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B.L. Fisher Entrepreneur |
Bergie Lee Fisher smiles from the inset among a collection of old phones. The collection was displayed at the 2009 Fieldale VA Heritage Festival and the phones span years of time. Long ago one had to ring the operator to connect to another party (as in Andy Griffith reruns!). Around 1931 dial phones appeared. Fisher sent a group of people led by A.C. Wilson to cities where dial phones were already in use. The group came back with positive reviews and Lee Telephone was soon up and running with the new technology. By 1932 Lee was the first telephone company in VA with completely unattended dial service. They were also the first to install inter-toll dialing. The term Inter-toll dialing has to do with long-distance operators being able to dial a local number without having to go through an intermediate operator. In 1931 Fisher constructed a 3 story building at 127 East Church Street in Martinsville, VA to house operations. In 1961 the company doubled the size of that building which remains today as the Century Link headquarters. Fisher built his building almost next door to the First Methodist Church on the corner of Church and Lester Streets. Click for an aerial view
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From A Private Collection
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