Students gain historical perspective through engaging and hands-on history lessons. Furthermore, they develop communication and sales skills while raising funds for Ferris student scholarships and programs.

Due to cancellation of in-person events and research during the Covid-19 pandemic, the HBEC program implemented this telephone outreach project as a means of remaining in touch with registry members. This paper discusses key outcomes and lessons learned that may facilitate program replication.

The History of the Telephone

The invention of the telephone marked an unprecedented transformation. Huge technological and organizational efforts were required for its conception to completion; and its transformational effect could be felt across industries including business, education, public health, entertainment, personal communication and social contacts.

At first, privacy was an issue in early times. Since most homes weren’t wired together, calls had to be made between houses using party lines – meaning your neighbors could easily listen in on any private conversations you had. Switchboard operators would also breach your privacy by connecting callers directly.

Alexander Graham Bell created an exchange system to address privacy and the impracticality of wire connections among phone subscribers, which allowed all phones to share one central battery rather than each requiring its own. This reduced connection costs and made wiring cheaper; eventually it became commercially successful but would have never existed without Antonio Meucci, Charles Bourseul and Elisha Gray’s earlier work.

The World of Communications

Discover the rich history and evolution of telecom and modern mobile technologies at this interactive museum. Guests are encouraged to interact with real telephones as well as the switchboards that powered them; visitors are also provided an opportunity to use real telephones and their corresponding switchboards and switching systems, including manual private automatic branch exchange and stepping switch equipment that demonstrate electromechanical marvels that helped pave the way to computers, cell phones and modern mobile technology.

Established by retired employees of ED TEL, the Telephone Historical Centre first opened its doors on December 3, 1987 at Old Strathcona telephone exchange building and then relocated to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in 2004. Group and individual tours are available and interactive exhibits showcase communications principles alongside a multi-media historical telecommunications theatre show.

In April of 2019, the foundation behind Edmonton Telephone Historical Centre decided to dissolve, citing factors including relevance, finances, structural problems and succession planning as reasons for doing so.

The Holocaust

The Holocaust was Nazi Germany’s attempt to murder every Jew living in Europe through propaganda, persecution and laws denying Jewish rights; its violent manifestation included legal discrimination, physical displacement and forced labor.

Perpetrators employed various means to destroy Jewish communities and individuals, from mass shootings on an unprecedented scale, to asphyxiation with poison gas. German units moved throughout occupied territory killing Jews by the thousands on the edges of towns, cities, and villages.

Perpetrators interned Jews in overcrowded ghettoes and concentration camps. Deportation transports were used to ship them off for deportation; many died on these voyages while some died from starvation, disease and abuse in extermination centers such as Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka. Perpetrators included government officials, police forces and members of Nazi organizations such as SA (stormtroopers or Brownshirts) and SS; many civilians helped perpetrators out of antisemitism or personal scores that needed settling or hopes that wealth might come their way from confiscated property confiscated upon confiscation.

The Future of the Telephone

The telephone was a significant boon to privacy in many ways, providing calls at home as an escape from intrusions like surprise visits from relatives or door-to-door salesmen. Yet its introduction also exposed people to potential eavesdroppers; switching-room operators may listen in on personal conversations.

Future mobile telephones will have the ability to see, shrink down while growing larger, and fit seamlessly into their users’ skins – this was one of the main findings from Technische Universitat Darmstadt’s “Future Internet” research cluster.

As technology develops, even small, local businesses will become less dependent upon voice communications and more accessible to their customers. Numa is one example of such an emerging phone system – check it out now to discover how its future promises you an easy connection to all your favorite local companies, even while on the move!

The exhibition honors generations of people who put up poles, buried cables and developed and managed technology that revolutionized how we communicate. This collection features virtually every form of communication used on Guernsey up until the mid 1990s.

Documents, equipment samples and photographs in this archive documenting the evolution of communications from Edmonton’s first manual system telephone in 1885 up until today’s mobile phones.

Manual System Telephones

Prior to automatic number identification (ANI), customers would contact a human operator in order to place long distance calls. On making an incoming call, the operator would check an indicator light for the telephone number that had come through, then connect the ringing cord into its respective jack field in the switchboard or central office to connect it and place the call.

At that time, manual system phones were equipped with a rotary dial and included the Western Electric Candlestick Phones. For rural and small town usage, magneto phones were preferred – their subscribers turning a crank would generate an alarm signal to alert the operator while dry cell batteries provided power for transmitting it directly.

Manual service required customers to be connected manually by operators following verbal instructions. For instance, when someone in a manual exchange (e.g. TAylor 4725) called LEnnox 5813 at another central office and dialed it directly, an operator would plug a cord into its trunk for that destination.

Telephone Booths

A telephone booth (also referred to as a public call box, telephone kiosk or payphone) is a small structure designed for user comfort that houses a payphone and usually features privacy doors as well as window indicators to indicate when it is in use; some booths even come equipped with paper directories containing local phone numbers.

Pointe-a-Calliere’s collection of phones and related artifacts honors generations of people who worked tirelessly to develop telephony, construct poles and bury cables, design network technology to run networks efficiently, install phones in homes, offices, schools and businesses, design new networks if needed and install phones for homes, offices schools and businesses alike. It features many intriguing artifacts.

Visitors to London can also witness one of Britain’s iconic cultural symbols – the red telephone box (known as a booth in America). Although these iconic boxes are slowly disappearing from public view, some can still be found around Britain and former colonies with histories of colonialism; some even provide services such as Internet access or SMS text messaging!

Telephone Directories

The Collection holds directories dating back to 1878. These records not only include subscribers’ addresses but also exchange opening dates and local managers of Bell. Furthermore, independent company locations and subscribers are listed.

These directories can be searched alphabetically or alphabetically by address. Early directories included people’s professions and whether or not they rented or owned their homes, in addition to listing residential subscribers and advertising, maps of rapid transit systems, street maps and guides as well as lists of churches, schools, government offices and charitable organizations.

Many directories offer sections dedicated to elite businesses and shopping and restaurant guides. If you know your ancestor’s occupation, check this section of a directory. Directories also often contain instructions (for dialing specific numbers or emergency services information). Our collection houses telephone equipment, catalogues, photos and artifacts relating to civil defence and emergency services; highlights of this collection include book of sketches detailing construction of Beaver Hall building cornerstone; tools used by telephone linemen; as well as wire from early Brantford test runs.

Photographs

The Museum’s vast collection of artifacts and replicas tell the story of how telecommunication technology changed our lives, from erecting poles and burying cables, to designing and managing technology used to run networks, many people contributed towards building the system we know as modern telephony today.

The Photography department of the Museum is one of its oldest. With an emphasis on American 20th-century photography by major practitioners such as Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, Walker Evans, Andre Kertesz and Ilse Bing among many others; highlights also include early full-plate daguerreotypes by William Henry Fox Talbot who used photography to document natural history and architectural subjects as well as 19th-century lunar studies from various makers.

Series VII: Photographs is organized into three subseries: Contemporary, Contemporary Oversized and Transparencies. The Contemporary subseries is alphabetically organized by subject matter and contains 3 by 5 or 4 by 6 print photographs enclosed in clear protective sheets with titles, dates, SNET job numbers and sometimes locations written on them; whilst Contemporary Oversized holds larger transparencies used as publication covers or for advertising that were often grouped alphabetically by subject matter.

No matter your interest or age, this section has something to offer for every age and interest group. From discovering more about telecommunications history to witnessing how phones have progressed over time – this section has something for everyone!

This series includes files on exchange histories, facts and figures, personal recollections and historic buildings. Also included are binders containing newspaper clippings and scrapbooks that are being microfilmed for preservation purposes.

The Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institution is one of the world’s greatest museums and research complexes, housing 17 museums and galleries, a zoo, and various research facilities. Their collection boasts more than 150 million objects, specimens, and works of art.

The Archives are home to numerous original volumes that provide invaluable insight into Alberta and Canadian telecommunications history, from maps and drawings, through photographs and posters to posters and prints. Furthermore, large bins contain advertising samples dating from 1950s-1980s advertising campaigns.

The Archives’ holdings in Canadian Telephony history are comprehensive, covering every facet of telephone development in Canada. Their collections reveal all aspects of this history from politics, competitions and personalities involved with its development – as well as modern communication’s roots at this juncture following fur trade’s end – through pioneering telephone pioneers as well as their technologies and companies supporting them.

The Telephone Museum

The telephone is one of the world’s most-utilized telecommunications devices, allowing instant, personal communication with anyone anytime anywhere at an economical and user-friendly price point.

The Museum features working electromechanical central office-type switching equipment as well as a catalogued telecommunications reference library, in addition to offering various telephones, switchboards and outside plant displays that include poles, wires and tools for display.

Bell Canada officers made the initial decision to create the Collection by agreeing to preserve all documents, photographs, equipment samples and records related to their predecessors in the telephone business. Over time it has grown into an archive that contains files on Bell-Northern Research and Development Laboratories, independent telephone companies, telecommunications in foreign countries as well as correspondence dates photos samples equipment samples equipment of every era from across time and place.

Candlestick phones and wooden box phones fill endless racks, alongside classic rotary phones and novelty ones like Hush-a-phone (for private conversations), Desk Grab-a-phone and the phone James used from a cigar shop to report President McKinley’s assassination more than 100 years ago.

The Edmonton Telephone Museum

The Edmonton Telephone Museum is a telecommunications museum in Edmonton, Alberta founded by retired employees of ED TEL in 1987 and opened to the public shortly thereafter. Since its move to its current location at Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre in central Edmonton it offers guided tours for groups as well as individuals.

The museum houses an impressive array of artifacts, such as a fully functioning hands-on switchboard and step-by-step private automatic branch exchange that demonstrate how these systems operated. There are also photographs and early telephone directories.

The museum is open to the public and provides an ideal opportunity to gain knowledge about telecom. Its large collection of memorabilia will appeal to visitors of all ages. Admission is free of charge; donations are welcomed.

The Telephone Archives

The Telephone Archives is a vast digital archive containing images and historical information ranging from porcelain telephone signs to manufacturer catalogs, founded in 2001 as part of BT Heritage, a corporate responsibility initiative to preserve telecom artifacts.

The Archives possess an extensive collection of historical telephone photographs, videos and films, depicting old equipment, engineers and operators at work as well as local scenes and landmarks. A curated selection can be seen online via BT Group’s image library where some have even been scanned to become searchable.

The Archives also houses an impressive selection of vintage telephone directories dating from 1895 to present day, along with many technical manuals on telecommunications technology and history. This resource provides a rich resource for anyone interested in Edmonton’s telecom heritage; students and researchers can visit to explore this remarkable collection; plus there are oral histories available here too!

Telephones have long been part of our everyday lives, yet their innovation was once at the cutting-edge. At Edmonton Telecommunication Museum we explore its rich history in Edmonton and beyond.

Contributions in this issue explore how telephone use has shaped both everyday practices and identity projects, challenging conventional approaches in communication history by adding transnational dimensions.

The History of the Telephone

Today we take for granted what was once revolutionary technology: telephones are one of the world’s most widely-used communications devices.

The telephone was developed from improvements made to telegraph technology – transmitting both an electrical signal and sound. Two inventors, Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell, independently invented telephones almost simultaneously; Bell patented his version first while some suggest Italian inventor Antonio Meucci may have built one earlier than 1849.

From a practical viewpoint, the telephone has revolutionized our lives by providing instantaneous communication without having to write letters. It allowed people to instantly and without written notes communicate quickly while also increasing privacy by eliminating unexpected visits from relatives and door-to-door salesmen. But at times its use encroached upon domestic seclusion by allowing others to listen in on personal conversations or watch switchboard operators connect calls; but in spite of all its disadvantages it continues to evolve in our society today.

The Artifacts

The Telephone Historical Centre is Canada’s only telephone museum with collections dating back to 1885, featuring hands-on exhibits that trace telecommunications technology’s journey over time. School and children programs are held regularly at this museum.

The museum features an assortment of artifacts, such as antique rotary dial phones, three box wall telephones, and old switchboards. Visitors can experience line switching the old way by placing their names in a phone book.

This museum is open year-round to the public and can accommodate groups of up to 20 visitors at one time. Established by retired employees of Edmonton Digital Telephone Exchange Ltd (ED TEL), its doors first opened for business in Old Strathcona neighbourhood that December. Later that year, it moved to Prince of Wales Armouries Heritage Centre for storage purposes – with the goal of collecting, researching, organizing, documenting, exhibiting and storing materials related to telephone history in Edmonton.

The Exhibits

The museum provides visitors with an accessible history of telecommunications, which they can discover either through guided or self-guided tours. Visitors will have the chance to view telephones, equipment and tools used in telecommunications as well as collections such as copper cabling, manhole covers and standard insulators.

THG Museum houses an original red K-6 British call box with an intriguing history: its source was found via shortwave radio amateurism; through it they managed to connect with someone in England who shipped the box over.

The THG collection also includes a manual switchboard and Step-by-Step Private Automatic Branch Exchange that demonstrate the stepping switch principle, as well as a replica of Alexander Graham Bell’s famous telephone used on March 10, 1876 to send his famous message to Mr. Watson (one of the first words spoken ever over telephone). The museum provides interactive exhibits suitable for visitors of all ages.

The Volunteers

The Telephone Historical Centre’s volunteer program is key to its work. Volunteers provide invaluable assistance across a range of areas – from staffing the Museum Information Desk and store to researching artifacts and library materials; many become docents who assist with museum guiding of groups or school visits; others volunteer their time in gardening projects or set up displays at community events such as Wildrose Antique Show.

Recent cooperation between the museum and Judith Dyck’s communications students at the University of Alberta saw them conduct a study on Edmonton’s communication history for her graduate class COMM 505: Utilizing and Managing Communications Technologies. Their amazing paper entitled “The Role of Telephone in Edmonton as an Expression of Civic Identity” can be found here on this website.

Volunteers are needed for an exciting project to survey structures located on Olmsted Tract. It will be an amazing learning opportunity and experience! This opportunity presents itself to those with an affinity for history.

SNET maintains both historical and artifactual material that chronicles its past, such as exchange histories; personal recollections associated with SNET employees and events; buildings; and line maps.

The collection also comprises equipment, catalogues and photographs documenting telephone manufacturing from its first factory in Brantford in 1878 to today’s state-of-the-art technologies.

Collections

The Collection features artifacts that document the development and history of telephone technology and equipment, spanning its early days up to modern-day uses. Items include equipment used by early telephone operators, tools employed by linemen, pieces from old Edmonton tests wires as souvenirs and much more.

This collection also contains scrapbooks and historical photographs; oversize materials and fragile photos require special care, being stored separately in boxed sets.

The Collection houses historic documents and records from Bell Canada and its predecessors that trace the development of telecommunications in Alberta over time. Files cover exchange histories, facts and figures for towns and cities, buildings and storms as well as key figures within company history as well as comprehensive files on foreign telephone history as well as Yellow Pages advertising samples; making this collection unique in Canada and an invaluable resource for researchers, students and general enthusiasts.

Exhibits

The Telephone Artifact Collection holds numerous artifacts related to its history. These holdings serve as evidence of Canada’s development as a nation through telecom. With comprehensive files on Bell Telephone Company of Canada, Northern Telecom, independent and connecting Canadian telephone companies as well as international telecommunications such as Telecommunications in Foreign Countries it provides insight into Canadian telecom and beyond. Photographs, catalogues and equipment that trace manufacturing from Brantford Ontario (1878) all the way through Bell-Northern Research & Development Laboratories today; along with documents that describe this industry, its participants and accomplishments – this collection provides insight into Canada’s growth as a nation within Telecommunications history.

The Telephone Historical Centre’s archived holdings and collection holdings offer invaluable resources for researchers and students studying telecommunications. Many of these resources are accessible to the general public via exhibitions and programs.

Education

The Telephone Historical Centre offers a variety of educational programs. Ranging from workshops to school tours, students can discover telecommunications history and technology by visiting either our physical museum or exploring our virtual collections.

Our collection consists of vintage phone directories dating back to 1895; technical manuals dating from the 1800s; and other books of interest about communications technology. Many are originals, such as The Telephone: An Account of Electricity, Magnetism and Sound with Instructions for Making a Speaking Telephone published just one year after its invention!

Explore Alberta’s tale of telephone use during its rapid development from government and business services, home communications, and creating the modern province it is today. Uncover equipment, competitions and people from this exciting period that helped foster its birth.

Events

Alexander Graham Bell successfully brought the invention of the telephone to market. While Italian inventor Antonio Meucci first patented his idea for one in 1849 and French innovator Charles Bourseul created a prototype phone in 1854, Alexander Graham Bell took it one step further by filing his patent in 1876 in the United States.

Discover the history of wired telephone networks, other inventions that inspired it and the people involved with building and improving it at this interactive museum. Visitors can explore old-fashioned operator switchboards, wall-mounted magneto phones and electromechanical marvels which paved the way to today’s electronic devices.

Discover Alberta’s Telecommunications Story–its achievements, politics, competitions, equipment and personalities–in the wake of the end of fur trade. This section introduces this freewheeling period through virtual exhibits, digital collections and educational interactives. In addition, the museum houses an expansive communications collection from around the globe including replica Bell Telephone Company buildings; an operating telegraph pole complete with climbing equipment; hundreds of telephone-related items.