215 North Main - Bell Telephone Office - St. Charles, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 46.945 W 090° 28.840
15S E 718835 N 4295646
Marker for former telephone exchange building in downtown St. Charles.
Waymark Code: WMDEVQ
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2012
Views: 4
Text of marker:
215 North Main
Bell Telephone Office - 1909 - 1957
1866 - Valentine Zerr
German shoemaker Valentine Zerr leased this building to the Bell Telephone C, for $40 per month from 1909 to 1928. Local and long-distance caller were connected manually on the switchboard. Operators were required to have a good voice and good penmanship. Operators handled everything from unusual questions to emergency calls. The night operator in the 1950s, Mabel Wilke, often repeated the story of a call from an expectant dad whose wife was in labor at home. The baby came quickly, and as the dad was reporting the news to Mrs. Wilke, he said, "Oh wit a minute! There's another one!"