any one remember when the phone operator would say number please?

Question

please deposit 5¢ thank you here's you number

and yes it was a real person

Answer 1

I remember when our phone number was number ten and my Dad used to say "One Oh" when he answered it, later on our business number was 274, now our number is eleven digits long.

Answer 2

In those days you could just dial 5 numbers, if number was in your town. 655-1234 = dial 5-1234. That was one cool thing <-------- never answers a question with a question. Yeha, but did any of you have to deal with a party line. Where there might be two or three houses all with the same number. You'd pick up the phone and your nieghbor would be talking about the underwear you hung on the line that day. How hideous.

Answer 3

Do I ever. My great aunt had one of those phones that had a handle on it and you would hold up the receiver and give it several turns. When she was calling my other great aunt, she would say either "Irma" or a 3 digit code to the real person operator . There were also the party lines. Long distance was so expensive that one of my relatives devised the code and called person to person for herself who ever was at the other end would not accept the charges and we know that she got where ever she was going safely

Answer 4

The first time I ever used a phone, was a pay phone, I put in my last 2 pence, and lost it by pressing the wrong button, seeing a sign saying. IN AN EMERGENCY DIAL 999, I did, and explained that I had lost my last 2 pence, yaba daba do, I sure did get an ear bashing from the operator, I thought she was over reacting, until she screamed that emergency meant Police, Fire, Ambulance. She told me to dial 100, you will be pleased to hear that the next operator very kindly put me through to the person I wanted, and I did not lose my 2 pence.

Answer 5

Yes. I can also remember our phone number from childhood when the prefix was not in numbers. Ours was a Kimball prefix. It's hard to imagine a call costing 5 cents.

Answer 6

And to think now days you cant even talk with a person , if you call your bank, or any other business ,Oh and remember the beep line when you got a busy signal you could talk with other teenagers ,and oh the party lines when you could have as many as 10 families on the same line,

Answer 7

In this little community, you'll crank once to get the operator "Hulda Kitchen" and ask her if she would you get so and (for locals) or give her a name and a town for others.
I know we had a number, but never remember using it with the crank phone.

Answer 8

No but I remember the party line. Just like a chat room only you didnt have to type just pick up and someone was usually on and would let you join in.

Answer 9

In pay phones, yes.

Do you recall Lilly Tomlin doing her Ernestine the Operator act? It was so funny!

Answer 10

Yes and one of those ladies was my mother. Ever since the Laugh-in show I always answer the phone when I am with her with "one ringy dingy, snort, two ringy dingy, snort, snort and then I pick it up and say hello !!! She still gets a kick out of it !!!