Upon leaving Don's I headed to Winter Haven for a night with my buddy, June Sherman. We had dinner and played a rip-roaring game of Skip-Bo before I retired for the night to sleep in the parking lot. (Don't you think house guests are more welcome when they sleep in their own vehicles?) I won't be back in Florida for a while so this was a temporary goodbye... However, June has a standing invitation to join me at any time along the way.
Next stop--Georgia!
One of the neatest things about this voyage is what I call 'Serendipity'. I was on the way to Plains, Ga when I decided to wander off the main road for a while and look for a place for lunch. The road sign pointed left with the name of the town a mile away--'Leslie'. (That was the name of my father-in-law and it is the middle name of my youngest son so I felt I had to check it out) The first thing I saw as I rolled into this tiny rural community is the above old building. I really did not expect to find more than a dozen phones and maybe a booth or two inside so I thought I would just peek in for a minute....
But, inside was a revelation. There were hundreds--and hundreds--of phones. Before long I began to feel like eyes were following me.
Lots of eyes....
The dioramas were very lifelike, and I have to say, very informative. Looking at all those wires I realized what a chore it must have been to get a phone line to every home and business in the country.
Some of the phones were absolutely works of art.
Whoops! Some of the dioramas were almost too lifelike.
I never found a cell phone or an Iphone....
Temporarily Out of Service ?
But I saw every other kind of phone--and most of them I remember.
I wandered from room to room through this old warehouse and marveled at the amazing collection of memorabilia from an era that is fast disappearing from our memories.
I do not know the last time I saw a Bell Business Office but now there is a Verizon store in every town and shopping center that I come to.
And for my kids--I actually sat and and worked one of these switch boards many years ago.
And just to let you know how amazed I was at finding this charming museum--here is the town it is a part of....
And before we leave Leslie I also found a second part of the same museum that I just have to share. My car addict friends will enjoy the following pictures.....
Those phones reminded me of 1967 when I ordered a plain black desk phone because it fit the decor of the apartment I was renting. The sales person could not believe I didn't want color or Princess or something more than a plain black desk phone. Didn't I at least want a wall phone? But there was a small table in the central hallway that just cried out for a plain black phone with a long cord that I could take into any room. Once installed there, it looked just right.
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