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Published by the History Group, Inc.

DENVER, COLORADO

www.telcomhistory.org (303) 296-1221 Jody Georgeson, Editor Winter 2009, Vol. 13, no. 4

Director’s Report potential members. By Jody Georgeson Roy Lynn and Ron Pickens put the final touches on our new AV Center. Now we can What a year it’s been! processing our thousands of tapes and In Denver we: cassettes. • processed 20 new collections The Seattle group has loaned out many • processed additions to 17 existing pieces of equipment for displays, plays and collections shows. Notably, they loaned an operational • fine-tuned existing collections Model 15 TTY to the group filming a movie (preservation work and indexing) based on a Hunter S. Thompson novel, “The • conducted research for over 50 people Rum Diaries,” starring Johnny Depp. They continue to be busy with tour groups ranging • conducted tours of the 931 14th St. from the Girl Scouts to Microsoft employees, building and the Champa archives for and hailing from all over North America. approximately 150 people Together, our volunteers have logged

nearly 8,000 hours in 2009. Both our Founder and volunteer In 2010, we will continue to preserve and extraordinaire Herb Hackenburg and our publicize the history of our industry. We can secretary Leah Be moved on to greener only do this with the help of members like pastures; Marty Donovan returned to us: we you. Thank you for your continued support. gained several new Board members. and we We wish you and your families a peaceful lost some members and gained many new holiday season and a prosperous New Year. ones. We have two new volunteers this year

–Mimi Dionne and Jack Bol (both of whom have contributed stories to this issue of the Dial-Log). A lot of our time and effort was spent on the Allen True exhibit and the resulting tours of our MST&T headquarters building. The volunteers outdid themselves by folding, stuffing and mailing nearly 50,000 letters to

1 THG Acquires a New Collection! Lund Products Sales Company Meadows Warehouse Corporation by Mimi Dionne, MLIS, CRM, CDIA+, CA, Mobile Corporation Monroe Cellular , Inc. PMP Multimedia Cable, Inc. Northwestern Bellboard Mimi is the Records Manager and a Pacific Cellular, Inc. Certified Archivist,ddition to being a THG volunteer. We are very grateful to her for Pacific Shores Company providing us access to this collection. Cellular of Colorado Pierce Cellular, Inc. Thanks to the recent generosity of Phoenix Plaza Restaurants, Inc. and Qwest Communications, the Phoenix Plaza Commercial Association Telecommunications History Group is a Portfolio Acceptance Corporation proud owner of a new collection that outlines Rel Bellevue Ltd. Partnership Russian Academic Development the formal records of subsidiaries of U S Russian Business Skills, Inc. West. Some of these were not previously Saturn Financial Services, Inc. known to the archives. Documentation for Scanticon Denver, Inc. each subsidiary includes Board of Directors Scio Cellular, Inc. lists, Board of Directors meeting minutes, TCI/US West Cable Communication shareholder minutes, articles of incorporation, Telematics, Inc. bylaws, qualifications to do business, name Telewest Communications PLC registrations, transition agreements, stock Telewest Europe Groupjoint Venture certificates, and dissolution and liquidation Telewest Scotland Holdings documents. Restructuring plans, Tyumenwestcom correspondence, general and working UCI Enterprises, Inc. U S West Basic Investments documents are also included. The next step, U S West Cable Europe, Inc. of course, is to process the collection for U S West Cellular of California, Recell, Technical accessibility of its patrons. Look for the Services Inc. announcement soon! U S West Corporate Communications, Inc. U S West Enterprises, Inc. ALS Superior, Inc. U S West FSC Four, Ltd American Acceptance Corporation U S West ITP Holding Company Answers Iowa, Inc. U S West Knowledge Engineering, Inc. Canterbury Partners Ltd., Indiana U S West Marketing Resources International, Inc. Cascade Mobile Communications Holdings, Inc. U S West Mobile Services, Inc. DCRS Holdings, Inc. U S West Network Systems, Inc. DEK/Data, Inc. U S West NewVector Group, Inc. Direct Investment Company U S West Omega, Inc. EPC, Inc. U S West Paging, Inc. Facilities Solutions, Inc. U S West PCS Holdings, Inc. Fargo-Moorhead Systems, Inc. U S West Personal Communications Financial Security Assurance Holdings, Inc. Development, Inc. GCTV Sub 1 Corporation U S West Polska SP Z.O.O. Grand Forks Systems, Inc. U S West Projects Investments GT Cogeneration Corporation U S West Services Link, Inc. Hills Plaza Master Association U S West Systems, Inc. IPI Financial, Inc. U S West Venture Capital, Inc. Kelley’s Radio Telephone, Inc. Waterloo Communications, Inc. LaSalle Plaza YMCA Condominium Association Western Cellular, Inc. Local Touch Brand Publishing Company 2 The Magneto Telephone “.” A distinctive ring pattern would of the signal incoming calls. Ewald Farm The wall mounted single-box phone contained all the components including the

newer “local” dry cell batteries. Many By Dave Felice, with assistance from Ron Swanson

As volunteers for THG, Ron and I are helping to sustain both family and telephone history by donating a Model 317 magneto wall phone to the Wabash County Museum in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. There are several varieties of the single- box magneto wall telephone, commonly known as the “317 style.” The actual Western Electric Model 317 from AT&T was introduced in 1907. It primarily features closed terminals on top of the earpiece.. While the donated 317 is not the exact model that would have been installed around 1900 in the Ewald household, it is very similar to the 317 style phone sets supplied by Western Electric and other manufacturers from around 1896. George Ralph Ewald of the Sugar Creek area said he remembered the phone on his households like the Ewalds used this style grandparents’ dining room wall. He also said until the middle of the 20th century. Most of that he helped his father, Ralph Waldo, the phones were made of oak, but some maintain the lines for the cooperative were made of black walnut. company which provided service until about The actual vintage of the Model 317 1960. telephone given to the Wabash County George Conrad and Sarah Jane “Jennie” Museum is not known. What we know about (Seiler) Ewald built their imposing two-story the phone is based on Ron’s first-hand home and raised their large family in the knowledge. Ron gave the un-restored phone house. It was originally located about one- to me after he read about the Ewald family in half mile east of Bethel Cemetery, between an earlier edition of Dial-Log. As an Ewald Maud and Bellmont, in Wabash County. descendent, I donated the phone to the Years later, Bill Alka, a descendant, built his museum. My cousin, Doris, and her new home on that site. husband, George Beckerman arranged to transport the phone from Denver to Mt. Crank generates connection power Carmel. The first Ewald phone would have had Ron began a lengthy career with AT&T open terminals on the earpiece. The caller (the ) in Illinois, working as what’s would turn the magneto crank to provide known as a combination technician, or power that sent a signal to an operator “combo man.” The combo man would take (“Central”) to request a connection to another care of both outside lines and Central Office subscriber. Initially, up to eight subscribers switches. would share service on what was known as a 3 Ron acquired the Model 317 phone from federal court ruling that required AT&T to split the estate of Dr. Lloyd Roth, a professor at its nationwide operations by 1984. GTE and Northwestern University (Chicago). It is , the former , were the believed that Roth obtained the phone from a two largest phone companies in Illinois at the location in either northern Illinois or Iowa. time. Eventually, Verizon became the phone Most likely, the phone was built at the service provider for most of Wabash County. Western Electric facility, known as the , in Cicero, Illinois. Huge manufacturing facility at Hawthorne Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works, Multiple sources of equipment named for a town later incorporated into When the original Bell patents expired in Cicero, was known for its huge size. The 1893, independent telephone companies sprawling factory complex, operating from started operating legally for the first time. In 1905 to 1983, had a private internal railroad, rural areas, such as Wabash County, there known as the Manufacturer’s Junction were probably several small independent Railway. The railway moved products to the cooperative or “mutual” companies. nearby Burlington Northern depot. Plant The independents acquired equipment workers regularly used bicycles to get around from Western Electric, Kellogg (based in inside the facility. Chicago), (a predecessor In addition to telephone equipment, of General Telephone), or another of about Hawthorne Works manufactured consumer eighty independent manufacturing products such as refrigerators and electric companies. Parts were generally fans. At its height, the plant had 45,000 interchangeable, based on AT&T standards. workers. Built on 113 acres, Hawthorne Western Electric sets were most widely used. Works was a self-contained community, Customers of mutual companies were complete with a water tower, hospital, fire allowed to retain ownership of their phone protection service, and athletic facilities. A sets. The donated set has a replacement real estate developer bought the property in Kellogg mouthpiece. mid-1980, and replaced the factory with The small independent operating shopping center. An original tower remained companies soon started a process of at 22nd Street and Cicero Avenue. consolidation, which continued for many Nearby Morton College now houses the years. In Wabash and surrounding counties, Hawthorne Museum, at 3801 South Central seven smaller companies formed the Avenue, Cicero IL 60804, phone 708-656- Wabash Telephone Cooperative in 1952. 8000 extension 320. Admission is free, tours The Wabash cooperative still provides are available by appointment. Contact service in a small north-south strip in the [email protected]. middle of Wabash County, along with exchanges in Clay, Edwards, Effingham, Further information Jasper, Marion, Richland, and Wayne More details are available from Illinois Counties. Telephone History, published in 1991 by the Other mutual companies were acquired Independent Telephone Pioneer Association. by General Telephone of Illinois, which later There is more on the history of GTE at became part of General Telephone and http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company- Electronics (GTE). Another round of histories/GTE-Corporation-Company- consolidation and acquisition followed the History.html.

4 In Memory of Don Hoffman 1937-2010

Don had a long, varied career in radio and before joining AT&T in 1965 in Billings, Montana. There he worked on radio and long-distance transmission operations and on military switching systems. He moved to Basking Ridge, NJ, where he was involved with the development and deployment of the first digital microwave radio and fiber-optic systems. In 1984, Don came to U S West in Colorado where he joined their research and development group to work on advanced network management systems, tele-medicine and video to the home. Don retired from the company in 1998, but continued to work as a consultant to the industry. In 2000, he and his wife, Helen, returned Dale Norblom to Montana to pursue their interest in genealogy and Western history. 2009 THG Volunteer of the Year Don was a volunteer at THG for several years, and remained a member and good THG volunteers, staff and Board friend. We’ll all miss him. members gathered in early December at Laguna’s Restaurant in downtown Denver. The luncheon was held to honor all of our wonderful volunteers, and to induct Dale Norblom into the THG Volunteer Hall of Fame. Dale was one of our earliest volunteers, and continues to make a significant contribution. One of the most important things he does is populate our collections Mystery Climbers database. That’s how we keep track of where each of our thousands of documents is Our many responses to Joe Hersey’s located. Thanks, Dale, for all your hard work! mystery climbers suggest that similar Thanks, too, to all our other volunteers. equipment was common in Europe and South This year they have worked especially hard America during WWII and into the 1960s. So, and long, preparing nearly 50,000 fundraising while we haven’t completely cleared up the letters for mailing. We literally could not mystery, we are getting closer. Joe reports operate without them. that Stan Bartles will soon return from his If you'd like more information about becoming mission, and we hope that he can clear a volunteer, please contact us at 303-296- things up. We’ll let you know what we find 1221, or at: [email protected] out.

5 Our New PBX Why Oh Why Did I Buy? by Jack Bol by Lorene Van Horne

What does a WECO 555 Manual PBX As a confidential stenographer in MST&T Traffic weigh? As volunteers Jerry Wild and Jack Engineering, Lorene was famous for her scrapbooks, jokes, and humorous poems. She recently shared this Bol found out, it weighs a lot; about 300 with us. She also shared some great photos of pounds. Jerry and Jack picked up the big smashing her computer and lounging in her recliner, box in Aurora, Colorado, from John McNeely which unfortunately didn’t reproduce well enough to who donated the fully complete PBX to the publish here. Thanks, Lorene! Telecommunications History Group. Loading the PBX into Jerry’s pickup was In Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-six done without effort but un-loading it on a busy I bought my first PC. I had no use or need for it downtown Denver Street wasn’t quite as easy So why did I buy it? Beats me… and required the help of volunteer Dave Felice. Unless it was it intrigued me On entering the THG offices Gerry With all the things it could do. Williams, the security guard at 1425 I bought it and brought it home, Champa, exclaimed “That is a 555 PBX. My But the things it would do for me were few. first job in Saint Louis was an operator on one of those with Blue Cross/Blue Shield in The main and biggest problem was 1972. We had three of them lined up in a All instructions were written in Computerese. row.” And the best part of the job, Jerry That’s the English language recalls, “is that through judicious use of the As interpreted by the Japanese. on/off switch, we could oversee the I have paid out mucho dollars conservations.” In tutoring, programs, up-grades and such, This PBX was built by Western Electric And just where has this gotten me? and was used until the mid-1980s at the Well, I’m not even in touch. Saratoga Hotel in Lampasas, . Of note are the red Honeymoon Buttons” used to Through the years I have fought this. prevent transfers of incoming calls to honey- Everything about it seems perverse, mooning couples, (or others who did not wish But I keep struggling with it. I mutter, bang my to be disturbed). head, and even curse. John worked in Sales & Marketing for . When he overhead the I’ve threatened to use a big hammer And pulverize it to bits, PBX crew talking about what a pain it would But it still is cussed and ignores me be to move and dispose of the board, he And in general gives me fits. offered to take it off their hands, provided they gave him some documentation that he As I’m not making much progress, was getting it legitimately. There isn’t anything left for me to do. It was professionally moved form Austin Either abandon this expensive toy to Denver along with his household goods in Or keep it and continue to fret and stew. 1991, when he transferred to AT&T Bell lags at 120th & Pecos in Denver. It was displayed Since I’m getting nowhere with it, in his home until he donated it to THG last That machine which is so perverse, month. I’ll just repose in my trusty recliner And let things go from bed to verse.

6 Way Back When

100 years ago – 1909 ™ By the end of the year Bell and Bell- connecting telephones numbered 5,883,000. ™ AT&T subscriber stations numbered 5,142,692, connected by nearly 4.5 million miles of wire.

75 Years Ago – 1934 ™ Overseas telephone service was extended to Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, The Tangled Web of Patent Syria and Japan. #174465 ™ The Federal Communications A book review by George W. Howard Commission (FCC) was established to regulate interstate telephone business. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, ™ December 13 -Thomas A. Watson, Bell’s “When first we practice to deceive.” assistant in the invention of the telephone, died at Pass-a-grille, Florida. This quote from Sir Walter Scott informs not only the title for author Russell A. Pizer’s 50 Years Ago – 1959 recent contribution to the history of the ™ The first transmission of motion picture invention of the telephone, but the central film over transatlantic cable was theme of the book. Pizer argues that Bell’s accomplished. It showed the London telephone patent was secured by way of departure of Queen Elizabeth II for deception, and that a search for the truth Canada. takes us through a “tangled web” of facts and ™ introduced two-way mobile their distortion. radio dialing service in Chattanooga, In his newly published volume, The Tennessee. Tangled Web of Patent #1744651 Russell A. ™ The Princess® phone, in white beige, Pizer starts out with a history of the scientific blue, turquoise and – of course – pink, precursors to the telephone, informing us was introduced. about the men who invented machines to carry the human voice over electrical wires, 25 Years Ago – 1984 before ’s publicly- ™ Divestiture and the first year of the post- recognized telephone invention of 1876. The Bell System era… author has painstakingly presented not only ™ 5ESS Remote Switching Module was quotes from old documents, but also very developed by AT&T to bring carefully reproduced the steel engravings that digital switching to rural and suburban accompanied them, and that illustrate his text offices. to a valuable degree. Mr. Pizer has ™ Judge Greene ruled that the RBOCs performed an important office by could enter non-exchange, telephone- republishing, in logical order, evidence of related businesses and new businesses those prior inventions. such as real estate and computer sales. ™ The FCC set a $1 monthly subscriber line charge for residential and single-line 1 (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2009), business telephone customers. ISBN 978-1-4389-8403-2 (187 pp. + 127 pp. of appendices + endnotes and index). 7 Unfortunately for Bell’s reputation, in the validity of Bell’s 1876 patent. However, an process, Mr. Pizer exposes the deception independent view of the matter shows that practiced by Bell, his attorneys, his father-in- the litigation that tested the validity of Bell’s law (), the Bell patent was not thorough. Today, a competent System, and by a modern biographer. The litigator would insist on Bell’s live testimony, result of publishing the same misinformation in court, rather than accepting the written for nearly 133 years is indeed a tangled web, deposition from Alexander Graham Bell that which the author has unraveled to expose the was reportedly used in all the lawsuits. This is truth. especially so since the lawsuit for which the Russell A. Pizer shows us that written deposition was taken turned out to be substantially all the questions about a “friendly” suit between the Bell interests and Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the those of .3 That suit resulted in telephone were explored within the first few a settlement where both parties combined to years after patent number 174,465 was share in the financial rewards of the issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 1876. telephone . Both Bell Telephone That history lies in records and publications Company and Western Union had a heavy that are no longer easily available to the financial incentive to keep alive the notion inquiring academic, let alone the general that Alexander Graham Bell was the first and public.2 The author does us the service of sole inventor of the telephone. restating substantially all the century-plus old An important part of Pizer’s book is a arguments, but with a twist. review of the record from a House of From the historian’s perspective, the Representatives’ investigation that took place material presented by the author shows a large flaw in the historical record. Bell’s 3 Bell Telephone Co., et al. versus supporters (including, primarily, the Bell Peter A. Dowd. In Beginnings of that sought to , by Frederick Leland Rhodes, a career Bell employee, we are informed, monopolize the field not only of telephony, at page 52: “To meet this attack [of but of the history of telephony) crowed that competition] the , Bell’s telephone patent survived around 600 on September 12, 1878, brought suit in patent infringement lawsuits testing the equity in the Circuit Court of the United States, District of Massachusetts, against Peter A. Dowd for infringement of Bell’s patents Nos. 2 Probably the singular and newest 174,465 and 186,787. Dowd was an agent “evidence” concerning Bell’s alleged of the Western Union Company, engaged in borrowing of Gray’s idea for a liquid putting out telephones in Massachusetts. , is to be found in Seth The Western Union Company assumed the Shulman’s The Telephone Gambit: Chasing defense of this suit, and in the course Alexander Graham Bell’s Secret (New of its trial substantially all of the York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008). alleged defenses that were adduced in Shulman discovered that Bell’s notebook subsequent litigation involving the Bell drawing of Bell’s first successful patents were brought out. Among these telephone transmitter was a duplicate of was the claim of priority of invention the drawing offered in Gray’s for Gray, Edison, Dolbear, and others; confidential application for a caveat on the claim that Bell’s telephone, as the telephone. And Shulman noted that described in h is principal patent (U.S. this entry, representing a totally new No. 174,465), was not capable of line of inquiry for Bell, was made upon transmitting articulate speech; and the Bell’s arrival home from a trip to claim that Bell’s invention had been Washington, D.C., where he had visited anticipated in a long list of prior with the Patent Office examiner Zenas publications, including descriptions of Fisk Wilber. a so-called ‘telephone’, devised by Philipp Reis.” 8 in 1886. This investigation arose out of transcript where certain questions were political controversies in connection with the posed to the various witnesses. Historians Rutherford B. Hayes administration’s will be disappointed to learn from this book commencement of a lawsuit to annul the Bell that many of the most important questions telephone patent of 1876. were never asked, and therefore never The record included evidence to the answered. effect that Bell had bribed a Patent Examiner Pizer has compared the commentary to show ’s confidential telephone made by various authorities with the facts as patent caveat to Bell. It was also alleged that found in testimony and legal documents. the Patent Examiner allowed Bell to then Bell’s biographer, Professor Robert V. Bruce, amend his patent application to include the late of Boston University, wrote about Bell’s variable resistance theory, which was the invention of the telephone, and his views theory that proved commercially important. were favorable to Bell. Russell Pizer subjects Moreover, the alleged exposure of Professor Bruce’s comments to comparison confidential information in Gray’s caveat was with the record. Not only has the author supposed to have given Bell enough presented us with the many facts, but he has information to transmit the human voice with analyzed them, and offered criticisms of Gray’s liquid transmitter, and claim the various “authorities” on the subject. discovery as his own. (Bell’s transmission of Russell Pizer has likewise meticulously the human voice did not occur until after the cited his sources of authority for various patent for the telephone had been awarded to statements he makes. The book has a him.) number of appendices that include transcripts Bell’s testimony before the House of testimony, legal documents, related short committee is found in whole in the book. The commentary articles, and reports. This is one author contends that Bell’s testimony was of the rare books that impels the reader to less than a resounding claim by Bell to the actually read the introduction and the invention of the telephone. The author also appendices. This volume has a good index shows Gardiner Greene Hubbard’s testimony too, which is not all that common, on his role in the telephone enterprise, to unfortunately. have been remarkably vague. Hubbard, of For those interested in the history of the course, was Bell’s father-in-law and Bell’s invention of the telephone, this book should business partner, who had political be of great interest. At the very least, it connections in Washington, D.C. It was supplements previous arguments with Hubbard’s political connections, and those of citations, with the full text of relevant the lawyer he chose to prosecute Bell’s documents, and with a reasoned opinion interests at the Patent Office, that probably awarding to the invention of had more to do with the success of Bell’s the telephone. patent application, than possibly any other For those interested in the history of factor. telephony or in the history of science, this Russell Pizer has meticulously listed all book is a valuable addition to the historical the players in the drama, and gives us a record, and is well worth reading. history showing the string of scientists and discoverers who laid the ground work for the This book is available at Barnes and invention. He carefully compares the various Noble and at Amazon.com. Its price varies, claims and exposes the incompetence of but the softcover book is around $20; the both the U.S. courts and the U.S. House of hardcover closer to $28. You can order on- Representatives in adjudicating the sundry line. claims. Historians would like to find a 9

DU ART! PRESENTS THREE VIEWS OF TRUE SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2009 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.

THREE INSTITUTIONS, THREE TOURS AND TALKS

As an illustrator, as a painter, as Colorado’s foremost muralist of his day— The tour will meet at 10:00 a.m. in the lobby of the Allen True set out to capture on paper, Hamilton Building of the Denver Art Museum canvas, and walls the character of a region transforming itself into the modern West. For more information and to RSVP, call (303) 688-4754 or email Join DU Alumni and curators Peter [email protected] Hassrick (Denver Art Museum), Julie Anderies Denver Public Library) and DU ART! supports the School of Art and Art Alisa Zahller (Colorado History History at the University of Denver through Museum) for a guided tour of Allen student scholarships, educational opportunities, True’s West at the Denver Art Museum, and community enrichment. the Denver Public Library and the Colorado History Museum.

DU ART! Members, faculty, $50 General Admission, $60

Tour price includes an afternoon luncheon and building tour at the Mountain States Telephone Company building, where 13 of True’s murals are located. * 10

One of the 13 murals in the 931 14th St. Building.

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