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feel especially honored to salute the rect distance dialing, microwave transmission, employees of the Bell System, who have satellite communications, electronic switching, shared so much of their time and talents and fiber optics, to name only a few. Day in and with me during the 35 years I have spent day out, Bell people have given selfless service, in this business. I admit that I would and they also have volunteered countless hours prefer another occasion upon which to pay to better their communities. tribute, because divestiture has been a difficult The use of our technologies, coupled with the and often painful process for all of us. At the humanity of our work, has touched and funda- same time, however, we have been building new mentally altered every aspect of our lives and enterprises, and I know each of us thrills to the livelihoods. The telephone transmits messages prospect of working in them. of compassion and calls to the moon. Taken for I think divestiture should be remembered for granted though it may be, there is nothing com- the new beginnings it brings us - and for the monplace about this extraordinary system. opportunity it provides to build upon our heri- Telephone service in this country deserves its tage. I, like so many of you, have deep roots in reputation. It is, indeed, the best in the world. the Bell System. My father was a district traffic We take pride in what we have accomplished. superintendent in Richmond, Virginia, at the Our heritage is glorious - and our future ripe time I was born; my mother was a supervisor in for further achievements. Divestiture has acted a Long Lines operating room in New York; and to put the destiny of the business back into the my sister worked as a service representative for hands of those who know best how to run it - New Jersey Bell. Each of us had the service its employees. It was never primarily the orga- ethic - that devotion to helping customers day nization of the Bell System that made the by day and in times of crisis. As a matter of fact, company work, though its organizational my parents first met in Philadelphia, where scheme certainly inspired and aided the busi- they were both on loan to help with the very ness. It was, instead, those assets that have not heavy emergency problems brought on by been subject to the divestiture process: our World War I. As I was growing up, I remember Spirit of Service, our tradition of excellence, our my father missing more than a few dinners in sensitivity to people, our reputation as a re- the course of his travels. He worked hard in sponsible corporate citizen, and - above all - helping to establish overseas telephony and our ability to discern the expectations of the TWX service, and he was very proud of the public and then conform the business to those business. expectations. His pride and dedication were two of the qual- If we continue to display these qualities and to ities that also impressed me about the Bell set them as examples for newcomers to our System people I came to work with. Whether companies, then we will surely live up to the they were the pole climbers who taught me that trust placed in us by our predecessors - and end of the business, or the hundreds of people at the Bell Systems heritage truly will become an Long Lines and the operating companies whom enduring one. From the standards we have I met in various jobs in various cities across the lived by for more than 100 years, we can grow country, the employees of the Bell System have in confidence in our individual abilities and been distinguished by their integrity, their stand firm on the fundamentals that have made determination, their enthusiasm, and their this business great: that it is an endeavor prof- devotion to excellence. itable to its owners, useful to its customers, It has taken all these qualities and one more - and, to its employees, worth working for. what the French call élan - to make the vision My wife Ann Lee and I plan to spend a quiet of our forebears in this business become a real- time on New Years Eve this year, as we usually ity: to link Americans to each other and to the do, but we will more than likely raise a toast to world with direct and almost instantaneous the men and women of the Bell System as they communication. Today, we have made that vi- begin their auspicious adventures. And we will sion a reality. In so doing, we also have given say what we feel in our hearts and what my this country more than a century of continuous family felt before me: that we hold you, collec- and systematic innovation - the transistor, di- tively and individually, in the highest regard. CAVALCADE An introduction to the writers, photographers, and illustrators contributing to this commemorative edition. THE UBIQUITOUS TELEPHONE SO WE SAY GOODBYE - AND WELL DONE! R. Z. MANNA The telephone was contemporaneous with Tom Sawyer and EDITOR the self-binding reaper; a charming part of Americas mythic C. ANNE PRESCOTT past, a vital component of our technological future. SENIOR EDITOR AND AUTHORS LIAISON LORRIE TEMPLE MANAGING EDITOR PARALLELS WITH THE PAST BOB KINKEAD The perception of historic tranquility and a stormy future for the ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bell companies is mainly an illusion. Its just that hard times past tend RICK WILBINS to mellow in memory, and future unknowns loom larger than life. COORDINATING EDITOR GARY OSLAND DESIGN DIRECTOR LOOKING BACK TO SEE AHEAD BEN PASSANTINO, The years leading to divestiture may provide ROSALIND McDONALD RESEARCH ASSOCIATES guideposts for tomorrow. JAMES T. RYAN DESIGN ASSOCIATE ONE WORLD A. BRIAN SAVIN COUNSELING LIAISON A legend remembers when ATT gave something more than her art a voice. I S K C. L. BROWN CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD THE RIGHTSPIRIT WILLIAM M. ELLINGMAUS PRESIDENT JAMES E. OLSON VICE CHAIRMAN THIS HAPPY BREED The people of the Bell System are fondly recalled T. O. DAVIS SECRETARY in a tribute to their character and competence. VIRGINIA A. DWYER VICE PRESIDENT AND TREASURER THE MIRACLE OF TELEPHONE SERVICE The miracle may seem magical, a writer discov- ers, but its wrought by telephone people every day. TELLING TALES The Bell System can be kept alive through the "living memories" of its people. CORPORATE BONDS Though not based on blood and genes, a corporate community nonetheless possesses strong familial ties. I B N SOCIAL STUDIES Bell Telephone Magazine is published in four editions this BLACK-CORD FEVER year by American Telephone and Telegraph Company, As seen by a child, the telephone was a device into 195 Broadway, New York, New York 10007. Typeset in Century Schoolbook by Franklin Typographers, Inc., New York City. which grown women shouted. For an adult, its an addiction. Printed by Georgian Press, Inc., Garden City, New York. © 1983 by ATT. Magazine design concept by Paul Hardy. Design assis- tance, Sally Stone. Clerical support, Gary Pletsch, Vivian Hope, PAS DE DEUX: THE BELL SYSTEM AND THE ARTS and Allyn Sitjar. Back issues of Bell Telephone Magazine are available from University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, In the business of communicating, nothing quite Michigan; all rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, all does it like the arts. material published in this magazine is the property of ATT and may not be reprinted in any publication without permission in writing from the editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, elec- 0! PIONEERS! tronic or mechanical (including photocopy, recording, or any The Telephone Pioneers of America face a future information-and-retrieval system), without permission from the editor. Bell Telephone Magazine is distributed by the Bell in which they will be needed more than ever. System units. They bear the expense of the publication. To receive copies, please contact the Bell Telephone Magazine representative in the local or regional Bell unit. P G H BEGETTING A LEGACY A collection of photographs gleaned from the past that portrays the heritage a future can be built upon. AN EXALTATION OF DISCOVERIES WHERE R MEETS D At that juncture, as Bell Labs has found, freedom and focus undergird the road to success. LEARNING FROM SCRATCH A writer, unschooled in Bell Laboratories, finds an enterprise worthy of a book - and preservation. THE BIG SKILL Time may march on, but Western Electric has no trouble staying in step. P C C THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS "T" AND WALL STREET The stodgy old "widows and orphans" stock has been one of the markets liveliest players for more than 100 years. A CAPITAL MOTIF The rise of giant corporations, technological innovation, and government oversight played major roles in shaping the Bell System during its first century. MINDS INTO MATTER Working smarter is the key in an economy increasingly geared to information. P M T A SUMMING UP RITES OF PASSAGE Cultivating a new culture to match new mis- sions may be the most difficult task facing post- divestiture employees. Illustrations by Ponder Goembel COVER: The quotation on the cover of this Special Commemorative Edition- a variation on themes uttered in Irish and Hindu proverbs and recast by such writers as Cervantes and Fernando de Rojas - has, over the years, been attributed to Alexander Graham Bell. One story, perhaps apocryphal, has it that these are words of comfort Bell communicated to Helen Keller. Whatever their origin, however, the words are astonishingly appropriate for this particularly poignant moment in Bell System history.

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