re: Old School phone calls

I remember my mom talking about it. If you asked her someone's number she would say 3340. We had to dial the 3 digit prefix but she didn't have to say it. Because that number was the same.

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Party lines were one phone #, different phones, but each had a unique ringtone.

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Each person had their own phone number to their homes but families shared the line so I had to wait until a neighbor hung up their call to use your own phone.

I remember when Baton Rouge had 5 digits.

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Same age and I don't remember that. I do remember BR being in the 504 area code and it being long distance to call Ascension Parish though.

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And southeast BR (Shenandoah area) had 29*-**** until the late 80s when we got moved to 75*-****

Our house had a party line when I was little and living in Texas (Pearland when it was a tiny town).

My family in rural Washington Parish used four digits until I was probably in my early teens.

I am old af obviously.

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Party lines were one phone #, different phones, but each had a unique ringtone.

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This is kind of how us kids got our own number, but it was still one household with that line. We had two phone numbers to that one line with different rings. Don't remember what that service was called. We never shared lines outside of the household.

South Plaq had it's own infrastructure back then and was separate from Belle Chasse. It became 985 with the spit. After Katrina South Plaq was intergrated with NO proper and went back to 504

Rural Madison Parish 60's and 70's. We were on an 8 party line. 5 digit number/letters. My friends number was 897J1. Others on our line were 574R1,2, etc. I had the hardest time learning to recognize 2 rings which was ours. 1 lady listened in on everybody and would break in and ask if you wanted any tomatoes ,etc.. To place a call you picked up and the operator said "Number please" and you gave her the number.

Rural southeast Missouri 4 digit dialing through early 70's. Then required prefix until zip codes became mandatory in early 90's.

I also remember something weird in late 70's. Would visit a friend in town 30 miles north. His dad was a wealthy farmer, and they lived out in the boonies about 10 miles outside of nearest small town. They dialed the number they wanted to call. Then an operator would pick up and they had to give their own 7-digit number, not the one they were dialing. The operator would then put the call through.

We had the four digit numbers where I grew up. I could call my grandparents and a few friend with dour digits only. We also did have party lines and shared it with the old lady across the street. Most people to this day do not believe me about the party lines.

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My town was 5 digit - for instance my parent's phone number if dialed locally was 7-6823. Was that way pretty much until I left home for college in the mid-80's I believe. I grew up in a small town with population of about 5,000 at the time.

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Yep. Born in 79 and I remember dialing 4 digits until about my 1st grade year.

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Where are y'all from? I was born in 1972, in about as rural as you can get Mississippi, and we always had the regular old 7 digits with a three digit area code just like now. I do remember being on a party line in probably around 1979 or so. I remembered the day we got a private line was a big deal. New phone number and everything. I remember probably being around 6 or so and picking up the phone and busting in on some old ladies conversation who were on the same line as my grandparents.