The Wingham Advance-Times, 1954-07-28, Page 24Tage Twenty-four The Wingham Advance-Times, Wednesday, July 28, 1954
First Telephone Directory
Listed Five Wingham Names
The Bell Telephone, invented in 1876,
. was an early settler in Wingham. The
telephone itself was three years old
when Wingham became a town. But
The Bell Telephone Company of Can
ada was not formed until 1880, four
years after Alexander Graham Bell in
vented the instrument that made him
famous.
In April 1885, we find in the files
of the newspapers that Mr. Mason and
Mr. Edwards had succeeded in getting
almost enough subscribers to secure
a trunk line of The Bell Telephone
Company. Wingham became part of
the country's expanding telephone
network late in 1885 when the first
telephone agency here was opened on
Josephine Street with James McGuire
as agent.
In those days the exchange was in
operation from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
weekdays, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sun
days, and from 10 a.m. to noon and
2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on holidays. Long
distance telephony was in its infancy
but some short-haul calls were pos
sible, to London and Stratford.
In December 1886, the first list of
Wingham’s telephone subscribers was
published in a pocket-sized directory
that contained the names and ad
dresses of all telephone users in the
"Ontario Department” of the Bell
Company. The Wingham subscribers
were:
Bethune, Dr. A., corner Centre
Patrick Streets.
Grand Trunk Railway Station.
Great North-Western Telegraph
Office.
Meyer, H. W, C., office corner of
toria and Josephine Streets.
Meyer, H. W. C., residence, corner
Patrick and Minnie Streets.
The small number of subscribers
Wingham, as in most other centres
the time, precluded any need for tele
phone numbers, the name and address
being enough identification.
Directory Instructions
The following'notice appears in type
at the bottom of various pages of the
directory, a copy
Bell Company’s
Montreal:
"The name of
should be spoken with especial dis
tinctness to prevent mistakes."
Another
rectory .is
tive style
use:
“Should
order, it is possible to speak through
the hand telephone" (receiver). The
first telephones combined both trans
mitting and receiving facilities in both
the mouthpiece and the receiver so
that it didn’t really matter whether
you put the receiver to your mouth
and the speaker to your ear. You
could operate the instrument success
fully either way (at times).
In 1888 Thompson and Fessant Co.,
received a contract from the Bell
Telephone Company for the erection
of a line from Teeswater to Wingham.
This work was completed and by Oc
tober of that year connections were
open with Lucknow and Kincardine
to the north,- Clinton and Goderich
to the south with a direct line open
from Clinton to London, and to Tees
water.
and
Co.,
Vic-
of
in
at
of which is in the
historical files in
the party wanted
direction given in the di-
an indication of the primi-
of the instrument then in
the transmitter be out of
Dr. Towler succeeded Mr. McGuire
as “local manager" but he was in
turn succeeded in 1891 by A. L. Hamil
ton, also with the title of “local man
ager."
The 1895 directory revealed that Co
lin A. Campbell was local manager
With 51 telephones to look after.
Throughout the years, Wingham has
occupied a stategic position with re
gard to long distance service in this
section of Ontario. Connecting lines
were pushed through this section in
the late 80’s and by autumn of 1893
a network of telephone lines connect
ed Wingham with not only Kincardine,
but Southampton, Wiarton and Mea-
ford, and each of these centres had
connections with London* Stratford
and Toronto. From any of the latter
points more distant centres could be
reached fairly readily by telephone.
A map showing the long distance
connections available in 1893 stands
in the Bell Company museum in Mon
treal. It shows that at the time lines
from Wingham gave telephone users
here the following long distance cir
cuits :
Northwest through Lucknow and
Ripley to Kincardine; north to South
ampton via Teeswater, Formosa,
Walkerton, Cargill, Paisley, North
Bruce and Port Elgin; from Walker
ton a branch line made connections
with Hanover, Chesley, Tara and on
to Wiarton via Hepworth. From Tara
there was an additional line to Owen
Sound and another from there to Mea-
ford. Each of the latter gave connec
tions to Toronto by various routes.
To the south there were lines to
London and Stratford. Wingham-Lon-
don connections were established over
circuits extending through Blyth, Clin
ton, Hensall, Exeter and Lucan. There
was a convenient tie-line that ran
from Clinton to Goderich.
The Wingham-Stratford lines pass
ed through Bluevale and Brussels, to
a point near Listowel, then extended
to Newton, Milverton. Poole and Gad’s
Hill. Wingham calls to St. Marys could
be routed through either :
Stratford.
By 1905 there were 100
in Wingham, and by that
McCall was local manager.
Wingham’s telephone business ex
panded as
preceding
1912, with
in service,
the premises of the telephone office.
Arrangements were accordingly made
with Richard Vanstone to lease the
store adjoining the telephone office
on Josephine Street in order to re-!
lieve the cramped conditions in 1904.
The premises were further expanded
in 1921 when the lease from Mr. Van
stone showed that the Bell Company
rented from him a brick two-storey
business block with offices and living
rooms on the second floor situated on
Josephine Street.
r
pulled
Frank
(Hoc)
One wet day Stu. Donaldson wore a
pair of rubbers to high school. He
was the exuberant, uninhibited type,
who specialized in doing unusual
,things. Being a few minutes late for
the first class of the afternoon, he
hastily discarded his hat and slicker,
and kicked off his rubbers, As each
rubber was kicked off a distinct slap
could be heard in the classroom, but
it wasn’Uuntil recess that the mysteri
ous slaps were explained,
On the ceiling were two very muddy
footprints, side by side and in perfect
alignment, about a foot apart, as
. though left by someone who had stood
there, Needless to say, the mysterious
footprints were a curiosity for the
rest of the term, before they were re
moved. Other imperfect marks were
added from time to time as other boys
tried unsuccessfuly to duplicate Don
aldson’s feat.* * *
(Discipline in the high school was
one of the wires.
Unfortunately, the wire was too
strong, and the writer finally admitted
defeat when Miss Whyte said, “AU
right, Leon, just detach and hand me
that electric bell!" Of course the
writer acted innocent, etc., and no
more was ever said about the incident.
The Wingham High School was owner
Of an electric bell, a few batteries and
some wire.
Whyte wrote to hlrp and they became
occasional correspondents, her last
letter being dated a short time before
her death.
London or
telephones
time S. B.
ihe town grew in the years
World War I so that by
more than 150 telephones
it was necessary to expand
H. P. Carmichael
commercial agent for the Bell Tele
phone Co. in Wingham, In addition
Mr. Carmichael is president of the
Wingham Business Association, the
organization which assumed active
.sponsorship of the 75th Anniversary
Celebration at request of the council.
post-war slump over and production
getting into full swing Wingham’s
telephone business took a big jump
and 729 telephones were reported in
operation here by the end of that
year. The immediate post-war peak
was reached in 1925 with 800. Then,
after the 1929 stock market crash, the
depression set in and the number of
telephones in Wingham fell to 627 in
1933. The 700 mark was not reached
again until 1940.
Four local managers served the
Wingham'’ office in that period. C. B.
Robinson, from 1923 until 1925; James
H. Scott, from 1926 to 1934; C. F. Hol
land from 1935 to 1936; and W. G.
Hamilton was Wingham manager in
the years from 1937 until 1950.
An extensive plan of reconstruction
of telephone lines in and about Wing
ham was carried out in the early
years of World War II. Many tele
phone lines were placed underground
in the town proper in co-operation
with municipal authorities who were
trying to improve the appearance of
die streets.
The war years also increased the de
mand for telephones, and facilities
were taxed heavily by war industries
and essential production as well as
by requests for residence service, By
the end of 1943 there were 758 tele
phones in Wingham. At war’s end in
1945 Wingham had 830 telephones.
With war restrictions relinquished
there were 924 in operation in 1946.
Rural telephone expansion in the
Wingham-Walkerton districts pro
gressed at a rapid pace with the re
turn of peace and provided two-fold
advantage, more telephones, and im
proved service through the reduction
of the number of parties on a line.
By the end of 1948 the Wingham ex
change served 1,119 telephones and the
decision was made to convert the.
equipment to common battery opera
tion. In June of that year the "crank”
style telephones which had served the
town for so long went out of use and
were removed from the subscribers’
homes.
♦ + *
I believe there is a Marion I. Whyte
Scholarship in the Wingham High
School, and, take it from one who
knew and later appreciated her won
derful personality and teaching abili
ty, she was one of the best teachers
that institution has ever had. When
the writer went, overseas in 1916 Miss
The writer was more than surprised
to receive her first letter as he labor
ed under the impression that; he was
in her black bpok for various inci
dents similar to the aboye-ipentjoned
prank. He wrote her to that effect and
she wrote back and told him he was
entirely wrong in that respect. She
said that teachers, as a rule, really
liked the more or less high-spirited
students better than the drab, ultra-
studious ones, I have often wondered
whether or pot she was just being
kind to one of her ex-pupils who was
on active service.
From 1920 to 1933 Wingham’s tele
phone listings provided a particularly
good indication of the economic pro
gress of the times. The exchange
passed the mark of 300 in 1920 with
310 telephones recorded for the town
by the end of the year. In 1921, a
mild depression year, the figure was 1 In 1953 they in turn were succeeded
1312, but by the end of 1922 with the by H. H, P. Johnston as manager,
D. A. McArthur succeeded Mr. Ham
ilton as manager of the Wingham
territory in 1950 and Mrs. J. O. Heal
was appointed as local representative.
and H. P. Carmichael as commercial
agent.
Further indication of Wingham’s
steady growth was evident in the sum
board positions were installed in the
exchange. At the end of last year, the
Wingham exchange served 1,423 tele
phones. Thus Wingham’s telephone
history has paralleled its progress as
a municipality. Now at the three-
quarter century mark both the town
and its telephone communications
system share the pride of achievement.
crack. The teacher’s
W. A. Galbraith
Clerk for 35 Years
A man who could lay claim to know
ing more about municipal matters in
the town of Wingham than anybody
else but doesn't, is Town Clerk W. A.
Galbraith. With almost 35 years of
experience in the position of town
clerk, there must be little that Mr.
Galbraith hasn’t experienced in that
line. '
Will Galbraith is a native of Wing
ham and has lived here all his life His
father came to these parts in 1880,
from Howick township, and his
mother moved to Wingham from St.
Thomas, about ten years later. Will’s
grandfather was an emigrant from
Ireland who settled first in Eastern-
Ontario before moving to this district.
Mr. Galbraith grew up in Wingham
and was educated in Wingham Public
School, and later at the High School.
During the. first World War he enlisted
in the First Divisional Supply Column,
R.C.A.S.C., serving with that unit over
seas for 3% years. He was wounded
and spent some time in hospital before
arriving home in 1919.
In 1920 he was offered the job of
town clerk in Wingham, but hesitated
to accept, thinking at that time that
it was an "old man's job". On the in
sistence of Mayor Richard Vanstone,
he applied for the job and was ap
pointed, succeeding John F. Groves in
the position.
In 1927 he
what was at
High School
year he assumed the position of sec
retary of the Library Board, both of
which positions he holds to this day.
Mr. Galbraith has been particularly
interested in the library and has been
influential, in his capacity as executor
was named secretary of
that time the Wingham
board, and in the same
mer of 1952 when two new switch-
always relaxed during the last day
before each holiday season, and the
students often ^perpetrated pranks
which were more or Jess disregarded
by the teachers, On one such occasion
some of the boys in Form II
the following prank.
The pranksters included
(Doodle) Galbraith, George
Howson, Gordon (Buck) Buchanan,
Stewart Donaldson, Ed. Helps, Nor
man (Spider) Stonehouse, John
Holmes, Harvey Willis, Gordon Jef
ferson, etc., (including the writer).
After four the preceding day the stage
was set. Several dry cell batteries
were placed in the. bookcase, which
>*vas in the northeast corner of the
room. Wires were strung from the
batteries, along the top of .the black
board at the front (east side) of
room, then continued along the
of the adjoining blackboard on
south side of the room.
• The latter blackboard ended at
door to the second, floor hall, so the
wires were next strung down the edge
of the door to the floor and then
across to the nearest seat in a con
venient floor
desk was in its usual place and direct
ly behind, above the blackboard, was
a picture, behind which an electric
bell was inserted in- the wire circuit.
The alarm clock stood on the top
edge of the blackboard beside the pic
ture. Thus the stage was set.
Unfortunately for the writer, his
seat happened to be the key one, so
he had the privilege (or duty—or
should I say pleasure) of joining the
ends of the wires from time to time
for brief intervals during classes the
next morning. Every time the electric
bell rang the teacher—a different one
each half hour and if memory serves
me right, Misses Anderson and Brew
ster, and Mr. Ewing—took a look at
the alarm clock but said nothing
about the phenomenon of an inter
mittently ringing clock. —
The conspirators decided on a
change of tactics at recess, for safety’s
sake, presumably, and the wires were
run out the door transom. John Camp
bell ( a brother of Herb of town) had
two spare periods and he offered to
touch ends of the wire 'for short
periods once in every few minutes.
He did this faithfully for fifteen or
twenty minutes and then he just join
ed the ends of the wire and went
home. (A typical Campbell trick).
Miss M. I. Whyte was in our class
for the first half hour after recess and
she was becoming a bit disturbed by
the interruptions. She kept looking
rather suspiciously at Doc, Doodle,
Buck, and a few others who had been
entered in her black book on pre
vious occasions. However, it just hap
pened—note that I say it just happen
ed—' that she was looking my way
when the continuous ringing com
menced.
She waited a fe.w moments, mean
while glancing back and forth from
the clock to me, and then said, "Kind
ly shut off that clock, Leon!" It was
an order, unmistakably, so the writer
walked up to the front of the room,
climbed up on a chair and while pre
sumably trying to shut off the in
fernal clock, he was trying to break
Times Have Changed
the old-
museum
Since grandma was a girl, and
fashioned kitchen looks like a
piece now.
the lateSince it was started in -1898 by
Jamies Walker, our store has endeavoured
to provide service and value in the home
furnishings business.
WALKER HOME
FURNISHINGS
S. J. WALKER
of the estate of the late John Cornyn
Currie, in having the library renovated
in the past year.
Mr. Galbraith is married to the for
mer Verna Slee (Dickinson, of Toronto,
and they have one son, Bill, who has
been a chemical engineer with the B.
F. Goodrich Company in Kitchener,
for the past five years.
Although Mr. Galbraith devotes a
good deal of his "spare" time to the
town’s business, working several
nights a week sometimes, he still finds
time to devote to his hobby of photo
graphy. The ptoud possessor of still
and movie cameras which would be
the envy of many professionals, Mr,
Galbraith does most of his own de*
veloping and printing in a dark room
he has rigged up in his house, On
holidays ahd week-ends you’ll prob*
ably find him out in the country taking landscapes and color movies of
the dCCntc beauties in this part Of
the country,
For a young man who took an “old
man’s job", Mt. Galbraith has indeed
made a success of It, And the town
has reason to be thankful for his ef
ficient handling of town matters over
such a long period of time.
H appy
Anniversary
Wingham!
United Co-Operatives
OF ONTARIO
Maitland Creamery Branch
35 YEARS
IN
BUSINESS