Page 61 Dan Cupid has been paying Fruitvale office another visit, and as a result Miss Mildred Shane is now Mrs. G. C. Dowlen. Also Miss Mildred Fowler answers to Mrs. Youngston, and Miss Glenden Stubbs to Mrs. Walter Jorgenson. We congratulate these three happy couples. Happy smiles are being worn by Miss Grace Enberg and Miss Josephine Combs of Fruitvale office, as they are both wearing diamond rings. Congratulations, girls. Mr. Harmon, counter supervisor in the Oakland business office, arrived at the office unusually cheerful on a recent Monday morning. Mr. Harmon rides a hobby called baseball every Sunday morning. It appears that on the day preceding this particular Monday his team actually emerged from the battle victorious, for some reason or other, which has not been explained as yet. Well, we are all glad the losing streak has been broken. Vacation period is now over at Sacramento and all are settling down to rotation billing, C.R.L. method of handling long-distance calls, and the new left-in station practice; altogether, let's go. And we are gaining stations, too. Many favorable comments are received in connection with the new restricted repetition practice recently established in the Sacramento exchange. Our operators' cheery "Thank you" seems to appeal very greatly to our customers. The traffic employees at Palo Alto all join in wishing success to Ruby Hallum, who resigned to train for a nurse in the St. Francis Hospital at San Francisco. Shortly before Mrs. Hallum left, the girls met at the home of Mrs. Inez Watkins, clerk, and presented Mrs. Hallum with a purse. The latter part of the evening was spent devouring a chicken dinner at Dinah's Shack, where dancing was also enjoyed. The present of their former chief operator, Mrs. Gertrude Coe, nee Davis, added greatly to the pleasure of everyone present. Manager B.A. Glover of Berkeley reports one complete set of our reels of motion pictures captioned "Fifty Years of Telephone Progress" having been made available to the director of publicity in the extension division, University of California, to be used for educational purposes in the science department. Mr. Meyers, head of this department at the university, is quoted as saying that among the several thousands of reels of films pertaining to diversified subjects, and included in the university's library, those of our manufacture are among the most popular. Promotions made effective lately in the Oakland district are: Eleanor Mackenzie, acting chief operator, San Leandro office, is chief operator; Helen C. Andrews, operator, San Leandro office, is now evening chief operator; Antoinette J. Jacobs, night operator, Fruitvale office, is night chief operator. The following employees were promoted to supervisors: Alice R. Frey, Humboldt; Christle Hageman, Berkeley; Helen F. Haskell, Alameda; Adelaide Hensley, Merritt; Kathleen J. McNamara, Berkeley; Mary L. Petty, long-distance office; Dorothy M. Ricketts, Oakland. The age of speed! A friend of Walter Brunsman, employee in the Oakland business office, rushed into the office at 12:40 p.m. one day, not long ago, with this salutation, "Sign me up for telephone service, Walt, I'm in a hurry." Brunsman, interested, asked why the excitement and hurry? Walt was stunned with this: "Why, I was married during my lunch hour just ten minutes ago." Mr. Brunsman extended congratulations and hurriedly proceeded to serve Mr. Stubblefield so that this "hurry-up artist" would not be late returning to his office. Miss Edna Hecker, a former employee of the company, who left our service to attend the University of California, has again joined the ranks of the Oakland business office, assuming the duties of the position in Area No. 1 vacated by Mrs. Vera Gray, who has been transferred to the sales unit of Area No. 2. We are glad to announce the addition of Miss Teddie Durbin to the Oakland stenographic force. Miss Durbin was transferred from the Western Electric Company in Seattle, and judging Miss Durbin, we will say that it is Seattle's loss and Oakland's gain. On the evening of September 10 members of the Chico Bell Club, with their families and friends, gathered at the Hooker Oak swimming pool in Bidwell Park, Chico. There was an attendance of over one hundred. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The entertainment consisted of a recitation by Miss Eileen Parrish, cashier of the manager's office; music was furnished by Messrs. Lewis and Spencer of the construction department, and various games were enjoyed by all until a late hour. Refreshments consisted of wieners and watermelon, coffee and home-made cake furnished by the traffic employees. Supervising Foreman C. V. Stewart and Manager W. T. Watts were in charge of arrangements. The birthday of Dorothy Perkins, Tulare's silver-toned operator, was the incentive for an enjoyable lawn party recently. Japanese lanterns lighted the garden and a glowing bonfire, about which games where played, added color to the delightful affair. Music was furnished by Lottie and Florence Lewis, the ukulele sisters, and manager "Len" helped them with a couple of songs. Refreshments were served and all departed wishing Dot many more happy birthdays. Traffic employees enjoying the evening were Mesdames Lee Moreland, Neil Jackson, Harry Thornton, Louie Lewis, Clarence Shirk, and the Misses Christine Thompson, Fay Gann, Grace Mead, Mat Barnett, Alice Carter, Maude Kinkade, Helen Huntington, and Edna Bailey. The Oakland business office has turned to jazz and modernity. The following members of that department have organized an orchestra known as "The Oakland Commercial Six." Here is the cast line-up: Mrs. E. Loker, pianist; William Sutherland, saxophone; Baird Porter, saxophone; Johnny Thompson, saxophone; Ralph Schultz, tenor banjo; Walter Brunsman, tenor banjo. These clever musicians have arranged to devote one evening a week to practice at their respective homes. The orchestra promises Oakland employees several enjoyable dancing parties during the fall and winter months. A surprise party and shower were given in honor of Miss Vernita Conger, operator, Monterey, on October 1 at the home of the chief operator, Miss E. Fotheringham. The evening was spent in games and cards. After a merry hour of Dutch whist, prizes were awarded. The first prize was won by Miss Beatrice Vidal, second by Mary Gale, and a large basket of beautiful and useful gifts in the form of a consolation prize was presented to the bride-to-be by twenty-seven of her fellow employees. After the packages were opened and viewed by all, refreshments were served and the guests departed. Our new San Francisco Sunset office building opened recently. It is equipped with one of the finest cafeterias and restrooms in the city. We are all very happy with our new quarters, and wish to take this opportunity of saying, "We are very proud of our new building." Mr. Crichton is to be congratulated for his fine work and ideas that helped to make our new building such a success. In honor of the opening day a very delicious luncheon was served, which was a great success. The guests consisted of the Evergreen district chief operators, Mr. Prescott, Mr. Thrall, Mr. Hunt, and Mr. Crichton. The dentist that Walter Brunsman, Oakland commercial employee, is delighted to visit about twice a year is Doctor C.J. Frederick, who is located in the Easton Building, Oakland. Doctor Frederick is a shareholder and booster for American Telephone and Telegraph Company stock. During the month of September Doctor Frederick sent Mr. Brunsman two prospects. One customer purchased twenty shares of stock and the other four shares under the option "A" plan. Walter says the moral to this tale is, "Tell your dentist that he didn't hurt you a bit, and he, out of sheer gratitude, will buy bye and bye." On the occasion of the Berkeley Manufacturers Association's regular monthly meeting and dinner, B. A. Glover, our Berkeley manager, provided the program for the evening's entertainment, which consisted of several delightful soprano solos given by Miss Evelyn Kelley accompanied by Mrs. Gloria Rasmussen at the Steinway. Both of these young ladies are employed in the Berkeley business office. The musical program was followed with a talk by Walter S. Reed on telephotography. The entire program was enthusiastically received, and at its close the president of the association requested that a rising vote of thanks be given to the telephone company as an expression for appreciation for the evening's entertainment. The All-Western Road Show that was located at the foot of Fillmore Street used, during its stay, one 550-C switchboard with 25 local stations. The board was installed by Charles Kelm working under the supervision of Mr. Monaghan. In addition to this service there were five public pay stations scattered throughout the various tents. The wind and rainstorm that visited our city caused considerable damage at the road show. The large tent was blown down and ten of the local telephone stations were temporarily disconnected due to the falling tent carrying our drop wires with it. This was soon remedied by the men under the supervision of Frank Monaghan, and it was not long before complete service was restored. J.A. Kincaid, our former district traffic superintendent of the San Francisco suburban district, was the guest of honor at a dinner dance held at the Hotel Rafael recently. Our chief operators of San Rafael, Mill Valley, Sausalito, Corte Madera, and Belvedere, and a large number of operators of these offices, arranged this social event as a formal farewell to Mr. Kincaid, who is leaving this territory to take a position in the division traffic office in San Francisco. L. W. Hollingsworth will succeed Mr. Kincaid. C.F. Cole, division superintendent of traffic of the Coast Division; C. E. Houseman, district plant chief of San Rafael; Rovert Austin, manager of San Rafael territory, and Frank Deimel, wire chief of this district, were among the officials who attended the dinner. In order to save $2, H.J. Kearns, Modesto manager, recently gave his car a much-needed wash. Desiring to do a very fancy job, he placed some heavy burlap sacks under the hood to protect the engine from the water. He had only ridden about a mile or so the following morning on his way to Turlock when the air became dense with smoke. A hurried examination developed the fact that our manager had failed to remove the sacks after washing the car and they had burst into flames. While Kearns is not exactly a Scotch name, he followed the instincts of that great race by carefully folding up the remains of the gunny sacks and placing them between the trunk and spae tire, accomplishing a saving thereby of somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 cents. He then resumed his trip, with the difference that whereas the smoke had formerly poured out of the hood it now came in dense masses from the spare tire. Passersby hurled unintelligible remarks at Harold, but he took them for the usual greetings to which a telephone manager is accustomed. Finally, one big-hearted motorist breezed up beside the swiftly moving Studebaker, leaned far out of his car and yelled, "Hey, yer on fire!" This was sufficient, and with a squeal of the brakes, his car came to a second stop and the necessary fire-prevention methods were put into effect. Before the air had cleared enough to resume travel along the highway he had hastily patched his trousers enough to make a presentable appearance and was again on his way. His only complaint is that he was compelled to abandon seven or eight cents' work of good sacks along the highway. The following changes have been made effective in our San Francisco office: Bernice M. Crowley, Market; Jessie L. 'Dungan, Kearny; Mildred E. Fottler, Telegraph; Beth Klessinger, Davenport; Catherine M. McDonald, Hemlock; Florence I. McKee, Douglas; Bertha Reinhard, Sutter Extension; Millicent A. Ridgway, Kearny office, and Helen M. Sentman, Sunset, have been promoted to supervisors. The following have become central office clerks: Linda M. Erickson, Pacific; Marie C. Hubachek, Garfield; Jessie E. McDougall, Valencia; May C. McQueen, Park; Eugenia C. Rossi, Douglas. Irene F. Flynn, evening chief operator, Pacific office, is now chief operator, West office; Rose E. Hatch, evening central office instructor, West office, is evening chief operator, Market office; Annis P. Hendricks, evening central office instructor, pacific office, is now evening chief operator. Miss Lillian Lindo, formerly our Wet chief operator in San Francisco, was appointed centralized intercepting chief operator. Mrs. Irene Flynn was recently promoted to the position of West chief operator, and was honored by a surprise luncheon given by the girls of West office on the day of her arrival. Everyone had an enjoyable time. Among those present were: Mr. Manildi, traffic chief; Miss Kendrick, Miss Fluegler, Miss Dempsey, Mrs. Carroll, Miss Gray, Miss Rae, Miss McIntyre, Miss Guptill, Miss Mon Santo (could this have been a joke??), Miss Harrigan, Miss Selleck, Miss James, and Mrs. Curran. Miss Stegeman, chief operator at our San Francisco Pacific office, was hostess at a dainty little luncheon in honor of Miss Flynn. The guests were: Misses Flynn, Chase, Blackwell, and Ogden; Messrs. Thrall, Hunt, and Manildi. Mrs. Rose Hatch, West central office instructor in San Francisco, was promoted to the position of Market evening chief operator. We are all very happy to hear of her advancement. The following is a letter received by one of our managers from one of the local newspapers: "Dear Sir: I feel there is some explanation due you for the error made in the advertisement you sent us regarding notice to customers of a billing change. Our foreman is ordinarily a very careful man, making great efforts to get things done right, especially in making up advertisements; his copy seldom needs correcting; but in your case he got the name of the company wrong and listed your name incorrectly as 'E.R. Johnson' instead of 'E.R. Gardner.' In addition to this he confused the advertisement with a railroad advertisement, and generally almost wrecked the place. Our explanation of this is that this copy was made up on the day that he got married. We expect to keep this foreman on the job because, as state above, he is ordinarily very careful, and I am confident he will not be getting married again for some time at least. If I can be on any service to you in clearing up these errors, please command me." This is the end of the Northern California section, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed posting it!!