the scattered individuals aware that the era they're fated to live through is one of decomposition get misty-eyed thinking of how things used to be.

[@videodistro]

... says someone who was never there. It was much more "perfect" than today's crap existence. There WAS more care and concern back then.

[@hebneh]

@@videodistro Except I was there, fool. I'm an old man now.

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@hebneh I agree. My mother was there, and she said the very best time in the history of the whole country was from 1946 to about 1957, and then things started to slide. If I could jump through a time portal, I'd be off like a shot.

[@hebneh]

@@misterwhipple2870 It was only "the very best" for a particular segment of society. Any one else could be - and was - legally discriminated against. Secondhand cigarette smoke everywhere, including airplanes; cars with zero safety equipment that killed huge numbers of people annually; non-existent environmental controls that meant coal miners and asbestos workers were permanently maimed and killed...these were the downsides of what appears to be a golden age when you look at old movies.

[@caidhg]

21:40 apparently Mexico didn't exist in the 50s

[@workingmanpatriot8760]

Thryve had us on the hook since 1942 came thru my my folks hood. My grandfather thot it a fad....

[@danam2584]

This video is so cool to watch. Wouldn't it be nice to experience it?.........Don't worry MYTOWN. In the late 60's rail passenger service will be discontinued. The early 70's most of the small agricultural business like wool, daries and such will go away because of synthetic fabrics and Government regulations'. The mid to late 70's most of your factories would be closed and sent to Japan. Half of the people would leave for jobs in the larger cities. The graduating kids will not stick around. By the 2000's the rest of the factories will be sent to China. Most of the small businesses will close because the owners are all retiring and no one wants to buy their businesses. All that is left in town is a Casey's, and a grain elevator. But don't worry the future will be bright. Sooooo sad. I think I need a hug.

[@alwayswondering4051]

Somebody should get pictures of the telephone poles that line the streets. They'll be a remnant all too soon.

[@jfbeam]

Negative. Power, cable, and various fibre services hang from those poles. Copper telco services may eventually go extinct, but those poles are going to be around for many more decades.

[@arthurharrison1345]

That's not likely.

[@c0t0d0s7]

I believe utilities own a large number of poles in the U.S.

[@peltel2222]

This is a European approach to Democracy and civilization. Many other groups do not, and have not ever strived to have such calm, respectful striving people. All working for one goal. To better everyone's lives around them. High moral standards. Along with the prevalent tendency to create rather than destroy. These days appear to have been all but overtaken by other groups who have been welcomed into the great European experiment on Democracy called America. Lets hope these days return. If not, we are in for a very rough ride my fellow Americans!

[@melon5111]

Thank god I did not have to live through this era

[@MikeDBrnchBannks-eh1ni]

Hi checking in some office inbox mails also Collins CVS and nesr pier FDC board walk. Tye day cloudy large amount of rsin. M

[@InderpalSingh280ludhiana]

📞 ☎️

[@davidcrackerfeller530]

white people yes i love it

[@sillygoose635]

@B. Allen *black/native ammericans

[@nyccontrabass3489]

Yep, nothing has changed. Still a racist country.

[@nyccontrabass3489]

To be honest, I am a teacher and my black students are no different than my white students except for their motivation and attitude. It’s quite amazing to me how they complain less and complete more assignments. Fact is that repression and racism breeds crime and leads you to your statement. Want less crime? Treat them like equals. Some of the students stories are amazing. Most of them say that their relatives feel like there is no hope for the future and that leads them to not care about anything. Love thy neighbor and treat others how you want to be treated.

[@Dr.Pepper001]

@j drayton -- We'd do it again. Can't stop progress. Those millions coming over from Europe had to go somewhere. Stop complaining.

[@TheJ602]

@@nyccontrabass3489 let’s be honest you made that up.

[@jakemcconnell1776]

@8:37 I my boss ever called me "boy" we would be having words.