website watertownhistory.org
ebook History of Watertown, Wisconsin
Telephone Service
1877 TELEPHONE SERVICE INTRODUCED
The first telephone was installed in 1877 by photographer John B. May,
the line running from his office on Main St. to Turner
Hall.
1878
02 27 TELEPHONE LECTURE AND DEMO
The second lecture in the Lyceum Course
called out a large audience on last Friday evening, in spite of the unpleasant
weather.
The church [*] was connected with
Gaebler's music store on 4th Street, six blocks
distant, by an insulated copper wire, which was the medium of transmission.
Prof. Lovewell, the lecturer,
traced the progress of Telephony from Page's galvanic music in 1837 to its
final development in 1872 by Bell, Gray, Edison and others.
The different forms of apparatus
were illustrated by chart diagrams, and the Professor explained as clearly and
concisely as the nature of the subject would allow, the scientific principles
of acoustics and electricity involved.
To the greater majority of the
audience the most interesting part of the entertainment consisted in their
listening to the sounds transmitted over the wire. This continued until a late hour and afforded
much amusement, especially to those who remained in the church after the
majority of the audience had dispersed.
The different musical instruments were distinctly heard, every note
being accurately transmitted.
The singing of Messrs. Gaebler,
May and Charboneau was much enjoyed as was also a controversy on the Silver
Bill, in which Mr. J. B. Bennett played an important part. The Watertown
News, 27 Feb 1878
[*] Lyceum courses were held at First Congregational Church, then located at 504 S. Fourth
St.
John B. May began
telephone exchange in Watertown and a 30-member switchboard was installed in
his office. Telephone #1 was installed
in the Globe Milling office. May later sold his telephone service to the
newly formed Watertown Telephone Company
with office on upper level of 101 E. Main.
1882
02 08 JOHN MAY’S TELEPHONE SCHEME
John B. May offers a new
telephone scheme to the public through the skeleton club line he proposes to
establish, consisting of 10 stations on a wire at $35.00 a year full set. This will be limited to residences and at
same time all stations will be connected with the Exchange and be entitled to
Exchange privileges. Mr. May ought to
procure the necessary patronage that will keep the Exchange going. To let it go under for want of encouragement
would be a serious reflection on our city.
Watertown
Republican
1887 FIRST TELEPHONE OFFICE
1889
10 23 LONG DISTANCE TELEPHONE SERVICE ANTICIPATED
Notable Improvement -- The
extensive alterations and repairs now being made on our local telephone lines
is calculated to improve the service and to provide means for the introduction
of the long distance system now in operation between Milwaukee and Chicago and
other Eastern cities, and which at no distant day will reach Watertown.
Distance will then be
annihilated in the true sense of the word, and we shall be able to converse
with Chicago with as much facility as we now do with our neighbors a few blocks
distant.
The efforts on the part of the
Wisconsin Telephone company to gratify the public demand in this direction
cannot be too highly appreciated, which we predict will be found in vastly
increased patronage. Watertown Republican, 10 23 1889
03 27 METALLIC CIRCUITS
During the coming summer the
Wisconsin Telephone company will improve many of its lines by putting in
metallic circuits. Such an improvement is contemplated between this city and
Whitewater, via Jefferson and Fort Atkinson, a distance of thirty-two
miles. WR
04 03 RATES CUT
Our businessmen and others who
use the telephone service are congratulating themselves that the Wisconsin
Telephone company has cut rates one-quarter, beginning April 1. ’Phones now
rent for $3 per month.
08 21 WISCONSIN TELEPHONE EXCHANGE
The Wisconsin Telephone exchange
is now permanently located in the Post Office block. The service throughout the city has been
rebuilt and improved, notable change being the substitution of the
"return" system for the old method of ground circuits. A new switchboard holding 100 wires adorns
the central station, and is used to nearly its full capacity. The wires enter the station in cables, which
overcomes the great network of wires formerly in evidence. With the most modern devices in electrical
appliances in operation here, the company claims Watertown now enjoys the very
best telephone service obtainable. WR
11 27 A
gang of the Wisconsin Telephone Company's Iinemen are at work in this city
altering wires and stringing new ones preparatory to locating the central
station in the Post Office block. We
understand all wires will run into the central in one large cable. Thomas Berry superintends the work. Frank Beaulieu, employed on the telephone
line force, had a narrow escape Monday evening from electrocution. He had hold of a wire which crossed an
electric light wire, and when the current was turned on at the electric light
plant he received a severe shock which handled him quite roughly for a
moment. Nothing serious, however,
resulted. WR
1898
10 12 The
constantly Increasing business of the Wisconsin Telephone Company at the
Watertown exchange necessitates the addition of another switch-board, which
will be placed in position this week.
The new board will be entirely for the toll lines; ten of which pass
through the local office. It will be in
charge of Miss Marie Mentink. The board
for local calls will be presided over by Miss Jennie Mentink, who will be
transferred to night work. Miss Etta Toussaint will be night operator
hereafter. WR
1899
08 04 Watertown
should have cheaper telephone service if a company can be found which is
willing to give it such. The Wold River
Promotion & Construction Telephone Co. has asked for a franchise for that
purpose, and has been refused by our city council. The committees to whom it was referred say
that after due consideration they recommend it not be granted, but gave no
explanatory reason in their report why it should not be given. They may be right in their conclusions, but
[what] the franchise asks for [promises] as published appears to us to be one
that would be of great advantage to our people.WG
1900
08 14 TELEPHONE
FROM YOUR DESK
to just about anyone, anywhere
09 20 WORKING CONDITIONS OF DAY OPERATORS
During certain seasons of the
year it appears to us that the day operators at the telephone office in this
city are overworked. That class of work
is very trying on the nervous system, and telephone operators should not be
made slaves of. We have repeatedly
noticed that the operators at the Watertown telephone exchange have very trying
positions to fill, and it looks to us as if they should have shorter hours to
relieve the nervous strain on their systems.
WG
1901
11 15 “HELLO” GIRLS
Nine hundred “hello” girls are
studying the art of “telephonic elecution” so that soon none but pleasing voices
shall be heard over the wires. The only trouble is that the sweet and well
modulate voices are inspiring an epidemic of marriages. WG
1905
08 23 IMPROVEMENTS
The telephone exchange is to be
enlarged and remodeled, a larger switch-board installed and a change made in
the operating force which will be increased.
Under the new arrangements, Miss Mentink becomes clerk, and Miss Emma
Jantzen chief operator. Service will be greatly
improved.
11 08 SERVICE COMPLAINTS
The manager of the telephone
system was here Monday investigating the complaints as to the service, and
hereafter, it is to be hoped that the wires will not be busy, the pauses
between call and response not as long, and after waiting until one is ready to
explode, a sweet voice will not come over the line: “Are you through?” WR
12 12 IMPROVEMENTS
Extensive improvements are in
progress at the telephone exchange and when completed, this city will have one
of the largest and most convenient exchanges in the state. The entire second floor of the post office
building is to be occupied, and will be so arranged that the superintendent's
office and the apartments for the male employees will be in the front end of
the building, the operating room in the center and ladies' rooms in the rear
reached by a side door at the south end of the balcony. Each of the office apartments will be
provided with lavatories and every appointment up-to-date. A new large switchboard has already been
received, as well as other necessary equipment for making it a perfect exchange
in all the requirements for a first-class service. The improvements are being made under the
personal supervision of W. C. Stone, and it is unnecessary to remark, that
nothing will be left undone to give the people of this city as good a telephone
service as is possible to be obtained.
1906
01 24 FIRE ALARMS TO BE FORWARDED TO BOTH DEPTS
Three
weeks ago, the Republican in the
issue following the fire at the Brennecke residence contained a gentle
criticism of the Telephone Company for not turning in the alarm to the fire
department telephoned to the central office.
Immediately following the appearance of the article in the Republican, the Daily Times January 6th contained the following “Explanation.”
As an
erroneous impression has gone abroad regarding the turning in of a fire alarm
at the time of the Brennecke fire, the telephone manager wishes it
corrected. He says that since the
introduction of the fire alarm system the telephone central has never been
requested by the authorities to turn in fire alarms as previously done. On the day in question, however, one of the
operators was called up and told to turn in an alarm. The manager claims the girl tried the west
side house but got no response and she then notified the person calling that it
might be quicker to turn in the alarm from the box and not wait. If this be true the published statements
regarding the affair are unjust to the operator. Just censure is always admissible but unjust
censure harms innocent people.
And on
the 17th inst., the following local appeared in the Daily Times:
Telephone
Fire Alarms
Hereafter
when persons wish to send in an alarm in case of fire and when the fire alarm box
is not in the immediate vicinity they may send the alarm by telephone to the
central station, giving the location of the fire and central will notify the
fire department at both houses simultaneously.
This matter has been arranged with the telephone management by Chief
Glaser, who requested that the public be notified through the press of the
change. Since the introduction of the
fire alarm system but little attention has been paid to the method of notifying
the department, but good service in this respect is now promised at the central
telephone station.
The Republican does not claim that it
brought about the change — but has a sort of a suspicion that it set the ball
in motion which has resulted in good.
c.1908
-- -- TELEPHONE in entry portion of Fredrich Livery office
200-202 S First St
1909
01 22 TELEPHONE
PAY STATION
A telephone pay station has been established in the Deutsches Dorf Cafe, Main and North Third
streets, where long distance telephoning can be done without going to the
general office by depositing the charges in the phone receptacle. WG
1910
04 15 NOTICE TO TELEPHONE USERS
Upon a request of the
Wisconsin Telephone Company to the city to enter into a new contract for
telephone service at a higher rate to be furnished to the city, the Common
Council at its last meeting directed the Public Buildings Committee and the
City Attorney to investigate into the entire telephone proposition for the
purpose of determining what would be just and right for the city to do under
the circumstances.
It appears that the
Wisconsin Telephone Company, through its agents, is working among private
parties with a view of raising telephone rates for private services also,
without consistent reasons.
In behalf of the Public
Buildings Committee I would appreciate parties who have been approached by
representatives of the Telephone Company, who consider themselves aggrieved by
the demands of said Company, to communicate their grievances to the Public
Buildings Committee so as to enable said committee to take proper action in the
matter.
Dated April 13, 1910
H. Tetzlaff, F. C.
Werner, M. D., Frank Kalina,
Members Public
Buildings Committee
Chas. A. Kading,
City Attorney WG
c.1910
Telephone service in office of Dr. Adolph Hartwig
1912
12 19 FIRE ALARM CALL – From this date parties
discovering a fire and notifying “central” at the telephone station, must state
the exact location of the fire. It is
then the duty of “central” to at once notify both
engine houses as well as the waterworks
station. – John Glazer, Chief. WG
c.1912
-- -- ADELA REMMEL (LEFT), OPERATOR
1914
02 05 MISS ALMA NEITZEL
Monday evening in honor of the
anniversary of her birth Miss Alma Neitzel entertained the day operators of the
Telephone exchange at her home in Rockwell Street. A delicious supper was served, covers being
laid for 14. The decorations were in red
and white. The guests present presented
Miss Neitzel with a handsome cut glass bowl.
WG
1915
05 20 AN ENVIABLE RECORD
The May number of the Bell Telephone News has a very good
picture of Miss Emma Jantzen, chief operator of our local telephone
exchange. Under the picture is a brief
sketch of Miss Jantzen as follows: She
entered the service of the Wisconsin company in 1901 and has held the position
of chief operator at Watertown since 1907.
She has an enviable record of being out of service less than nine
months. During her period of service she
has watched the Watertown exchange grow from three operators, handling only a
few calls a day, to ten operators taking care of 1,700 subscribers. WG
10 28 PLANS TO EXPAND
Announcements by the Wisconsin
Telephone Company of plans to expand in the neighborhood of $15,000 to extend
its facilities is an indication of the confidence the Bell Telephone System has
in the future of Watertown. And the fact
that this big system considers it worthwhile to increase its investment here
speaks well for the city’s past and present development, as well as its future.
In the present instance, the
commercial engineers for the telephone company, who made an examination into
local conditions, report that the city’s prospects are excellent. While there has been nothing of the
spectacular in the progress of Watertown, its industrial, commercial and social
development has been steady and consistent and there has been a corresponding
development in the local business of the telephone company. WG
1927 MOVED TO S. FOURTH STREET
-- -- MAYOR THROWS SWITCH
FOR NEW AND IMPROVED EQUIPMENT
1943
10 28 ATTENTION !
Please do not make telephone calls during or immediately after an
Air Raid Alarm as it is essential that the lines be kept free for use by the
Defense Authorities. If your telephone
rings, however, answer if promptly. - 1943
Watertown Telephone Directory insert.
1954
-- -- WATERTOWN
CENTENNIAL PARADE ENTRY
12 04 There’s
a fascinating project of “weaving” under way these days in the Wisconsin Telephone Company’s central office building
at 115 South Fourth Street. The “loom”
is a new long distance switchboard of the latest type, consisting of 12
operator positions. The “threads” are
thousands of small wires. And the
“weaving,” of course, is the intricate task of interconnecting these wires to
form the switchboard’s voice paths over which Watertown area residents will
carry on their telephone conversations with the rest of the state and nation,
and with many parts of the world. The
“weavers” are Western Electric Company installers who are adept in these
large-scale switchboard installations.
WDT
1956
114 S. FIFTH ST DEMOLISHED FOR CITY PARKING LOT
114 South Fifth St.
In 1959 parking lot purchased by
telephone company from the city for its 1960 expansion project. Telephone company furnished the city a new
parking lot on site of demolished St. Luke’s church on North Fourth St.
1958
10 23 PLAN
FOR TELEPHONE COMPANY’S EXPANSION
Reports which have been in
circulation for some time relative to expansion plans of the Wisconsin
Telephone Co. for Watertown, including introduction of a dial system, were
revealed to members of the City Council at their committee meeting yesterday
afternoon. The company revealed plans
for construction of an addition to its present building which is directly west
of the Market Street parking lot. In
order to carry out such a plan the company would need the parking lot and has
offered to purchase it from the city. The
addition would conform in color and design with the present building and would
be two stories high. It would be
approximately 100 by 100 feet. WDT
11 06 PLAN
FOR EXPANSION, FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION FOR
Councilman George Shephard said
this morning that he believes the City Council will give favorable
consideration to any proposal the Wisconsin Telephone Co. presents to the City
Council relative to the proposed purchase of the Fifth Street parking lot for
future expansion purposes by the telephone company. The plan for a 100 by 100 building addition
to the present telephone building, which adjoins the lot, was conveyed to the
Council at a recent meeting but a definite plan and proposal are still to be
given the councilmen. WDT
11 14 ST.
LUKE’S PROPERTY PROPOSED AS ALTERNATIVE TO S. 5th ST.
The property of St. Luke's
Lutheran Church on North Fourth Street, running through to North Fifth Street,
is one of the sites that has been proposed as an alternate city off-street
parking lot to take the place of the South Fifth Street lot in the event the
latter is purchased by the Wisconsin Telephone Co. to enable the utility to
carry out its recently announced expansion program. That was reported to the City Council last
night by the City Plan Commission which has been making a preliminary survey of
possible sites to replace the present parking lot. WDT
1959
01 06 S.FIFTH
STREET PARKING LOT / EXPANSION PROGRAM
The Wisconsin Telephone Co.
failed to have a representative at yesterday afternoon's City council committee
meeting to outline a proposal relative to replacing the South Fifth Street
parking lot in the event it is sold to the company for its announced expansion
program. City manager C C. Congdon in
his letter to the Council outlining the agenda for discussion had stated that
the company representative would be present.
But he did not appear and as a result the Council did not get
information for which it has been waiting.
WDT
01 23 EXPANSION
WORK ON ITS WATERTOWN FACILITIES
It was announced today at the
office of City Manager C. C. Congdon, that the Wisconsin Telephone Co. now plans
not to begin expansion work on its Watertown facilities until about April of
1960. The telephone company is seeking
to purchase the present South Fifth Street parking lot from the city for its
expansion project. Since it does not
propose to begin expansion until 1960, the company will have ample opportunity
to prepare plans and specifications for a new parking lot which it proposes to
furnish the city on the present St. Luke’s property in North Fourth
Street. WDT
1960
08 18 DIAL TELEPHONE SERVICE
Dial telephone service is on its
way to Watertown, the Wisconsin Telephone Company announced today. In relating the details of the announcement,
Hal Prey, manager, said that present plans call for a complete conversion here
in the spring of 1962. “Changing from a
manual to dial-operated system is a vast undertaking,” Prey pointed out. “It requires a great amount of time, manpower
and equipment.” The Watertown project
presents an even greater challenge because the long distance equipment will be
installed in conjunction with the dial equipment. The total cost of the planned project will be
about $1,420,000. WDT
09 01 PROPERTY PURCHASES FOR PARKING
Informal negotiations for at least
two more property purchases to eventually extend the parking facilities in the
North Fourth Street parking lot, recently opened, have been underway here. One involves the Grabow property, north of
the present lot, fronting on North Fourth Street, and the other is the Hesse
property in North Fifth Street. Prices
have been secured on both properties and Councilman George Shephard is
preparing to bring the matter into the open at next week's council meeting. The
Grabow property would permit the extension of Madison Street through to North
Fifth Street. WDT
10 08 NOTHING FURTHER WILL BE
DONE
Indications are that nothing
further will be done, at least for the time being, on the question of acquiring
a North Fourth Street property and a North Fifth Street property in order to
extend Madison Street from North Fourth to North Fifth Streets. At this week's council meeting, the council
was informed that the price tag on the Theodore Grabow property, located at 123
North Fourth Street, is $15,000 and the tag on the John Hesse property, located
at 120 North Fifth Street, is $14,000, making a total of $29,000. This report, made by Acting City Manager
Glenn Ferry disclosed that both property owners were willing to enter into a 90
day option at these figures, on the condition that they could retain the
properties until July. The price, in
each instance, far exceeds assessed valuation.
10 09 TELEPHONE COMPANY’S NEW
ADDITION
Ground
was broken today for the Wisconsin Telephone Company’s new building addition,
which will house Watertown’s dial telephone system. The addition will adjoin the rear of the
existing building at 115 South Fourth Street.
A ceremony marked the formal start of the project which will bring a
completely new telephone system to Watertown, scheduled for spring of
1962. Present at the ceremony were Glenn
Ferry, acting city manager; James A. Fitzpatrick, city attorney; Edward Hinterberg,
president of the city council; Ronald C. Moser, vice president of the city
council; William V. Resneck; president of the Watertown Association off
Commerce, John D. Clifford, publisher of the Watertown Daily Times, and Earl R. Maas, of the Maas Bros.
Construction Co., Watertown.
Addition built by Maas Bros.
1961
08 11 NEW DIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM
A new look in telephones — a dial
equipped instrument — made its appearance in Watertown today. The instrument was installed in the office of
Mayor Robert P. White. Its installation
signaled the start of work to provide all Watertown telephone subscribers with
dial-equipped telephones, marking another step forward in the Wisconsin
Telephone Company’s plans to bring dial service to Watertown. A special crew of 12 telephone installers
will be in the community for about one month to make telephone instrument
changes in residences and business establishments throughout the city. WDT
12 30 ALL
NUMBER CALLING - SEVEN NUMERALS
When Watertown telephone users
are introduced to a new dial telephone system next spring, the “new look” in
telephone numbers will also make its debut here, manager Giles Clark of the
Wisconsin Telephone Company announced today.
The new numbers will be the latest kind — seven numerals. This new metropolitan-type dialing
arrangement, known as All Number Calling, is being gradually introduced
throughout Wisconsin and eventually will be standard across the nation. Notices of the new numbers are being mailed
to residence and business customers this week. They will become effective with
the Watertown dial conversion next spring.
WDT
1962
01 10 PREPARING
FOR DIAL SERVICE
Passers-by might wonder what is
happening inside the Wisconsin Telephone Company building on South Fourth
Street these days. Huge crates and boxes
are being hoisted into the building, and many new faces can be seen working in
the area. These are the constituents for
the installation of central office equipment, which began here a few weeks
ago. When completed, the equipment will
provide for an essential part of Watertown's new dial telephone system. The crates and boxes contain about 50 tons of
numerous relays, switches, iron work and associated equipment necessary for the
installation. This equipment is the
"heart" or nerve center of the dial system which will begin serving
local subscribers late this spring, according to Manager Giles Clark. WDT
06 14 DIAL
SERVICE TO BEGIN
Everything is ready for dial
telephone service in Watertown at the scheduled time, 2 a.m. on Sunday, June
17, Manager Giles Clark of the Wisconsin Telephone Company announced
today. The changeover from the present manual
equipment to the dial switching system in the company’s building at 115 South
Fourth Street will be accomplished in just a few seconds. The entire operation will follow a closely
coordinated plan. At no time will
telephone service be interrupted. A
staff of approximately 50 telephone people will take part in the cutover,
simultaneously disconnecting the manual switching equipment and placing the new
dial system into service. WDT
1963
01 07 GROWTH
IS STEADY
A new high in the number of telephones
serving Watertown was announced today by Manager Ron Gillard of the Wisconsin
Telephone Company in his 1962 yearend report.
The present total is 7,600, an increase of 290 over the 1961 total.
Customer calling at Watertown also increased, Gillard said. Latest figures
indicate a local daily calling average of 16,300. Long distance calls numbered some 3,400 per
day. WDT
1964
12 26 STEADY
GROWTH
Steady telephone growth in
Watertown during 1964 has been reported by Manager William W. Carroll of the
Wisconsin Telephone Company. He made his
report public today. The total number of
phones in the exchange rose by 3.5 per cent during 1964. Carroll explained, “There now are almost
8,100 telephones here.” To help handle
the increased calls resulting from the added telephones, over $57,000 in dial
switching equipment was added in the exchange’s office during the year. This brought the total plant investment of
the Wisconsin Telephone Company in Watertown up over $4 million. WDT
1966
01 29 DIRECT DISTANCE DIALING (DDD) SERVICE
Watertown is one of two Wisconsin
Telephone Company exchanges in the state which will be offered an experimental
residence Direct Distance Dialing (DDD) service within Wisconsin at a flat
monthly rate. For customers who subscribe
to the optional service here, it will be possible to dial station calls during
certain time periods to anywhere in Wisconsin without regular long distance
charges applying. The flat rate for the
experimental service will be $15 per month.
Customers can call as frequently as they wish each weekday from 6 p.m.
to 6 a.m. the following day, and on weekends from 12 noon Saturday all day
Sunday and up to 6 a.m. Monday. WDT
10 25 OPERATOR AWARDED CITATION
Mrs. Helen Fredrick, an operator
for the Wisconsin Telephone Company in Watertown, was honored with a company
citation at the Jefferson Country Club at noon today. Mrs. Fredrick, rural route 1, Juneau, is
credited with helping save the life of a woman, whose dog turned on her the
night of Sept. 25, 1965. Mrs. Fredrick
received the call from the frantic woman and connected her to the Oconomowoc
police department. Calls for operator
assistance from Oconomowoc are answered in the telephone company’s Watertown
office . Police were unable to determine the victim’s name and address, but
Mrs. Fredrick had obtained the first three numbers of the address and what
sounded like a name — either the woman’s or that of the street — before the
caller was driven from the phone by the engaged animal. WDT
1967
06 12 DIAL SERVICE WENT INTO EFFECT
An anniversary took place in the
early morning hours here today, but people celebrated the occasion. One might ask why the anniversary went
unnoticed? The reason might be the ease
with which residents can pick up their telephone and dial a friend or relative,
almost anywhere in the country, is an everyday occurrence. And yet, at 2 a.m. on June 17, 1962, the
voice of the telephone operator saying, “Number please,” was replaced by the
hum of the dial tone for some 7,400 telephones in the city as dial service went
into effect. On hand in 1962 were about
50 employees of the Wisconsin Telephone Company who disconnected customer lines
from the manual switching equipment as they transferred the connections to the
$550,000 dial equipment. WDT
1969
03 04 ROTARY
CLUB PRESENTER
Roy Pfeiffer, former Penney store
manager, William O’Herrin, Wisconsin Telephone manager, Mayor A. E. (Mike)
Bentzin
03 07 HIGH STUDENT AND
TEACHER TO TOUR BELL LABS
William
O’Herrin, mgr, Wisconsin Telephone, student Davis Bothe
05 08 SCHURZ
SCHOOL SECOND GRADERS USING PRACTICE TELEPHONES
Pam Delzer, Carey
Bergdoll, Gary Ehnert
06 11 WATERTOWN A PRIMARY SWITCHING CENTER
Construction work now underway
will make Watertown the Wisconsin Telephone Company’s seventh primary switching
center. William O’Herrin, the company’s
local manager, said a $230,000 building addition, which will house the new
switching equipment, will be completed June 23.
At that time, Western Electric, the manufacturing and supply arm of the
Bell System, will begin installing new equipment valued at $820,000. O’Herrin explained that a primary switching
center directs calls from the surrounding area out to the Bell System’s
nationwide long distance network. WDT
1970
05 26 "THE MYSTERY OF LIFE" PROGRAM AT THE
WATERTOWN KIWANIS CLUB
A program entitled
"The Mystery of Life" program at the Watertown
Kiwanis Club. The program was
presented by Robert Dougherty of the Wisconsin Telephone Company. The laser beam and other scientific
developments were demonstrated in the course of Dougherty's talk. Robert Dougherty, Tom Udell and Dr. Wm. M.
Fester.
1980
03 30 LONG
DISTANCE CALLS STREAMLINED
Wisconsin Telephone introduced a new
method to streamline the processing of long distance calls placed from coin
telephones today, according to Ron Walters, phone company manager. “In most of
the 414-calling area, persons who place a customer-paid long distance call from
a coin telephone will now be notified of the amount to deposit by a
computer-like voice instead of an operator.”
Walters said, “The new equipment, known as Automated Coin Toll Service,
automatically computes the charges for a coin toll call, announces the charges
to the customer, counts the coin deposits and then completes the call.” Walters
said the equipment for Automated Coin Toll Service is being phased in to
service for nearly 18,000 Wisconsin Telephone public phones in the
414-area. WDT
12 16 WATERTOWN OFFICE CLOSED
The Wisconsin Telephone Company
office at 115 South Fourth Street, will be closed next summer. All Watertown customer records will be
transferred to a centralized unit in Beloit.
Art Jaehnke, district manager of residence service centers, said the firm's
four local business office personnel will be offered other employment in the
company. Installers, repairmen and linemen are working out of a central office
in Ixonia which handles all Watertown and Oconomowoc work. A small staff of maintenance officials will
remain in the local facility, but no services will be provided for the
public. Jaehnke said the move toward
consolidation of various customer business offices in the state was being made
to take greater advantage of a new computerized system which eliminates most
paper records. The centralized Beloit
office will handle customer telephone service activities involving sales
contracts as well as customer billing and collection matters. WDT
1986
06 19 ENNOVATION MOVES INTO BLDG
The state-of-the-art product line may not be the easiest to
understand for a lay person, but the philosophy behind one of Watertown’s
newest businesses comes through loud and clear.
“The best way to put it is that we want to be the best employer in
Watertown. We want to have stability,”
said William Shier who with Enno Knief are the executives of Ennovation,
designers and manufacturers of what they are calling “intelligent
sensors.” The company is located in the
Wisconsin Telephone Company building, 115 South Fourth Street, which is being
renovated into an office building equipped with a new digital telephone
system. Knief is president of the firm,
Shier vice president. Both men left
Eaton Corporation in 1985. WDT
1987
04 27 UPGRADES
Several exchanges will be added to the city’s local calling
area June 1. Ameritech has announced that
Lake Mills, Mapleton and Waterloo will be new additions to the local list for
Watertown phone users, bringing to seven the number of local exchanges in the
Expanded Community Calling plan since last year. The three will join Jefferson, Juneau, Sullivan
and Oconomowoc.
The phone company also announced that callers should be
prepared for a new method of dialing long distance later this year. On Sept. 15, long distance phone calls within
the city’s area code should include the 414 code.
2021
03 12 NEED TO DIAL 10 DIGITS TO MAKE LOCAL CALLS
All Wisconsin residents will have to dial 10 digits to make
local calls starting in October as part of a move by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). People in Wisconsin
can currently place a call to a number in the same area code without having to
dial the area code, but all local calls will need to include the area code
beginning Oct. 24.
More than 80 area codes in 30-plus states will be affected, including four
of Wisconsin’s six area codes: 262, 414, 608 and 920. The 715 and 534 codes already use 10-digit
dialing for local calls.
History of Watertown,
Wisconsin