The following appeared in the Rock County Star Herald on April 10, 1958.
Phone Subscribers Will Get Call Explaining Dial System
Starting Monday, April 14, Northwestern Bell Telephone Company will start calling all Luverne telephone customers, according to N. C. Johnson, local manager.
“The reason for these calls is to explain the new dial service which will start Sunday, May 4, to provide helpful information on the use of dial equipment, and to answer questions regarding dial operation,” he said.
Some Care Helpful
Johnson pointed out that when the new dial system starts, a little can save a lot of time and confusion. Starting on May 4th, telephone users here will no longer ask the operator to connect them with a desired number. Instead, they will dial the number themselves.
However, it is possible to get the wrong number under certain conditions. This is most likely to come about when the caller doesn’t know the correct number. Or a wrong number may ring when the dial isn’t manipulated properly. For these reasons, Johnson suggests that Luverne telephone users follow this procedure when dialing:
All New Numbers
Consult the new telephone directory for the correct number. Because of the change to dial, all Luverne customers are getting new numbers. The telephone company offers this advice.
Start dialing as soon as you hear the dial tone, a steady humming sound coming from the receiver when it is lifted from its resting position on the telephone instrument. Dial the last 5 digits for a local call at Luverne and the last 4 digits for a local call at Beaver Creek in the order it appears in the directory, letting the dial return to rest at its own speed before dialing the next figure of the number. It will take five pulls on the dial to make a call at Luverne and four pulls on the dial to make a call at Beaver Creek.
“If you get the drug store instead of Aunt Minnie, don’t be too hasty to blame our new switching equipment,” Johnson said. “Relays, switches and connections in the central office have been checked and tested thoroughly and if wrong numbers are obtained, guess work and hurry dialing will probably be the real culprits.”
Johnson also said that if your finger slips while dialing or if you think you’ve dialed incorrectly, hang up before dialing again. This is very important, because the dial apparatus goes back to “normal” only when you hang up. Likewise, it is important to hang up at the end of a call before dialing a new number.
Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.