47 Better Farming | August 2024 Follow us on @BetterFarmingON mon (party) line with up to seven members. You had to share not only the line, but often the phone conversations. When the phone rang, the number of rings dictated which house the phone call was for. With party lines, there was always one neighbour – often a teenage girl – down the road that monopolized the line. Not surprisingly, these shared lines also allowed an opportunity for others to listen in and pick up the local gossip. I have one specific memory of multi-party phone lines when I lived in West Montrose. There was a tragic multiple homicide that shook our small village. Everybody knew everybody back then, so when the news broke, the phone lines were running hot all night. Absolutely everyone was listening in to all the conversations. Like cars and tractors, telephone systems have become very sophisticated. Do you remember when we changed to two-customer lines or even private lines? And now, most of us can see the phone number and name of incoming callers. This allows us to decide whether we even want to pick up the phone and talk to the caller. They can also leave a message or request a call back. What can we see as system upgrades in the near future? Your guess is as good as or better than mine. My children are telling me that the new generation is giving up landlines for mobile phones and chatting over video calls. Being an old-timer, I will stick with my landline for now. BF How it Works New intake for cost-share funding Improve your nitrogen management, expand your cover cropping or start rotational grazing. MORE DETAILS AT ONTARIOSOILCROP.ORG INTAKE OPENS AUGUST 1* *Intake will close once all funds have been allocated OSCIA_OFCAF_Intake4_PrintAd_BetterFarming_7x4.875.indd 1 2024-07-09 2:49:36 PM RALPH WINFIELD Ralph is a retired professional engineer, farmer and technical writer. He has a BSA, BASc, and an MSA in engineering from the University of Toronto. A wall-mounted phone. Note the crank on the right side in lieu of a dial. Karen Bancroft photo
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