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BEFORE HORSELESS CARRIAGES Phones Came During Gaslight Era Streets w ere illuminated by gas light, the horse and buggy was the fashionable form o f transportation, and barber shop quartets harmon ized popular m elodies in the days when the telephone first came to Oakville. That was back in 1887-- 60 years after Col. W illiam Chisholm had purchased the town's site for 12% cents an acre, the 30th anniversary o f Oakville's incorporation as a town, and years before the exten sive use of electric lights or the invention o f the autom obile and radio. It was also only 11 years after Alexander Graham Bell patented his telephone. So the instruments used here in those days were a far cry from Oakville's present dial telephones. Oakville's first telephone ex change-- a small, primitive switch board with associated apparatus-- was set up in a corner o f a store operated by William Busby, jew el ler and watchmaker, on Colborne Street. Mr. Busby was the tele phone com pany's first agent here. Service was not provided on a round-the-clock basis then. It was available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. week days, 2 to 4 p.m. Sundays, and 10 to 12 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. on holidays. Eight subscribers were listed in the directory for 1887: Bradbury, Charles A., Barber and Bus. Office, Colborne St. Busby, W., Watchmaker, Colobrne Street Chisholm, W. B., Basket Factory, Dundas St. Grand Trunk Railway Station, Dun das St. Marlatt & Armstrong, Tanners, Colborne St. Reynolds, Thos., W ood & Coal Dealer, Dundas St. ' Reynolds, Wm., Pump works, Col borne St. Star Printing and Publishing Of fice, Colborne St. Also in 1887, a long distance line was constructaed connecting To ronto and Hamilton through Oak ville. A year later, there were nine telephones here, all located in business premises. Mr. Busby's title was changed to Local Man ager for the Bell Telephone Com pany. W ithin two years there were 19 more telephones installed here, but it still was not necessary to assign telephone numbers, al though this step was taken in 1899. In 1901, when the census showed a population o f 1,643 in Oakville, there were 32 telephones in ser vice here. During 1907, which ended with 82 telephones here, 24-hour service was inaugurated in Oakville and this community was linked with Port Credit by long distance. An additional long distance line be tween Oakville and Toronto was built the follow ing year. In 1909 Oakville's 100th tele phone was installed, and by the end o f the year there were 113 telephones in service. Sixty-two were in business premises, three in the town hall, 46 in residences, and one in a residence but subscribed fo r by the town. Oakville and the telephone sys tem serving the town both grew rapidly in the next few years. The 1911 census showed a population of 2,372, and in that year another telephone milestone was passed when the 200th instrument was in stalled. By year's end, there were 253 telephones here. A fter 25 years of service, W il liam Busby was succeeded as Bell Telephone Local Manager here in 1913 by A. A. Busby, although the elder Busby's store continued in operation under his name. The telephone system continued its steady growth under his direction anfl In 1916 ft reached anottier im portant milestone with the installa tion o f the 500th telephone. J. T. Hamilton succeeded Mr. Busby as Local Manager in 1918, and in the follow in g year the tele phone company purchased land at the corner o f Dundas and Randall streets as a site for a new building. The structure was erected and equipment installed, and on Sept. 28, 1923, the cutover was made from the old magneto system-- with which callers had to crank bells to reach the operator -- to a common battery system. Miss K. Litchfield becam e Local Representative o f the Bell Tele phone Company in Oakville in 1925, replacing Mr. Hamilton when the position underwent a change in title. Miss Litchfield was under the supervision o f Frank D. Laurie, District Manager at Hamilton. He was succeeded in that post the follow ing year by J. A. Gorrie, Jr. Then, the follow ing year, J. V. Markle was appointed to the Oak ville office, and the title changed once more to Local Manager. Also in 1926, the Oakville ex change reached another Important milestone when the 1,000th tele phone went into service. The 1931 Dom inion census show ed Oakville with a population o f 3,857. There w ere 1,227 telephones in service here. J. V. Markle, after 16 years' ser vice here, was transferred to, Hamilton in April, 1936. Replacing him as manager was F. J. Jewell. The latter served until 1940 when he was succeeded by R. W. Gra ham. T. A. Reynolds was the next manager here, taking office in 1944. Although shortages of materials and manpower curtailed telephone growth during the war, by 1946 the 2,000th instrument went into service. The 3,000th came a rela tively short time later-- in 1949. Oakville's post-war expansion was w ell underway then. A new manager, J. T. M. Ashley, replaced T. A. Reynolds in 1947. A n extension was added to the rear o f the Oakville manual ex change building in 1949 and, in the follow in g year, fou r operating positions w ere added to the switch T ffE JOURNAL. ©Bkvtlle-Trafalgar, CswtennSiBl Twue, Jun* Tf, SSB7 board and facilities to provide 400 m ore telephones were placed in service. A. A. Francis was appointed Bell Telephone manager here in July, 1950, and served in that post until April, 1954, when he was succeed ed by George W. Harris. Douglas R. Oliver was appointed manager in the fall o f 1956. To meet the continuing high de mand for telephone service here, 14 m ore switchboard positions were added to the Oakville ex change in 1952, the year the 4,000th telephone went into service. To make room for the additional facilities, the business office was moved to tem porary premises on Randall Street across from the ex change building. Meanwhile plans w ere being made for the biggest forward step in Oakville's telephone history -- the establishment of a dial ex change. A site on Balsam street was purchased, and in October, 1952, work begah on the erection o f a new exchange building. Line construction crews placed millions of feet of wire underground and on poles to extend the Oakville wire-and-cable network and adapt it for use in the dial system. By the fall o f 1953 the installa tion o f com plex dial switching equipm ent in the new building was under way, and the fam iliar green telephone trucks were seen throughout the area as telephone sets were fitted for dial operation in readiness for the " cutover." The new Oakville dial telephone system went into service at mid night, Febraury 13, 1954. T o inau gurate the new exchange Mayor Lachlan M cArthur and R eeve W il liam Anderson placed the first official calls. A t the time o f the change to dial service there were some 5,400 telephones in service in Oakville. During three years of unprecedent ed development in this community the number had risen to around 9,000, and it is estimated that by the end o f 1961, there w ill be 17,700 telephones in operation here. : A p r o f e s s io n k n o w n the w o r l d o v e r f o r t r a d i t i o n a l l y fin e s e rv ic e :A C entennial is an excellent opportunity for each of us to renew our resolutions . . . in business, as in our private lives. We a t TOTS 'N TEENS, look to the C entennial as the beginning, rath er th an the end of an era. A FRIENDLY HAVEN FOR TRAVELLERS and the Centre of Community Activities for over 47 YEARS Best Wishes, Town oi Oakville On A ttaining Your 100th B irthday tots 'it teens COLBORNE ST. I. V IC T O R 5 -1 2 9 1 O A K V H -L I Congratulations Town of Oakville On the Proud Occasion of Your Formerly fam ed throughout the entire Toronto-Hamilton a rea as the Gibson House, the H alton Hotel w as purchased from Basil M egaffin in 1951 by P eter Kekic . . . after a ten-year tenure as the H alton Inn. But regardless of the nam e this pleasant, hospitable hostelry h as alw ays been renow ned for fine food, com fortable accom m odation, and courteous and effi cient service. 100th Anniversary W h ile w e w e r e n 't h e re in th e " g o o d o ld d a y s " w h e n O a k v ille w a s a b a b y , w e h a v e s e r v e d o u r c u s to m e r s fa ith fu lly d u rin g t h e y e a r s, and t o d a y , w e t o o , a r e p r o u d o f o u r g ro w th . O u r m o d e r n s to r e o n K err S tre e t o f f e r s th e fin e s t In h o m e a p p lia n c e s . Today, although it h as been com pletely m odernized in every w ay as its present proprietor kept pace w ith town progress, this attractive hotel retains all of the friendly atm osphere th at has been the cornestone of its operational success since it w as bu ilt in 1910. The m anagem ent and staff join w ith all residents of Oakville in sharing the pride in the com Feel f r e e t o c o m e in a n d look, o v e r o u r la rg e a n d fin e s e le c tio n . m unity accom plishm ent of our tow n's first century. W . A. ANDERSON Phone TELEVISION S APPLIANCES VI. 4-3912 148 Kerr St. Oakville THE HALTON HOTEL 46 Colborne Street East OAKVILLE VI. 4-3671