. Bell telephone magazine . ad switchman, sighed wearilyas he answered a messengers had worked long hours and now,with a dead phone, was hoping tohole up for a good rest. But the callboy and the emergency service trackedhim down. During the first few days after thefire, the suburban residents drove orwalked to stores. The routine er-rands which normally slip quietlyalong the phone wires came alive outin the streets. This drama of visiblecommunication reminded us of theold rural party lines, where neighborscould keep well abreast of communitycomings and goings. In River Grove,when Mrs.
. Bell telephone magazine . ad switchman, sighed wearilyas he answered a messengers had worked long hours and now,with a dead phone, was hoping tohole up for a good rest. But the callboy and the emergency service trackedhim down. During the first few days after thefire, the suburban residents drove orwalked to stores. The routine er-rands which normally slip quietlyalong the phone wires came alive outin the streets. This drama of visiblecommunication reminded us of theold rural party lines, where neighborscould keep well abreast of communitycomings and goings. In River Grove,when Mrs. Bernadine Sendler bun-dled up her five-year-old and walkedfour blocks Into the wind and overthe ice, it could be easily learned thatshe had run out of bottled gas forcooking. We suspected there might be someold timers about who were chucklingat youths new-found appreciation forthe telephone, which, like the kitchensink and refrigerator, has come to betaken for granted like the sun and the 242 Bell Telephone Magazine WINTER. These equipment engineers at Western Electrics Kearny Works discuss their blueprintsof equipment used in the burned-out central office, in order to develop quickly specifica-tions for equipment to replace it. Four of these men later went to River Grove to put their special knowledge to work on the spot rain. It was evident that the sub-scribers, with rare exceptions, weretaking the temporary loss of servicewith great good humor and under-standing. Among the exceptions wasthe matron who insisted that a tele-phone messenger direct a veterinarianto give her a telephone bulletin onthe health of her ailing Pekinese, atthat time housed in a pet hospital. Itis not recorded just how the dog feltthat day. Organizing the Attack After our visits to the business of-fice, where Kirkland contributed tothe turmoil with light cords and flashbulbs, and some trips with the mes-sengers, we spent part of a day at thesite back of the burned building wherethe semi-permanent Quon
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