I have three phones near what I call my weir wall or history wall. One is the old oak kind to hold up the black cone wind up the lever. Another is a black one from the 30s or 40s that you pick up and ask for operater, and the third is a green 79s with a dial. I love to hear my grandchildren play with it. Such a satisfying sound. And of course long term memory from childhood means I gave them my phone number from when I was a kid.
P.s. I also have a 30s radio on that wall, a 30s cabinet radio and record player, and a 30s typewriter.
Jeezusss the error rate and time it took to correct tho. Mis-dials were costly in finger skin. Especially if there were lots of zeros in the number. Sigh. I remember them too! The best part was that those old phone 📞 were amazing weapons you could really do some damage with! Easy to locate during a potential home invasion.
The one on the wall in my mom’s kitchen in the 60’s had an extra long cord and she would use it to chase us out of the kitchen when we bothered her on the phone. Threat only. No actual contact but you could never be sure it wouldn’t come down on your head. My dad got the special cord at a business store. He wanted her to keep cooking while she talked. She would get involved in conversations and burn dinner.
Yes, we used to stretch the long cord from the single home phone into other rooms to talk privately! Haha, I always knew my sister was home when I saw the cord stretched to her bedroom.
My parents had a wall phone in the kitchen and then a little "princess" style phone in their bedroom. Occasionally I would use the wall phone to call a friend, but I never did any phone chats at all...no privacy in the kitchen anyway!
Most kids would be screwed if we ever had to use a rotary phone. I watched some YouTube video of parents asking their children how to use them. They were clueless.
I tell my kids that if the SHTF, they need to keep me around for at least a year since I know how to work manual tools, can identify edible plants, have a basic idea how to garden and raise chickens, and know how to read an actual map. They will be screwed without me.
I laughed at your comment because it's so true. I've been teaching mine how garden, use tools, troubleshoot and repair cars, forage, shoot guns which they enjoy, and more. We live out in a very rural area. It sounds like you are too. It's a different way of life out here vs the city.
Reminds me of that book Fahreinheit 450 - remember the "Book People"??? We'll become the "Typewriter People" or the "Analog Phone People" or the "Garden People"...works for "moi"!
My daughter wouldn’t allow her little boys to get a watch or have digital clocks until they were able to tell time on an analog clock. And they both could tell time by the time they were in preschool.
A brilliant but brain-deficient woman developed ever-more-difficult clock exercises to fix her brain. Barbara Arrowsmith, she wrote The Woman Who Changed Her Brain. And developed a program around it that is taught to struggling kids with great success - The Arrowsmith Program. Smart daughter you have there, clocks are an excellent brain exercise.
I probably should have done this. My daughter continues to insist that she "can't" read time off analog clocks and only checks her phone (though I'm 99% sure it's actually just because she's lazy and doesn't want to think enough to figure out which hours the hands are sitting between).
My daughter who is 32 yo, always very intellectual and graduated college with a 4.0 average was never able to master the analog clock. She’s somewhat embarrassed about it. It seems like maybe we missed a developmental window and waited too long to teach her 🤷♀️
I was subjected to my Medicare "annual wellness" exam last week. (Mostly questions to test you for cognitive decline so they can call Adult Protective Services and have you evicted from your home.) One test I had to draw an analog clock face and then the hands showing 10 minutes past 10. I wonder how long until everybody fails that test because they were never taught to read an analog clock?
I asked about it once, but they said you can't discuss your 'issues' at that time, it's not that kind of appt. I'd have to make a separate appt to discuss my thyroid. Never mind. Now I'm glad I never gave medicare that much info.
I have one in my office--it's a replica of a piece of adobe stone from the Hopis and there's a Kokopelli at the "half past" position. I enjoy telling the time looking at my "Koko" Klock!!
We kept an old beige colored rotary dial phone in the tack room at the barn, attached to a bell-ringer on the outside wall, so we could hear it even to the far corners of the pastures.
I used to give riding lessons. One little girl, upon seeing the phone sitting on the table, asked, "What is that?"
Me: "What is what?"
Little girl: "That. One the table."
Me: "The phone?"
Little girl: "That's not a phone - it doesn't have any buttons!"
I had her lift the receiver so she could hear the dial tone (today she wouldn't even know what a dial tone is!!!) and showed her how to dial her phone number. The 9s and 0s were a bit tricky! 😂🤣😂🤣
Still have the phone and bell-ringers - just need a new barn in which to hook them up! Sigh.
I miss the rotary phones. It made it feel real important. I loved the sound of the phone.
I have three phones near what I call my weir wall or history wall. One is the old oak kind to hold up the black cone wind up the lever. Another is a black one from the 30s or 40s that you pick up and ask for operater, and the third is a green 79s with a dial. I love to hear my grandchildren play with it. Such a satisfying sound. And of course long term memory from childhood means I gave them my phone number from when I was a kid.
P.s. I also have a 30s radio on that wall, a 30s cabinet radio and record player, and a 30s typewriter.
Did you give them Mitchell 3-2788
Or did you upgrade to 643-2788?
😉 (boy, that was hard to write because I disguised the real number thinking I may have used it in a password at some time) 🤣
AMherst 6-2189. Boy howdy can't believe I've been using valuable brain cells for that tidbit for 70+ years!
🤣🤣🤣
Mine was 687-1989. Forever in my brain
Noo 688-1989...... dumb thumbs. Our poor pointer fingers were put out of a job by our thumbs
I just remembered my childhood 7 digit phone number from the 60's. 292 6628....I wonder if it still working--LOL!!
🤣 try it! You’ll have to put in an area code though!
You're cute!!! 717 - let me know if anyone answers--LOL!
sorry should say 70's
Nice collection. 👍
Jeezusss the error rate and time it took to correct tho. Mis-dials were costly in finger skin. Especially if there were lots of zeros in the number. Sigh. I remember them too! The best part was that those old phone 📞 were amazing weapons you could really do some damage with! Easy to locate during a potential home invasion.
The one on the wall in my mom’s kitchen in the 60’s had an extra long cord and she would use it to chase us out of the kitchen when we bothered her on the phone. Threat only. No actual contact but you could never be sure it wouldn’t come down on your head. My dad got the special cord at a business store. He wanted her to keep cooking while she talked. She would get involved in conversations and burn dinner.
Yes, we used to stretch the long cord from the single home phone into other rooms to talk privately! Haha, I always knew my sister was home when I saw the cord stretched to her bedroom.
Yes. A good weapon. I don't remember spending any time on the phone. Everything was in person. Good times. 😄
My parents had a wall phone in the kitchen and then a little "princess" style phone in their bedroom. Occasionally I would use the wall phone to call a friend, but I never did any phone chats at all...no privacy in the kitchen anyway!
Most kids would be screwed if we ever had to use a rotary phone. I watched some YouTube video of parents asking their children how to use them. They were clueless.
I tell my kids that if the SHTF, they need to keep me around for at least a year since I know how to work manual tools, can identify edible plants, have a basic idea how to garden and raise chickens, and know how to read an actual map. They will be screwed without me.
I laughed at your comment because it's so true. I've been teaching mine how garden, use tools, troubleshoot and repair cars, forage, shoot guns which they enjoy, and more. We live out in a very rural area. It sounds like you are too. It's a different way of life out here vs the city.
Skills can be bartered as well as products. Good to teach the younger generation.
Reminds me of that book Fahreinheit 450 - remember the "Book People"??? We'll become the "Typewriter People" or the "Analog Phone People" or the "Garden People"...works for "moi"!
Now ask those kids to tell you the time by looking at an analog clock.
My daughter wouldn’t allow her little boys to get a watch or have digital clocks until they were able to tell time on an analog clock. And they both could tell time by the time they were in preschool.
Smart mom. 👍
A brilliant but brain-deficient woman developed ever-more-difficult clock exercises to fix her brain. Barbara Arrowsmith, she wrote The Woman Who Changed Her Brain. And developed a program around it that is taught to struggling kids with great success - The Arrowsmith Program. Smart daughter you have there, clocks are an excellent brain exercise.
I probably should have done this. My daughter continues to insist that she "can't" read time off analog clocks and only checks her phone (though I'm 99% sure it's actually just because she's lazy and doesn't want to think enough to figure out which hours the hands are sitting between).
My daughter who is 32 yo, always very intellectual and graduated college with a 4.0 average was never able to master the analog clock. She’s somewhat embarrassed about it. It seems like maybe we missed a developmental window and waited too long to teach her 🤷♀️
I was subjected to my Medicare "annual wellness" exam last week. (Mostly questions to test you for cognitive decline so they can call Adult Protective Services and have you evicted from your home.) One test I had to draw an analog clock face and then the hands showing 10 minutes past 10. I wonder how long until everybody fails that test because they were never taught to read an analog clock?
I asked about it once, but they said you can't discuss your 'issues' at that time, it's not that kind of appt. I'd have to make a separate appt to discuss my thyroid. Never mind. Now I'm glad I never gave medicare that much info.
Not sure most docs know the answer anyway!
LOL! I know it's pathetic. Or using a manual can opener.
I have one in my foyer.
I have one in my office--it's a replica of a piece of adobe stone from the Hopis and there's a Kokopelli at the "half past" position. I enjoy telling the time looking at my "Koko" Klock!!
We kept an old beige colored rotary dial phone in the tack room at the barn, attached to a bell-ringer on the outside wall, so we could hear it even to the far corners of the pastures.
I used to give riding lessons. One little girl, upon seeing the phone sitting on the table, asked, "What is that?"
Me: "What is what?"
Little girl: "That. One the table."
Me: "The phone?"
Little girl: "That's not a phone - it doesn't have any buttons!"
I had her lift the receiver so she could hear the dial tone (today she wouldn't even know what a dial tone is!!!) and showed her how to dial her phone number. The 9s and 0s were a bit tricky! 😂🤣😂🤣
Still have the phone and bell-ringers - just need a new barn in which to hook them up! Sigh.
Mrs. "the Knife"