1955 Mrs. Bernice Sutton

Thirty years as a telephone operator in Fairfield is a long time, but that’s the record held by Mrs. Bernice Sutton. In 1955, Gene Thompson, local manager for General Telephone, presented Bernice with a 30-year pin.

Each of the phones in a particular location would be connected by wire to a central exchange. The owner of a telephone would call the exchange, and a switchboard operator would answer. The caller would give the operator the name or number of the person he or she wanted to speak with, and the operator would plug a patch cord into that person’s socket on the switchboard, connecting the two.

In a time when most workers were men, WOMEN were preferred as switchboard operators for their pleasant voice and patient demeanor. The job could be hectic and stressful at times.

Looking back over her long service, Bernice said “most people were nice, even during the busy times during the oil boom of the late 1930s. That was a crazy, busy time I will never forget. Our facilities were cramped and over-loaded with calls.”

When Bernice became a phone operator on April 1st 1925 there were only 600 phones in Fairfield and it took 14 operators to handle them. Starting out at 12 cents an hour wage, Bernice has seen many changes over the years. Slowly the switchboards were replaced with automated equipment able to connect one phone number to another. Even then, it was possible to dial 0 and connect with a telephone operator for assistance making a call.

https://www.history.com/news/rise-fall-telephone-switchboard-operators

WC Press 19558/2022 DGS