Across the Wires
…
During World War II, my aunt, Myrtle Rouse, was a long-distance operator
at the telephone company in New Orleans. I found the picture below
in a box of photos that belonged to my grandmother. Considering her
job, I believe Aunt Myrtle may have been the one who passed it on to her
mother. But, however my grandmother came by it, I found it to be a touching
tribute to the telephone operators who were dedicated to sending the news
“Across the Wires.”
Written by Eleanora Dayton Surry, a long-distance operator in Washington, D.C.
These ladies were some of my aunt’s co-workers at the phone company in New Orleans.
Somewhere among the many boxes of my mother’s and grandmother’s photos, I’ve seen a
picture of Aunt Myrtle sitting at a switchboard like this one. If I find it, I’ll add it to the page.