When we moved to our present location in the beginning of the Reagan years, party lines was all we could get; that and the promise of a soon to be installed private line. We waited for the private line which came, at last, sometime during the following year or two. My great grandmother and great aunts lived on a Texas farm. They had party lines all their life. Never understanding the rings and how one would know when the call was actually theirs, was one of life’s mysteries for me, personally.
Before moving to the city, my family had a party line, but being a small tyke and living there before the teen age years rarely used Mr. Graham’s device.
I barely recall my mother using a wooden ring phone that you cranked......she was late getting a dial phone but I recall it being a huge event for her. We were celebrating this new arrival though i wasn’t of age to understand...all I knew was I had candy!
We rejoiced when we got our first private phone line in 1960. No longer would we have to share the phone with the chatterbox housewife a couple doors down.
our ring on the party line was 2 short 1 long. We had 5 other families sharing the same line. Weren’t suppose to listen in, but remember ease dropping on several folk’s conversations.