Local

1905 — Pictured, left to right, are Charles H. Harris and his brother-in-law William Correll and Marie Correll by a building at about 130 E. Denver St. in Holyoke about 1905. Harris began installing telephones to the farmers in the surrounding area using the fences as telephone lines. As more people installed phones between business and home, there was a need for a central switching point, so he set up a plug board system in his home across the alley from the Catholic church, where his wife, Etta, was the operator. In 1903, a hand-crank switchboard was installed in this new location on East Denver Street. At that time there were no phone numbers, so the operator had to know everyone and what drop or plug they were on. Phillips County Telephone Company was incorporated in May 1906 and purchased the building from the Harrises in 1908 and hired George Sarver to operate the switchboard. — Source: Phillips County Museum