Sweethearts of the Switchboard

“During an era when women were only expected to fill the strict roles of nurse, wife or school teacher, these women arguably held more power in Morgan County than anybody. They controlled communication. They saw to it that wives got through to their husbands at work. They told the fire department to send trucks to burning houses. And, on occasion, they exercised their skills at telepathy.”
Madison was the last Georgia city to end the live operator system. This story offers a look back at how placing a call was different before the phone companies “cut to dial.”

Read more