The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1945-08-18


shese days would make Alexander
Graham Bells ears ring.
Dlai one number, for example.
ana Out comes a sermon, delivered
- the Rev. J. J. D. Hall. who's
been preaching over the phone
Tor i've years. Today the sO-year-
cd minister. who has no pastoral
charge. and corps of volunteer
preachers deliver about 700 ad lib
sermons a day.
II you're shopping for material
rather than spiritual, items vo,,
can ean the Donnelly BUYERS
ssrvice. whose New York office
tells about 200 people every dav
~nere to buy everything from
serobats tights to xylophones
Win a reference library of CLASH
lied phone books, trade direc-
tories and 6o.00O-card file. the
service can answer most queries
but Il has been stumped. One
housewife called at 5 pm. to get
me name Of a fruit store that
you'd have ripe alligator pears
Ane could convert into a salad bv
. pm. Another was sure the SER
wee could tell her where to pur-
chase a pretty yellow blouse she.
Rad noticed on a fellow bus pas
senger that morning. 80. ~
Among the strangest telephone
operations is lock-opening. direc-
ted by Charles Courtney, master
locksmith. He telephones instruc-
tons TO harrassed storekeepers on
how 10 open jammed safes. Given
ne make. and absolute proof he's
not Just relieving burglar of the
trouble Of figuring out a combina-
tlon. Courtney can break almost
any combination by phone.
II ats your eyes you're trying
10 open. there's a way of doing
that by telephone too. The coun-
Try Is sprinkled with wake-up
services, which for fee will call
10 the morning and keep ringing
until you answer. Western Union
has IFS own wake-up service, in
which the prospective sleepyhead
sends himself a telegram to be
delivered by phone at a specific
time. Teachers are frequent users
Il tins service. and so are people
who keep odd hours-radio ac-
tors. defense workers, stage folk.
Now suppose it's going to sleep
mat bothers you. Psychologist
Max Mann used hypnotic sugges-
} ton via the phone stos put so
rzs@ns pe0ple 10 sleep that he had
90 record his talk and write
ko0k n self defense-so he could
81 some sleep. People used to
call a 8 am. for Mann's soft
spoken sleep-inducer, and he
es1iFnates be has aided more than
zD00 people catch their proper
asut-eye. .. . -.
II you suddenly get yen to
hear church bells, you can call
Thomas Valentino, sounded
fects man who has records of
about 500 different noises that
ne plays over the phone. "Ev-
eryehing from a cats meow to
. lions roar; from a pistol shot
60 q world war" is Valentines
slogan, but he insists that any
enc who says he has recorded
the mating call of hippopota-
naus is a liar.
In most cases, Valentines call
eFs are school teachers, college
Students. radio people and drama
directors. Sometimes they come
IN and buy the record-some-
times not. Valentino recalls girl
emo had done a lot of travelling
and was homesick for the sound
q clicking railroad wheels So he
cid her a record OF railroad
wheels clicking ii IN 3
TFeatfical people make .aKideS
spread use or couple of you
name 'en, we find 'em" SER
vices. One of these, Celebrity
Service. keeps complete track of
anyone worth the title of celeb
rity. knows where the brightlights
1--we. what hotels they stop at, and
even their train time when traV-
eiinR. Like its counterpart for
radio actors, Radio Registry, Gel
et1rity Service is pretty careful
shout giving out information, and
mas never been guilty of putting
an autograph hound on star s
trail. Each service answers about
1000 calls daily, and Radio Reg
issry is especially proud of the
time Il located an actor for a radio
producer via the Coast Guard loud
speaker at Jones Beach.
There are columns of automatic
svou leave. we answer" telephone
services listed in the New York
directory, and many telephone
secretarial services that can take
over your business while you're
absent.
Call the number to get the
sveather forecast, and you are eX-
horted 10 buy bonds, have your
chest X-rayed. and protect your
ear against sub-zero Temperature,
between forecasts. Dial the local
NNEl