Annandale Telephone
System
The following excerpts are from Memories of Annandale ,
written by Lotus Williams and published in 1983. A
second edition was published by the The
Annandale Advocate in
1987. A copy of
Memories of Annandale is
at the Annandale Public
Library, and copies are for sale at The
Annandale Advocate office. The Annandale Telephone
System section follows the Postal Service section in Chapter 4, Communication.
The invention of the telephone and its widespread use was the next step
in communication. The
citizens of Annandale were
a progressive group and under the leadership of Llewellyn Williams,
decided to establish a telephone system in Annandale and
surrounding areas. Subscribers
in town and along the proposed rural lines were contacted and pledged to
take part. The
number of subscribers on a rural line was limited by the number of
combinations of rings to be devised from a long and a short ring. In
town, a party line had fewer subscribers. Telephones
were long wooden boxes attached to the wall and each contained all the
machinery necessary for a telephone. The
Annandale Telephone System was soon a working system. The
first switchboard was rather small and was placed in the north window
space of the drug store which, at this time, was in the Ridgway Block. Mrs.
Ridgways sister, Miss Ada Ponsford, was the first operator at the first
switchboard. The
telephone became very popular and soon a larger switchboard was needed. It
was not long until it warranted a room by itself and the whole business
was moved to a room upstairs in the Rennie building. L.
R. Williams, who promoted the idea, was the first manager.
The success of the project was assured. Farm
wives, who heretofore had contacted their friends only at church or
communal meetings, had led very lonely lives. Now
they could hear the voices of friends, exchange cooking experiences, ask
advice or aid in emergencies and, time permitting, listen in and acquire
a close touch with local affairs. Conflicts
of interest occasionally arose. As
a result, courtesy rules had to be set up. Anyone
having an emergency could request the use of the line. Differences
as to the importance of the business on hand sometimes arose and tempers
boiled over.
Central was a very important item in the system. Every
subscriber was now assigned a number. If
you wished to call someone who was not on your party line, you called
Central. By
means of the plugs in the switchboard, she would connect your line with
the line which had the number you called for. Her
memory of names and numbers and her courtesy and skill had much to do
with the build-up of a successful company. Another
employee of the Telephone System was the linesman who installed the
lines, poles, and telephones. The
linesman had to be an able electrician.
Mr. Harry Kurz was the second manager of the System. He
held that position many years until ill health made it necessary for him
to retire. A
successor had to be found. Mr.
John Kiehn and his father decided to purchase the System and to put
Johns brother, William, in charge. William was attending
the University of Minnesota at
that time, but he took over at once. He
was an excellent electrician and managed very well. He
was in charge from 1921 until 1946 when he also became ill and could not
continue. At
this time, war conditions made it increasingly hard to obtain wire and
other materials needed to repair or expand. The
Kiehns decided to sell and the Bishop and Heater Investment Company were
the buyers. This
company already owned the telephone
systems of several other small towns nearby. They
reorganized and the Lakedale Telephone System came into being and Mr.
William Saltmarsh was installed as manager.
Lotus Williams (1889-1994), second Mrs. Llewellyn Williams, teacher,
artist, author
Llewellyn Williams (1870-1957) pharmacist, first manager of Annandale
Telephone Systems
Harry Kurz (1881-1938), second manager
William Kiehn (1902-1974), third manager, 1921-1946
[NOTE: Managers
following William Saltmarsh were L. G. ("Bud") Morrow, 1968-1996, and
Gene South, 1996-2008. In 2008 John Bishop sold Lakedale to
Iowa Telecommunications Services.]
