The Telephone
THE TELEPHONE
from Doreen Betty
Barbé Wakelin
by TELEPHONE May 5, 1996
Transcribed
from notes by R.V.H. Barbé
When the family lived at 640 Barton Street E. in Hamilton, they
had a telephone. The number, Doreen remembers, was GArfield 6-543
J. This phone was there for business purposes in case anyone
wanted to phone about their shoes and for emergencies. There were
never any emergencies. No one ever used THE PHONE. It just sat
there.
After the move to Lindsay, when Doreen was 16, she went to work
at Allenbury's. Part of her job was to answer the phone. She had
never used a phone in her life. She was nervous. No, let's face
it, she was scared and didn't know what to say or when to say it.
The people at the company were very understanding and so they had
a fellow who worked downstairs phone Doreen regularly so that she
could get used to answering it.
Things must have worked out all right because within a few weeks,
they had Doreen working at the switchboard.
Anyone who has tried to phone Doreen recently will know that she
has completely recovered from her phone-a-phobia. Her line is
usually busy.
Return to "A Grandchild's Heritage"
Barbé Line
The Telephone
WebAuthor
Ron Barbé
RR# 1, Codrington,
ON, Canada
K0K 1R0
[email protected].
This page last updated February 17, 2001