By Deb Morinello, West Jefferson Hills Historical Society est Jefferson Hills BOROUGH OF JEFFERSON HILLS NEWS
Not too long ago, making a phone call wasn’ t as simple as tapping a screen or pressing a contact’ s name. Many residents still fondly recall the rotary phones of the past, where each number had to be dialed by turning a circular dial. For younger generations, it might be puzzling that each number on the dial was also paired with a set of letters.
This practice dates back to the early 1950s when telephone numbers expanded from four to seven digits. To help people remember the new numbers, AT & T introduced exchange names for different areas. If one lived in Pleasant Hills, its exchange name was OLympia because the first two digits of all phone numbers in that area were 65. Looking at the rotary dial, the letter O is paired with numeral 6, and the letter L is linked to the numeral 5. At first, the name of the exchange was given out as part of the telephone number. For example, one would say,“ My phone number is OLympia5-4321” rather than“ My phone number is 655-4321.” In those days, everyone— the person giving out the telephone number as well as the person taking down the number— understood that the first
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two digits of the phone number were 65 where the O and L are located on the dial.
Other areas of West Jefferson Hills had different numerical exchanges; thus, they had different exchange names. For folks who lived in Clairton, the seven-digit phone number began with 23, and their exchange name was BElmont. For those who lived in West Elizabeth and some western sections of Jefferson, the telephone number began with 38, so their telephone exchange name was DUpont. The practice of listing letters on phones continued even with touch-tone phones. Sometimes companies would spell out their name with the letters on their phone number so customers could more easily recall it.
Over time, the need for exchange names faded. People began sharing just the seven-digit numbers, and by the 1990s, the addition of three-digit area codes— 412 for West Jefferson Hills and much of Allegheny County— made phone numbers ten digits long.
While area codes and exchanges once indicated location, cell phones have changed that entirely. A person’ s number may no longer match where they live, and the old connection between exchanges and neighborhoods is mostly a memory. Today, phones are portable, personal, and travel wherever we go.
Indeed, the times are always changing, but remembering the rotary reminds us of just how far our communication has come.
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