Does anyone remember when phone numbers had letters(words) on LI? (Babylon: area code, garden)

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by AndrewMensch

We used to have GE3-xxxx in Jericho, although the phone bill said we lived in Hicksville.

The central office that serviced the "GE3" exchange was in Hicksville (or, at least, had a "Hicksville, NY" mailing address).

[hotkarl]

I still use a rotary phone. It's powder blue.
Got tired of the interference with the cordless, so I junked it.
I have a 100' cord on it so I can take it out to the pool in the summer.

[steel7]

Inresting thread. I always was curious about this. I see old movies & tv shows where they dont dial or ask the operator for a 7 digit number.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

I still use a rotary phone.

Many younger folks have great difficulty operating a rotary-dial phone.

I frequented a barber shop that still had a rotary-dial phone, and either the younger folks could not understand how to dial this "new fangled" phone (they tried pressing through the holes above the numbers) or couldn't quite grasp that the dial had to be rotated all the way to the stop, and not a halfhearted attempt that ended before the stop, in order to dial the number that they were attempting to call.

[RiddleMeThis]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

Many younger folks have great difficulty operating a rotary-dial phone.

I frequented a barber shop that still had a rotary-dial phone, and either the younger folks could not understand how to dial this "new fangled" phone (they tried pressing through the holes above the numbers) or couldn't quite grasp that the dial had to be rotated all the way to the stop, and not a halfhearted attempt that ended before the stop, in order to dial the number that they were attempting to call.

OMG that is so funny. I remember the infernal time spent waiting for the rotary phone to travel around its dial.

Kids today also don't memorize phone numbers - they just store them in their cell phones!

[rainroosty]

When I was a little kid in Smithtown, our phone # was ANdrew5-8131

[Coney]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

I still use a rotary phone. It's powder blue.
Got tired of the interference with the cordless, so I junked it.
I have a 100' cord on it so I can take it out to the pool in the summer.

I use rotary too. I have a black one and a white one. I have a bunch of cordless phones lying around. None of them ever worked. Too much interference here as well. The rotary phones last so much longer than anything that they make now.

[steel7]

The rotary phones were better built & last longer. I have a old one that was on the wall in the kitchen. Its from the late 60,s.

[nancy thereader]

meMORIES... I remember a company advertised on the radio with the phone number MURRY HILL 7-(not sure of the rest). I guess I am showing my age!

There was MELROSE 5 5300 . I forgot what it was for , though. I think it played during The Million Dollar Movie after school .

[urbanlook]

Evergreen 3 #######