Post 2: Response to Telephone Museum visit

Strolling through the Frank H. Woods Telephone Pioneer Museum is literally like taking a walk through time. The museum tells the story of the evolution of the telephone, and more specifically the evolution of the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company. For the average history nut, gadget fiend, or even curious explorer, wandering through and gazing at generations of telephones is a thrill. However, the true enjoyment, which I enjoyed, came from the stories others told while we were in the museum. As we wandered through the room of the museum portraying an old fashioned switchboard operating system I fell into conversation with a middle to elderly aged man, my guess is mid 60’s, touring the museum with his wife. It was neat to see his eyes rived to the systems as he told stories of how as a youth, he was told that the old community lines were a source of sharp gossip, and enriched entertainment. He described the thrill that one felt from eavesdropping on another party’s conversation. “The Trick” he said, “was not to let the other parties hear the click as you picked up or replaced the receiver. He explained how the tell tale click was the sign that someone was listening in on your conversation and how more than once he was told off by an angry neighbor as he was discovered listening in on a conversation.
I went to this museum with my roommate and my boyfriend and each of us enjoyed telling the tales of each phone we remembered. My boyfriend recalled how his relatives in cattle country still rely on the 80’s bag phones for communication out in the fields, and how these now out of date communication devices still provide the clearest signal. My roommate fell into a long conversation with the museum curator about the glass insulators that were used on the original phone lines. The curator explained to her how they worked, and she talked about how her grandparents had a couple of these artifacts sitting in their living room, and of how she had always wondered what function they had. As for myself, I fell mesmerized with the simple old version of the rotary dial telephone. It reminded me of the telephone my grandmother used to have in her house. I remembered playing with the circular dial style for hours, and at the marvel of how much different Grandma’s telephone was from our more modern one. All three of us exclaimed at the Mickey Mouse and light up telephones and were captivated for hours by the old dial boards used by operators.
After we departed the museum all three of us jabbered about how cool the museum and about how much that we had learned. However, later I realized that it was as much the stories, and the displays that had intrigued us. I think it is safe to say that none of us actually read all the boards and complex descriptions. We learned through the stories shared to us through each other, and the random strangers we encountered that day. I will admit that when I left for the museum I was dreading having to wander through it. Also I think it would be foolish of me to pretend that I didn’t drag both my comrades with me on this outing, although I believe that both of them enjoyed themselves. It is amazing how much is out there that we never experience. Never in a million years would I have gone to the telephone museum, or perhaps even known of its existence. But now I do know that the Frank H. Woods Telephone Museum exists; and I think that it is safe to say that it has impacted my life with a great memory.