The collection encompasses every type of telephone box to have graced British roadsides since BT introduced their initial standard design in 1920, along with numerous types of street furniture and an archive of local telephone directories.
This museum is the result of collaboration among various community groups – notably, Gridley Library Board and local telephone company – which have worked together on its operation by volunteer workers.
Manual System Telephones
Before recent technological advances, most telephones relied on manual system service for communications. Subscribers couldn’t directly dial one another; rather they dialed into a central switchboard which linked subscribers’ wires together where operators manually relayed calls between subscribers.
Operators connected local calls by plugging patch cords into jacks that corresponded with called numbers, making use of this system well into the 20th century by independent telephone companies serving rural towns and farmers’ lines, sealiners and naval ships prior to mobile phone technology, as well as being an early opportunity for women seeking employment.
Modern automated exchanges take up far less space and offer many times the capacity of manual switchboards, yet operators remain available if you experience problems with your phone – reach them by dialing 100. The museum collection of rotary phones features some earlier models as well as one replica from Edmonton’s first telephone unit purchased for service in 1885.
Telephone Kiosks
The collection of telephone kiosks (or pillar boxes) on display is truly fascinating. There are examples from all designs introduced since 1920 when Britain introduced standard ones.
Wood was not the most practical material for use in wet climates, so the original kiosks were installed in protected locations such as hotel foyers or bus and railway stations to protect them from further wear. Furthermore, it offered protection from extraneous noise as well as prevent bystanders eavesdropping on private calls.
Giles Gilbert Scott won a competition held by the GPO to design a standardised kiosk, known as K2, that was the first step toward what we know as today’s familiar red boxes.
Kiosk advertising can be an efficient, targeted method to reach both pedestrian and vehicular traffic. MediaLease OOH provides city panels – vertical framed displays that appear on telephone structures – as well as backlit LED panels to make an impressionful statement in densely populated urban or college campus districts.
Telephone Poles
Follett says the museum boasts many antique wall phones ranging from yellow banana-shaped models to Kermit the Frog telephones as well as old operator switchboards and military telephones that have taken on a life of their own. “This collection has come together wonderfully.”
Used originally to carry telegraph wires, wood poles now serve electric, telephone and cable lines. While early poles were constructed from spruce or fir trees, more recently Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) has become the dominant species used for utility poles; other species used include shortleaf pine (Pinus sylvestris), southern yellow pine (Pinus cumana) and sassafras.
Poles are treated with chemicals and various other substances to withstand the elements and prevent internal decay. Each pole bears a tag with an identification number which specifies its street location as well as the utility company it belongs to and also displays when their last treatment took place; some tags may even be painted, stamped, or engraved for easy reference.
Telephone Directories
This museum provides visitors with an interactive telephone experience. Its collection consists of artifacts dating back to manual switching as well as an operational switchboard where visitors can dial up or down calls.
Telephone directories provide much more than names and phone numbers – they may include home and business addresses, occupation listings (which can be particularly useful when researching), church listings, charitable organization listings, school listings, hotel listings, maps etc. When looking at collections containing directories make sure there are both browse and search functions; browsing allows you to view each page as though you were reading a book itself!
Uncover Alberta’s rich telecommunications history and discover the technology, companies, and people behind its creation during this transformative era of our province’s development.
