Ring 3 for Help!

Need assistance from the police department or fire department? In the 1940’s, homes with telephones were told to ring 3 for help! An advertisement in the Millinocket Journal states RING 3 for MFD or MPD. There was no 9-1-1 back then.

At that time, many homes still had the old wall phone with mouthpiece attached to speak into and an earpiece (attached with a cord & when “hung up” dropped into a metal holder on the left side). A crank on the right side was turned to contact “Central.” Central was a small office somewhere in town or perhaps in someone’s home. The operator would ask “what number” and when told she would plug the proper cord into a spot on a large switchboard to connect you with the number. This style telephone was in use well into the 1940’s and 50’s.

The Laverty book outlines Millinocket’s telephone history. January 4, 1902 – A crew of 5 men of the New England Telephone Company are putting about 25 phones in town. They are quartered at the Mountain View House. January 11, 1902 – Miss Maud McEwen will be in charge of the central office of the New England Telephone Company located in the Heebner Drug Store. Harold Gates was night supervisor. As additional switchboards and more operators were added, the office moved upstairs. (Current empty building corner Penobscot & Central St. by traffic light). Eleanor Doherty was day supervisor until the mill had its own switchboard (Administration Bldg.). Doherty then moved to the mill and more operators were added to the town’s phone system. It was 1951 before dial service came to Millinocket.

When Stearns HS opened in 1923 (after the fire at the old HS), it had an elaborate phone system. In the Superintendent’s spacious offices, there was a network of telephone.

There was also an early telephone system for the GNP logging area. Chapter 21 of John McLeod’s The Greater Great Northern tells that story. In 1901, the same year that Millinocket was incorporated as a town, Great Northern built its first piece of telephone line from Chesuncook Dam to Millinocket. Earlier, in the 1890’s, the Kineo and Northeast Carry Telephone Company was formed and ran a line to serve the hotels on the east side of Moosehead Lake and to Chesuncook Village. Another line was built

to Rockwood. Then the New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. took over the Kineo company and added lines as far as Jackman, Seboomook and Pittston Farm.

            The GNP system had no switchboards or operators. If someone wanted to talk with someone, he called the first place on the line, and the clerk or cook switched the call to the next point and so on. Switchboards and operators may have been added about 1921. By the time the West Branch system was completed, mid 1920’s, there were about 200 miles of pole line along the “turnpikes” and 500 miles of ground line in use. This system was used until about 1952 when the switch was made to a radio system.

            The museum has a wall telephone with a crank on display. It was located at the dam at Millinocket Lake. A call would come through to the gatekeeper when wood was on its way to the dam.