Caledonia Argus

Former operators reconnect

Posted: 9/23/03

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

They love to talk.

And talk they did, these women who between 1933 and 1961 were responsible for connecting Caledonia residents with each other and the outside world as operators for Northwestern Bell Telephone. In these days, when so many of the calls we make are answered by machines, itís hard to imagine a time when it took a live person just to connect the calling parties.

Bev Link, who served Northwestern Bell as operator and then service rep for 37 years, Eleanor (Skifton) Engen and Lolita (Olson) St. Mary decided to plan this reunion of the ìHello Girls,î which was held at Good Times in Caledonia on Friday. There were 26 in attendance, all eager to share memories and catch up with their former colleagues.

A table was set up with old photos of the switchboard and the women who ran them, and of social events ìthe girlsî celebrated together. There were small gold pins shaped like telephones that had the name of the operator engraved on them.

Stella (McCarthy) Urbain began work for Northwestern Bell in September of 1936. That was just three years after Northwestern Bell took over the telephone exchange from Tri-State Telephone. Stella became chief operator and worked in Caledonia for almost 10 years before moving to Dubuque for a position as an operator. She recalls that operators were scarce during the war, and any of the girls could have had jobs on either coast just for the asking.

Millie Lee and her daughter, Leota Bauer, both worked as operators. Millieís career began in 1933. She remembers that she didnít like working at night.

The operators worked out of the top floor of the former Sprague Bank building at Main and Kingston.

Night time operators would have cots to sleep on, and usually were awakened to connect a call in case of an emergency, or in case a veterinarian had to be summoned. Doctors and undertakers would leave with the operators the numbers at which they could be reached. Good or bad, operators would often know the news first.

Palma Utke, who worked as an operator in 1946, remarked, ìYou could always hear what was going on.î

Operators in Caledonia didnít have the same opportunity as some of their counterparts in New Albin or Brownsville to see the foot traffic on the street. Operators in those towns could sometimes give the location of the person being called.

Jean Kreuster of Brownsville was the last chief operator in Caledonia. It was a demanding role, she said, because the chief operator made out the schedule and had to cover shifts in the event someone was ill or did not show up. With only 10 operators covering 24 hours a day, ìThere was not a lot to work with,î she said. Kreuster worked from 1955 to 1961, and was chief operator the last nine months, until direct dial service went into effect.

Other chief operators who were in attendance included Mary (Schiltz) Carlson, Helen (Ganrude) Frank,and Imy (Johnson) Dorival.

The person traveling the furthest to attend the reunion was Joanne (Miller) Powers of Dayton, Ohio.

A total of 64 women served as operators for Northwestern Bell Telephone.

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