Living History
Remember when
you put the horn
to your ear;
attached to a cord
that attached to
a cabinet?
Remember cranking
a handle to reach
an operator;
where you talked
through a tube
in the front?
If you remember,
you may consider
yourself vintage also.
I am today’s host for dVerse’ Quadrille Monday, where I ask you to write a 44-word poem using the word horn or some derivation of it.
Tao-Talk 
I’m not old enough to remember a phone with a horn, my family didn’t have a phone until the 1970s and we had to use a public telephone, but I remember party lines, and talking to the operator, arranging a reverse charge or long-distance call, all of which the young people of today can’t imagine! I enjoyed this poem, Lisa, and consider myself (bohemian, hippy) vintage nonetheless – I’ll be 70 in August!
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We had rotary dialers with the first 2 digits as letters. We also had party lines. I do remember finding one of those phones attached to a pole out back next to the railroad tracks, inside of a box.
Thanks on the poem, Kim. You and I are close in age. And yes, I consider myself vintage also :)
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My pleasure, Lisa. Vintage poets unite.
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I do not remember those one… but I do remember the receiver ones…. before we talked instead ot talking. I think there might have been operators once, but I only remember company switchboards.
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My very first job with the county government was as a switchboard operator. Even the rotary dialers are vintage now. How time is moving along…
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i remember the rotary dial on my mums first phone. and the sound it made always got me excited.
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It’s all we had back then. They were a uniform black here. I wonder what kind of spring was inside of it that caused the tension?
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I’ve seen these old phones in museums. I never had the privilege of using one of these gadgets. This was a fun challenge, Lisa. 💜
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Hey Colleen. I have only seen them used in movies. It’s funny how phones have changed over time. Thanks, Colleen, glad you enjoyed the challenge <3
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I did not go back quite that far, but my wife does! We did have black bake-o-lite phones with rotary dials and party lines! I guess I am pretty vintage!
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Ah so that’s what those old black phones were made of! Did you guys have the 2-letter preface to the #s? We had party lines also. Our local AM radio had a party line where you could yell out your names and numbers to meet new people. My friend and I met a few doozies that way lmao. Vintage is a good thing in my book.
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Loved this poem Lisa ❤️
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