Our world is fast changing and always has been. Technologies constantly spring up with promises of a new and better life. But which ones change the culture and which get put in the back of the closet with last year's fads? Join us in this episode as we look at the earliest days of the telephone in Collingwood, when people still hadn’t figured out what kind of future it would hold.

Next we focus in on the story of one particular telephone operator who worked through very interesting times. And finally we give a much deserved shout-out to our museum volunteers as we approach National Volunteer Week on April 24-30. As always if you have a story to share, any questions, or comments ... or are interested in volunteering for the museum ... we would love to hear from you! Send us an email to [email protected], go to anchor.fm/cwoodstories to drop us a line, or you can use that newfangled telephone by calling 705-445-.4811.

Episode Picture:

Telephone Operators in 1922 [Collingwood Museum Collection X986.14.10]

Research:

Barbara Arp, ed., Reflections An Historical Anthology of Collingwood (Collingwood: The Corporation of the Town of Collingwood, 1983), 57, 83.

Discover Collingwood Heritage Walk, https://www.collingwood.ca/sites/default/files/docs/Economic-Development/heritagewalk-downtown-15x17-2017.pdf

Bell Canada, 1894-2017 https://beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/canadian_bell_companies.html

“Bell Canada Installed First Service in Collingwood in 1886”, Enterprise Bulletin July 31, 1958 Section 5 p. 2.

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