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dial switchover sunday december 17 marks further bell progress early m twtcintimy acton subtcrlban were served through a switchboard like the one shown here operators in those days wore doublebun hairdos long skirts and high buttoned shoes the folding bed and razor strop were usd by the male night operator who took advant age of a lull at the switchboard to trim his beard fire police stress emergency calls the introduction of dial oil phone co his installed 111 emim vice in acton will result in gems loporting ssicm huh change in the method or hjnill j unlink seon telephones one ot ing emergeno tails to ihe fnv these is located at the lue hall hall and to the- ontanoy pn- one at the home or the fire vlncial police 4 tluef one at the unncrv and for fire calls the bell tele- four at the homes of members ot maaassmiisssasssiimiaaii wn nimi w it hhtwm jatjwjiajii jack bendig installer busiest bell repairman when switchover happens jack bendig bell telephone installer rrpjirman who handl cs mut of that tpc ot woik for lelcphonc uvrs in ac ion i will be one of the busiest people in town ihe niyht or ihe chanee to dial unci at ion he will he located in the min ual exchange where on the iy oal to cui io dial he uill he among th bell craftssjncn pu ing out fuici tuning the manual k office out of operation this wm be done lmmediaielv betoic the dial olhie is placed in service then he will pnxecd to jul the csvcmial lines siuh as those scninj the tire hall and th out ano pru in lal police ol lias to make sure the aiv lundionmc pi op 1 1 mr bind ii will also iii pus- ik telt phones and pi ivate biandi exchange equipment lo make ad kistiikiits no that thev w im tuiuuoii undi 1 the dial sstnn kow exits arc ou bahv sluing i christmas j the firv chief s itmir dut 10 know where exits 111 and vvhtie the u phone is no wme down i 1 11 l ds mi uikiii s ptunu mini a ul phoiu lumibci and uld ol iu pue whue iju paui lit om kcei chiistnuis s toi child en tnesilt the otunieer tire depattment calls to the lite number 111212 will imp all sewn tele phones uu hiding loud iingm hells m ihe volunteers htmn s the iall uiu he answeied at mv ot the leli phones and the pet son answeunt will take details ot the t ill and nng the siren alei liny all othei 1 11 1 men call police 1 u oniauo piowiiiial polue ottut has bun tquippid b tht i btii co wuh aiitomatii answei t nip uia in oidinc eqtiipnunt uhiili will take calls whin tin polne iilt is e is unmanned call to tlu polue mi mini s 120 will tup a iili sitting 111 opeiation ihe aiiswcime and u voiding unit a killii will luai a message iioulul bv the constable beloie he iclt the oltue wliisli will tell thi villi 1 1 hit the polke ollner is absent and whitli will invite the iallii to lean a message which will be recorded meanwhile the same action that taused tht answering and i it outing unit to begin opeia ting w ill a so svwuh on a light outside the toiuui telephone i vhangt biiililiug anil anoihn at tlu polio ollui tilling the pa 1 oli 1 iv 1 011s iiblt that thi 1 e is 1 tall tor him eightyseventh yrno 25 acton ontario thwsday december mlh 1961 second section if in doubt check directory all telephone ininvbern in ac- ion liuludlnu ihuiclipcpollc and fire talis will be lluingcd ininculent will hie iwluhover of the ithnl exchange to hie dial svstem shoitly nflr 2 ii in nunduv c s keith bell tele phone immune for thi region lemiuded telephone users tht week i the new ontatlo provincia polite number will be r5jm210 ihv lire mull number 8vi2i2 if khi luiw ajiv doubt about a pai tkulai iimnber the idle- phone duectnrv is your best guide mi keith said all the new numbers as well as special mstiuiiions a iv included in the 1jm edition ol the direttotv telephone users served by the ailon exchange will receive tele phone numheis consisting of the prefix r1 and font othei figures lor lot il lallmg telephone its eis will be ivqtttrfd to dial all sien digits and the lull seven ligiuv numhei will also be re- qimed loi both plating and re- ten ing long distance tails they should ap on any stationery signs oi advertising matter area code mr keith pointed out that an other threefigure tode the iiroti code 519 appears on the tele phone users dial here he ex plained that canada and the united states aie divided into about 120 numbering areas each with a distuitiivt a ix a cude this todt is ustd lot long distance tails ami is theiefore part of the telephone number tur long ilislime purposes opt i alms and telephone useis who have lanhlies fut dialing long distant tallh will dial the sp before the sevenfignie tele phone mimhu in older to reach tton till phones it thev are call ing tiom auothet area howevei alls horn other exchanges within ihe m area such sis guelph biantford windsor and i ondon will not require use of this code mr keith urged all telephone uwrs in acton n chcqlt jrtte dir ector for theutribew opfntnds and business firms thev call fre- qtientlv and enier them in then blue book ol telephone numbers dditional tue copies of the blue book aie available in two siis tiom the bell business uf- tue in cuclph telt phone aimpinv sen ite numbers ate also listed in the tin it ton the long distance op- ttitot mav hi ix it bed b dialing o intoi malum about unlisted luimbeis mav be obtained bv diiltng 1 1 and telephone re pa it stivttt bv dialing 114 install switchboard system in 1884 free press one of first subscribers soup comet covers niuj to oane the imprisoned breath ot bltmoim hail never exntied from j u mugnivlnh drugsloio bell the wear and tear caused it in november hum bv ihcwui lous turning to view actons liji telephone switoltbonrd j from b a m to 8 pm on wei it dovh ihe little old gillilam cuuld ho seen in action it ilu tirst stibscriberr ihe at ion blinking co the fiee pies- nelson morae and co mid w h stoiev weie in u talkin mood on sunday the telephone of fice was open lot business b tween 2 and 4 pin and on hob tlavs from 10 lo 12 p m ami 2 to 4 pm held demonstration telephones weie not enluelv unknown in at ton where j lew years beloie a protestor kent had held a telephone demolish hon in temperance hull u gtav giand trunk railvviv agent in the eighties mittccdcd in making a pah of crude m ktiuments which ciuried tonvc sation ovei a three mile tiixuit i lie list talking box had been invenled bv alexander gin ham bell in 1874 and paleiited in i87i demolish ahons ol the linen ion ucte populit moss tlu toiinhv and pctmtlive telephones beiame the suliieits ol hpeiiua lion ind tonieiitue allei ihe fust long dlstnue lesl in nt7f and the loinplehoi ol ihe tns long distance line in canada lot tout menial pm poses in ih7 telephone coniuil lions outside illage boiuulit ics became a desuible possibility lojxg dutanee wire a t lews of beauled tiveiall t lad men invaded the lughwavs a id b wavs to walk up the kill tun be i and pituii lotislv iw ist the long distame wnes aiouml the blg poles eietted by the dustv roadside in 1884 sin h a new hititt the line between loionlo uid guelph ihiough ailon wis i on uul geoigelovvn and long distance actons first telephones wme installed in 1884 after a long distance line was built between toronto and guelph through acton georgetown and weston here mary frances johns demonstrator in the bell panorama of telephone progress in montreal listens in on an old blake telephone like the ones which carried actons first message over the newly erected wire from telephone book of 1900 fire number new in most homes actons telephone directory listing of november 1900 in cluded many names that will recall memories to some present day subscribers connection became a renlilv heie the old tllake telephones m stalled in at ton that year for the timihporlahon of ils total and extended voue consisted of thiee boxes mounted on a haikhnum ihe topmost box contained the magneto gcnciatoi the middle box had a hole for the mouth piece and ihe bottom box ion- lamed the hatteiy tin ihe talk ing turrcnt telephone useis held the re- teivei like a lime bomb and s honied into the mouthpiece it tlu lop ol i heir lungs in ltrt within six or 10 blocks if the w ind was right ihev could be he ml without bitutil of the tele phone at all find manager j i mcgai v in he tusl manage was leplated in ik8s bv i kl mcgaivin the diug siote vi as iiken met bv j v kannawin in 1800 and latei sold to a t blown manager here hum iw0 lo i92s other eailv inanieis weie ii i ant and mis beitha i anl the pieseut tlncl operator is mrs mai git i el tot d when mr biown took over the telephone oft ice in 1900 sub set ibers numbeied 21 and a latgtr swilchboiid had replu ed ihe old gilliland night seivue was givtn on ihe cot svslcrn i his meant thai a membci ot the limilv slept nt at i hi boa id in case of emeigeucv in 1910 loniinuoiis seivue was ofticiallv iniuguiittd i in lele phone dirccloi v lor thil veu shoved hllli icscmhlime lo the nnnialuie book ol i88 which can led advei hsenienls lor car nagc i lap t ubes ind w ash houds nut showc d ac ion sub- si nbeis without telephone num bets phone books bv 1920 ads for nash and mc laugh i m automobiles electric jlttblilmtpglml vliephqno num- ben rnr every town and cltyn the book refletted the changing times some of the acton num heis weie lo lemun in use in the sime homes and places ol bust ness tor mote than 40 veus in 1920 ihe bank ol nova sto- tia answered number nine as it does unlil the nilover the tus loins off at wis listed beside numher 34 in the 1920 and the i9ft0 three ion number sfi is mill listed beside w k graham is il was in 1920 while numhir m ihe giand trunk railwav is now the canadian national railwav 21 years service cto a t brown ocal manugcr 10 acton tanning co itiuu l ml 16 arnold bros tmiun iill ii dm 19 arnold bros rlni mils mill 17 beordmorc a o risuluiii ihunh 10 bcurdmorc a co tiiinn- mam tlroun a f duvisl mill 1 brown t kildllkl ihlll 5 brown jus sim mill mini a clarks hold main anil mill 13 grand trunk r stltluil 7 henderson ax co ciniiil slim mill 3 humphries ii hawkc millir- mill 4 kell dr c 1 piumillll llllllllili 20 macdonuld dr j m lh milan mill a 1 uiliiiik 9 mcgrall j a loinnan laniliii main 12 mckeague dr s a piumii in 1 1 1 ill i ii k iv merchants bank mill lla moore ii p 1 in- pu- olfui mill lib moore ii p rimiliiin oiiiiiha linliiiik 7 storey christie co bankcii mill 15 storey w ii fc soa llmi mliv llrair n 2 store v ii l son riniun main 14 toronto lime co i mil win ks 1 niii liuum h robett kerr 41 ling civc 1920 is now 41w v und numbe 79 is still bevlde d ii ilndnav as 1 1 was 40 vears ago symon llaidwue answered number 4 m 1920 and is listed beside thai number in the i960 directory connecting agreement a connecting agreement wnn mide in 9ii bclwecn the bell and the consolidated telephone coioimeilv known m ihe cal ednn telephone co their 00 siihsc nhers in the count ich ol ivel wellington dufferin and simeoe eonnec ted with the long distance nelwoik of ihe bell at adoii guelph rock wood and oisingeville in 1919 the company was pur- chasedbv the township tf cnle- don and rrinand the name was c banged lo the calcdon munici pal telephone co in i9ib rhe looih telephone was installed and in i9m the i 000th was placed in seivue here t he ac ton exe hange was con verted to common battery opera tion in 1949 eliminating the nec essity of turning ihe crank to signal the operator newer and mote compact telephones were in hod need operation enlarge bv i9s alton operators were handling 4300 local tails and 2is long distance calls daily as com pared wuh 80 local and h long distance connections in 1908 i wo more positions were add c d to i he switc hhoard which had been enlarged by one post lion in i9n and now numbered five enabling that number of opeiatois to voik at tne same lime acton had 1114 telephone subset hers in 1955 since the first telephones were installed in acton in 1884 there have heen vast and continuing improvements in telephone ser vice iron vvire originally em ployed was replaced by copper joariinp coils were invented male mjr telephone conversation aver greater distances possible a miciowive tower was erect ed near acton in 19a0 as pari of ihe windsor toronto microwave inkto facilitate the handling of long distance calls hansconhncniit telephony was made possible in i9is when al exander graham bell placed the in st call an oss ihe continent from niw yoik to san francis co it tas not until 1920 that ac- ion sifhsnibers could place calls to anv point in canada or the imted stales u k nrrvrsm i iienien calling doot loilooi mondav i in iv id in i i ik nt nsponsi tioin housiholdc i s who pjadlv act pled thin ltd labels i 1 i the ii phones tin si inl mil w hi u labels pit tvpul eo on ill kliphoihs lo lis name iikiilss i and loi f in onlv ii il 8s- 1212 i boui is mi ii elellvilcd is main is iikv umkl and llu hope ti j iuisli iiil vc hole tov n be tote dial switc hovi i siiml iv i in thi lonniiv loinuik au o- opi i itnif lo si i in mi is ill i c l n ii i ik n sikke i s it von don i h ivi vmii s m i hi pilkiii tin in in ii i itunii v in ighboi villi hi at voui dooi chief operator mrs m ford to work rn guelph office mis margaiet s i md who on beiime chief operator in has siiid as actons ihul ope i aithur where she remained un- aioi since 19ss has accepted a hi she tame lo acton position with the it 1 1 tiltphuru iailur this veu the bell co tompanvs tidlic depai inuiii in announced plans lo establish a guelph and will vru tluic alter niaioi long distance centre at the dial iiitovii id alton filni in noiih western ontario mis lotd a nihic ol mealord mrs i oi d accepted ihe position his bun sen ing telephone us is t hit f operator there and lef cis loi some 21 vcais j ac ton lo take up the post sin loimd the hell in mtafoidj iiovm ve r while mis hord was as in opt latoi in 1 927 aiul it i n route the i oinpanv changed inaincd theit unlil hit n uislli us plans loi piouluig long div lo toionio lion vc us lu 1 1 taiki strtut in that suium of becume chief operator ninth wi sum ontario and the shi lilt iln compinv when sin pomiiou mis lord had accepted mauled in 192 the n it jouu d i he im lungt i iisttd so she re- bt ii in mealoid in 194s in ssj uniuj lo alton aikltw colt tw cxtcc uth iff em t on ot hlultt ctcu u4 enjoy that v refreshing new feeling with cocacok orangeville bottling works limited orangeville ontario autuoaucd bottlim of c0c cl unoir cotvct wltm coca coca ld mmmswmmim more power greater speed thorn mvr bmfonl y remingtons new super 7s chain saw most powtrfal 6uttt cutting chmn uw yt new powr puim mvu ddivrra 420 cutting trokc vary mettua now yon can cut 4 toga in th ume tun it uaad to take you cor 3 and you know ita rehabta bsvcauaa its nuwit by remington famous for prod dec ability ainoa 1819 paiema w s enright v- rr 4 acton waaaawaaahmmsiamah j telephoni linemen building actons first line camped out along the way this talaphon crew of the l00s is complete with moustachioed cook and bearded blacksmith not th horsedrawn steam boiler for power for pumping and drilling bsslllfff la