We had one telephone in the house. The phone number was FAirfax 9580 until it was changed to FAirfax 1 9580 in 1947 because the introduction of area codes necessitated a 10 digit number. For years after the the use of area codes were implemented, calls to the same area code did not require prepending the area code (412). Until November 1951 long distance calls were placed through an operator.
The phone was in the living room, and like all home phones at the time it was a black rotary phone. Mom would often be on the phone for more than an hour talking with her friends and relatives. She would often be on the phone staring out the window and gesturing as she talked. The only place you could get a phone, was from the Bell Telephone Company. People did not own their phones but rented thewere the charge ended up as a fee on the phone bill. Although changes in the law went into force sometime in the 70’s, Mom used this phone into the 1990’s when we discovered that she was still paying rent on the phone (possibly $3.60 per month). One of the family members, possibly Bill, discovered this and the phone was returned to the phone company. A new phone, with features Mom liked, was purchased for about $40.00.