a telephone in every house - Writers Forum

character1_Caitlin · 01-29-2006, 07:32 PM

I was doing some reading but still not sure.

In 1947 post war Canada , Can I assume that the average family had a telephone if they had a regular job? The middle class, perhaps the lower middleclass in terms of salaries. A site did say that in the depression more phones were disconnected then installed in homes.

Or maybe still a few people in a neighbourhood had a phone?
Not completely rural but not big city either.

I am sure by the 50's a phone was pretty well expected in each house.

Thanks if anyone knows.

Mike C · 01-30-2006, 12:50 PM

I can only go by the UK, but over here in the late 40's/early 50's there would probably only be one or two people in each street with a phone unless it was a wealthy area.

character1_Caitlin · 01-30-2006, 01:47 PM

Thanks, I was coming to that conclusion so I am not going to make telephone communication soemthing that is easily done in my story between the friends. I think something like that would jump out to someone who actually was old enough to remember how it was like.

Mike C · 01-30-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by character1_Caitlin

Thanks, I was coming to that conclusion so I am not going to make telephone communication soemthing that is easily done in my story between the friends. I think something like that would jump out to someone who actually was old enough to remember how it was like.

there's your answer, of course, there are plenty of people you must know who were around in the 40's and 50's you could ask.

character1_Caitlin · 01-30-2006, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike C

there's your answer, of course, there are plenty of people you must know who were around in the 40's and 50's you could ask.

Yes I did ask some but was taking a consensus to see if it was more then just a regional response.

mammamaia · 01-30-2006, 05:36 PM

i lived in suburban new york in the 40-50s... we had a phone, and i'm pretty sure everyone we knew had one... a middle-middle-class family, my father worked in the office of a major hospital and my mother was a registered nurse... in the small town where we lived in the early/mid-50s, we only had a 4-digit number and were on a 'party line' for the first years... went to 7-digits around '54 or so...