Every town has a story. This story is about Erie, Colorado. I am not one of the first to write about the small village of the past. Erie has a rich history, which several excellent writers have documented. Some have published books, while others just wanted to capture the past in writing. My story concerns a significant business overlooked. To my knowledge, every history author who has written about Erie has missed the town’s heartbeat. My story addresses one of the businesses, a vital service dedicated to Erie’s residents. This community service never slept. It was always working, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This included rain, snow, fire, medical emergencies, crime, war, and other tragedies.
Most people have yet to learn what I’m writing about, which is a daily life necessity that is taken for granted. This statement was even more so in the early years of the telephone.
HISTORY
The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) operated under several regional names. The name of the company in the Colorado area was Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company (MST&T Co) or the Bell System. It was founded in Denver, Colorado, in 1911. MST&T was a telephone company that serviced Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. There were several telephone districts in Colorado. This story is about the telephone office in Erie, Colorado, managed by Marguerite Holloway. Erie was in the center of five service districts. They were Longmont, Boulder, Lafayette, Westminster, and Erie. AT&T in Denver was the parent company. The Erie telephone office was also known as the Erie Exchange.
The regional district offices handled all maintenance services. Each region had a construction service, line service, and customer office building (a local house/home). The districts had a superintendent. He was responsible for everything in his jurisdiction, including all services and employee relations. To the Erie Exchange telephone employees, this man was the “BOSS.”
In 1955, the system was upgraded from the magneto/battery systems to the newer dial systems. The MST&T Co. was changing fast and realigning districts. Colorado was behind in its upgrading. AT&T had installed dial systems in cities on the East and West coast, including their rural areas, in the late ’40s.
Rural Colorado was late in advancing telephone technology. Most of Colorado’s towns still had magneto telephones, dating back to the 1930s. The rural towns had telephone offices, just like Erie. The magneto system functioned off the magnetoelectric generating system and dry cell batteries. The magneto was a hand-cranked alternator. It was used to generate currents. The currents sent an electrical impulse through the phone line to and from the office to homes. Magneto telephones used low current AC electricity.
ERIE TELEPHONE OFFICE
The history of the Erie Exchange telephone office is a mystery. I once read that Erie had a telephone system in 1906. This date seems too early, mainly because MST&T Co. was not established until 1911. One or two independent telephone companies might have operated in the Erie area. However, that is most unlikely. The Colorado Telephone Company (1881-1911) was the first of two companies in Denver; it only serviced a small city area. The second company, Rocky Mountain Telephone Company (1880-1911), serviced Colorado and Utah. MST&T Co. purchased both in 1911.
Erie’s first telephone system and office were most likely established around 1920. The rural telephone offices all had a lady manager. Most of the managers were single women who lived in the houses provided by the phone company. The first dedicated telephone office was in a home at the southeast corner of Pierce St. and Moffat St. The house had a designated room. The front living room was converted into an office. The office usually consisted of two or three switchboards. Behind the switchboard was a fuse board (upright metal structure). There was also a manager’s desk. Located nearby, one would find many batteries for backup power for the system. One round dry battery was about 7″ high and 3″ in diameter. About thirty of these batteries were connected in a series to supply emergency power.
Erie’s telephone office was on Pierce St. (west side), three houses south of Moffat St. A large rectangular sign was at the curb in front of the Erie Office. It read, “TELEPHONE,” with the famous round MOUNTAIN BELL SYSTEM trademark. The sign was about 10′ high on an 8” steel pole. It seemed that this trademark was on everything in and around the office. (The house no longer exists; it has been replaced with a mobile home.)
The phone office usually had a fold-up bed for the night operators to sleep. The Erie office had a high counter separating the walk-in customers from the office business area. Most offices had a phone booth placed in a corner.
The telephone office space was a business environment where people could pay their monthly bills, visit, and call from the phone booth. In the house, the phone booth was free for local calls but restricted to 3 minutes. And those who took advantage were denied further use. I remember salespeople using the phone booth. Their conversations were long, but they were charged for phone time and long-distance fees.
During her shift, the telephone operator would sit on a high swivel chair at the switchboard. The switchboard was an oak wood-finished upright cabinet-type structure (24″W x 18″D x 6’H) containing lots of wiring and electronics. About halfway up the switchboard, on the front side where the operator would sit, was a desk-like surface protruding about 18.
This desk-like shelf had numerous toggle switches and plugs connected to long cords (wires) in geometric rows. These cords were very long and dangled down inside the lower front half of the switchboard cabinet. The long electric cables went around a weight that pulled the cord back to the switchboard top when not in use. Each cord had an insertion plug attached to connect two or more customers.
At eye level were small flap doors that designated the customer or party line phone number. When a customer cranked the magneto handle at his location, an electrical impulse caused a hinged flap to drop in the office. This would reveal the caller’s identification (phone number). Each incoming line had an identification flap and a female receptacle under it. Two customers would be connected by inserting the plugs attached to the cords. The switchboard’s backside was finished cabinetry, stained dark brown.
Only four women were known to have held office manager positions from 1920 through 1955. The first on record was Mable Drinkwater, the second was Mrs. Larsen, and the third was Anita Richardson. In 1944, Marguerite Holloway took the management job at the Erie office. The office manager managed the office, including billing, employee scheduling, and customer service. She also took care of retrieving money from the town’s pay phone. Her additional responsibility was emergency control.
The Erie telephone office was female-operated. Three shifts: morning, afternoon, and during the night. The manager was always present, 24 hours a day. Except for the public schools, the Erie telephone office was the largest feminine employer in town. The employee roster was three daily members, a weekend operator, and one standby to cover when needed. A night operator was available through the night. She slept on a roll-a-way bed. When a call came in, a buzzer was set off to awaken her. Most of the night operators were high school girls.
(Considering inflation and using a national calculator, 1950 US $1.00 equals $12.73 in today’s money. A telephone residence monthly bill was approximately $4.00, or $52.00 in today’s money.)
NUMBER PLEASE
In the days long past, the first thing one would hear when making a telephone call was the operator saying, “NUMBER, PLEASE.” The phone operator used this phrase to notify you of her presence and connect you with another customer.
Wherever possible, the company offered service options. Party lines consisted of several customers on one line, a private line, and a private payphone line. There were four types of telephones: the standard desk style, an upright two-piece, a mounted business phone, and a wall mounted pay phone.
Private lines were expensive and hard to purchase due to limited cable availability. The businesses and several residents all had private lines. Pay phones were the most profitable; customers paid for the private line service by the minute. 5 A line is a wire cable attached to a pole. Lines ran down the alleys in town and alongside rural roads. Most rural lines were party lines. Erie customers could not make calls outside the exchange without going through the telephone office. The operator made arrangements for an outside call (known as long distance). The operator contacted Denver using a dial apparatus on the switchboard. The call is timed, and charges are added to a monthly bill.
(Simplified Example: Erie operator dials Denver long-distance department. Denver dials the location (today’s area code). The location operator contacts the local customer. The three offices then connect.)
In a small town, many people do multiple tasks to serve the community. The storekeepers were volunteer firefighters. The local police officer also performs street maintenance. The town mayor was a drug store owner, and a gas station owner was the town electrician. The telephone office was no stranger to serving the public either. The telephone manager took the responsibility for handling communications in almost all emergencies. This task was usually not performed by a switchboard operator.
COAL MINING EMERGENCIES
In a mining town, work emergencies were frequent. It was common to have explosions or cave ins at any of the several nearby mines. During an emergency, the mining representative would notify the phone office. They would ask that ambulances and doctors be sent to the location of the tragedy. The Erie manager would call the doctors if available. Next, she would call for ambulances from Boulder or Longmont. The local police officer and the Colorado State Patrol will be notified.
After the initial excitement settled, victims’ names were shared with the phone office. If a miner were injured, the operator would call their family. If they didn’t have a phone, a message was sent. The operator would only inform where the miner was taken. Unfortunately, the news seemed to get out, and the switchboard became very busy. It appeared customers were calling each other. The operators were strictly forbidden to give out information when the incident occurred. Well, so much for rules; everyone has a friend.
FIRE EMERGENCIES
The Erie Fire Department consisted of all volunteers, with a chief in charge. The fire truck was parked in a space provided at the town hall. The town hall has a big room, an office, storage, jail cells, and a fire truck garage. Most firefighters were young men; some were still in high school. The school would allow them to leave to fight fires. I am not sure how the chief was chosen, but occasionally, the fire chief had prior experience.
During a fire emergency, operators contacted volunteer firefighters from a list. The fire chief gave the list. First to be called were the fire chief and then the town sheriff. They called in the order the names were listed. If no one answered, the operator went on to the next person. The phone operator would tell them the location of the fire. The volunteers who got the message would go either to the firehouse (Town Hall) or the fire location. Again, in a short time, the switchboard was busy with calls from residents who wanted to know where the fire was.
A new fire emergency system was implemented some years later (around 1950). The city had upgraded its equipment with war surplus items. The town had a new war surplus fire truck with firefighting gear. Another major change was installing a very large Second World War II air raid siren. This siren was installed at the top of a 30-foot tower that looked like an oil rig. This siren was triggered for fire and other emergencies requiring people’s assistance. The idea was that with the loud siren sounding, everyone in town could hear the blast. Those on call would rush to the town hall to serve and protect. Unfortunately, the siren only worsened things for the phone office. The inquisitive callers swamped the switchboard.
The town board chose the telephone office to activate the siren. The regional telephone manager allowed the connection from the switchboard to the siren. The red toggle switch on the switchboard triggered a siren nearby. When this red toggle switch was pulled back, the siren would sound
The town had the brilliant idea of using different impulses (sounds) for emergencies. I only remember two, but long, continual sounds were fires. Three short impulses were to get the local police officer to call the telephone office. Of course, the telephone office would send out the bursts. Everyone in town heard this huge and loud siren; they all called to find out what was happening. As always, in any emergency, the switchboard was swamped.
MEDICAL EMERGENCIES
Most medical emergencies were mining accidents. Other emergencies in town included injuries and sickness to the townspeople and, on rare occasions, an automobile accident.
The operators frequently could not find available doctors. The operator would contact the upset customer to check if an ambulance was needed. In the case of an auto accident, the police would request an ambulance. Usually, in the case of death, the doctor or the local sheriff requested mortuary service. The telephone office had taken the burden of resolving the issue.
The patrons frequently called the office, expecting operators to help with emergencies. If a local doctor was unavailable, the caller was given suggestions of doctors nearby. The Erie office had a list of emergency contacts in the local area. The telephone operator did not decide with doctors, only connecting them. Requesting an ambulance was also handled the same way. In the 50s, Erie occasionally had a doctor, but only briefly. It seemed that a doctor would leave town shortly after establishing an office. Doctors could not make a living when townspeople did not pay bills. Often, they wanted to settle their accounts with trade, chickens, or beef.
POLICE ISSUES
Police assistance for disturbances was frequent on Friday and Saturday nights. Many coal miners drank themselves stupid, were rough and tough, and loved to fight. A Mexican bar often drew a lot of attention. It seemed, with a few drinks, the macho guys fluffed up their feathers and attacked each other. Most of the fights were on the street or out behind the bar. Usually, the bar owners were tough and threw them out on the streets. On one occasion, I recall the town sheriff shooting a violent man at the Mexican bar. A friend who was present (witness) said he shot the man twice and then said, “Stop, or I will shoot.”
Erie had one sheriff. He brought in a deputy (supposedly sworn in) to assist on weekends. The goal? Taming rowdy downtown bars.
In the days before radio communications, locating a law officer was much more difficult. The bar owner would call the phone office, and the operator would try to find the sheriff to handle the situation. Finding the local cop on weekends was a challenge. The operator often had to call several bars to locate the policeman on duty. The police were patrolling the streets and bars. Many bars had payphones, and often, a drunk would answer, making communication extremely difficult.
During my years living in Erie, there were deaths because of fighting. The death investigation was resolved quickly. When violence leads to death, the sheriff notified the Weld County sheriff. The telephone operator made the calls to connect with the county. The Colorado State Patrol was also notified.
I do not believe murder or death was ever investigated thoroughly. I never knew any major crime that was processed or placed into the court system. Most questionable deaths were deemed a suicide or self-defense, making life simpler.
Occasional business robberies or break-ins have occurred. Thieves usually broke into a business through back doors at night. The crooks usually get away with little-value merchandise.
During our years in Erie, I had only known of a one-armed robbery. The most exciting was the day of the robbery at the Erie Bank. Two hoodlums, one with a handgun, walked into the bank and demanded money. The teller refused and told them to get out. While commencing the robbery, the bank manager, from his office, called the telephone office. The local town cop could not be located.
The bank clerk gave them very little money from the cash drawer. Meanwhile, the two offenders ran out of the bank. Unfortunately for them, the car would not start. The driver pushed from his open door, the other behind the car. The car started, and they hurriedly drove off. The banditos seemed to have gotten away until they lost control of their car north of town, ending in the ditch gutter. A little late, but the sheriff was on the scene with another man assisting him. Captured the two and taken to jail. A short time later, hauled away.
ILLEGAL EAVESDROPPING
Today, authorities use advanced systems to listen in on suspicious conversations, employ wiretapping, and use other methods of surveillance. It was easy to eavesdrop at the switchboard, and opening the line to hear the customer’s conversation in the Magneto system was easy.
Customers on a party line could chat without office involvement. They would only need to make time arrangements between themselves. Another person on the party line could eavesdrop simply by picking up their phone and listening. No one else could use their phones when the party line was tied up. Telephone operators were trained to watch talking abusers. If the line was occupied too long, the operator had to shut down the loquacious person. The operator informed them they were going to be disconnected. The toggle switch linked the two customers. Then, the plug disconnected them. Often, the telephone office was not aware until complaints were made. After getting a complaint, the operator often checks the line to stop abuse and fix the issue.
Well, in Erie, from time to time, some of the snooping operators compromised confidential information. Listing in was a termination offense. The operator preyed upon unaware victims. Most of the town’s gossip possibly originated at the telephone office. Opening the line, a switchboard operator eavesdropped on private conversations. They often shared private chats with others. The Erie manager faced many issues with eavesdropping. Private and personal information was leaking from the phone office. Gossip spread like wildfire, passed on to a friend, hurting innocent individuals. Often, eavesdropping information was extremely personal. The leaked data revealed gossip about troublemakers, town romancers, and teenage affairs. Private school information also spread quickly.
A noteworthy eavesdrop occurred when a United Miners Union official had a serious chat with another person. The conversation named several workers who were opposed to an up-andcoming election. When this eavesdropping was repeated, it caused grave problems for several miners. During another illegal chat, a girl confided to a friend she might be expecting. The news spread like wildfire through the town. The girl’s family was not aware until they heard the gossip. Eavesdropping reveals private details, leading to two ladies losing jobs. One lady had been warned several times about listening in; she had spent 16 years with the phone company.
WESTERN UNION IN ERIE
Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company had an agreement with Western Union to transmit messages. Often, messages were read to a customer over the phone by someone in a Western Union office. Western Union also dictated a telegram to the Erie office manager. If the message was for an Erie resident without a phone, it was transcribed on a Western Union form. In this incident, the message had to be hand-delivered to the addressee. Someone with an automobile would deliver the message if it seemed important. The less important messages were delivered by bicycle.
During the Second World War, receiving a soldier’s seriously wounded notice or death message by telegram was not unusual. The phone office would locate the sheriff or the Mayor to deliver it. My brother and I often delivered written telegram messages to the addressee. We were bike messengers, and we were paid 5¢ or 10¢.
NATIONAL AND LOCAL NEWS: town’s heartbeat.
Erie lost its local newspaper (The Erie Harold) around 1949. Located on the west side of Briggs St., the news stories were mainly about Erie and the surrounding towns. The Red & White grocery store previously occupied the newspaper building. The grade school took our class on a field trip to see how newspapers were printed. I remember an elderly man setting lead-type plates into a wooden frame. He then transferred them to his press.
Erie news comes from radio, The Denver Post, and Rocky Mountain News. Newspapers were delivered by boys on bikes. I’m not sure how many had radios or bought newspapers. It’s likely less than half of the town’s people.
The whole nation was shocked by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945. The switchboard operators were swamped with the news.
The end of the Second World War was another newsworthy message: It was a very exciting time. Again, the news was spread by the telephone office. The town fire truck went up and down the streets, blowing the siren. The kids could climb aboard and ride while the firefighter was driving. The fire truck drove to Lafayette, three miles away, thrilling the local kids.
During town events, people expected the phone office to know the details.
In 1947, a prison escape occurred at Canyon City State Prison. Twelve inmates broke free in a heavy snowstorm, making it tough for authorities to catch them. Fright hit the whole state, and Erie was no exception. It appeared several residents felt the escapees were in our little town. False sightings were being reported to the telephone office.
In 1955, United Airlines. Flt. 629, crash north of Erie. The Fredrick Fire Department, a volunteer group, asked the Erie Fire Department for assistance. They asked for help with what they thought was a large farm fire northwest of their town. The Erie office manager called the local fire chief and passed on the request. A homemade bomb had exploded while United Airlines was in flight. John P. Graham planned the crash for insurance money.
ADVERSE WEATHER
The 1948 blizzard was a record snowstorm. The telephone office was swamped with calls. As the blizzard got worse, phone lines were severed and downed. The snow just kept coming. The telephone office had a drift covering one side of the house. The town was cut off from the outside traffic for several days. The phone operators called the elderly to make sure they were alright. Schools were closed for several days.
Other snowstorms created havoc with the community. The superintendent phoned the office manager about closing the school, and the operator informed farm families about bus route changes.
REA: Package delivery
The Burlington and Union Pacific used the Railway Express Agency (REA) to ship goods to Erie. The merchandise was delivered to the Erie train depot on the south end of town. The train station attendant would notify the phone office to have the customer pick up the item.
AN ERA ENDS: ERIE GOES DIAL
Marguerite Holloway, the Telephone Office Manager, was aware that her job would end. The town’s transition to the dial system would signal her termination.
After upgrading from magneto to dial systems, the company would no longer need an office. The surrounding cities around Erie all used magneto phones. Progress was slow through the mountain states along the Rocky Mountains. Elsewhere, the entire nation was using dial. By 1953, the progress towards Erie changing over to dial was real. Early in 1954, schedules were set to phase out the old magneto system. The switch over to dial took place in the late spring of 1955. The transfer required a new building across the alley behind the telephone office. The building was about 40′ x 40′ square, with no windows. Western Electric installed all technical mechanical equipment in the new building.
The overhead phone lines in the alley and poles had to be replaced. Phone technicians installed new dial phones in customers’ homes. They placed a new dial phone alongside the old magneto. The dial phone would not work until the final switchover was made on the designated day. There was no visible change in the Erie Telephone Office. Everything would continue as always until the crossover day. The upgrade construction did not interfere with daily business. The new building required no personnel. Erie would no longer need telephone operators.
AN END
The telephone office was the official community center for over 40 years. Life was changed forever in a small town in one day. An era had ended.
Erie would now be without a telephone office of any type. No more personal help or community services would be possible. The town was now forced into developing new emergency systems. The previously dependable and convenient information center was now gone.
(I have written this history with first-hand knowledge and experience. The things written are as I was told in interviews or as known facts.
From 1944 to 1955, Marguerite Holloway, the Erie Exchange manager, along with her two sons, Jean and I, resided in the Erie Mountain Bell system. Our home was in their house. Living under the Bell forever influenced our lives. Through these years, the phone company significantly impacted the three of us. I can only remember positive relations with the telephone company. We had all gained very close friends over the years.
After leaving Erie, my mother was transferred to the Broomfield telephone office. The Broomfield was also scheduled to change over to dial within two years. The company needed her experience during the crossover construction. Mountain Bell had plans to use her again in Baily, 11 Co., another crossover. Marguerite reclined. When Broomfield crossover was completed, Marguerite transferred to the AT&T office in Denver. Upon her retirement, Marguerite had worked for the telephone company for 25 years.)
**The photographs are intended only to help you understand the story. They have been taken off the internet, copyright-free photos.
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