Telephone - items
FROM MARY LOU HAZELRIGG
Subject: Nov. 28, 1958, New Phone Direct Distance Dialing
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The Daily Banner, Greencastle, Putnam County, 29 November 1958
COMMUNITY MEETING
Clinton Center School Monday, December 1st-7:30 P. M.
COME LEARN ABOUT THE NEW DIAL SYSTEM
Refreshments Will Be Served
General Telephone Company of Indiana
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Direct Distance Dialing Explained
Direct Distance Dialing that’s the talk of the town in Greencastle.
On street corners, in business establishments and in residences, Greencastle people are talking about DDD, one of the most modem developments in the telephone industry. The interest in DDD in this west central Indiana town stems from the fact that on Dec. 7 General Telephone will start providing Greencastle residents with direct distance dialing services. This is an added attraction which goes with the conversion to dial phones here. DDD will permit Greencastle residents to dial directly to telephones in more than 1,700 cities over the nation. Books explaining how to use direct distance dialing arc being mailed to telephone customers in the Greencastle exchange area. Persons wanting to make long distance calls to dialable points will be able to reach millions of residences and businesses from New York to Los Angeles by using three easy steps. First, the party making the call must dial 120, the “Key to DDD.” The code number 120 connects the caller with electronic equipment which sets the Direct Distance Dialing system in motion.
Next, the caller dials the Area Code, which will consist of three digits at dialable points. For example, the New York area code is 212. For Los Angeles, it’s 215. Code numbers of several other dialable cities are listed in the DDD information booklet. (This step is eliminated when dialing a number within your code area.)
Finally, the, caller dials the number he or she wishes to reach. Telephone numbers at all points which can be reached by Direct Distance Dialing always will consist of two letters and five numbers.
In dialing, do not confuse the letter “O”, as in the Greencastle exchange prefix. Oliver, with the number zero. The letter “O” on the diaI is grouped with the letters “M” and “N” and the numeral 6. The number zero is the last digit on the dial.
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Santa Claus made his appearance at 1:30 Friday afternoon in downtown Greencastle to officially open the Christmas season in this city. Santa arrived in the city police car and was welcomed by the Greencastle High School Band which had assembled on the snow-covered court house lawn on the south side of the public square.
There were scores of children on hands and the genial old gentleman tossed candy kisses to them as he made his way through the crowd into the court house lobby. There he handed out more candy to smaller youngsters who were waiting his arrival with
their mothers or fathers inside out of the cold and snow. The Christmas lights in the
business section were turned on for the first time Friday evening.to further announce that the Yuletide shopping season is now underway.
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Source: Daily Greencastle Banner and Times, Greencastle, Putnam County, 12 December 1894
All persons desiring telephones will leave their names at the office of Allee & Nelson by Thursday, December 13. – thanks to Mary Lou