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 1950s, more than 220,000 ...

Before smartphones, landline telephones were the way most people kept in touch. And until direct dialing became common, a switchboard operator's assistance was often needed to help with long-distance ...

HINES, Minn. — The earliest telephone systems connected people, eased some of the loneliness and isolation of homesteaders who lived far from other family members, provided alarms in times of ...

Eventually to become affectionately known as “Old Betsy,” a Western Electric TBX-556A telephone switchboard went into service in 1958 in West Milford Town Hall to facilitate communication in the ...