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Old gas stations

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
Radio Service Engineers
49F0680F-D633-48B1-8011-BF0FC238830F.jpeg

The phone exchange on the side of the car reads: PHONE 73 W.
Either that was the number of subscribers
at the time in the area or something else.
Perhaps we need the signal for assistance :)
 

LizzieMaine

Bartender
Messages
33,755
Location
Where The Tourists Meet The Sea
Two-digit or even single phone numbers were common in small towns with manual service. Our gas station's pre-dial phone number was "9."

The W is a party-line letter, used in communities with four-party service on each line. J, M, R, and W were used to designate each subscriber on a specific line. In this example, 73 is the root number of the party line, and W is the individual subscriber line. In rural communities with dial service, but having manual offices within their local dialing area, phones had special dial plates with J, M, R, and W being the only letters displayed along with the usual numerals -- the familiar ABC DEF etc. dials were used only in metropolitan service.

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Another thing you'll see in manual exchange numbers to indicate a party line is something like "143-2," which was my grandparents' number. This number should be read as "One Four Three ring Two" when you give it to the operator, who will ring the party line number 143 with two short rings as a signal to that particular subscriber. Or you might see "143-12", which is "One Four Three ring One Two," which produces a long ring and two shorts for line 143.
 

3fingers

One Too Many
Messages
1,797
Location
Illinois
There is a Sinclair dino at the entrance to the mini golf and batting cages in town. I have no idea where it came from. It has always maintained its proper shade of green until last year when somebody decided it should be pink with brown spots. I feel so bad for the poor thing standing there along the highway with everyone able to observe its shame and humiliation.
 

2jakes

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,680
Location
Alamo Heights ☀️ Texas
There is a Sinclair dino at the entrance to the mini golf and batting cages in town. I have no idea where it came from. It has always maintained its proper shade of green until last year when somebody decided it should be pink with brown spots. I feel so bad for the poor thing standing there along the highway with everyone able to observe its shame and humiliation.

Now I don't feel so bad.
There's a yearly fiesta event when Dino
is wearing a poncho and a tiny
straw sombrero.
 

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