Before Cell Phones

[bjscheel]

Not my own line, but my phone in my room looked like a grand piano and you pushed piano keys to dial. I could dial my boyfriend with just 4 digits since it was a local call.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My maternal grandparents owned a small store that sold soda, ice cream, penny candy, and the like. There was a pay phone on the wall, no booth. Many people in the neighborhood didn't have phones back in the 1940's and beyond so they used the phone in the store. I didn't find out until well after my grandmother died that she was the neighborhood blabbermouth and would eavesdrop on people using that phone and then spread any juicy gossip she overheard.

People who had their own phones would call that pay phone to talk to others without phones. My mother and her siblings often told of the times they had to run down the block to tell Mrs. So-and-so that there was a call at the store for her.

Even though I’m talking about the 90s, there were times my grandma was the only person on the block to have a phone. I grew up in a very poor area. It wasn’t odd for us to get a call for a neighbor and my grandma would send one of us to get them. Sometimes the person would hold, sometimes they’d call back in ten minutes to give us time to get the neighbor.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

 

[disneyseniors]

Oh, wow, what a fun thread! Thanks you, RedAngie
These comments bring back so many memories.

It made me think, if anyone is over 60, please raise your hand (or emoji) That's certainly me

When I was a teenager in the 60's, we had a rotary phone hanging on the kitchen wall. Thankfully, it had a long cord, so no embarrassing conversations with Mom or Dad listening! LOL. M and D had a phone in their bedroom, but we weren't allowed to use that one. I never got a phone of my own in my room.

Funny story (or sad?): We owned a resort in the 80's for appx 20 years. We had an old rotary phone in the lodge. We would have teenagers come into the lodge and want to use the phone, so we showed them the rotary phone. Some of them just looked at the phone with a puzzled look on their faces, and didn't know how to dial a phone!!!! Honestly, they never saw a phone that you had to dial! It was a lot of fun to see their expressions, so we kept that rotary phone the entire time we owned the resort. Of course, we had portable phones, too, but we loved that old rotary.

I worked in Home health care as an RN where I went to very rural areas to give nursing care. I carried one of the first portable phones, but it was called a bag phone, and was a big phone in a black bag with a strap to carry it. I remember going for walks while on call and lugging that big phone around in case I got a call, emergency. LOL At that time, only doctors and on call nurses carried those. I thought I was really something carrying that thing around.
Thanks for the memories, Redangie

 

[neverlandsky]

Also had the see through phone, 90s.

 

[Disney Ella]

Not only did I not have my own line or phone, my family shared a party line with our neighbors. It was very annoying when you wanted to make a call and someone was on the party line. In the late 80s, the neighbors got their own line. My mother actually wanted another party line (to save money, although I doubt it saved that much), but the phone company told her that they didn't offer party lines any longer.

 

[cayennews]

I was not fortunate enough to get my own line, but a couple of my friends did. I remember that one of my friends had just one phone in their house period. At least we had a few and could have some privacy. It's amazing what our kids will never understand.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

In the city where I grew up, there was a pay phone where we figured out how to get coins back. I forget now how we even did it. But when we did, we then walked across the street to the convenience store and bought some candy! Lol. I don't know if there are still pay phones around, but if there are, they probably just take credit cards.

Similarly, I used the subway a few months ago for the first time in quite a while, and there were no more coin or card turnstyles, or people in booths to help you, just electronic ticket dispensers lining the wall. Of course I was in a bit of a rush, had my arms full, and there were (I'm sure, deliberately) no shelves or anywhere to put anything - no doubt I was quite a sight trying to pull out my wallet and figuring out how to work it while balancing everything, including my iced coffee!

 

[BrianL]

In the city where I grew up, there was a pay phone where we figured out how to get coins back. I forget now how we even did it. But when we did, we then walked across the street to the convenience store and bought some candy! Lol. I don't know if there are still pay phones around, but if there are, they probably just take credit cards.

Similarly, I used the subway a few months ago for the first time in quite a while, and there were no more coin or card turnstyles, or people in booths to help you, just electronic ticket dispensers lining the wall. Of course I was in a bit of a rush, had my arms full, and there were (I'm sure, deliberately) no shelves or anywhere to put anything - no doubt I was quite a sight trying to pull out my wallet and figuring out how to work it while balancing everything, including my iced coffee!

The last pay phones I saw were actually at Epcot, at the restrooms between the bus loop and the entrance. I was waiting for someone and I noticed another guy glancing at it. I said "It appears to be some sort of coin operated telephone." He cracked up. "Future World" indeed! I think the last time I walked by it wasn't there anymore.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Nope. And with 4 girls in the house the phone was tied up alot.

They got tired of it and got a timer and when you got on the phone, a parent turned on the timer for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes you had to get off the phone. It was frustrating to say the least.

My husband and I had one of those portable bag phones. He insisted he needed it for work. I don't think it was ever used. LOL

When we moved in together and got our first phone it was a Mickey Mouse phone. We still have that phone and it actually works. We did disconnect it recently so we could connect a phone with caller ID in the basement. It's kind of sad seeing Mickey sitting there unused now.

 

[tvguy]

My wife is the only person I know that had her own phone and phone line. She worked at a movie theater and paid for it herself. She bought her own French phone for $125 from the phone company back in 1973 when she was 16. That would be over $700 in today's dollars! She still had that phone when we got married. Hated that phone, never could get the receiver off the hook.

 

[sailorstitch]

Funny story (or sad?): We owned a resort in the 80's for appx 20 years. We had an old rotary phone in the lodge. We would have teenagers come into the lodge and want to use the phone, so we showed them the rotary phone. Some of them just looked at the phone with a puzzled look on their faces, and didn't know how to dial a phone!!!! Honestly, they never saw a phone that you had to dial! It was a lot of fun to see their expressions, so we kept that rotary phone the entire time we owned the resort. Of course, we had portable phones, too, but we loved that old rotary.

I still remember my mom teaching me how to dial on a rotary phone.

 

[wenrob]

No personal phone until I was an adult and paid for it in my own abode.
It looked like this and I thought it was sooooooooo cool, LOL:

We had this phone except the black and white version to match our black, chrome, glass “modern” furniture. We called it the “drunk phone” since you couldn’t possibly miss the numbers.

My sister and I had our own line that we paid for in our late teens. Before that and call waiting you didn’t dare tie up the phone. My older DD had her own line from around 11-13 and then she got a cellphone. It wasn’t much, I think $4.95 with our package. Mostly because I didn’t want a bunch of kids calling my line. Ringing phones make me crazy.

 

[Kitty 34]

Nope. And there 3 of us girls in the family. One phone for everyone.

What she said.......

 

[wenrob]

View attachment 299619

Or the satisfaction of slamming the receiver down when you’re angry. A few months ago my brother and I were arguing and hitting the little circle on the touchscreen of my phone was very anticlimactic, lol.

My younger kids have never used anything but a cellphone. Even when they were little their play phones were clamshell cellphones. I realized the other day they don’t even know their own phone numbers and what’s worse is neither do I.

 

[Hootiss]

I had my own line and answering machine , i was so cool lol. Those were the days!

 

[NYCgrrl]

The last pay phones I saw were actually at Epcot, at the restrooms between the bus loop and the entrance. I was waiting for someone and I noticed another guy glancing at it. I said "It appears to be some sort of coin operated telephone." He cracked up. "Future World" indeed! I think the last time I walked by it wasn't there anymore.

Somewhere on the 'net there is a list of all the payphones that remain in Manhattan as of 2017.
I think there are still at least 2 booths on the 9th floor of Macy's near the post office (which may or may not still be there, LOL) and I'm pretty sure there is one @ Bergdorf Goodman's since I showed it to DGD who is 12 years old now.

The proliferation of cell phones caused many changes.

 

[karmic]

Remember when the only place you could get a phone was from the phone company and you leased it did not own it.

Never had a phone growing up- one black rotary phone without a long cord for a family of 7

The very occasional long distance call after 8 PM

 

[NYCgrrl]

Or the satisfaction of slamming the receiver down when you’re angry. A few months ago my brother and I were arguing and hitting the little circle on the touchscreen of my phone was very anticlimactic, lol.

My younger kids have never used anything but a cellphone. Even when they were little their play phones were clamshell cellphones. I realized the other day they don’t even know their own phone numbers and what’s worse is neither do I.

The man would like to continue using a clamshell cell phone but he broke the new one (what a search that was!) he received 2 months later and is now "stuck" with my old iPhone (a 5 or 4S). Spends all his "I wanna grouse about something/anything" time telling me how much he hates the smart phone. In return I mentally turn on the part of my brain that plays the audio tape of Charlie Brown's teacher.
Win/win.

 

[low-key]

my sister got her own line, I never did but I hardly used the phone