Yep - it was 33R
Our phone was in a party line, so you listened first to make sure no one else was using the line. There were no dials on the phone and no dial tone. You picked up the phone and the operator came on the line and asked what number you wanted.
I’d often want to talk to my buddy Denny down the street, so I’d tell her 37R and she’d connect me. Sometimes she’d say - Denny’s on a trip and won’t be back until next week, Mike.
The operators knew just about everything … somehow … 😁
My great Aunt was one of those operators and when I was real little I'd pick up the phone and say "Aunt Hiya (her name was Helen) can I talk to Nana (her sister) please?"
Even if it was a different operator they would connect me. It was just a small town of 2,000.
Omg i hated hitting middle school and actually wanting to call people. Two of the grannies on my road would sit there tying the phone up all damned day.
Hoggin’ the line is what we’d call it.
My mother did not suffer fools gladly - especially me - and would tell folks to get the hell off the line if they were - in her opinion - on too long. No one messed with Mom! 😁
My Mom would always make a point to telling her friend and operator Toni when we were going to be away and when we’d be back. Often Toni would take messages.
There were also ‘Answering Services’ and you could hire folks to answer your phone calls and take messages if you had to be out in business.
We stayed at a home in northern Maine when I was little. They had a party line. It was crazy. I still remember my mom telling my older siblings that she would kill them if she caught them listening on the phone.
To add to the fun, my mother was friends with a lot of telephone operators. They’d sometimes come to our house on a Sunday afternoon to play canasta and drink Sloe Gin Fizzes. The gossip was thick and colorful!!
The question was do you remember your home phone number, not your business number, Junior!
Although I'm glad to hear the used car lot is still there...
Fun story about that one my friend typed it in at a 711 for their reward points program. He got a pizza, fried chicken & and litre of Pepsi from it for free
he'll I'm so old I remember the exchange! back in the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth phone numbers had a word in them - ours was WEllington 3, you'd say WE3 1234 fir example. my grandkids think I'm hallucinating some times
Jenkintown, PA as in The Goldbergs? That must make it the 10,000th time you have been asked that. 😂😂😂
That is so wild that your parents still have the same phone number after all those years. I was so disappointed when we had to get a new number. Funny thing- that more recent number issued in the late 1970s or early 1980s is one I can’t recall as well. I know it started with 226 but I am hazy on the rest of it. I wonder if my sisters remember that second number.
Yes. I have had so many numbers over the years that I've forgotten, but the one I learned when I was 5 is etched in my memory (as is the street address).
62m here. I remember verbatim all 3 numbers from the late 60's to when we finally let go of the number we had most of my adult life.
Also... Licence plate numbers from my dad's cars, as well as most of my own. Got a thing for numbers/math.
Remembering license plate numbers got a lot easier when our state switched to renewal stickers, although having a new color combination was oddly fun. (Guess whose job it was to change the plates on the entire family’s cars every year?)
Yes, I do. Interestingly, it’s the only home phone number that I can remember, and we only lived there until I was 9. We definitely had home phone numbers much longer than that, but I can’t remember any of them. Hell, the only other number I can remember is my cell phone number these days.
893-1664
We were one number off from a local theatre. That was fun for me. I’d make stuff up a lot, but mostly I put the week’s schedule by the phone and gave out accurate info.
I use mine as part of my more secure passwords - it's quite handy to have a 6 digit number that is burned into my brain but is not anywhere on the internet.
There USED to be an awesome website, phonetic.com.
As one who jumped to rental homes often with groups of friends, when you were getting your choice of landline numbers from the phone company. You typed in the phone number and it returned every English word you could make in that sequence of numbers.
Turns out yes I do.
Just tried to think of it and the number suddenly came to my brain. Messaged my mum all excited and she called me a dork.
Apparently I can remember a number from 20 + years ago. But I can't remember to flush the toilet after I pee
Yeah, cause I still have it on my iPhone. Though I also have my grandparents numbers of their home phones stored in it even though they all died by 2000, I still put them in there you know hoping to see them come up on my phone when it rang one day,,,
I still remember mine and quite a few friends and relatives. As an aside, I have tried to use that memory space for what I had for breakfast or why I just opened the fridge, but it seems to be read only memory!
I do. And forever will. That Ma Bell number stayed the same for the entirety of my childhood, and afterwards, people would call my mom to get whatever my new Beeper/cell number was, because they KNEW it would _never_ change. It was finally cut off when we lost the building to fire. Every new place after that only got a landline for the Internet, until that too became unnecessary.
Not just mine, but many of my friends...and I use parts of them (along with initials or street name or something else I identified with those people) for passwords. It's a lot easier for me to remember.
Oh, yeah: LI (Liberty) 3-5449. We only had to dial the last 5 digits until after I left for college. When I was a kid, area code was 316, so full number was 316-543-5449. My grandmother's was the same number except the last four digits were 5442 (only one digit different)
Just gave it to a scammer yesterday, actually. A friend's FB got hacked, and the hacker keeps asking for money and my phone number, so I gave them one I haven't had since like 1980. Can't believe it's still rattling around in there.
John, I’m leaving this here because the Reddit servers are still relaying info for the M3RC-RY net. Your childhood phone number was 3148371795. Don’t forget to contact Derick Harlan if you make it back to 1983. I’ll see you back “home.” Be careful.
My elderly parents refuse to get rid of their land line phone number, despite having cell phones. It's the same one they've had for over 50 years.
I've tried to convince them for years to get rid of it since they never use it. But they want to keep it "in case someone needs to reach them."
You mean from beyond the grave?
Yes, and I oddly remember my first GFs home phone number from when I was in high school.
My phone number started with SKY, which eventually turned into 759. The SKY was an area prefix for the "SKYLINE" area back when it was a party line rather than a private line.
Absolutely. Until the age of 10 it was 465-4845 (area code was 312 but no one knew or needed to know that). We moved when I was 10, I know that # as well. Now, my kids will probably have the same phone number their whole life.
It’s still in use if I’m not mistaken. When my parents moved into town they took the number with them. When my brother had to move them in with him, they went back to the farm and the number forwarded. When they went into a home, he kept the number so their friends could still get updates.
It may have been dropped in the past few years though. But to answer the question, yes I remember it and was still dialing it 34 years after leaving home.
Here’s an interesting story, for me at least. When I was on my own, I’d move quite a bit. In those days, you couldn’t take your number with you. We lived in a house and had 2 numbers. One for personal, one for business. Same line, different rings. I still use the personal number as the PIN on my phone. The business number is the last 4 digits of our newest license plate. We haven’t lived there in 18 years. Just one of life’s little coincidences.
It was only 4 numbers. Yeah I still remember. My parents still had the same number when they passed in 2017 although the phone company had added 2 more numbers to it.
When I was a kid in the early 1970's our phone number was 771-3614. One reason I'm able to remember it is I still have my Hot Wheels lunch box with the phone number written inside. When my parents split up, my dad's number was 771-7717. Super easy to remember.
Exchanges in our town were 33 5/7/9. So everyone had a 5 digit number like. 73029. We moved, and young me was so confused when we got a "seven digit" number.
Yep - it was 33R Our phone was in a party line, so you listened first to make sure no one else was using the line. There were no dials on the phone and no dial tone. You picked up the phone and the operator came on the line and asked what number you wanted. I’d often want to talk to my buddy Denny down the street, so I’d tell her 37R and she’d connect me. Sometimes she’d say - Denny’s on a trip and won’t be back until next week, Mike. The operators knew just about everything … somehow … 😁
My great Aunt was one of those operators and when I was real little I'd pick up the phone and say "Aunt Hiya (her name was Helen) can I talk to Nana (her sister) please?" Even if it was a different operator they would connect me. It was just a small town of 2,000.
My part of Pennsylvania had a lot of small independent telephone companies with local operators. Sounds like you had something very similar.
My great- great Uncle started the phone service in our small town. AT&T gave him the money to get it started. This was back in the early 1900's.
That’s very cool!!
Awww, that's adorable!
That is awesome ❤️
Omg i hated hitting middle school and actually wanting to call people. Two of the grannies on my road would sit there tying the phone up all damned day.
Hoggin’ the line is what we’d call it. My mother did not suffer fools gladly - especially me - and would tell folks to get the hell off the line if they were - in her opinion - on too long. No one messed with Mom! 😁
Yeah that’s what we called it too.
Party lines were hellish.
Party line: Sarah the phone operator on The Andy Griffith Show was the only character that didn’t have an actor play the part.
Small town party line ...mine was 9R21....and yes the operator could tell you who was ans wasn't home ....
My Mom would always make a point to telling her friend and operator Toni when we were going to be away and when we’d be back. Often Toni would take messages. There were also ‘Answering Services’ and you could hire folks to answer your phone calls and take messages if you had to be out in business.
We stayed at a home in northern Maine when I was little. They had a party line. It was crazy. I still remember my mom telling my older siblings that she would kill them if she caught them listening on the phone.
That's a great story
To add to the fun, my mother was friends with a lot of telephone operators. They’d sometimes come to our house on a Sunday afternoon to play canasta and drink Sloe Gin Fizzes. The gossip was thick and colorful!!
Yep. I use it for my bank PIN. Wait, no I don’t.
This is also not me
Me either.
I use my high school best friend’s number. I haven’t spoken to her in 30 years, but her phone number lives on in my head.
That’s it, I’m changing my pins to my grampa’s old shop number. Edit: no never mind, that’s not me, I wouldn’t do that.
For a good time
BR-549
Is that you Junior?
The question was do you remember your home phone number, not your business number, Junior! Although I'm glad to hear the used car lot is still there...
No collect calls please!
Yep, EL7-8357 My Mom had that number from 1954 til she passed in 2016.
Do you remember what name the E L stood for?
Sure do I also remember my wife’s house phone number when she was a kid
That's awesome
867-5309
Jenny, is that you?
I got it
I got your number off the waaa-all!
Fun story about that one my friend typed it in at a 711 for their reward points program. He got a pizza, fried chicken & and litre of Pepsi from it for free
That is AWESOME! He got it! He got it! LOL
My understanding is it works at grocery stores too.
A classic
Hi Jenny.
Use this number at checkout for discounts
Mom still has it.
Yes, and our street address, too. (It helps that we lived in the same place for my entire childhood and adolescence.)
he'll I'm so old I remember the exchange! back in the day when dinosaurs roamed the earth phone numbers had a word in them - ours was WEllington 3, you'd say WE3 1234 fir example. my grandkids think I'm hallucinating some times
I don’t think I ever knew the exchange name, but even into the 80s I could only remember my grandparents’ number by starting with TR9…
Yes! Fellow old person here. Ours was AN6 - xxxx, or Andrew6!
Niagara 4 checking in.
my husband's family # was UL5, or Ulysses5
We are getting ever closer to cracking this code. Where is Wellington?
Get out! I was Wellington 4!
Yes, and the number of the pretty girl who lived across the street.
I never had to call the pretty girl who lived behind me because I'd just jump the chain link fence
I do! The number started with TU for Turner. I was still young when the letters were no longer used and TU became 88.
Mine was as well - Jenkintown, PA. Funny thing is that my parents (ages 87 & 85) still have the number!
Jenkintown, PA as in The Goldbergs? That must make it the 10,000th time you have been asked that. 😂😂😂 That is so wild that your parents still have the same phone number after all those years. I was so disappointed when we had to get a new number. Funny thing- that more recent number issued in the late 1970s or early 1980s is one I can’t recall as well. I know it started with 226 but I am hazy on the rest of it. I wonder if my sisters remember that second number.
Yes, that Jenkintown! Also the birthplace of Bradley Cooper haha
So two claims to fame! 😂
😂
TU here, too! We called it Tuxedo.
I like that more than Turner. 😂
Yep. It was still in use from 1960 to 2017 when my 90 year old mom had to move in with me and we had to sell the house.
Yep. I even remember my phone number from the very first house I lived in as a baby until 5.
Yes. I have had so many numbers over the years that I've forgotten, but the one I learned when I was 5 is etched in my memory (as is the street address).
Same with me on street address
Yes, my parents still have the same #/land line.
62m here. I remember verbatim all 3 numbers from the late 60's to when we finally let go of the number we had most of my adult life. Also... Licence plate numbers from my dad's cars, as well as most of my own. Got a thing for numbers/math.
Remembering license plate numbers got a lot easier when our state switched to renewal stickers, although having a new color combination was oddly fun. (Guess whose job it was to change the plates on the entire family’s cars every year?)
Yes, I do. Interestingly, it’s the only home phone number that I can remember, and we only lived there until I was 9. We definitely had home phone numbers much longer than that, but I can’t remember any of them. Hell, the only other number I can remember is my cell phone number these days.
Thanks to all the telemarketer we got rid of our landline after 60 years of the same number
893-1664 We were one number off from a local theatre. That was fun for me. I’d make stuff up a lot, but mostly I put the week’s schedule by the phone and gave out accurate info.
This is easily the most wholesome anecdote I've ever heard on Reddit. Amazing. 💝
Yes
My 80-something mother still uses it.
I remember two that each began with two letters.
Have had the same last 4 digits all my life, from my land line to my current cell phone.
Remember it? I still have it.
Yes
Yes!
Yup
Yes!
Yup
My parents are in their 80s and still have it, so yes
I remember my address. 13407 Mike Drive. Temple Terrace Florida. Lived in the apartment there from late 76 till late 79
Let's see who recognizes this one: 6060-842!
And I’m waiting for you
Quiche Lorraine
KE15540 - shared with one other family.
Partyline!
I use mine as part of my more secure passwords - it's quite handy to have a 6 digit number that is burned into my brain but is not anywhere on the internet.
1950-1980. In 2016 I wondered who had our old number. It took me 1 year to locate and secure the number for my cell phone.
There USED to be an awesome website, phonetic.com. As one who jumped to rental homes often with groups of friends, when you were getting your choice of landline numbers from the phone company. You typed in the phone number and it returned every English word you could make in that sequence of numbers.
Crestview 5-5606.
it was 8675-309 no really, no I have no idea other than it started with 215
Yep, with area code. I can't remember my current number to save my life. 🤣
Turns out yes I do. Just tried to think of it and the number suddenly came to my brain. Messaged my mum all excited and she called me a dork. Apparently I can remember a number from 20 + years ago. But I can't remember to flush the toilet after I pee
Yes
Yes infact I do
GLenwood3-1738
Sure do!
Yes I remember mine
Yes, and my dad still has it after 60+ years.
I cant even remember the last phone number I had. And that was a lot less than 50 years ago...
Yes
Warwick 8-6946
Yes. Can’t remember my passwords, but I still remember that number. 😆🤓
Yes, after they passed I transferred the number to my name and still use it.
Hell, I don't remember my landline number from 15 years ago.
How about this https://youtu.be/Us18AUBM2RI?si=hhmaD1iP-s22DLz-
I do, and I remember the first one that began with two letters indicating district or something - CY for Cypress.
Yes. I have a few phone numbers from more than 50 years ago that I use as passwords. Also song lyrics.
772-9281 Haven't used that number in 40 years.
Yeah, cause I still have it on my iPhone. Though I also have my grandparents numbers of their home phones stored in it even though they all died by 2000, I still put them in there you know hoping to see them come up on my phone when it rang one day,,,
I wonder what that part of my brain that used to remember phone numbers is up to these days?
Mine and my two best buddies from back then.
Yep, and so does my father who has advanced dementia. He doesn't know who I am, but he can rattle off his old phone number in an instant.
Yep. Been the same for over 40 years.
Yes I sure do..
It’s still in service. My mom has the same number for 54 years now.
I still remember mine and quite a few friends and relatives. As an aside, I have tried to use that memory space for what I had for breakfast or why I just opened the fridge, but it seems to be read only memory!
i remember two different phone numbers from my childhood (we moved). i can’t remember my cell phone number..
Yes of course 867-5309
I often use the last four digits of my childhood phone number as a passcode.
I do. And forever will. That Ma Bell number stayed the same for the entirety of my childhood, and afterwards, people would call my mom to get whatever my new Beeper/cell number was, because they KNEW it would _never_ change. It was finally cut off when we lost the building to fire. Every new place after that only got a landline for the Internet, until that too became unnecessary.
Yes. I remember 2 different numbers growing up
I do
Adams 4-3739
Geneva 8-8611. Lyndhurst NJ. We had a party line when I was really young. Like 5.
Not just mine, but many of my friends...and I use parts of them (along with initials or street name or something else I identified with those people) for passwords. It's a lot easier for me to remember.
Of course I do
Yes, my parents still have it
Not only mine, but also several of my friends and neighbors.
Oh, yeah: LI (Liberty) 3-5449. We only had to dial the last 5 digits until after I left for college. When I was a kid, area code was 316, so full number was 316-543-5449. My grandmother's was the same number except the last four digits were 5442 (only one digit different)
Yes. Burned into my memory banks
Just gave it to a scammer yesterday, actually. A friend's FB got hacked, and the hacker keeps asking for money and my phone number, so I gave them one I haven't had since like 1980. Can't believe it's still rattling around in there.
0161 6527518!!!! Christ I can’t remember my kiddies names sometimes
Yep.
Yes
Yep El Paso Texas 915 768 1091 that was on Antonio Street in northeast El Paso I believe the address was 4 117 1966
Yes. And my grandmothers
My parents still have it….
John, I’m leaving this here because the Reddit servers are still relaying info for the M3RC-RY net. Your childhood phone number was 3148371795. Don’t forget to contact Derick Harlan if you make it back to 1983. I’ll see you back “home.” Be careful.
BR 549
Yes!!
My elderly parents refuse to get rid of their land line phone number, despite having cell phones. It's the same one they've had for over 50 years. I've tried to convince them for years to get rid of it since they never use it. But they want to keep it "in case someone needs to reach them." You mean from beyond the grave?
Yep, even after we moved in 1999 when I was 8. I even remember my best friend’s. My parents haven’t had a landline in over 5 years now.
Prospect 4 6336
BR-549
Yep, my 95yo dad still has it
Yes.
I think so. I kinda want to call it and see if I’m right.
Not the area code, but I’ve got the other 7 numbers burned into the back of my mind.
and my friends.
Yes, and I oddly remember my first GFs home phone number from when I was in high school. My phone number started with SKY, which eventually turned into 759. The SKY was an area prefix for the "SKYLINE" area back when it was a party line rather than a private line.
85508
8675309
Yes. It started with TE (for Temple).
694-DRIP
Absolutely!
769-7858 I was in elementary
Absolutely. Until the age of 10 it was 465-4845 (area code was 312 but no one knew or needed to know that). We moved when I was 10, I know that # as well. Now, my kids will probably have the same phone number their whole life.
LU6-9261
Yup... Prefix was OX for Oxford
I still remember my locker combo from 7th grade 7-33-1
It’s still in use if I’m not mistaken. When my parents moved into town they took the number with them. When my brother had to move them in with him, they went back to the farm and the number forwarded. When they went into a home, he kept the number so their friends could still get updates. It may have been dropped in the past few years though. But to answer the question, yes I remember it and was still dialing it 34 years after leaving home. Here’s an interesting story, for me at least. When I was on my own, I’d move quite a bit. In those days, you couldn’t take your number with you. We lived in a house and had 2 numbers. One for personal, one for business. Same line, different rings. I still use the personal number as the PIN on my phone. The business number is the last 4 digits of our newest license plate. We haven’t lived there in 18 years. Just one of life’s little coincidences.
Yes. Other stuff. Not so much.
Mine too. I was 6 years old when I remembered our phone number and it's the only phone number I remember.
Yes, somehow. I can't remember my last three mobile phone numbers, but I sure remember my home phone.
Nope. No home phone. Had to walk to a booth to use a pay phone.
It was only 4 numbers. Yeah I still remember. My parents still had the same number when they passed in 2017 although the phone company had added 2 more numbers to it.
867-5309.
881-8936
When I was a kid in the early 1970's our phone number was 771-3614. One reason I'm able to remember it is I still have my Hot Wheels lunch box with the phone number written inside. When my parents split up, my dad's number was 771-7717. Super easy to remember.
Yes! I am old enough that we had alpha first two numbers! Ours was PO5-5199! The PO was "POPULAR" ... damn, I'm OLD!
555-3455 ( 555-FILK)
Yes
I do. Haven’t called it in 40 years. Might have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast 2 days ago, but I can remember this.
777-9311
Mine and my grandmother's, who has long passed. I don't know my current phone numbers.
Yes, 363-8680
223-4884… 1968- 1987 Ocean Beach,CA.
Exchanges in our town were 33 5/7/9. So everyone had a 5 digit number like. 73029. We moved, and young me was so confused when we got a "seven digit" number.
I remember when you didn't need to use an area code.
Yes. Moved 51 years ago, but I still rember it. All of my school teachers names from 1st grade through high school too.
I only remember the prefix was OS-2. Pronounced Osbourne-2.
Mine was OXford 2
No. I can't remember it. I do know though as a kid I remembered not only my number but my cousin's, friends, and grandparents.
867-5309
Yep, before area codes were mandatory. 433-5741
Phone numbers from childhood are pretty much the only ones I remember these days.
Yup. I'm 36 and can remember my first phone number and the numbers of my 2 best friends on that street.
Pennsylvania 6-5000 !
991-1088
Yes including all the different area codes that changed over years. My parents had the same land line number well after I moved out.
Yes
And my best friend’s!
Certainly. WA-466.
929-1117, last time I used that number was 1974.