Books And Magazines Of Our Younger Days

 (Which Would Seem Strange to Our Grandkids)

"The Phonebook"

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

As I was working on the current series of books of our past that the new generation might not understand, one that came to my mind was the telephone directory. I got to thinking how long it has been since not only had I used one, but how long it has been since I had a directory delivered to my house. The next day I received a Yellow Pages Directory in my mail. Someone has been reading my mind.

A telephone directory, commonly called a telephone book, telephone address book, phonebook, or the white and yellow pages, is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory. Its purpose is to allow the telephone number of a subscriber identified by name and address to be found. Subscriber names are generally listed in alphabetical order, together with their postal or street address and telephone number. In principle, every subscriber in the geographical coverage area is listed, but subscribers may request the exclusion of their number from the directory, often for a fee; their number is then said to be "unlisted" in the US and Canada.

The first telephone directory, consisting of a single piece of cardboard, was issued on 21 February 1878; it listed 50 individuals, businesses, and other offices in New Haven, Connecticut that had telephones. In 1938, AT&T commissioned the creation of a new typeface, known as Bell Gothic, the purpose of which was to be readable at very small font sizes when printed on newsprint where small imperfections were common. In 1996, the first telephone directories went online in the US. Yellowpages.com and Whitepages.com both saw their start in April 1999.

The advent of the Internet and smartphones in the 21st century greatly reduced the need for a paper phone book.

I think most of us used the Yellow Pages a lot. It would be interesting to had one to one of my grandkids to see if they could find a simple phone number for a place like Pizza Hut. I would imagine their first attempt would be to try to find the number thinking the entries were all alphabetical. But they were not, were they? They were all grouped together at first by what type of business they were, and then alphabetical. It would be fun to watch them. It certainly is easier to Google a business on the internet today than it was to use a list in a book.

Of course the white pages were the most useful for many. How many of you would look into the white pages when you were in a strange town to see how many listing there was for people with your own last name? And who would look up names just to see how funny they were? 

Chuck Berry - "Memphis Tennessee"

Maybe Chuck Berry's song would have never existed if he had a phonebook handy?

I had a bit of trouble last week trying to send out the emails because I was going on a cruise and my iPad did not have the full contact directory which my desktop computer has. I ended up having to break up the old list I did have into multiple emails.

We had a great 7-day cruise out of New Orleans on the Carnival Glory, visiting Roitan, Belize, and Cozumel.

Possible Classmates Deaths

Beverly Swaim sent this in but I cannot find out which class Robert was associated with. Can anyone give any more information on him?

Robert Anthony Bertoldi, 78 of Madison, passed away on October 25, 2022.

He is survived by his son, Christopher Bertoldi; ex-wife, Brenda Bertoldi; brother, Bill Bertoldi; sister-in-law, Donna Bertoldi; niece, Amy Gronberg; nephews, Michael Bertoldi, Vic Bertoldi, Mike Higgins, Gary Higgins; and numerous family members in Michigan.

Mr. Bertoldi was preceded in death by two brothers.

Burial will be Monday, October 31, 2022 at 11:45 AM at Alabama National Cemetery.

I also received a third party death notice about Tony Thompson but cannot find a confirmation source. Can you confirm?

Last Week's Questions, Answers, Comments

Joel Weinbaum, LHS ‘64, "I have a set of 1984 World Books next to my bedside bookcase from the era of my kids growing up. The inside last page represents 1985 to Present..blank! The set I had from my own early days I had nearly memorized for lack of a TV, my knowledge base for later years...what saved me from illiteracy! But I love my Google Search today... And yes, I have three or four Webster's Collegiates sitting around the house, both mine and Beth's, maybe more. I do look once in a while for that one word."

Dick Cantrell, LHS ‘65, "I enjoyed it. A collegiate dictionary was the handiest tool I used in college. And, English Comp was the most useful class in my professional occupation. As a fully trained Naval Aviator, I thought I’d spend the greater majority of my days flying in the skies of the earth. WRONG!!! I spent more time flying a desk and working through the paperwork of my duty station. Being able to read, and especially write, kept me from being classified as a flying idiot."

John(ny) Roberts, LHS ‘66, "One more comment about the World Book Encyclopedias: My mother actually sold WBEs. I have vague memories of her making  “sales calls” and celebrating when a sale was made. This would be in the late 50s before we moved to Huntsville. It would have been out of her character for her to go door to door so I’m sure she got referrals from friends. 

Collins Wynn, LHS '64, "I looked for several weeks to find this receipt to contribute to our conversations about encyclopedias.  My brothers Don, Tony, and I read these books until the covers began to fall off.  Although they were useful in the preparation of papers for school they were equally important for recreational reading.  It seems I remember randomly selecting books daily scanning the articles for something interesting learning the most mundane facts in the process.  Don and Tony did the same.  Of all the things our parents did for us, this purchase was near the top of the importance list because it fostered curiosity in us.  $187.00 was not a paltry sum and one heck of a financial commitment. I have to say we are forever grateful."