Hello Central

In most studies of technological development, women are portrayed as passive victims of new technology. In contrast, in "Hello, Central?" Michèle Martin reveals the significant impact women had on the development of telephone systems.

Nail-biting suspense, spectacular thrills, plus an entire evening of unbridled laughter are all combined in Mr. Parish's new one-set comedy triumph. When domineering Juliet Brighton suddenly decides to have their town house done over and informs her meek, mild-mannered husband, Boniface, they will open their summer home to escape the mess made by the workmen, Boniface rebels, but, as usual, he has to give in to Juliet. The latter sends their charming young daughter, Wendy, on ahead to open up the house. But when Mr. and Mrs. Brighton get off the train in the country Wendy is not there to meet them. They go on to their summer home and wait for Wendy. When she does arrive she is brought in by a stranger--Verne Early. He claims he found her in front of a house up the road and that she was unconscious. When Wendy comes to she is very evasive about what happened. The Brightons settle down in their country place and that is when baffling and mysterious things begin to happen. Loud, mocking luughter is heard coming from upstairs when there isn't supposed to be anybody up there. A woman's body is discovered sitting in a high-backed chair in the living room. She has been murdered! Suddenly the lights go out and when they flash on again the dead woman's body has disappeared! Is Verne Early the head of a band of crooks? Why did Wendy Brighton draw a large sum of money from the bank without telling her parents? Who kidnapped Boniface and will he ever be seen alive again? All these questions make for a high-powered evening of spine-tingling thrills! Hundreds of laughs!

When the need for telephone operators arose in the 1870s, the assumption was that they should all be male. Wages for adult men were too high, so boys were hired. They proved quick to argue with the subscribers, so females replaced them. Women were calmer, had reassuring voices and rarely talked back. Within a few years, telephone operators were all female and would remain so. The pay was low and working conditions harsh. The job often impaired their health, as they suffered abuse from subscribers in silence under pain of dismissal. Discipline was stern--dress codes were mandated, although they were never seen by the public. Most were young, domestic and anything but militant. Yet many joined unions and walked picket lines in response to the severely capitalistic, sexist system they worked under.

First Published in 2002. A Century of American Popular Music is an annotated index to over 2,000 of the most popular, best remembered, historically important and otherwise influential and interesting popular music, from the landmark publication of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag to the latest rap hit. It provides information all in one place that is available no where else: song title, composer, lyricist, publisher, date of copyright and genre. The annotations include, where possible, a discussion of the history of the song, how it was written, who popularized it, notable recordings with their original issue numbers, as well as covers and other versions that helped keep the song in public attention. Also included are indices by composer, publisher and year of publication.