If you're a senior 65+ you might recall when the dial telephone made its' debut in Pocomoke City in the early 1960's. Prior to that time, of course, the operator came on the line when you picked up the receiver and you told her the number you wanted to call. Pocomoke may have been the last exchange on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to receive dial phone service.
In New York City the first dial telephones were put into use in the early 1920's. The New York times told readers they would be their own operators and described in detail how users would make a call using their new dial telephones.
