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In the 1920s telephone operators in Toronto receiving requests for long distance calls sent them by messengers on roller skates to another position for cqmpletion._ I In 1975 Bell Canada and its sub- sidiaries spent more than $1 billion on capital improvement, and similar annual spending is in sight to keep pace with service demands. In 1881 Bell Telephone President C.F. Sise was so embarrassed by the $8,600 installation cost of the Hamilton- Toronto telephone line. that he used personal funds to complete it. by ’the Hamilton District Telegranh Company. the first in the British Empire. ninth in the world. Citizens crowded into the boot store to watch the experiment. Some asked if they could put that new-fangled “receiver? to their ears t9 listen to human vonces actually coming over a wire and pretty soon everybody wanted to listen. Within two years of the test a ‘telepnono‘excnange opened in Hamilton Holding the crude iron box receiver to his ear in Paris, Alexander Bell first heard “explosive sounds like the discharge of distant artillery“ mixed with a continuous crackling noise of an indescribable character” He then changed the electromagnets from low to high resistence and the voices came through “clearly and strongly." he said. and the crackling noises “were not nearly so annoying, though they still persisted." At the Brantford end, Bell's father and others recited poetry. bits from Shakespeare. sang songs and just talked to those gathered in Paris where news of the test spread quickly through the town. Now, -on the eve of the 100th anâ€" niversary, Aug. 10, of the world’s first long distance call, the statement seems particularly myopic. That call was over the eight-mile distance between Brantford and Paris, Ont. The general manager of the Dominion Telegraph Company in Toronto. with a lack of vision com- parable to the Syracuse writer, regarded Bell‘s proposed experiment as the work of a crank and would have refused use of his lines had not his young assistant rescued Bell‘s ap- plication from the wastepaper basket and persuaded the manager to permit their use on the evening of Aug. 10. This, in retrospect, ranks as a world contender for wrong predictions right up there with Landon for President and Hermann Goering's assertion that British bombs ,would never fall on Germany. Many have contributed toward making telephone service what it is today. But the main progress began with the achievements of Alexander Graham Bell, the Scottish-born genius, philosopher and public servant who conceived the basic theory of telephoning during a summer visit to Brantford in 1874 and transmitted the first intelligible speech in Boston on March 10, 1876. Then in the summer of 1876, he conducted a test which became the world’s first long distance call, one way. from the Dominion Telegraph Company Office in Brantford to Robert White’s Boot and Shoe Store and Telegraph Office in Paris, Ontario. In 1975. Canadians alone made more than 800 million long distance calls to communities in every country of the world. “The cdming long distance telephone will be a plaything, nothing more. Put a mark on the assertion." Fearless forecasts from newspaper columnists aren’t always to be believed. Readers in Syracuse, N.Y., for instance, may or may not have gone along with the following statement when they came across it in 1885: It's 700th anniversary of long-distance phoning In'1920 it took five operators 14 lt’ll soon be the 100th anniversary of the world’s first long distance telephone call, between Paris, Ont. and Brantford. Ont. Richmond Hill’s own telephone history started in 1888, and until 1906 it had only long distance facilities. Then Bell opened the first local exchange in WA. Irish coffee_ nasty surprise RICHMOND HILL â€"- Two men having dinner at the Mill Restaurant in Hillcrest Mall last Thursday, received first and second degree burns when the stemo pot used to heat brandy for Irish coffee exploded at their table. Ralph Griffin 18, of 93 Centre St. East suffered first and second degree burns to his head. back and chest while Moss Griffin. 43. of the same address, suf- fered second degree burns to his arms. The stemo pot exploded, causing flaming methyl hydrate to splash on the victims, York regional police said. It blooms in 60 days from seed and keeps blooming till frost. It grows to about two and a half feet? and the flower is double. He says it’s because lettuce is basically a cool weather crop, and suggests planting it only in the early spring and again at the end of August for a later crop. He also advocates adding plenty of humus to make a rich fertile soil, and adding nitrogen either at planting time or later as a side-dressing. This gets the lettuce growing rapidly, so it reaches maturity before it has a chance to get bitter. Dear Marion: I have a fairly ex- tensive garden and I like to freeze as I’m not inordinately fond of annuals. I prefer the magic of seeing something come up after the winter without any help from anyone. But the Diablo Cosmos is definitely worth making an exception for. Dear Marion: Every year 1 plant lettuce. and no matter what kind I plant it always tastes terribly bitter. Is something lacking in my soil? Mrs. J.M. Woodbridge Having sent my family out after supper every night of the summer all puckered up from eating my lettuce, I decided I wasn’t the best expert on this problem. I asked Arthur Beck, of Weall and Cullen Garden Centre on Steeles Avenue in Milliken if he could give us both some advice on this. It was an All-American selection for 1974 after having been developed in Japan. It’s a glorious clear red with a gold center. I had the good sense, or good luck, to plant it beside a pure white, tall phlox. The combination is stunning. I purchased the seed from Cruikshank’s on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Toronto, and they tell me they’ll carry it again next year. Before getting on to questions, I just have to tell you about a fine annual I discovered this year. It’s called Diablo Cosmos. Stories like that of a Toronto operator who gave first aid instructions to a frantic mother whose child had stopped breathing after swallowing a'uuarter. Thanks to the o erator breathing was restored while t e child was rushed to Here’s a heavenly Diablo Bell Canada has some 6,700 operators, both men and women, and stories abound of the thousands of emergencies they handle in the normal course of their duties. minutes to connect a long distance call. Today, with direct distance dialing. it takes less than 17 seconds. But despite direct distance dialing and other innovations, operators still play a vital role in providing telephone service. By Marion Bluegrass Hill's 1929 switchboard March ers to re-crea z‘e history My mother has had a freezer for years and years, and she says she’s finally solved not only the rubbery cauliflower but the rubbery carrot problem, too. 7 The trick, she says, is to freeze the cauliflower florets without blanching. RICHMOND HILL â€" If you see on Yonge Street next week some soldiers and sailors from 150 years ago firing their muskets and marching, don’t worry about time machines or Mar- tians or thinks like that. A group of young men, including several from York University here, will be recreating a military march of the many vegetables as I can. The only one I’ve been stumped on is cauliflower. Does your knowledge extend to freezing? Normally it doesn’t, but you just happened to hit me at the right time. Not all stories are so serious. Reports one operator: “A young boy called to say there was a ‘stiff‘ in his house and would someone come take it away. Then he hung up.” Guessing a prank, the operator kept the line open, called A second operator tells of a call from a woman gasping for breath â€" then silence. The operator kept the line open to trace the call, alerted police. and all the time heard nothing but a barking dog at the other end. When the police arrived, the woman was unconscious but a month later her daughter called to say her mother was alive and recovering from a heart attack thanks to the fast work of the operator. ‘Sanderson's drug store with 26 subscribers. This picture was taken in 1929 at the Richmond Hill switchboard; Pictured are (left to right) B. Scrivener, G. Mallory. M. Drury and chief operator E.L. Burne. hospital region gardener These young men have been drilling and mar- ching in preparation for an Aug. 9 to 14 military expedition of 104 miles. recreating the Yonge Street military movements of 150 years ago. In Mrs. N.B., Thornhill Marching muskets You will be able to see musket drill and musket firing (blanks) along High- way 11 in southern York region at several locations. But muskets mostly won’t fire in the rain. 1830's along the Toronto to Lake Huron military road by an actual regiment of the time. the 24th Regiment of Foot. Marion welcomes gardening questions. Send them in to her. care of The Liberal. Incidentally, she uses the same kind of trick for freezing berries. A quick wash, then into the freezer containers whole. I’ve had strawberries at her house in January you’d swear were just picked. For cariots, select only the tiny spring ones, wash but don‘t peel and also freeze without blanching. These vegetables will have to be cooked longer when you’re ready to serve them, but Mom guarantees they’ll be fresh-tasting and crisp. Just soak them in salt water for a while to make sure you’ve gotten rid of any little visitors. then drain well and freeze in an airtight container. Little did Alexander Graham Bell suspect when he conducted his long distance test on that Aug. 10 evening in 1876 that out of it would develop an industry which would employ thousands of, people and provide technical facilities which Can carry the human voice around the planet Earth and even out into space. back and said the police were on their way with an ambulance. After a long silence, a very meek voice at the other end said, "This is David and David’s sorry.” ‘ Operators are indeed a vital part of today’s sophisticated communications network. Like telephone service itself, we tend to take them for granted. The marchers will probably spend a mid-July they began work on 20 pounds of gun- powder to make 1,200 blank musket charges to be used in historic demonstrations along the way. The crossing of Lake Simcoe will be by boat from Barrie. They will enter York region by canoe along the Holland River. landing at Bradford near the They will walk 80 of the 104 miles between Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) to Fort York at Lake Ontario. “On April 6 the board told Mr. Foran that they were proceeding with dismissal action," Campbell said. night at Oak Ridges Foran, who had been principal of St. Patrick’s School in Schomberg nine years, was demoted to a teaching position early this year. Area parents were angered by the board decision and have protested on a number of oc- casions. 'Foran tendered, his resignation in April, but the parents association believes the circumstances surroun- ding this were unfair and for- ced. “We are planning to meet with Tom Wells, the minister of education,” Campbell said, but no time for such a meeting has been set. The parents also plan to make another representation to the board at the next meeting on Aug. 17. “We have to continue our battle," Campbell said. “We will continue to fight.” “‘B‘ut I don’t think there is much chance that Bill Foran will be rein- stated by September.” Campbell said. Prizes include a hooked hearthrug done by Andy McKague, a calculator, a quilt worked on by Mrs. Charles Kerr and Mrs. Annie Curtis, and a tatted centrepiece done by Mrs. Jimmy Wells. Tickets are 50 cents each or three for a dollar and are available from Mel Atkins at 833-6371 or Allan Gellatly at 833-5573. SCHOMBERG â€" An advertisement that Schomberg parents placed in area newspapers last week was intended to embarrass 1 ’trliue I separate school board, parent committee representative Bob Campbell told The Liberal last week. King City Figure Skating Club and the King City Minor Hockey Association jointly present Pub Nite at the community centre on Sept. 25 and tickets are now available. Star at- KING â€" On Aug. 27 the King City Community Centre will present the Mersey Brothers, a Canadian group who will also be appearing at the Canadian National Exhibition on Sept. The group will entertain with a stage show from 9 to 10 pm. with dancing following until 1 am. Tickets are $10 a couple or $5 a person; they are available by calling the community centre at 833-5822. Senior citizens of King City are busy selling tickets for their draw to be held in October. Top singing act Coming to King Parents group still fighting for Foran Sen/0r ho/d draw Pub Nite planned By Denise Romberg comnumity news Correspondent Donna Matthews 832-1579 Iihtral Wednesday, August 4, 1976 But they’ll be wearing modern footwear instead of the authentic reproduction boots which wouldn’t stand up on pavement and cement. They'll be carrying 20 pounds, in- cluding rifle, bayonet and bedroll., The uniform the Guards will be wearing is an authentic reproduction of the regiment’s fatigue dress, including specially cast pewter buttons and brass cross belt plate. The sailors will be dressed in authentic Royal Navy “slop” clothes of the 1820 to 30’s era, a pair of white cotton pants with a loose shirt and black neckerchief‘ Holland Aug. 11 Towne and Countrye Square, Willowdale, (Yonge at Steeles), Aug. 13. 3 p.m. Including ceremonial load and quick firing, the musket demonstration takes about 15 minutes. The march is intended to publicize the historic reconstruction of a 19th century British naval base and military garrison operated at Penetang by the Ontario ministry of culture and recreation. The marchers are volunteers from among students working at the historic site. “If the children are changed to other schools, most will go into the public school system. In some cases they will have to travel for hours to get to school and some parents will not be able to afford the extra transportation costs.” Here, musket drill and firing are planned for the following locations at the listed dates and times (the time is approximate): -Upper Canada Mall, Newmarket, Aug. 12, 10 a.m.: Hillcrest Mall, Richmond Hill, parking lot, roped off area in front of Simpson‘s, Aug. 13, 12:30 pm; During August, the joint Anglican and United church service will be held at All Saints’ Anglican Church Chapel at 10 am. with Rev. Neville Bishop officiating. Holy Communion will be celebrated on the third Sunday, Aug. 18. Bishop will be available for advice or emergencies during the month at 833- 5432. If Foran is not reinstated by the time classes resume in the fall, parents have threatened to remove their children again. “We’ve given serious considerations to removing the children but feel that it is an individual decision,” Campbell said. full buffet. Skate at arena Another association member, Bruce McGuire, said they were supporting Foran because “he is an excellent teacher and principal. What the board has done is unjustified.” Because of the standoff, the parents began to take more drastic action when they removed their children from school during the weeks of June 7 and June 21. _ Oak Ridges, near Oaks Motel, Aug. 12, 3 pm; Richmond Hill, near Orange Home, 10:30 a.m.. Aug. 13; traction will be the Carleton Show Band with drancing from 9 until 1 am. Tigk‘ets are $18 a couple and include a Roller skating takes place at the King Arena on Friday and Saturday evening for the admission of $1.50, which in- cludes skate rental. A special treat on Aug. 8 will be Mr. Quad and his band Canadian Grafitti. To the eight-page assessment, the parents’ association wrote a point-by- point rebuttal. “He had only five hours to decide if he should resign. He didn’t have time to properly work out a decision”. After the parents began their protest, the supervisors, in accordance with standard procedure, wrote up their case against Foran. Copies were given to him, then in turn to the parents’ association. Joint church service Thursday. Aug. 5. l missioner 01 works meeting‘ Wednesday, Aug. 11, 7:30 pm. â€" chambers â€" planning committee meeting. Kmora Memorial Park, Aug. 12, 1 king c CiViC corner Section C River bridge before 2 pm 5. 8 am. â€" Office of the com- )rks â€" engineering committee Council