Hartford Telephone Office

Hartford Telephone Office Operators

  Evelyn Lamb        Myrtle MacLeod Squires        Mildred Smith

Photo was taken in the early 1930s, according to Helen Lamb Weston 
(younger sister of Evelyn Lamb), who identified the operators.  
Ed Ison provided this lovely photo.

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     Yes, Hartford had its own telephone office, which was located on South Center Street, just south of the main stoplight and bank building.  The original building was formerly part of the Rassette House, which sat on land purchased by the Olneys in 1906.  The upright part of the Rassette House was moved just south of its original location, the exterior was covered with brick veneer, and became known as the Kibbe Telephone Company.   The telephone office building was later occupied by LaVerne Rice Real Estate and Attorney Bob Colman Law Office.  The building was demolished in 19____ and became a paved parking lot for First of America Bank (currently known as National City Bank) customers.
     Many young ladies worked at the telephone office during their high school years.  If you know of anyone who did work at this office, let us know who and the approximate dates so their name can be added to the list of former employees.

Evelyn Lamb
Myrtle MacLeod Squires
Mildred Smith
Mrs. Lytle Dunn (one of the chief operators)
Marilyn Dunn Imbordino Piper  1945 - 1946 (until closing)
Reta Pomeroy Geisler  1944-1946
Margaret Hafer Bekkering
Martha VanLiere Saetre
Irene Yeckley James
Helen Burger Williams
Jean Ison Fuller
Laure Kime Hafer
Margaret Colman Martens
Joyce Frazee
Glenda Widner
Dagne Saetre, Chief Operator
Wanda Stock
Lois Shindeldecker Budreau
Mrs. Leo Widner, Night Operator
Doris Butzbach Unrath, Night Operator
Lois Hollenbeck Guerin, Night Operator from 1944 until it closed.  
      Submitted by daughter, Gail Guerin McCarthy, 2-26-2003.  (Gail says that  mother did mostly night shifts and I remember many nights sitting and marveling at the "modern technology" of the 40's.)
Judy Stoddard Moore Downer - during high school until office closed.
Myra Smith Weberg
My mother, Naomi Knapp, worked as a Hartford telephone operator after we moved to Hartford in 1946.  Until ??? She had formerly worked the switchboard at Marshall Field's in Chicago.        (from Donna Knapp Broadhurst on 5-3-2010)

Webmaster note:  This is a favorite photo from the History of Hartford collection.  Notice the dress and shoe style...not much different from current day apparel.  After my graduation from high school in 1966, I worked for Saranac Machine Company, Benton Harbor MI.  The switchboard at Saranac was very similar to the one above. It would be a rare site, indeed, to see an operational switchboard like this in today's 21th century business world.  

Anyone have a photo of the old telephone office building?  Send an email .... would love to have it on this site.