Yes, Bells

Wellesley College. 1986. Before cellphones ruled our lives, each dormitory resident had to serve time at the one communal telephone stationed at a desk at the building's entrance. For an hour, she’d answer and then use the intercom to broadcast to the appropriate floor: "Julia?!” (I miss my friend and schoolmate, so using her name.) The resident would then open her door and respond through the hallway speaker, "Yes, Bells." The desk would respond, "You have a Phone Call." (Just "Call" if the person on the line were male.)

If Julia didn't answer the page, the residential operator would politely inform the person on the line that she was unavailable. I'm trying to remember what happened if one didn’t want to take a call, but since the desk person never revealed who was calling, declining didn't really make sense. So maybe it was not part of protocol. So, downstairs you'd go to pick up the receiver, for a conversation right next to whomever was serving her shift at the desk, reading a book or whatever to try and ignore every word.

Boys once wore jackets and ties, girls in skirts or dresses for dinner at my boarding high school. No longer requirements, which saddens me. John Kasson is a marvelous historian and my favorite on my Master‘s thesis committee.

Feeling nostalgic on a beautiful autumn evening.