ALpine 1- 8186. That was our phone number when we moved from Chicago to the suburbs. I was five years old and I clearly remember the day when our telephone was installed.
It was beige and mounted on the wall in our kitchen. And back in those early Alexander Graham Bell days, our phone didn’t have a dial. When you wanted to place a call, you had to pick up the receiver and tell the operator what number you wanted. Just like on Lassie.
That mandatory operator assistance didn’t last very long. Soon the Roffe family was upgraded to beta- the dial phone. And with that dial came another fabulous technological innovation- the extension. My parent’s upstairs bedroom nightstand now sported a beige phone, too.
And shortly thereafter, I began calling.
If I had to guess, I’d say the first exchange I ever dialed was LIncoln-9. My grandparents were city-dwellers and something tells me I probably called my grandmother.
Then came ORchard-5. My Aunt Anita and Uncle Herbie lived in Skokie and I’m sure that I needed to talk to Cousin Joanie about something vitally important every week. (Even though my mother’s family got together every Sunday without fail for dinner and cards.)
Throughout grammar school, ALpine was my go to exchange. I only knew kids who went to my school and were in bike-riding distance, and so it was the only one I ever needed.
But when I entered New Trier, my exchange world grew. Now I added VErnon-5 and HIllcrest-6 to the roster because I had new friends in far-off Glencoe and neighboring (but an affluent world away) Winnetka.
I never did learn the exchange for Kenilworth, Evanston, or heaven forbid, Highland Park. Back in the day, no self-respecting Trevian bothered to speak with kids from other high schools. Why would we? We were the BEST!
(A brief timeout here while Bernie Kerman rises to the occasion and defends the honor of his beloved South Shore High.)
Okay. Back to the post…
By this time, I had an extension in my bedroom, too. With a real long cord. That was the apex of cool until the next iteration- my very own private phone number.
From the minute I discovered boys (and vice versa) and had to discuss the various charms of Billy, Steve, Ribs, Ricky, Jimmy, Steve, Steve, John, Jesse, Phil et al with Peggy, Patty, Nancy, Betty, Patti, Barb, Linda, Kim, Kathy, Cathy and Kathi, Alpine 1-8186 rang off the hook.
Driving my parents to distraction. And thus, somewhere in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years, they caved and bought me a powder blue Princess telephone of my very own.
I don’t remember the phone number. Why should I? I never called myself.
And for that matter, I never called boys, either. 1960’s etiquette was strict on that matter. Girls never called boys back then. Period.
(I don’t know where or when that rule got started, but even today I still stand by it. I never contact a guy first. If he’s interested, let him get a hold of me.)
And that leads me to Bill- and his car phone. In 1975 this was a very big deal. Only hotshot businessmen had them and I was impressed.
(No one ever said I was deep, did they?)
We joined area codes in 1976 and we were a one car-phone family until 1988. Then a fire in our house uprooted us, and suddenly it was necessary that I get one, too. I remember Bill fretting that I would run up a big bill on the thing and cautioning me sternly about “over use.”
He needn’t have worried because I thought I had figured out a way to beat the system. The first month I had my car phone, I made all my friends call me. I honestly thought that if I didn’t initiate the call, I wouldn’t be charged for the minutes.
That misconception stood until I got the first car phone bill. Oops.
And then came cell phones.
I think I got my first one in 1996. I don’t remember too much about it. I hardly ever used it. Big, clunky, awkward. When it died, I donated it to some battered woman’s shelter or something.
I do remember my very next one, though. A state-of-the-art Nokia with wallpaper and songs and alarm clock, and the date- and texting capabilities.
Ah, texting. How awesome was this little innovation? All you had to do was hit the letter/number keys painstakingly about a thousand times and you could write” HOw r u? i am in hAwaIi!” And it only took an hour.
This was rad.
Could anything be cooler than this? I just couldn’t imagine how phones could ever get any better.
Enter the iPhone.
The phone to end all phones.
I moved into my new apartment this last September, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t even bother with a land line. Why? And I really don’t miss the ugly phones taking up precious bedside table space. Now my nightstands are laden with flowers and books.
I don’t miss the old-fashioned telephone at all. I’m much too busy texting and emailing, checking Twitter, answering your comments, taking pictures, looking up directions, scoping out new recipes, using the flashlight, checking my bank balance, using the calculator, reading on Kindle, checking restaurant reviews on Yelp, ordering food on GrubHub, looking at my kids’ vacay photos on Instagram, paging Uber, reading theater reviews and listening to Spotify.
I mean, nowadays, why would anyone ever call me on a phone?
You did know the Evanston exchange. It was Union as in Union 9-2800 The Spot. Called almost every Saturday night for a pizza delivery.
I hate to be technical but YOU did the calling. Just ask the manager who put you on the black list when you see him this week! (But you’re right.)
My grandmother’s phone was Hyde Park 3793. Our Fullerton Pkwy was Lincoln 5212. In Charlevoix it was merely 216. We will always have a Land Line and Cells.
Herbie
Thanks for this stroll down memory lane, exchange-wise. And of course you will. You’re classical old school. Hope to see you at something soon. Love to Sally.
I honestly don’t remember my phone number when I went to NT, but I do remember the first phone bill my senior year when I would pick up the phone with no regard and call my Northbrook girlfriend. I would soon learn from my Dad that calling Northbrook was a toll call which I might as well been calling St. Louis…of course I had to pay my share of the bill out of my huge salary that I made at the A&P working after school. Phone life was so unfair!
I got a reverse-the-charges collect call in Florida from my friend Steve in Winter Park, Colorado on a New Trier ski trip. My father hit the ceiling! I know just how you felt. Thanks, Steve.
Having breakfast this morning in Beverly Hills talking about the evolution of phones. Seems like there is a slowly growing trend for many to also get a landline once again. They are frustrated with dropped calls (can you hear me now) and the landline ties in with the buzzer at the front door if they live in a condo building. “What goes around – comes around.”
Nope not me. Land lines look too old school. Besides why talk if you can text?
Without critiquing too much doesn’t the comment “why talk when you can text” say a lot about how the next generation will be at a disadvantage when it comes to societal interactions? And when is something designated as “old school” (with a negative vib) versus vintage (which has a positive spin to it)?
I have to think about all this. I’ll call you. I think my phone has that capability but I’ve never used that function.
I loved the old exchanges. My grandparents number on the near north side was DElaware 7-0528. My great grandmother’s exchange on East Lake Shore Drive was SUperior 7. And my parents number in Winnetka was HIllcrest 6(not Highcrest).
I guess that couldn’t happen today with cell phone numbers not tied to geographical location. But it was an easier way to remember numbers. Maybe corporations could start sponsoring phone numbers, like ALlstate 6-3224 or MCdonalds 7-0542.
You’re a lifesaver, Pete. I simply couldn’t remember if it was “Highcrest” or “Hillcrest” and I didn’t want to ask because I never like to give any hints to upcoming posts. I’ve already corrected it in the post and thank you! And I like your phone sponsorship idea. It could catch on. Mine would be SUperdawg-1-1000.
One thing at a time:
1.Yes….South Shore was, in fact, ranked higher than any suburban school back in the 50’s.
2. How many remember pay phones IN YOUR HOUSE, back in the early 50’s? I do!! (It was a nickel).
3. I don’t text, tweet, Linkedin, facebook, etc. I don’t know how and have no desire to!
4. I was the last person on earth to go from analogue to digital on my cell…..The truth!!
5. Any fire or police dept will tell you NOT to give up your land line. In an emergency in your home, they know EXACTLY where the call is coming from. We still have ours.
6. See, you can still be a good person with proper social skills and be successful without a “smart phone”, ipad, iphone or whatever the hell else is out there.
7. It’s been a pleasure “talking” to all of you this morning. I’m off to the office……
I knew I could count on you! Kenny said yesterday, “Have you heard from Bernie yet?” He knows his Ojibwa brethren. Thanks, as always, BK. And if there’s ever an emergency, I’ll call you!
South Shore- Paxton 5-0555
Glencoe- Vernon 5-0321
Glencoe ( listed as child’s phone ): Vernon 5-4321
Denver (1st apt. in college) 303-777-7777
My dad was into the easiest numbers to remember & I followed suit until college when I learned about getting a phone number that spelled out something in keypad letters. My final college number in Denver:
733-3377- can anyone figure out what word I passed out in 1971 as my phone number?
BTW, current hard line in our condo ends in “view”
Fun blog Ellen.
Thanks, Gary. And thanks for all the cool info.
Would Gary’s word be Reefers?
Let’s find out, shall we? I’ll email him now. Btw, I bet you’re right on, bro.
Right on…it was 1971… you must have been straight to get that Mark. Nice!
Way to go, Mark! Thanks, guys.
Let’s see i would have been in 7th grade. I just listened to what Officer Friendly was feeding us back then…
You’re a good puzzle-solver and Gary was impressed. (Me, too.) Officer Friendly would be proud.