Former New England operators recall the pre-smartphone era working telephone switchboards

Before smartphones, most people kept in touch using landline telephones.

And before direct dialing was common, some calls were handled by switchboard operators.

During the 1950’s, more than 220,000 operators were employed by the Bell System alone. Most were women who were expected to be courteous, quick-thinking and patient under pressure.

And at a recent reunion in Maine, some former operators shared a few highlights about what they say was a challenging but rewarding job in a simpler time.

Until the 1970’s, a switchboard operator’s assistance was often needed for person-to-person, collect calls or to report a crime.

“Operator, yes operator, I’d like to make a long-distance call to area code 314-822-7024.”

“Operator, I’m calling from a phone booth and I’m trying to reach 326-3055.”

“Operator, can you get me the police, this is an emergency.”

Operators were based at local switching stations called telephone exchanges where they watched for calls that appeared as lights on a cord board.

“Which was a board with little holes for different towns and when the light came on that’s what we answered,” says Shireen Desmond, a former operator.

For the rest of the story, including the audio version, please visit MainePublic.org.