Unusual Things Found in New England Part 4
A Maine Unusual Thing Found Worlds Largest Phone
Do you need to make a phone call? Is your cell phone dead? Well head to Bryant Pond Maine and a memorial to the last hand crank magneto telephone system in the USA. Do you remember Mayberry RFD and Andy or Aunt Bee turning a crank and holding a cup to the ear and leaning forward to talk into a cup sticking out of a box on the wall? That was a hand crank magneto phone.
It was an end of an era when the folks in this area of Maine woke up and now had to dial directly instead of cranking the phone and having the switchboard operator place the call for you. Could you imagine that? (sound of crank turning) Hi Mabel, can you get me jack at the hardware store? Me? Oh I need to see if he has parts for the washer. Oh Jacks out fishing this morning?, I guess I don’t need to call then, Thanks Mabel… Or I imagine something along that line…
Today’s phones are a wonderful part of our lives but did we lose something in all this progress? Yes we have social media and Facebook and Twitter but actually hearing a real person at the end of the line to help out had to be a wonderful thing.
The kids today have enough trouble imagining VHS or CB radios, and this will be just one more thing to fade into history just as Facebook will someday…
If you would like to read more about this little footnote of history, check out the webpage link below for The Bryant Pond switchboard. Michael Hathaway has created this webpage to commemorate the history and friends and family who operated the Bryant Pond Switchboard. https://www.michaelhathaway.com/switchboard.html
You may be asking yourself, How can I find this neato bit of history… Well, I’m glad you asked 🙂 Just head to Southwestern Maine and more exactly, Woodstock Maine. If you follow Route 26 to the town of Woodstock, the memorial will be hard to miss. But just in case, here is a map (how many of us used to pick up paper maps at gas stations and had dozens of maps in the car?)
So there is your “digital” map…
If you missed some of our other “Unusual” things that we have found over the years, here are links to Unusual Things Part 3, and Unusual Things Part 2.
Happy Foliage trails!
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
This time of year, you make my days so much nicer. I love to see what you post and look forward to a day when Covid is gone and we can once again visit the New England autumn foliage without fear. Have a wonderful day. You are appreciated.
Thank you Charlotte, that makes my day.
This time of year, you make my days so much nicer. I love to see what you post and look forward to a day when Covid is gone and we can once again visit the New England autumn foliage without fear. Have a wonderful day. You are appreciated.
Thank you Charlotte, that makes my day.
Love it! We are in NE and will be leaf peeping. Would love your opinion on my itinerary.
Well, you can post it and I will see what it looks like…
Love it! We are in NE and will be leaf peeping. Would love your opinion on my itinerary.
9/22 – 29th Johnson VT
9/29 – 10/6 North Conway NH
10/6-10/10 Woodstock VT
10/10-10/14 Dunstable MA
Decent chance of seeing some pretty colors?
It depends on what we get for temps in Sept but from Johnson, it will probably be the one that I suspect will be some longer days of traveling to Caanan or Jay and Montgomery… to see the fall colors… IF we get cool temps in September then maybe you will see colors earlier but it depends on the next 2-4 weeks. I’m watching the forecasts and reports to see what happens. Conway won’t start really turning till the 6th. So your daily trips will be up Route 16 and 302 to explore the colors.
Woodstock VT should be good by those dates and Dunstable will have some color but will be getting better… depends on drought and storms etc…
Thanks! We are full-time RVers and love the scenic day trips. Crossing our fingers that mother nature behaves. Following all your posts! Thanks for all the great info and pictures.