Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-06-18

Thirty years ago to-day l.. ii.
Kinnard, vice-president and gen.
eral manager of the Bell Telephone
Company of Pennsylvania entered
the telephone work and his many
friends will be glad to look back
with pride over this brief span of
successful endeavor and then join
in congratulating him, for there are
many in Harrisburg that remember
the time when a telephone was a
great novelty.
1t was on June 1S, 1888, that Mr..
Kinnard entered the telephone field
with the old pennsylvania Telephone
Company in this city and, at that
time, the telephone was practically
in it's infancy. When Mr.. Kinnard
Joined the telephone ranks there were
about 200 telephones connected to
the Harrisburg central office and the
offices were located in a few rooms
in the old Commonwealth Trust
building, at 222 Market street. To-
day there are about 10000 tele-
phones connected to the central
office and they occupy the entire
building at 20S and 210 Walnut
street, five floors of the Johnston
building at 10 South Second street,
and the plant offices, storerooms and
garage at 306 South Cameron
street.
Credit has been given in great
part to Mr.. Kinnard by his associa-
tes for the tremendous growth of
the telephone business in the past
quarter century and he is pointed
out as being one of the men who di-
rected the infantile steps in the
telephone industry in tbs section of
the state. Mr.. Kinnard is located in
the Bell Parkway building, 1881
Arch street, Philadelphia.
Born in Harrisburg
Mr.. Kinnard was born at Harris
burg, on September 5, 1859, and en-
tered the employ of the Pennsylva-
MIA Telephone Company shortly aft
er the completion of his schooling,
and after serving in various capaci-
ties with that company at Harrs-
burg, Carlisle and Lancaster, was ap-
pointed superintendent in 1895,
with headquarters in this city. Six
years later, in January, 1902, he be-
came general superintendent and,
in the same year, was elected gener-
al manager of the above company.
With the consolidation of the
Bell Telephone Company of Phila-
delphia and the Pennsylvania Tele-
phone Company in 1908, Mr.. Kin
nard removed to Philadelphia to fill
the position of general contract
agent, and two years later received
the same title also of the central
District and Printing Telegraph
Company of Pittsburgh. Subsequent
ly Mr.. Kinnard's title was changed
to commercial manager, and again,
later to general commercial SUPER
intendent, which position he held
with the Bell Telephone Company
of Pennsylvania, the Delaware and
Atlantic Company, the Diamond
State Company and the Central Dis
trict Company up to the time he
assumed this new office as second
Vce-president and general manager.
Big Hand in Development
The tracing of Mr.. Kinnard's
career from the time of his entrance
into the teephone field is a most
interesting one. His first association
with the Pennsylvania Telephone
Company was at a time when the
latter company was fighting for it's
very existence, paying no dividends
and with dubious prospects of an
ultimate successful business perman-
ence. From those stirring times Mr..
Kinnard has witnessed and had a
strong hand in the great Develop
ment and has helped build up and
stabilize one of the most important
adjuncts to civilization that the
world has yet enjoyed. His effort
has been as unending as il has
been productive in all the capacities
which he has been called upon to
fill, and never more so than during
the years that have marked his Of
ficial service in the various COM
DanieS