Making connections
to a time gone by
In May 1941, I was all set to graduate from El Paso High School. "We served our time, we had our fun, we're the class of '41," was our class yell. Miss Lucky, the dean of girls, asked five of us if we would like to work for the telephone company and, of course, we all said "Yes." It was the old original company referred to as Ma Bell. I loved being a telephone operator.
In my place at the switchboard, there were two rows of cords with metal tips. Above that was a panel full of holes. Each hole represented one line. When a person at home took the receiver off their phone, a light would come on over the hole and I would pull up a cord, plug it in and say "number please." After I heard the number, I would tap the rim of the hole of the number called to see if I would hear any static. If I did hear it, I had to say, "The line is busy."
It was rather primitive at the time, but it was as efficient as we women could make it.
One day while I was in my place at the switchboard, every single light came on. We had never seen anything like it. Talk about mayhem. It looked like everyone in El Paso was trying to call everyone else.
We operators worked frantically to plug into each line as fast as we could. We couldn't event take off lunch. We were brought coffee and donuts on the switchboard. We could take a quick bathroom break and run right back. That was a day I will never forget.
It was the 7th of December, 1941, and Japanese planes had just bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and now we were at war with Japan.
Eleanor Foster
Lowell
Children being exposed
to too many adult issues
This letter is in response to the (Nov. 28) article about forums being held to help those Spanish-speaking immigrants who are feeling anxious and fearful.
The obvious question is, why do they feel that way and what can be done to relieve those feelings. That might be easy or difficult, depending on each situation.
That being said, my greatest concern is with the father's young 8-year-old daughter. It seems she woke up the morning after the election crying and wondering "Why does he hate us so much?" Wow.
Her father says he doesn't know what to tell her. Sometimes he tells her that "some like us and some don't." Real-world stuff.
It would be my opinion as a parent and a former teacher that this youngster has been exposed to too much conversation and fear planting.
Children have more than enough on their plates just growing up, mentally, physically and socially. They shouldn't have to worry and be scared about all these adult-caused problems.
Adults are known to solve problems by using their self-made, self-serving agendas they have created as their guidelines.
It appears to me, and I have stated all along, that this immigration situation was poorly constructed years ago. In many cases, there was no structure at all.
So now, some restructuring has to take place. People have to be treated fairly. Necessary laws have to be followed. There is no room for rudeness, comments or bullying.
As they say now days, those are unacceptable.
Doris Clark
Rogers
Commentary on 12/11/2016