Left- Burnice Moore at the switchboard-1959.
The Mt. Vernon Tephone Company
A year after the turn of the century, on March 9, 1901, the Mt. Vernon Telephone Company was formed. William Moore and his brother, Frank Moore, had already begun to install a few phones in the area by stringing the phone wires along the fence posts between the homes. Warner Tasher, M. K. Peters, John Miller, John Donald, Adam Davidson, Frank Moore, Martin Tollefson, Charles Colby and probably others, decided that a telephone company should be started. The name, "Mt. Vernon Telephone Company", was decided upon. The original officers were, John Miller; president, Adam Davidson; vice-president, Frank Moore; secretary, and Thomas Davidson; treasurer.
The Moore and the Davidson brothers soon began extending the phone service towards Verona and Mt. Horeb. About this same time, a phone company was operating in New Glarus. Due to financial difficulties, the New Glarus Company was unable to continue operations. The Mt. Vernon Telephone Company then purchased the New Glarus Company for about $1,500.
In the beginning, the switchboard operated out of the Koch Brothers General Merchandise Store. In 1902, a 25-line switchboard was installed in Mt. Vernon as well as in Verona. In 1904, the Mt. Vernon switchboard was moved into the home of Frank and Mary Moore. All of Frank's daughters learned to operate the switchboard. For many years, Frank Moore served as president and manager of the telephone company. The company published a telephone book each year listing the local residence and business connections by their party lines. The rules and regulations of the use of the telephone were listed in the front of the books. The first rule was "No one shall answer any ring or LISTEN to any message not intended for his instrument. Keep your receiver hung small end up all the time when not taking or sending a message. Any infringement of this rule will be punished by a penalty." Other notices in the book read, "Please do not ring at night after 9 o'clock unless very important, and unless necessary do not ring Centrals before 7 a.m. or on Sunday p.m.," and "Children are lovely beings indeed, but they should not be permitted to play with the phone," and "The right way to talk, talk directly into the mouthpiece, and say as much as you can in as few words as possible. Speak distinctly." The toll rates per call in 1904 were, Mt. Vernon to Mt. Horeb; 15 cents, Mt. Vernon to Belleville; 20 cents, Mt. Vernon to Montrose; 10 cents, New Glarus to Mt. Horeb; 25 cents, and 10 cents for local calls.
In 1922, Ernest Gilden joined the company as a lineman, and in 1943, he was elected President and General Manager. He served with the company until 1963. In 1959, the central exchanges in Verona and Mt. Vernon were converted to dial direct. The New Glarus exchange was converted in 1962. Stanley Hutchens became the manager in 1963, and served until 1971. In 1968, the Mt. Vernon Telephone Company was sold to Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (TDS), a Chicago based company.
New Glarus was converted to all one-party service in 1970, and Verona and Mt. Vernon were converted in 1971. Gone forever were the days of multiple party lines in these areas. Area residents had once enjoyed getting all of the local gossip from the central operator and had developed close ties with their neighbors who shared their party line. The Mt. Horeb Area Historical Society now has in its collection the original Mt. Vernon Telephone Company central switchboard.