#129 "NUMBER PLEASE!"
LILA (WERTH) VALLANCE
My great aunt Lila was the youngest of the seven children of Ann and Edward Werth. There was a twelve-year difference between her and my grandmother Jean, but as the only girls in this family, they were close; and she was undoubtably doted on by her older brothers.
Lila was born June 5 1904 in Elora, Ontario and although
registered as Viola Mae Werth, she was always called Lila. At age 19, she moved
to Harriston, lived with her sister and family, and began work as a Bell Telephone
operator. Her starting salary was $7-8 a week, she worked an 8 hour day or 7
hour night shift, six days a week and was not allowed a lunch break. It was
over a year before her first vacation. The Harriston office was in a small
building at the corner of Elora and Arthur Streets.
In the first half of the 20th century, telephone operators manually set calls at their switchboards by physically plugging in cords to connect callers. The switchboard was covered with a row of small holes (one jack for each subscriber), cords with plugs hanging in pairs and signal lights or small metal shutters that dropped when someone lifted their receiver. Each operator sat facing the board, wearing a headset with a mouthpiece. When a subscriber picked up their phone a light flashed on the operator’s board; that told the operator who was calling, because each jack corresponded to a specific house or business. The operator would plug in and ask, “Number, please” (although in small towns it was not uncommon to give the person’s name). Phone numbers like our home number (178) the store’s (118), my grandparents’ (124) and Lila’s (148) are forever drilled into my memory bank.
Local telephone operators knew everyone in town—voices, families, daily routines. (Confession: As I never knew when Aunt Lila might pick up the call, I had to be careful not to get caught when making “crank” calls to friends.) To connect the call, the operator plugged one end of the cord into the caller’s jack and the other end into the receiver’s jack, turned a small crank or pressed a key to ring the other party. If the line was busy, the operator told the caller and suggested calling later or offer to try again in a few minutes. Once connected the operator watched the lights to see when the call ended and then unplugged the cords when both parties hung up. Sometimes, they quietly listened in to ensure the connection was working; this was standard practice, not snooping, although gossip did happen.
Operators had to be fast to handle dozens of calls per hour.
They had to be polite and calm even with difficult callers. One wrong plug
meant a crossed call so operators had to be accurate, they had to be discreet
and confidentiality was officially required. Operators were crucial to handling
small-town emergencies—calling the doctor, police, fire. Telephone operators in
Harriston often knew who was sick, who was away, and which families were
feuding or who didn’t want to be connected. The operators provided extra
services like the time, weather, news.
For long distance calls, the operator had to dial a central exchange
in another town or city. In the early 20th century, Harriston was
the switching point between Toronto and Owen Sound, Goderich, etc. It might
take anywhere from a couple of hours to a day to complete a long distance call.
Lila at the switchboard
A telephone operator needed an excellent memory and fast hands, clear communication, listening and organization skills. In 1934, Lila became Chief Operator in the Harriston office. Bell promoted Chief Operators based on absolute reliability, technical mastery of the exchange, being calm under pressure and for moral character. This was a position of real authority, expertise and local stature. In this role as the senior woman in the building, she trained young operators, handled complaints, kept the books, supervised schedules; the exchange needed at least a couple of operators per shift, even on the quieter night shifts. As chief Operator, Lila had to liaise with Bell Canada, and with the Bell engineers and the linesmen who worked out of the Harriston office. Lila was the public face of Bell in the town.
In the 1960s, the Harriston office converted from manual to an automatic exchange. When Lila retired from Bell Telephone in 1966, she was honoured with a Life Membership in the Telephone Pioneers of America. This was a recognition of her seniority, reliability and a sign of community respect. Membership was not automatic and required long service (often 21+ years), good standing as an employee, and a demonstrated commitment to Bell’s values. Bell was known for its rigorous training and strict standards--accuracy, discretion, reliability--so especially for women operators and supervisors this recognition mattered and said “I was competent, trusted and I lasted.” This was no small matter in an age where women’s lives were often interrupted or undervalued. Pioneer chapters were active and social, with formal induction ceremonies, pins, certificates, newsletters, banquets and reunions. Lila treasure this honour and really enjoyed the social interactions.
In 1939, Lila married David Vallance, a husky Scottish immigrant. It was a quiet ceremony (an elopement?) in Orangeville. Lila was 35, Dave 30. They bought a small house with a very large garden property in Harriston. Dave worked at the local hotel, worked on farms, eventually bought two small dairy farms, worked as the school janitor, then became the arena caretaker.
Lila & Dave
My Aunt Lila passed away December 6, 1984, aged 80, and Uncle Dave, aged 92, on March 31, 2002. They are buried together in the Harriston cemetery.
My parents were both only children, so my sister and I were so lucky to
have this great aunt/stand-in grandmother live close by and be a strong
presence and role model in our lives.
VIOLA "LILA" MAE WERTH b. June 5, 1904 in Elora, Ontario m. David Vallance (1909-2002) in Orangeville, Ont on Oct 28, 1939 d. Dec 6, 1984 in Palmerston, Ont my great aunt (Werth line)
What stories she could have told about life in the area
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