Lake Scugog Historical Society Historic Digital Newspaper Collection

Port Perry Star, 10 May 1928, p. 1

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yrin fo r ughs and colds. ~~ olr's Chooolates and Viotor Records at Tablets come well ol ommended cn Morrisons Drug Store Try our Bread ~ Confectionary, } San The firs phone the Social Welf To-day, in Port Perry and. vicinity, we have 843 tele- phones--575 rural, 268 urban. J wi TWO OR THREE YEARS AGO, Rabbi : Brickner gave a wonderful address in the City ofABrantford. He was talking to | Welfare workers of Ontario. The place and the audience were well chosen for that address, because the place was the for- mer home of Alexander Graham Bell, the Inventor of the telephone; and the audience ~ consisted of those forward looking people, i lI who believe in and work for the health and I Farm and Garden Seeds Our stock of Farm and Garden Seeds is now complete, EE am Te is 3 ] 1 "samples of all the more im tant Window coniaiti samples them. and come in and see us. ' Wewill use youright. ~~ See These Bargains See the big bargains in our east window. Look them x and if there is anything you need. come right in ~ Our Grocery and Crockery stock is complete J. F. McCLINTOCK ERRY, ONT. | - are largely cleared, and our minds aie open and expectant. happiness of all. _In that address, Rabbi. Brickner pictured historic time as a clock "representing sixty noon. At five miniites to twelve there were neither telephones telegraphs, radios, autos, steam railways, elégtric light, coal oil, nor matches. That wasJhre Irpdred year ago according to our clk face diagram. There is, you will see, no n&€ed for discourage ment, for the greater part.of the comforts, the freedoms, and the opportunities, have ccme to us within the past fifty years. ~~ Down through the centuries, splendid men ard wcmen have Bown this crop of freedom and almost universal opportunity. What obstacles they had to clear from the land-- superstition, fear, bate, greed, and tyranny. Added to these the Jioneers in invention ad to overcome Nature #reluctance to yield up her secrets. What amazing patience those-pionieers had-- 'of whom the world wus not worthy." If you wish to realize the perils of being a pioneer in invention, read 'The Last of the Barons" by Bulwer Lytton. To-day the obstacles of superstition, fear, hate, and tyranny, ' e can scarcely be surprised to-day by new inventions, and they are absorbed so fully and naturally that domestic and business life have been revolutionized. Our pioneer forefathers would not recognize the world could they come back and see it. Speaking of the pioneer spirit, with its hardihood and fru- gality, there are a couple of stories which show how inherited characteristics continue with some, and how rapidly others adapt themselves to new conditions. Both stories illustrate the atti tude of some telephone users, as we shall show later. ~~ The first story is of an old couple--Janet and Johr--who moved into a city house, in the kitchen of which was a beautiful white sink, and shining brass taps. Jaret was a worderful house- keeper, One Svening, just before bedtime, the following conver- "sation was overheard: He 'Janet, have ye redd up the sink for the night?" 'Yes, John. Why?" ox nothing much. I was wanting a drink, but I guess I o till m A t must have been a relative of these people who saw a fine room at a place where he was visiting, at ho tit. nished Hi face, every minute rs. 'To-day is high can story has two pictures'in it. old farm home on a winter night. > James: 'Jim, I wish you'd get me | Jin the pail and was gone | and wrote to tell the | y a : 7 This office puts through on an average 4000 calls each day, and 100 long distance calls. The Port Perry Telephone Office and some of its staff. you have any trouble? Better let me fix it up a bit." While Martha bound up his hand, Jim explained that the pum had been frozen, that in jerking the handle to loosen it, he ad broken it, and had to go to the barn to whittle out a new one. Then, when he was fitting the bolt in place, it froze to his fin- gers, and he tore a piece of skin off. 'But I guess it'll be all right in a day or two." * A year later this couple moved to the city, and were duly es- tablished in a beautiful home with all modern conveniencies. One morning the water was shut off, and James was delayed in .his toilet fully ten minutes, He promptly called up the waterworks department and gave them a piece of his mind. There had been a break in the main, but that was none of his business, What he wanted was SERVICE, and he was going to have it. There is no need to labor the point of the second story. The writer of this article has been using the telephone in Port Perry for over twenty years, and from the days when Mr, W. H. McCaw was in charge to the present time we have enjoyed prompt and courteous seruice, except upon very rare occasions Occasionly, in assisting us to secure electin or similar news, the operators have done more than their regulation duties; and they have done the extra work sheerfully. Seven operators in the Port Perry Telephone Office handle an average of 4000 calls a day. This would be about 600 calls for each operator, or one a minute for a ten hour day. I wonder if some of us would be able to say: 'Number, please?' to all those calls? There are also about 100 long distance calls per day. That sounds pretty good for Port Perry; but many us are like Janet and John, or the young fellow who could scarcely wait till Satur- day night to take a bath--but he did. It pays to cultivate the long distance telephone habit. = A judicious use of this wonder- ful equipment saves worry, and time, and money. You get into direct touch with Jour party, and in three minutes' conversation you can accomplish a very great deal. The service to Toronto is direct and rapid, station to station calls frequently being as quick as local calls. There are two trunk lines to take care of this business. In social life, the long distance line is a great boon. Distant friends and members of the family can hear your voice, and will dearly love to have a little chat with you. The cost is small, and the pleasure is great. Back of the day and night telephone service rendered to the people of Port Perry and vicinity is the following staff of opera- tors: Misses Winnifred L. Causley, Margaret E. Hall, Hilda M. Wallace, Hazel Beare, Eva M. Hall, Frances Cockburn, Kathleen M. Hood, Nellie MacGregor. Miss MacGregor is in charge, tak- ing the place of Miss Pearl Kent, who was recently married, and is now Mrs. Grant Gerrow. Mr. McIntosh and Mr. Rennie keep the line and equipment in order; and a busy time they have of it, too, for 843 telephones is a large number for a place the size of Port Perry. We are now attached to Toronto Suburban District, with Mr. H. M. Black as District Manager; and a very pleasant gentleman he is, too. These are the folk who day in and day out, month by month, and year by year, in storm or sunshine, when the fish bite and the fields and flowers call, keep the lines of communication open for our convenience. Successful modern business is founded upon service--the best service to the largest number of people, and the Bell Telephone Company is a shining example of that type of success. It would have been a wonderful thing if Pharoah had been able to call u a neighboring King by long distance to stop the Israelites in their famous flight, or for Nero to have been able to use the telephone, the radio, and the auto to round up the Christians, that his lions might be fed. That power was not for such men, for they had I see your hand's bleeding. little or no idea of rendering service to humanity. 'This idea of public service, of long-visioned in- |i vestment, of studying the needs of the people and meeting those needs, is an idea that is the product of centuries of struggle and development, If we if continue to foster plan, the standard of living | will improve. If we try to overreach and ignore the ce Sther fellow, all will suffer. Humanity rises or falls | 2 The Bell Telephone Conipany in Port Perry has been giving and continues to give excellent service, To-day's phone

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