The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1939-08-17
HOTEL, DEPOT AMONG
FIRST BUILDINGS
LINKED BY WIRE

liiOiilpSOIl put LII CO{IleCllOfl
between his agricultural ware
house and the postoffice. The
telephone line between the Ex-
change hotel and the depot was
also completed the week of
March Ia.
Records failed to reveal mem
bers of the Redwood Falls
Telephone company of that
time.
In June, 1889, D. N. Tallman
of Willmar and w. H. Anderson
of Minneapolis, representing the
Southern Electric telephone
company, purchased the stock of
the Redwood Falls company to
s'put in a first class exchange,
the phones to be furnished to
business houses at So and to re-
sidences for 81 a month. In
struments IN the business houses
were of "the long disferce kind. ;"
= BY August 80 of that year, A.
"Sandy" Williams of Willmar
was here to do the wiring. Wires
running east and west were put
in alleys, but as no alleys in the
city ran north and south, poles
Z for wires in those directions had
to be set in the streets.
Williams rented room on the
second floor of the Redwood
Falls Improvement company.
Completed in December 1889,
the exchange was conducted by
Carrie Isham and Joe Drake.
Telephone Romance
Service was prompt and lorg
. distance conversation sciear and
easy" The cost of putting in
the exchange was something
over $4,000" 1t was open from
7 a. m. to 10 p. m.
Later Miss Isham, the city's
first "hello girl'' and Sandy Will
liams We're married.
In 1909, the Redwood Falls
Electric Telephone company was
organized to buy out the Mime
sofa Central company At a
meeting January 18, 1910, the
report on five years in business
revealed they had increased the
number Of of telephones from
$50 to 283.
F. w. Philbrick, first presi-
dent, was replaced at this meet
ing by w. D. Lines. H. M. Aune
was secretary and A. c. Bur-
meister, vice president. The
board of directors included j. p.
Cooper, H. A. Baldwin, A. D.
Stewart, L. L. Thompson and
August Carity.
In 1921, the present brick Of
flee of the company on Washing
ton street, was built at a cost
of $4,000. During construction,
automatic phones were installed,
nearly $4,000 being invested in
underground cable extensions
and other installations.
Irene Zehetner who was a
telephone operator when the eX-
change was located above Jaeh-
ning'S hardware store, gave de-
monstrations on the use of the
automatic system in the store
window August % through
August Is of that year.
Fred Seifert is manager of the
company here and Amalie Joern,
bookkeeper.
Form Rural Company
The Redwood County Rural
telephone company was organ
lied at the court house March
IA, 1902. A Clark Miller was
elected president; Charles H.
VIM, vice president and A. D.
Stewart, secretary treasurer.
Other members of the first
board of directors included w.
H. Gold, William Lindeman, H.
c.. Werder, George L. Evans, S.
O. Mason and Robert Stewart.
It's capital stock of $4,000 was
apportioned into $500 shares.
Rates for city residences at that
time were ST a month and far
mers hoped to have rates of so
cents a month.
Bert Kleaver, who came to
Redwood Falls in 1909 to do con-
struction work for the rural
company, became its manager in
1911 and has occupied the posi-
ton since.
Now the rural system services
the rural territory of Redwood
Falls and the following towns:
Belyiew, Echo, Morgan, Vesta,
Wabasso, Walnut Grove and
Wood Lake.
Sixty deaths, ore half of the
county's total, were caused by