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‘_â€" Let‘s Take a Look Page 2 Instead I met young, attractive Mrs. Ann McCarthy, this town‘s capable chief operator, who has served Highland Parkers for six and one half years. That‘s how advertisements of the local telephone company read in this newspaper, And, to me, the ads are so compelling that I felt I must visit Highland Park‘s "nerve center" this week. Young, Courteous, Quite Efficient .. . I‘ve never seen a harderâ€"working group of females, the majority of which are teenâ€"agers. And when I arrived it was a "quiet time," I was told by the chief operator whom I had expected to be an eldâ€" erly woman. § IMPROVING SERVICE ... "We‘re constantly trying to imâ€" prove our service for Highland Parkers," â€" Mrs. McCarthy said, adding, ‘"They‘re such fine people that we want to do as much as we can for them. A.telephone operator‘s work is not easy. She must go‘to a teleâ€" phone school for a month, then train for two more months befgre she‘s able to handle calls with a moderate amount of swiftness and efficiency." "Flashing lights! Drama at your finger tips! The fascination of a telephone switchboard. The interesting task of setting up calls for far flung points. â€" The glow of satisfaction‘ achieved by putting through emergency calls. You can be cast today! Set the scene! Cue the actors! Enjoy this interesting work!" . . , We trotted up to 21 S. St. Johns â€"where the traffic department of the . telephone company is â€" climbed some stairs, and entered a long, brightlyâ€"painted room burstâ€" ing with activity. "But we have such a tremenâ€" dous turnover of personnel," she explained. _ "We have so _ many girls who get married, or move away, or go to college, that it‘s impossible to keep a crew of effiâ€" cient, highlyâ€"trained operators on at all times. . Although we‘ve hired over~140 girls since the first of the year, only 33 have stayed on permanently," she said. NOT EASY WORK Highland Park‘s switchboard is flashing constantly. Each of the 36 local operators handles between 150 and 200 calls an hour. Toll operators (those patient,. sweetâ€" talking women), although handling fewer calls, are always alert, alâ€" ways busy. On a "peakload" day, Highland® Parkers place 42,000 calls.â€"â€" f ‘That room, we learn, is headâ€" quarters for Highland Park‘s staff of young, courteous, and quite efâ€" ficient telephone operators. _ And that‘s a lot of "Number, pleases" and "Thank yous." And a nerve center it is, too! Announcing . .. the Opening of 329 Waukegan Avenue W HITT N. SCHULTZ (Formerly Lu‘s Beauty Shop) ANNES BEAUTY SHOP e PERMANENT WAVES Open Evenings by Appointment Drama at Their Fingertips! e COLD WAVES (Bpecial to The Highland Park Press) By Tel. H. P. 1377 ®e MANICURING _ "Highland Parkers are fair, paâ€" tient, and sympathetic," Mrs. Mcâ€" Carthy told me. And I think she should know for she has been «werkingâ€"for the telephone . comâ€" pany sinee 1929 in various towns. FAIR, PATIENT, SYMPATHETIC . .. _ ""And I love my"vork," she addâ€" ed with the deepest sincerity. Here are some of the questions I asked Mrs. McCarthy: ' “8,676." she answered. (That‘s about one telephone for every two persons in town, Iâ€"figure.) _ How many l;mg distance calls do you complete each day? â€" "Over 2600 â€" and many, many more when a troop train arrives at Fort Sheridan, Yesterday, for exâ€" ample, we had 3,100 soldier calls. We handle all Fort Sheridan calls from pay phones," she expilained. How many girls do you have working for and with you? x "We have 217 right now. The largest group is made up of high school girls, many of whom are working part time." How many telephones are there in Highland Park? onl WOMEN USE PHONE MOST ... "Women. During the day they‘â€" re phoning orders to meat marâ€" kets and grocery stores. In the evening calls are mostly social." What are your busiest hours? "From 9 to 10 a.m. weekdays. And from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturâ€" days." Do men or do women use Highâ€" land Park telephones most? m How many supervisors do\ you have?~ 7 a "We have 17. _ Also, there are six junior supervisors, five assistâ€" ant chief operators, and a staff of seven clerks who take care of perâ€" sonnel work." What are the other departments of this company? hve . .} WHAT IS A + GOOD OPERATOR? ... Rescribe a good operator. "She has average intelligence. She has a lot of personality, She‘s polite, mentally alert, and speedy. We have a wonderful group of girls in Highland Park, _ They‘re friendly and always willing to help each other. _ They all work six days a week, eight hours a day." "Commercial, headed by Mr. Edâ€" ward Knox. _ And the plant deâ€" partment supervised . by â€" Mr. L. Stewart." Can any operator ring any numâ€" ber in Highland Park? your nmber, she has been trained to ring it for a full two seconds every 10 seconds. Sometimes, beâ€" cause of the great number of calls we handle, this is impossible." After watching the busy operatâ€" ors for a few minutes, I was weary. Mrs. McCarthy seemed to realize this so she led me to the pleasant recreation room where we talked while sipping some coffee. The operators have pleasant quarters to relax in â€" whenever they can be spared. I learned that a new addition is going to be built ontoâ€"the present building. This addition will house a cafeteria for employes, as well as a new and hl'i.l‘v rest room for the hardâ€" working operators. _ ~ 7 I was impressed â€" as you‘ve probably gathered â€" with our telâ€" ephone company and its personâ€" Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. Knox, and Mr. Stewart deserve ‘a great deal of credit for maintaining an orâ€" ganization that is functioning *Yes. When an operator rings NURSERY STOCK FOR SALE 215 Western Ave. Grosss Pomts: Liontnous® on Lake Michigan. Its Fresnel Lantern came frst to Florida from France in 1860. Later it was sent to Grosse Points after AmE â€"»CtACt BUVLLEERRLY this lighthouse was erected in 1873. PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS VITO FIORE NURSERY ‘Telephone H. P. 5249 & SHRUBS * TREES e EVERGREENS Cash and Carry or We Will Deliver Make Your Selection Now T HE PRESS and Plant Lset‘s go exploring into the Past by way of historical spots in Northern mmoununomxsmmwmm-filu.m if you feel like seeking out some of these spots at a later date. However, you may travel to sixteen of them without even leaving your armchair, You may visit friendly old mills, lovely churches, and pause by the Illincis and Michiâ€" gan Canal with its centuryâ€"old locks and Aqueduct. You may make discoverâ€" ies. We have a lighthouse light that "went under the earth" instead of "under . the sea." The construction of one dwelling place was influâ€" enced by the curious combination of a cyclone and a barrel of flour. An inn of the romantic stage coach era was also the birthplace of a worldâ€"famous dancer. A tavern maintained two flourishing establishmentsâ€"the tavern in front and &‘ grocery in the rear. All sixteen landmarks are illustrated by quite smoothly considering the difâ€" ficult times we‘re passing through. GOOD LUCK . . . Good luck to coach Dave Floyd and his football team when they meet Provise â€" a rather rugged 11 as I remember â€" at Highland Park Saturday, Veterans‘ Homeâ€" coming Day. HOW TRUE .. . Overheard on Central Ave. this week. An elderly woman was talkâ€" ing to a young veteran. Woman: _ ‘"How old are you, Exâ€"Gi: *"Twentyâ€"one, _ Mam, plus four years in the Army. We don‘t count those years, although they were tough ones." . PARTING There is good in everyone. Why not look for that good? q0 LOCK NO. 6 ON THE ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL at CHANNAHON The "About You and Your House" page stresses the lunchâ€" Coffee Cake and Cottage Pudding. â€" As Entertaining As Your Favorite Magarine Lions Are Entertained By Film of Tédephone Compgany Broadcast This â€" (Thursday) noon ‘at the club, at Highland House, a very inâ€" teresting and entertaining film is being presented. You Are Cordially Invited to Come and Meet the SMILES _ DELICIOUS FOOD FRIENDLY: SERVICE THE HIGHLANDER 246 Railway Avenue, Highwood, III. Phones H. P. 2206 â€" 5509 FOR PRIVATE PARTIES FOR â€" RESER VA T IO NS ROSE ROOM Newly Decorated ut . Thursday, Sept. 19th, 1946 this film of the broadcasting of the Telephone Hour was secured. The Members of the Lions club apâ€" preciate the efforts of our local telephone company manager, Edâ€" traction, the guest soloist, Joseph