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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seen it in the movies
i’m not so vintage🙂
happy you dropped by my blog
much love
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Phones have morphed so much over time. Remember those giant walkie talkie things that were cell phones back in the day? lol I always laugh when I see them in movies.
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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 was going to say that I’m not quite vintage yet but then you mentioned rotary diallers….🤦♂️
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Close enough, Shaun! Salut!
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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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Yes, our number was JU-32265. One ring for us… two for the neighbor! :>)
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:) I think my grandparents’ and maybe ours was PH but cannot remember what the #s were. Very cool you remember.
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:>)
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No memories of this type of phone but I do remember rotary phones. Nice poem.
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:)
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Thank you very much.
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Loved this poem Lisa ❤️
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My parents had one in their house. I didn’t work, but we had one. Great use of the prompt!
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Kaci, I think that’s cool they had one in their house as vintage decoration. I’d love to have one. Thank you :)
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i don’t know what happened to it, but it would be cool to have in my place
:)
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Welcome back, Lisa! I enjoyed your poem. I’m pretty old but still not old enough to have had one of these phones. My grandparents didn’t even have a phone and would have to go to the grocery store down the street to make a call. But I do remember having to get the operator to place a call and then there were party lines to put up with. Everybody knew everybody else’s business! 😀
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Thanks so much, Nancy. Good to be back. I remember from The Waltons or some other show from those times where people would have to walk to the store to use the phone. We’ve come a long way haven’t we. We still know everybody else’s business, but in a different way.
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Welcome Li. In many ways, I believe people were better off when things were simple. Now everything moves so fast and we are constantly on display.
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I hear you.
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I am definitely vintage – such a clear ring of a poem – Jae
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Welcome to the Vintage Poets Club, Jae :)
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Great fun Lisa never had the joy of using one of these! But I do miss the old dial phones loved the sound of the ‘clicks’📞😀
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Ange I liked that sound also.
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I’ve seen this in old movies.
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Hey Sadje :) Cool you’ve seen them.
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🥰👍🏼🥰
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Yes I do. And yes, I definitely am.
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I raise a glass to you, Rosemary. Cheers!
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I’m more of the princess phone and party line generation! Welcome back, Lisa!
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We had those black rotaries for a long time. I remember our first push button phone that hung on the wall when our family moved in the late 60’s. A princess phone for a princess :) Thanks, Dana!
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☺️ Thanks, Lisa!
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You’re welcome, Dana.
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p.s. I just visited your Caravan section and made a comment but it said “verification failed.” Not sure what that means, but I hope you received the comment.
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hmm, I’ll have to check that out. Thank you for letting me know Lisa. I don’t see it right now, I hope you enjoyed your visit!
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I commented that I liked the artwork you were doing with the series.
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Thanks so much Lisa!
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You’re very welcome.
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Finally! Something i am not old enough to remember! Welcome back!
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Haha, V! Glad to read you again. Thanks <3
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I’m 64, Li, and remember seeing the phones in some corner of a old country stores and such. Watching them used in those old classic movies makes them all the more quaint. I remember my first phone as a teenager, a pale blue rotary phone. Quaint. If I ever get a landline again, I’m getting one. For old time’s sake. 🙂
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Dora, you’re just a whippersnapper. Glad you remember them at old country stores and movies. We’ve come so far with phone changes! Who ever would have thought a day without a house phone would exist. I had one when I first moved to this house in 2011.
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Our last house phone was 2017. Somehow that feels like a lifetime ago, the changes these days becoming more and more rapid, even out of control.
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Interesting
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Brings back.memories of seeing these, and using the fake one at Disneyland
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:)
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hehe. I came just after the tubes.
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You missed a lot, Jude! That said, you can visit history anytime. It’s the future I’m looking forward to, with excitement and trepidation…
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Oh I saw a lot of the old tech, being a 90s kid. some say we are the transition generation, lol😂
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Ha! That last line made me laugh! I am not quite this vintage, but I certainly remember rotary dialing. And call waiting. And caller ID. ;)
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Happy to make you laugh, De. Remember AOL dial-up?
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I never encountered these as working phones as a child, but I have older friends who have a working version of which you write, they have managed to convince the phone company to keep it wired. They spoke of how you could hear the operator plugging in the lines to route them, knowing they were also listening in 😊
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Paul, I’m happy to hear you have firsthand knowledge of them. Does that make you semi-vintage? ;)
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