This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: farwellwalter Surnames: McDaniel, Failing, Barbour, Rhodes, Davis, Anthony Lindsay Classification: lookup Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.iowa.counties.fremont/7164.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: THE TABOR BEACON. August 29, 1902. "TABOR TELEPHONE SYSTEM. First Organized in 1900 and Now Has Nearly 1000 Phones".-- Sunday's Nonpareil devoted considerable space to the value of the rural telphone systems in southwest Iowa, from which we take these interesting facts regarding the Tabor City Telephone Co.: "Tabor is the home of one of the most extensive rural telephone systems in Iowa, the City Telephone Company. It was first organized in June 1900, with an authorized capital of $12,000 and with a paid up capital of $8000. The promoters and organizers were Louis McDaniel, A. A. Failing, J. M. Barbour, W. H. Rhodes, J. C. Rhodes and M. T. Davis, all of Tabor, S. T. Rhodes and Fred Anthony, of Randolph, and Samuel Lindsay, of Sidney. On October 10 1901, the company was incorporated with an authorized capital of $50,000 and with paid up capital of $35,000. At present there are 15 centrals and most of Fremont and Mills counties are covered with lines and there are lines extending to Macedonia in Pottawattamie county and to Essex and Shenandoah in Page county. The company has secured connection with the Thurman Telephone Co. at Sidney and at Glenwood, and through this connection patrons of the company are enabled to talk with Nebraska City and numerous Nebraska points. At Glenwood connections can be made with the Plattsmouth company, and this gives a large number of additional towns. The company builds its own lines and rents the instruments to the patrons at $12 per year for the towns and $8 additional for the use of the system. On the country lines $25 per year has been charged for the first year and $12 or $15 per year thereafter, according to the privileges enjoyed by the patron. HOW PHONES ARE DISTRIBUTED.-- (This part of the article has been scissored out of the Tabor paper. --W.F.) N.B.: My mother was the telephone operator in Sidney for a time just previous to her marriage in 1917. Making connections with distant points necessitated waiting for lines to open (to become unused) so that the long distance calls could "be put through" to the next station on the route. Direct dialing probably wasn't even dreamed of!-- W.F. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.