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Have you ever heard of Emma M. Nutt? She was the first female telephone operator, and we celebrate her life every year on September 1. That’s the day she started working as a phone operator in Boston, Massachusetts in 1878.
I think this is such a fun day to celebrate with your residents. Telephones have changed tremendously over the decades, and your residents will enjoy sharing lots of fascinating memories about those changes.
Reminisce about the telephone
Ask your residents if they remember:
- Listening in on a conversation on a party-line
- Dialing a number on a rotary dial phone
- The warning sound you heard when the phone was accidentally left off the hook
- Calling the operator to ask for the correct time
- Waiting to use a phone booth
- Trying to untangle a coiled phone cord
- The sound of a busy signal
- Calling long distance at night or on the weekend because it was cheaper
- The princess phone with the slogan “It’s little…It’s lovely…It lights”
- Phone numbers that contained both letters and numbers
- The enormous size of the first mobile phones
- Did any of your residents work as telephone operators?
Share a laugh
Show your residents these old TV commercials for telephones. Some of them are hilarious!
1989 Cell phone (Look at the size of that phone!)
Cheap long distance calls on weekends
Enjoy telephone trivia
Check out this telephone history article for lots of interesting facts. For example, did you know that Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the first telephone?
Learn something new
Invite someone from a cell phone company to come in and do a class on Smartphones. I’ll bet there are many features that your residents don’t know about.
Or, you can go on an outing to a nearby museum that has a large display related to the history of telephones.
Give to others
Lots of people have old cell phones lying around their house. Encourage residents and staff to host a used cell phone drive, then donate the phones to a charity. Here are a few options:
- Cell Phones For Soldiers: This national organization serves active-duty troops and veterans by providing free communication services.
- Victims of Domestic Violence: Check with your local women’s shelter or crisis center. Many of them collect phones for people to use to call for help in case of an emergency.
- Second Wave Recycling: The sale of donated phones helps support a variety of charities including St. Jude’s Hospital and Wounded Warrior Project.
What other ideas do you have for celebrating Emma M. Nutt Day? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
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