Only one phone - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

vitoscotti · 03-27-2021, 12:53 PM

Big house with 2 floors with only one phone in the den up to the end of season 2. An upstairs phone did pop up earlier in the show but disappeared. New house coming in season 3. I gather with the move from cbs to abc. Funny when Larry calls Beaver the phone is immediately picked up, though Beaver rarely hangs out in the den. Will June get extra phone(s) in the new house? I honestly don't remember from watching as a kid.

Cx · 03-27-2021, 01:56 PM

FWIW, in our 2 story house with 6 of us, we didn't get a 2nd phone ( extension ) until the mid 1980s. There was no expectation of privacy: if you wanted it, you made or received a call if and when you were the only one in the house.

stevea · 03-27-2021, 06:41 PM

We never see the master bedroom of the first house; maybe we can say they moved that 2nd floor hall phone into the bedroom at some point.

Same here on the 1 phone, maybe a 2nd phone was added in the 1970s. The one phone was a black rotary dial phone, a Western Electric 500 model.

Tankeryanker · 03-27-2021, 06:55 PM

I think we had two phones for most of my life. One in the kitchen the other in Mom and dads room. The kitchen phone had a super long cord so we could be in different rooms and have some kind of privacy.

GentlemanJim · 03-27-2021, 07:59 PM

When I was real young, we had a "party-line" phone in our house, at least two other households were on it. I used to eavesdrop on these old biddies discussing their health issues, sometimes beyond gross.

As I entered my highschool years, my mom started making comments she could only be aware of by overhearing my phone conversations. So when I got my first job, I bought and paid for my own private line, with an unlisted number of course, installed in our finished basement, away from prying ears.

CosmicCharlie · 03-28-2021, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tankeryanker

I think we had two phones for most of my life. One in the kitchen the other in Mom and dads room. The kitchen phone had a super long cord so we could be in different rooms and have some kind of privacy.

Yup when the REAL LONG phone handle (?) cord (the curley one) came out in our house about mid 60's it allowed the person to actually make it into the closet or partially up the stairs to talk in private +- lol

my current house built in 1956 had a cut out in the central hall for the phone and a desk, BUT I made that area part of my enlarged bathroom

MANY houses I visit for work STILL have the hall cut out for the phone ... a part of Americana that has since gone away

Recently on a tv talk show the lady said her 6 year old daughter was watching an older tv show and the the little girl asked her mom what that thing was that the lady on the tv was holding up to her head and talking to ....

stevea · 03-28-2021, 08:10 PM

Right, the kids don't know anything about a landline phone. Ask them to do something with a rotary dial and they'd be really lost.

They wouldn't have a clue about a 45 or LP record or the player, either. I even have doubts about a CD or DVD the way things are going.

biffbronson · 03-29-2021, 07:30 AM

My house growing up always just had a black rotary dial phone, on the kitchen wall. We did have a few old phone jacks upstairs though, but didn't convert one to add a 2nd phone until I was in my 20s.

03-27-2021, 12:53 PM	#1
vitoscotti Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 14, 2017 Location: Illinois Posts: 1,084	Only one phone Big house with 2 floors with only one phone in the den up to the end of season 2. An upstairs phone did pop up earlier in the show but disappeared. New house coming in season 3. I gather with the move from cbs to abc. Funny when Larry calls Beaver the phone is immediately picked up, though Beaver rarely hangs out in the den. Will June get extra phone(s) in the new house? I honestly don't remember from watching as a kid.

03-27-2021, 01:56 PM	#2
Cx Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 01, 2020 Posts: 209	FWIW, in our 2 story house with 6 of us, we didn't get a 2nd phone ( extension ) until the mid 1980s. There was no expectation of privacy: if you wanted it, you made or received a call if and when you were the only one in the house.

03-27-2021, 06:41 PM	#3
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,933	We never see the master bedroom of the first house; maybe we can say they moved that 2nd floor hall phone into the bedroom at some point. Same here on the 1 phone, maybe a 2nd phone was added in the 1970s. The one phone was a black rotary dial phone, a Western Electric 500 model.

03-27-2021, 06:55 PM	#4
Tankeryanker Do you like my monkey picture? Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 22, 2014 Posts: 3,051	I think we had two phones for most of my life. One in the kitchen the other in Mom and dads room. The kitchen phone had a super long cord so we could be in different rooms and have some kind of privacy.

03-27-2021, 07:59 PM	#5
GentlemanJim Concerns, Support, & Feedback Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 26, 2019 Location: The back country Posts: 5,443	When I was real young, we had a "party-line" phone in our house, at least two other households were on it. I used to eavesdrop on these old biddies discussing their health issues, sometimes beyond gross. As I entered my highschool years, my mom started making comments she could only be aware of by overhearing my phone conversations. So when I got my first job, I bought and paid for my own private line, with an unlisted number of course, installed in our finished basement, away from prying ears.

03-28-2021, 08:10 PM	#7
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,933	Right, the kids don't know anything about a landline phone. Ask them to do something with a rotary dial and they'd be really lost. They wouldn't have a clue about a 45 or LP record or the player, either. I even have doubts about a CD or DVD the way things are going.

03-29-2021, 07:30 AM	#8
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,531	My house growing up always just had a black rotary dial phone, on the kitchen wall. We did have a few old phone jacks upstairs though, but didn't convert one to add a 2nd phone until I was in my 20s.