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Telephone History of Arkansas City, Kansas
COMPILED 1935
BY E. C. HUHLMAN
[Note: A xerox copy of the above was given to me by an Arkansas City resident, Mrs. LaVon Corkins, who served as a telegraph operator many years ago. She obtained it from Richard E. Shank, Director of External Affairs, SBC Communications Inc., 615 First National Center, Hutchinson, KS 67501-5251. MAW]
Telephone History.
Arkansas City, Kansas is located on the plains of southern Kansas about four miles from the Oklahoma State Line, approximately forty miles south and fifteen miles east of Wichita. The city was laid out in 1870 and incorporated in 1872. The 1930 census shows a population of 13,946; exhibit A shows the change in population from 1882 to the last census.
1883 to 1890
The first telephone system was installed in Arkansas City in 1883. The switchboard was in the rear of the Snyder and Hutchinson Land, Loan and Insurance Company's office, which was located near the corner of Fifth Avenue on the west side of Summit Street. Phil Snyder was the first manager and Miss Emma Theaker was the first operator. The first exchange had a magneto switchboard equipped with 18 lines. All but 3 lines were taken when the exchange opened for business. The first subscribers are listed below.
1. Spears Mill 10. Cunningham & Ayres
2. Cowley County Bank 11. Leland Hotel
3. A. T. & S. F. Depot 12. Captain Nipp's Livery Stable
4. V. M. Ayres, Canal Mills 13. I. H. Bonsall's Office
5. 14. H. P. Standly (Res.)
6. Searing & Meads Mill 15.
7. 16. Cresswell Bank
8. Winfield 17. Public Telephone
9. Syewary Hotel 18. James Miller (Res.)
[Note: See page 5 of Arkansas Early History & Telephone for correct names.]
The switchboard serving approximately 40 stations in 1886 was moved to the second floor of a building located on Fifth Avenue.
[Exhibit C shows a picture of this office. Note the heavy open wire lead terminating in front of the building.]
The Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company of Kansas City, Missouri, purchased the Arkansas City exchange along with seventeen other exchanges in 1887.
The grounded line toll circuit between Winfield and Arkansas City was practically put out of service in 1890 when the Santa Fe Railroad Company and the Western Union Telegraph Company installed a quadruplex telegraph circuit between Arkansas City and Topeka. The telephone line paralleled the telegraph line and the electrical interference was so great that it was necessary for the Telephone Company to make its circuit metallic to overcome the objectionable interference.
1891 to 1899
The telephone business developed very slowly from 1890 to 1900. The census shows that the population decreased approximately 2,200 during this period. The reason for the decrease was probably the severe drought experienced during the nineties and the opening to homesteaders of the "Oklahoma Strip" in 1893. In November 1892 the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company was granted a twenty year franchise.
1900 to 1906
The original Bell patents had expired and many competing companies were being organized. J. H. Montague secured a franchise to operate a competing telephone company in Arkansas City in November 1900 and built a plant in 1901. The central office was located on the west side of Summit Street between Washington and Fifth Street.
[Note: Incorrect! Had to be between Washington Avenue and West Fifth Avenue.]
Soon after the plant was put into operation, it was sold to the Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company of Oklahoma. When the competing company opened its exchange, the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company charged $24.00 per annum for residence and $36.00 per annum for business service. The competing company charged $18.00 for residence and $24.00 for business service. A period of severe competition followed and the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company finally reduced the residence rate to $6.00 per annum, but maintained the business rate of $36.00 per annum. While the competition produced extremely low rates, and allowed neither company to earn a fair return on its investment, it did stimulate business and the number of telephones connected increased very materially.
In 1902 the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company employed a manager, three operators, and two linemen. It was the practice to call subscribers by name rather than by number and one of the first requirements of a new operator was to memorize the name and telephone number of all the subscribers. The number of subscribers became so great by 1904 that it was no longer possible for the operator to memorize all the names and telephone numbers, so a telephone directory was issued and calls were placed by numbers.
The 1904 directory was a cardboard one foot wide and twenty inches long and contained 356 names, 22 of which were rural subscribers.
Several rural lines were built in 1904 and some of the city plant was reconstructed: 11,800 feet of aerial cable was placed in order to relieve the heavily loaded open wire leads and provide spare lines for growth.
The disadvantage of being served by two telephone systems was becoming well known to the people of Arkansas City. The Commercial Club sent a petition to the telephone company urging a consolidation. The Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company purchased the Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company (which included the Arkansas City exchange with its 647 stations) June 1, 1905.
The Pioneer Company was charging $18.00 for residence service and $30.00 for business service; and these rates were continued after the consolidation by the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company. The businessmen through the Commercial Club assured the Telephone Company that they would never encourage another competing company to build an exchange so long as the service was satisfactory.
The Mayor, together with a small following, opposed the consolidation of the two companies. C. W. McDaniels, Plant Superintendent, and L. F. Duggan, Commercial Manager, obtained 50,000 feet of paired wire out of which they made a cable on a quiet side street. With this cable the two offices were tied together before the opposition learned what was going on. After the consolidation universal service was given and no further objections followed.
The competing company's exchange consisted of a Kellogg Express type, six position switchboard, 570 telephones, 960 city and 760 rural poles, 400 miles of line wire, 18,080 feet of 50 pair cable, 20 fire alarm call boxes, 3 booths, and 5 pay stations.
Shortly after acquiring the property of the competing company, work was started on consolidating the two plants, converting the magneto systems to a common battery system. The central office quarters were enlarged and a new #8 Western Electric common battery switchboard consisting of six local and four toll positions equipped with 1300 local multiple and 30 toll multiple was installed. All of the city telephones were replaced with the common battery type. The outside plant reconstruction work involved placing 235 poles and 34,625 feet of cable. A new police and fire alarm system with 18 call boxes was installed. The cut- over to the new switchboard was completed July 28, 1906.
1907 to 1920
The number of subscribers continued to increase to such an extent that it was necessary to do considerable work in 1910. The telephone company installed an underground conduit system before the streets were paved in the business district in 1910. The aerial plant in the business district was converted to an underground plant. The heavy open wire leads were replaced with cable, which provided additional facilities and improved the service. The project involved placing 184 poles, 30,675 feet of aerial cable, and 5,095 feet of underground cable, and 23,276 duct feet of underground conduit. Four operators positions and 300 subscribers multiple were added.
An inventory of the plant in 1911 shows a vacant lot, #8 Western Electric common battery switchboard consisting of 7 sections and 1800 subscribers multiple; also 4 positions of toll board; 1,339 common battery telephones and 415 magnetic telephones; 1,560 city poles and 333 rural poles; 336 miles of city wire and 50 miles of rural wire; 68,540 feet of aerial cable and 5,095 feet of underground cable; 3,750 trench feet of underground conduit.
The Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company's franchise expired in 1912. They continued to operate under the Pioneer Telephone Company's franchise acquired at the time of the purchase of that company.
The name of the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company was changed to the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company in 1917.
The first composite sets, which allowed the transmission of telegraph and telephone messages over the same wires simultaneously, were installed in 1917. In order to improve the toll service, toll monitoring trunks were installed in 1918.
1921 to 1934
Arkansas City was a growing town and by 1920 the plant had become inadequate to handle the rapid growth. A reconstruction project planned for 1917 was postponed on account of the World War. A project providing extensive replacements and additions in the outside plant was started in 1921. It provided for placing 582 poles, 62,377 feet of aerial cable, 11,389 feet of underground cable, and 760 trench feet of conduit. The plant was designed with the idea of reconcentrating all of the lines in a new central office within a period of three to five years.
It was necessary to add two positions of switchboard including 300 additional subscriber multiple and 40 rural multiple.
The cost of operating a telephone exchange during and following the World War had increased so much that it was impossible to earn a fair return on the investment in the property at existing rates. The telephone company requested an increase in rates, which was granted by the decision of the Kansas "Six Cases" and became effective May 1921. However, it was not until February 1924 that the final decision of the Supreme Court sustained these rates.
In 1923 100 subscriber multiple was added. A description of the flood which occurred at Arkansas City in 1923 as told in the Southwestern Telephone News in the August 1923 issue follows.
"The normal Sunday Local calls in Arkansas City range around 9,000 but on the day of this flood they crept to 40,000. Toll calls jumped from an ordinary 160 to almost 600. And the calls were put through. The load was handled. 'Service First' was again the unbeatable slogan. People called central to find out the conditions of the flood and many called for help. Long distance calls were placed to advise friends in other localities of their danger. It was the local and long distance operators who gave the public information as to the condition of the waters and who helped save many lives. When the siren blew at three o'clock in the morning warning the town of its danger, the operators did not wait to be called to report for duty but voluntarily made their way to the office because they knew that their services were needed. They won the plaudits of the town."
A reconstruction project in 1924 provided for placing 24 poles, 15,330 feet of aerial cable and 195 feet of underground cable.
The central office quarters and the switchboard were inadequate in 1923 to handle the anticipated growth. Plans were developed for a new building and switchboard, the installation of which depended on the outcome of the rate increase requested in 1921. Shortly after the Supreme Court sustained the rate increase in February 1924, work was started on a two-story brick central office building at Washington Avenue and First Street. Upon completion of the building, a Kellogg common battery switchboard was installed. It consisted of 8 sections, 14 local, 2 rural and 6 toll operators positions with 3,200 subscriber multiple and 2,500 subscriber answering jacks, 80 rural and 40 toll multiple.
In the outside plant 55 poles, 16,985 feet of aerial cable and 1,527 feet of underground cable were installed to facilitate the reconcentration of lines in the new office and to provide some relief for growing areas. The new office was cut into service March 13, 1926.
A local newspaper made the following comment concerning the cut-over.
"At 36 minutes and forty seconds after eleven o'clock Saturday night the old telephone building on Fifth Avenue was pronounced 'dead.' It took just one minute and forty seconds to complete the birth of the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company's new building at Washington Avenue and First Street, as an industrial life center. Officials of the Bell System and those of the Western Electric Company who were present Saturday night declared it was 'the smoothest and quickest change on record.' The Bell System's standard will be seen floating from the top of the new building henceforth. The flag denotes that the building is the property of the Bell Company.
"At 11:35 o'clock a signal from the old telephone office was given, showing that no calls were registered on the old switchboard there, and at that instant R. H. Rhoads, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, pressed a button in the operating room of the new building and the cut-over was begun, and in one minute and forty seconds the new switchboard was in use, with no noticeable inconvenience to the public. The first call registered on the new board was a test call arranged previously with the fire department to try the efficiency of that circuit."
Outside plant projects in 1927 and 1928 provided for installing 88 poles, 27,654 feet of aerial cable and 2,085 feet of underground cable.
The first printer telegraph machine was installed in the Traveler Newspaper office in 1927. The same year toll business increased so much that it was necessary to change three subscribers positions to toll positions.
In 1928 a one-story brick garage and storeroom was built back of the central office building.
A high grade rural service was introduced in 1930, which limited the number of subscribers to eight per line and provided a higher grade of transmission and semi-selective ringing.
108 poles and 900 feet of jute covered 26 gauge cable were installed on a reconstruction project in 1934.
TELEPHONE RATES
ARKANSAS CITY, KANSAS.
1883-1895
United Telephone Company
Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company
Business Stations $50.00 per annum.
Residence Stations $36.00 per annum.
1895-1902
Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company
Business Stations $36.00 per annum.
Residence Stations $24.00 per annum.
1901
Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company
Business Stations $24.00 per annum.
Residence Stations $18.00 per annum.
1902-1905
Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company
Business Stations $30.00 per annum.
Residence Stations $18.00 per annum.
1903-1905
Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company
Business Stations $36.00 per annum.
Residence Stations $ 6.00 per annum.
1905-1918
Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company--Rates per Month.
One Party Two Party Four Party Extension
Business $2.50 $2.00 -- $.75
Residence $1.25 -- $1.00 $.75
Rural--Party Line $2.00
In 1912 the Residence One Party rate was increased to $1.50.
1918
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company--Rates per Month.
One Party Two Party
Business $2.50 $2.00
Residence $1.50 --
Rural--Party Line $2.00
1919-1921
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company--Rates per Month.
One Party Two Party
Business $3.00 --
Residence $2.00 $1.75
Rural Business--$2.00 Rural Residence--$1.50
1921-1934
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company--Rates per Month.
One Party Two Party Extension
Business $4.50 -- $1.00
Residence $2.50 $2.25 $ .75
Rural Service Eight Party Rural*
Business $3.00 $1.00 $3.50
Residence $2.00 .50 $2.25
*This high grade rural service was introduced in 1930.
DEPARTMENTAL REPRESENTATIVES
Commercial Department
Phil Snyder First Manager 1883
J. C. Lewis Manager
Pliny Simpson Manager
Walter Cooper Manager
J. C. Lewis Manager
J. W. Wilson Manager
L. F. Duggan Manager
Grant Knepple Manager
J. J. Parkinson Manager
Grant Knepple Manager 1904-1907
J. J. Parkinson Manager 1907-1909
J. G. Cory Manager 1904-1907
J. T. Towery Manager 1912-1919
W. B. Oliverson District Manager 1919-1920
Leroy Carr District Manager 1920
W. B. Oliverson District Manager 1920-1923
G. T. Laberteaux District Manager 1923-1926
J. W. McCoy District Manager 1926-1928
E. L. Nims District Manager 1928-1934
E. L. Nims Manager 1935-present
Traffic Department
Emma Theaker First Operator 1883
Cora Fountain Chief Operator 1908-1924
Jessie Coles Chief Operator 1924-1926
Mrs. Lola L. Lytal Chief Operator 1926-1927
Della Parker Chief Operator 1927
Mrs. Dorothy R. Richardson Chief Operator 1927-present
(1935)
[Note: The personnel record is incomplete because it is so difficult to
obtain this information.]
EXHIBITS.
Exhibits were sent with this 1935 Telephone History.
1. Exhibit A showed Stations & Population, Arkansas City, Kansas, from 1883 through 1934. There was a note stating that a competing company purchased telephone company in 1905 and that in December 1934 there were 290 service stations. The number of total stations included service stations.
2. Exhibit showed a room with occupants. It appears that it showed "Long Distance Service, Arkansas City, Ks."
3. Exhibit "C" had xerox of three buildings.
1. "Central office pole" in front of the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company office in 1890; note lineman on pole.
2. "Central office pole" in front of Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company
Office about 1905.
3. Horse and wagon used by Installer and "Trouble Shooter" about 1905.
4. Exhibit "D" had xerox of three scenes.
1. Switchboard about 1910.
2. 5th Ave east from 1st St. About 1905, note the number of poles on the street.
3. Cable terminal pole, in alley east of Summit from 5th Ave. to Washington
Street about 1906.
5. Exhibit "E" had xerox of four scenes.
1. A view in the terminal room showing the Wire Chief's desk, power panel, part of relay vacs [?] and main frame - 1921.
2. View of Cashier's window and window of toll pay station attendant - 1921.
3. Another view of main distributing frame - 1921.
4. A view of the local switchboard when the traffic was light - 1921.
6. Exhibit "F" had xerox of three scenes.
1. Company owned central office building, housing the equipment cut into
service March 1926.
2. Chevrolet car used by repairman in 1928.
3. Ford car used by station installers in 1928.
7. Exhibit "G" had xerox of two scenes.
1. Commercial Office - 1926.
2. Switchboard - 1926.
8. Exhibit "H" had xerox of three items.
1. Local Personnel - 1927. [Listed below.]
Front Row: Lizzie Knight, Dorothy Richardson - Chief Operator, Thelma
Justice - Supervisor.
Second Row: Edwin Becun, Edith Englis, Emma Beuchner, Elizabeth
Murry, Linie Shirley, L. S. Leaper.
Third Row: A. Leach - Wire Chief, Geo. Spangler, G. C. Richardson,
Richardson, E. L. Nims - Local Manager.
[Note: It was almost impossible to read names let alone initials. Some of the above could be incorrect. MAW]
2. Power equipment and ringing machines - 1926.
3. Not identified. Looks like telephone machinery.
NEWS MEDIA REPORT
ARKANSAS CITY, KANSAS Arkansas City Daily Traveler Page 5 JUN 25, 1976.
'Talking Machines Came To City In 1877.'
The telephone has been in Kansas almost since its invention by Alexander Graham Bell, 100 years ago. In fact, the first instruments arrived in Kansas in 1877, just one year after Bell patented his "talking machines." Experimental phones were introduced in Lawrence, Leavenworth, Manhattan and Topeka that year.
Arkansas City's first telephone exchange opened in 1883. It was owned by the United Telephone Company of Kansas City, Missouri. The switchboard was in the rear of the Snyder and Hutchinson Land, Loan and Insurance Company office, near the corner of Fifth Street on the west side of Summit Street. By the end of the year, 27 phones were in service.
United Telephone sold its holdings to the Missouri and Kansas Telephone Company in 1887. This company was a subsidiary of the Bell Telephone Company of Boston, which had been organized in 1878. Theodore Newton Vail was appointed first general manager of the Bell Company.
Vail's vision of the future of the telephone equaled that of Alexander Graham Bell. His goal was "one policy, one system, universal service."
Vail believed telephone companies should be recognized as public utilities and granted exclusive franchises for geographical areas, as waterworks and electric companies were. He realized early the detrimental effects of competition in the telephone business.
But Bell's original patents on his telephone instruments expired in 1893. Anyone and everyone wanted to get into the telephone business. The results were unsatisfactory, both to customers and to the telephone companies.
Wires of competing companies did not interconnect. In towns served by two companies, it was common for customers to subscribe to both systems. They had two phones and paid two bills, but that was the only way to reach all other phones in the community.
Competition reached Arkansas City in 1901. J. H. Montague opened a competing exchange, but soon sold it to the Pioneer Telephone and Telegraph Company of Oklahoma.
Severe competition reigned for the next few years. Extremely low rates resulted, with neither company earning a fair return on its investment. The low rates did stimulate business, though, and the number of telephones increased rapidly.
By 1904 the disadvantages of having two phone systems were well known to Arkansas City residents. The Commercial Club sent a petition to the telephone companies, urging consolidation.
On June 1, 1905, the Missouri and Kansas Company purchased the properties of the Pioneer Company, including the Arkansas City exchange. But the major and a few other residents opposed consolidation. So the company paired wire and cable on a quiet side street and tied the two offices together, before the opposition knew what was going on. Universal service was provided, and no further objections were heard.
Subscribers increased rapidly. Considerable work was required in 1910 to keep up with demand for telephone service.
In 1917, the Missouri and Kansas Company was reorganized and its name changed to Southwestern Bell Telephone Company.
Arkansas City was growing. A reconstruction project was planned in 1917, but it was postponed due to World War I. In 1921, a project providing extensive replacements and additions was begun. The plan was to reconcentrate all lines in a new central office within three to five years. A new switchboard also was added.
The city was hit by a devastating flood in 1923. Immediately, the importance of telephone service was apparent. According to the Southwestern Telephone News of August, 1923, more than 40,000 local and 600 Long Distance calls were placed the day of the flood. The normal calling ranges were 9,000 local and 160 Long Distance.
"People called central to find out the conditions of the flood and many called for help," the News reported. "Long Distance calls were placed to advise friends in other localities of their danger. It was the local and long distance operators who gave the public information as to the condition of the waters and who helped save many lives. When the siren blew at three o'clock in the morning warning the town of its danger, the operators did not wait to be called to report for duty but voluntarily made their way to the office because they knew that their services were needed. They won the plaudits of the town."
Central office quarters and the switchboard were again inadequate to handle anticipated growth. The company moved into a two-story brick building in 1926. The local newspaper covered the March 13 cut-over.
"At 36 minutes and 40 seconds after eleven o'clock Saturday night the old telephone building on Fifth Avenue was pronounced 'dead.' It took just one minute and forty seconds to complete the birth of the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company's new building at Washington Avenue and First Street, as an industrial life center. Officials of the Bell System and those of the Western Electric Company who were present Saturday night declared it was 'the smoothest and quickest change on record. . . .'"
A high grade of rural service was introduced in 1930. It limited subscribers to eight to a line and provided higher grade transmission and semi-selective ringing.
Telephone service has continued to improve over the years. The Arkansas City exchange was converted to dial in 1961. Direct Distance Dialing of Long Distance calls became available at the same time. Touch-Tone service was introduced in 1973, and an extensive rural improvement project was completed that same year.
Today, more than 12,000 telephones are in use in Arkansas City.
Alexander Graham Bell's "toy" has come a long way in 100 years. It's no longer a luxury; it's an integral part of our daily lives. And Vail's dream of universal service is now a reality.
ABOVE JUNE 25, 1976, ARTICLE HAD AN EXHIBIT.
Exhibit consisted of the same picture shown in Exhibit "B" followed by the following:
WHERE IT BEGAN -- Arkansas City's first telephone office was in the rear of the Snyder and Hutchinson Land, Loan and Insurance Company office. It opened in 1883 and 27 phones were installed that year.
The next page of information sent shows two photos with captions.
The first item shows a woman using a new-style phone close to the old-fashioned wall phone followed by this statement.
OLD REPLACED BY NEW--One of Otto's first telephone operators, Mrs. Jennie Newlin, places one of her first dialed calls on her new telephone. The wall box, shown, has been in service since she moved in her home in 1925, and was not new at that time. Latest inventions in communications interest her greatly when she recalls how very basic and make-shift the equipment was when she "manned" the switchboard back in the early 1900's. The old telephone is destined to become a wall planter box in the home of her daughter, Mrs. C. P. (Murlene) Woodruff in Lubbock, Tex. (Brown Photo)
The second item is an article with picture.
End of Era for Community--
'Hello Girl' at Otto Has Said Her Final 'Goodbye"
By GWEN FISHER
The "hello girl" in the Otto, Kan., Telephone Co. office has said "Goodbye."
She is Mrs. Ira (Edna) Brashear, who, with her husband's assistance, is now in the process of packing in preparation for a return move to their home in Arkansas City at 411 N. Eighth St.
And, as the office in Otto is vacated in the next few weeks, it is the end of an era--and the townspeople and rural residents there will need a new depository for the Otto Community Building key.
As the switchboard was being removed this week from the old telephone office, Otto residents began twisting the dials of their new telephone hand-sets. In a few homes the new phones replaced the old-time crank-type wall boxes. Some of these now obsolete phones had given service for over 40 years, and had been installed in the "flapper days" of the early 1920's. The are what we now call "collector's items."
• • •
Approximately 50 telephones were involved in the change-over.
• • •
The new system is a part of the Southern Kansas Telephone Company, Inc., which provides similar service in Atlanta, Burden, Cambridge, Dexter, Elk Falls, Grenola, Latham, and Longton. Before change-over, the independent telephone exchange in Otto routed all long distance communications over the two lines to the outside world through the local Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. exchange in Arkansas City. All in-coming calls were relayed in reverse routing with the Otto operator completing the connection on her one-position ten-chord pair manual ringing set-up.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Brashear operated the Otto board, and this is the most satisfactory system in small tributary offices. They alternately answered calls on the board until 9 p.m. daily, and after hours in case of extreme emergency.
On a cold wintry night in 1908, when the teams of horses couldn't be left outside, the Otto community residents organized the town's first telephone company, according to the Traveler's Otto correspondent, Mrs. Riley. The men of the community were assigned a certain number of poles to set, everyone contributed funds, lines were strung soon afterwards, and the service began after installation of equipment in the homes.
Although early-day records cannot be found and it is believed some later records were burned, old-timers in Otto recall the difficulties in establishing the young company. Fees for subscription were nominal by today's standards, yet there were a few families who could not pay the increase in costs when monthly rates were raised to one dollar. This was the price of service just before the new dial system was installed.
At the present time, the telephones in Otto are not connected with DDD (direct distance dial) on out-going calls, but subscribers are delighted with their 24 hours service and free calls to Dexter where most of the area children attend school. There are eighty party liners in the exchange, but the subscriber hears only his own telephone ring.
Many local citizens have manned the Otto switchboard in years past. The office was once in a temporary location before the present quarters were built. The one room office stood many years across from the town's only hotel. It is not known just how many years ago the hotel was torn down.
Otto Operators Interviewed.
One of the first Otto operators, Mrs. Jennie Newlin (then Jennie Stark), recalled today that in 1907 the office was a one-room building with a curtain dividing the switchboard room and the living quarters.
"My salary was $20 monthly, and I worked seven days a week. Money was very scarce so we didn't have too many long-distance calls going through the office then," she added. In the early 1900's, she, her older brother, and a younger brother and sister were operators at different times.
"My son, Neale, was born there in 1912," said Mrs. Clara Nichols (formerly Glass), 315 N. Seventh St., another former employee of the company. "It was just one room then, too," she explained.
Other former operators were Amy McAllister, who later lived in Arkansas City; Mrs. Charles Gilkey (about 1938-40), who now lives in Huntsville, Ala., and Mrs. Jesse Hart of Burden.
"The operator will really be missed here," said Mrs. Riley. "We always left money for flowers for funerals at the telephone office, and there were many little services which we won't get in the dial system, of course. We always left the community building key there, too," she added.
The operators of past years will be long remembered by Otto residents. A small brush fire in the area would necessitate immediate help from other residents, and often it was the telephone operator who sounded the summons. Many times emergencies would be eliminated through the operator's quick and valiant actions. At other times, the alert operator amiably handled urgent calls--the subscribers were his or her friends and first-hand knowledge of the townspeople's needs often eliminated situations of greater concern. The operators, though unsung heroes many times, were never unappreciated, Otto residents agree.
The updated equipment begins a thrilling new experience for Otto patrons, but just as the passing of time replaced the old horse and buggy days, the model-t's, the flapper days, depression days, and the sad times of both world wars, the disconnected crank-type phone in Otto rural homes remains a nostalgic reminder of the operator's final "Goodbye."
PICTURE OF MRS. IRA BRASHEAR.
OUT-MODED EQUIPMENT -- Mrs. Ira Brashear demonstrates how the ancient Stromberg Carlson switchboard was used when it was in the Otto central office. It is now disconnected and stored in a small building near the Otto exchange office. Exchange numbers were marked in three panels from one to thirty. Small drop flaps indicated on the board when a subscriber was ringing in. Mrs. Brashear lifts a cord as if answering a signal for the demonstration. (Brown Photo)
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[Note: This completes the data sent by Richard E. Shank to a lovely 91 year old lady of my acquaintance, Mrs. La Von Corkins. She was an early-day telephone operator who promised to give me some history on the early-day telephones in Arkansas City. Instead, she came up with the above material sent to her by Mr. Shank. I want to thank both for helping me to learn more about the history of the telephone in Arkansas City. I have worked up some information that I gleaned from the early newspapers, stopping in early 1887, that I am sending out in a separate article. Mrs. Corkins wanted to know when we were coming out with the next book. I found myself groaning! Ever since Volume II, which concerns contact by Cowley County citizens with the nearby Indians on reservations in Indian Territory, I have been kept busy trying to tell people what a wonderful book it is and how much it clarifies early events in this interesting county, and enhances the first volume about many of the early settlers.
As many of you by now know, we had an honest to goodness real live hero here in Cowley County: C. M. Scott! Newspaper editor; postmaster not once, but twice; rancher; and last (but certainly not least) as his granddaughter put it, a "spy" in Indian Territory for the Governor of Kansas. The following words written by Captain C. M. Scott, when he was at Pearlette, a town in western Kansas, in September 15, 1880, ring true for many of us in the year 2000.
"I have seen all of Kansas, the garden patches of the eastern part, the wheat fields of the north, the well watered, the timbered, the flinty ridges, and the stock counties, and I am glad I live in noble young Cowley. C. M."
I couldn't agree with his sentiments more. Cowley County is still young in the sense that much more can and will be accomplished by its citizens.
Mary Ann Wortman [MAW]
August 10, 2000
