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It was sure frustrating to keep getting up, walking to the phone, dialing the number, hearing a busy signal, dialing again, still busy, then walking back to where you were and trying again 5 minutes later. People used to sit and talk for hours....local calls only. Long distance calls cost a fortune!
I can remember times where I'd call a friend, get a busy signal, and then just walk to their house. No one does that any more!
No kidding. I text my kids to come to dinner when they are upstairs, in three basement, outside or just plain ignoring me.
It was sure frustrating to keep getting up, walking to the phone, dialing the number, hearing a busy signal, dialing again, still busy, then walking back to where you were and trying again 5 minutes later. People used to sit and talk for hours....local calls only. Long distance calls cost a fortune!
Remember when Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill were all long-distance to each other? I benefitted from that when I was in college (UNC), because my parents were cheapskates and even calling long-distance from Raleigh kept them from checking up on me very much I can't imagine being a college kid and having their parents call and text all the time, day and night!
Also, I had a friend who lived in Chapel Hill but had a Durham phone number (our near the old BCBS building)--it was literally long-distance for her to call a store she could see out her window, because it was a Chapel Hill number.
And of course, those were the days you didn't need to dial the area code, even for long-distance, if it was the same area code--just 1-XXX-XXXX.
I remember 300 baud modems being standard, and anyone who could afford 1200 baud was a hotshot.
I don't quite go back to the days of punched cards but I do remember submitting files I worked on "to tape backup" in the basement, when I was in high school. All of our computer stations were classic green screen 3270 terminals.
The first place I lived independently, was a room rental in a house on Whitaker Mill road near five points. $150 a month and it included utilities.
Growing up in my parents house, yeah we had a rotary dial phone on the wall. I can't remember the last time I encountered a rotary phone... And to think - you had to pay the phone company extra for "touch tone service" back then.
No kidding. I text my kids to come to dinner when they are upstairs, in three basement, outside or just plain ignoring me.
My mom called us to dinner by ringing a big cast bell on a post in back yard. You could hear it miles from home if the wind was blowing just right. We didn't waste any time either getting there
I grew up in Chapel Hill and only had to dial (yes, dial) the last 6 digits of the phone number. This was up to the early/mid-1980's and before 911 service in town. Had a sticker on the black desk phone in the kitchen with the phone numbers for emergencies.
My mom called us to dinner by ringing a big cast bell on a post in back yard. You could hear it miles from home if the wind was blowing just right. We didn't waste any time either getting there
OMG , that reminds me of my mom calling out (howling) "Bobby; Billy; Pitroad" (well not actually my name) .... all the kids were outside at dinner time and you waited to hear your call
you didn't need to dial the area code, even for long-distance, if it was the same area code--just 1-XXX-XXXX.
One reason why that's disappeared: the expansion of toll-free landline calling area. Last I heard, metro Atlanta had the largest toll-free calling area in the U.S. It runs for over 75 miles, north-to-south. I think technically there are still a few exchanges in 919 that are toll calls from a Raleigh landline, but it doesn't make sense to maintain the 1-xxx-xxxx dialing pattern just for those.
Of course, the migration to wireless and VOIP is another reason.
What would have made more sense, I think, than the proliferation of area codes was maintaining the traditional definition of area codes as 201-219, 301-319, etc and biting the bullet to convert to 8-digit local numbers. People in London, Tokyo, Beijing, Paris, etc don't seem to have any problem with 8-digit local numbers.
Location: River's Edge Inn, Todd NC, and Lorgues France
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Originally Posted by Sean_CLT
Growing up in my parents house, yeah we had a rotary dial phone on the wall. I can't remember the last time I encountered a rotary phone... And to think - you had to pay the phone company extra for "touch tone service" back then.
I loved my Princess phone. In 1960 it was THE phone to have.
Peter Graves used to be in the phone company ads on tv, and who remembers this? Might be on YouTube:
Operator give me 9 1 9,
I need a Carolina voice on the end of the line,
I said RedHope, Greenville, Springhope, Rolesville,
You can have it all in Eastern Caroline,
Operator give me 9 1 9.
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