This is a photo that speaks of the old times. Far Guy and his sister sixty three years ago…
Photo taken in 1952
Awww isn’t he cute? Behind the cute smile lurks a very active boy who would be harnessed to the clothes line…but would learn to unhook himself and go play with neighbor kids and then go back home and hook himself back up again just like nothing happened.
They are sitting in a big old chair ( he thinks the chair was dark green) right where the television would have a permanent spot for years and years. In 1952 there was no television in the house or it was in a different spot. You can see the doorbell chimes…not that anyone ever used the door bell. Eventually the back door bell would stop working and no one ever used the front door.
To the right is the coat closet that was kitty corner to the front door that no one ever used.
In the hall off to the left there is a small table that sits right below the telephone. The phone number back then was 261J. About that same time my phone number was 12F120…country numbers must have been longer than city numbers.
Did you have one of those old phone numbers? Do you remember what it was?
Cute picture. I wish I could remember what my old number was, but I was a city girl and it was longer. i think it started with some letters followed by 5 numbers. And why was it that no one ever used the front door? I think we even had some piece of furniture in front of ours as no one ever used it.
ReplyDeleteWhen you asked that question, some old memory banks fired up, but they came up with nothing. I guess it's because we moved so much. I love that story of Far Guy's antics with the clothesline. :-)
ReplyDeleteThemphoto brought back memories, Connie, as growing up we also had a large armchair that was in front of a clock with large doorchimes that worked for the front door, which no one ever used. Our home phone number was memorized with letters for the first couple of numbers, then later went to all numbers...it started out as PL4 later changed to 754. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteI remember when to call my dad at his office in the early 50's you just dialled '4'.
ReplyDeleteWe did have one of the old phone numbers and I do remember what it was. We use it and our dad's CB radio call number as trivia questions between siblings from time to time. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota and our number had seven characters, letters and numbers mixed. The clothesline trick was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteBack in the file cabinet of my brain, I found my old number...it was 3 longs and 3 shorts, or dial the operator and ask for someone to be connected just a bit further out in the country. Far Guy looks delightful in that picture. So cute.
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny about Far Guy being hooked to the clothesline. I was ten in 1952. There were 4 digits in our phone number but I don't remember them. We lived in town then.
ReplyDeleteMorning, that is one sweet picture, I love seeing old black and white family pictures. Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeleteFar Guy was a cutie. I don't think we had a phone until 1963, and the number was 531-5652. I had to write that down because I'm amazed that it came to me when I needed it:)
ReplyDeleteWe always give my grandma a hard time because she used to tie my Aunt Donna to the clothes line- I always thought she was the only one! But someone else was a runner, too, apparently!
ReplyDeleteI'm too young for the phone line thing, but I like reading about it.
What a cute picture! I remember all of my phone numbers, but they were always the two-letter one number exchange with four numbers after. HAddonfield 9, changed to HAzel 9; then LIncoln 7; ULysses 4, then all numbers. Funny how we remember that!
ReplyDeleteFar Guy looks so COOL in that picture a couple of days ago. Have you started to negotiate the quagmire that is Part D of Medicare? Good luck with that. I could rant on Part D for a while but won't. I grew up in Los Angeles, so we always had long phone numbers, but in the beginning, there were letter prefixes for two of the numbers and ours was "DA" for "Davis". When we first moved here and for quite a few years after (until 911 came in) , it was only necessary dial the last four numbers -- even now when I provide our land line phone number I usually just say the last four digits.
ReplyDeleteHe gets to skip Part D because Prescriptions are covered under our Health Insurance which hopefully will stay in effect:) Maybe...you never know.
DeleteYes I remember... Amazing .....our number was 196W and my Grandma's was 62R!
ReplyDeleteWow that came back quickly but half the time I can't remember where I put my glasses!
Thanks for the memories!
The farm telephone number was P-2593. We were on a five party line, and our "ring tone" was four shorts. Ah the days of counting ring tones and having people listen in or pick up the phone multiple times during a call.
ReplyDeleteFireside 99 FS99 I can't believe that I remembered that. Lightning would strike the house and they would come and replace two long fuses and we could call out again. Not very far, did we call, anywhere maybe two different neighboring towns.
ReplyDeleteThe old time photo has lots of sparkle in it. The dancing eyes of Far guy show that he was pretty energetic. He was thinking ahead as to what he could get into next.
ReplyDeleteLove the old photo! A couple of cute kids!
ReplyDeleteOur first number in 1943 was 5555 W. We got off the party line because of a rude lady (!) and got 5585.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to Russell, KS, we had 1639 J, 1014 Y and the airport was 1140. I worked at the phone company there and the little pins around the spots where we placed the plugs were color coded: J was red; Y was white. Corresponding buttons on the console rang that number on the party line. Good old days! The country lines had metal drops and when there was lightning, they all dropped at once. We had a dry paint brush to push them back up.
What adorable clean cut kids we all were!
ReplyDeleteWe had a party line and the prefix was Emerson, and I just know the number is going to pop into my mind as I think about it, but it's not there now. We were tied to the clothesline, too. There were lots of fields to fun into and disappear. Great memories!
ReplyDeleteCute shot!
ReplyDeleteSUnset-8-2295. OMG! Where did that come from? LOL! (Twin Cities--Mpls suburb.)
ReplyDeleteWhat cute kids. I can picture FarGuy unhooking himself and sneaking back to re-hook--LOL! My sister had a harness my mom used when she went shopping with three kids and she sometimes tied Renee's leash to the couch leg when she was getting into everything as toddlers do. Seems barbaric now, but it wasn't uncommon back then.
Both of them are darling! What a little stinker Far Guy was...you'd never guess it by that sweet angelic face but I'm sure he kept his mother hopping! I remember those chairs and I wish I had a few now! But they did have a scratchy upholstery on them. Girls in dresses would remember that part.
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