First Telephone Exchange had 41 Telephones
Maud Spencer
The Hartley-Dumas Telephone Company provided phone service to Dumas, Hartley and Sunray in 1928 when R. L. and Maud Spencer came from Oklahoma to purchase the business. The exchange had only 41 telephones, most of those in Hartley.
Managing telephone exchanges was not new to the Spencers. They came from a family with a history in telephone management.
R. L.'s father, Lucian H. Spencer, purchased two exchanges in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, in 1901. After only a year, he sold those and purchased one in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. He later purchased the Billings exchange.
Managing a telephone company in the early 1900's was a challenge. Spencer told the story of "Old Charlie", his white horse who pulled the wagon with the telephone supplies from pole to pole without being told to stop at each. He knew his business. Even when hitched to a one-seated buggy, he pulled off the side of the road and stopped at all the pole he could.
The Spencers had three children. The oldest was R. L. (Bob). His best friend was Earl Witten who had a sister named Maud. R. L. and Maud fell in love and were married June 24, 1914 in Paul's Valley. He took her back to Billings where they were met with people ringing bells, hitting on tin pots to greet the couple.
R. L. and his father stayed in the telephone business for several years, but sold the exchanges in 1927.
The older couple stayed in Billings, but R. L. couldn't stay out of the telephone business for long. He came to Texas late in 1927, and pioneered the telephone industry on the North Plains. He purchased the exchange from Ingram and Moore Associates. The office for the company was in Hartley and the Dumas office was a three-room "shotgun" house on Porter Avenue. A man was immediately moved to Dumas and in 1929 a new frame building was constructed. The Hartley office was moved to Sunray.
Managing telephone exchanges was not new to the Spencers. They came from a family with a history in telephone management.
R. L.'s father, Lucian H. Spencer, purchased two exchanges in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, in 1901. After only a year, he sold those and purchased one in Paul's Valley, Oklahoma. He later purchased the Billings exchange.
Managing a telephone company in the early 1900's was a challenge. Spencer told the story of "Old Charlie", his white horse who pulled the wagon with the telephone supplies from pole to pole without being told to stop at each. He knew his business. Even when hitched to a one-seated buggy, he pulled off the side of the road and stopped at all the pole he could.
The Spencers had three children. The oldest was R. L. (Bob). His best friend was Earl Witten who had a sister named Maud. R. L. and Maud fell in love and were married June 24, 1914 in Paul's Valley. He took her back to Billings where they were met with people ringing bells, hitting on tin pots to greet the couple.
R. L. and his father stayed in the telephone business for several years, but sold the exchanges in 1927.
The older couple stayed in Billings, but R. L. couldn't stay out of the telephone business for long. He came to Texas late in 1927, and pioneered the telephone industry on the North Plains. He purchased the exchange from Ingram and Moore Associates. The office for the company was in Hartley and the Dumas office was a three-room "shotgun" house on Porter Avenue. A man was immediately moved to Dumas and in 1929 a new frame building was constructed. The Hartley office was moved to Sunray.
Maud Spencer with children
The Spencers lived in Amarillo when they moved to Texas. They operated the River Road lines, north of Amarillo. Even after the purchase of the Dumas company, they continued to live in Amarillo until 1930. They built a home at 510 Beard, the second constructed in the eastern part of Dumas.
Business phones were $3.50 a month, residential phones were $2.50. Long distance calls were limited. In an interview in the Sunday New-Globe on April 4, 1965, Mrs. Spencer recalled during wheat harvest season, men lined up outside the telephone office, waiting to place calls. "Many waited all day," she said.
"It wasn't exactly a thriving industry," she continued. "However, we always had more applications than telephones. People were amazed that we didn't have to go out and sell. Oh, it wasn't smooth sailing, there were many ups and downs."
"An extensive ice storm in 1940 almost put the company out of business," she recalled. "About a month went by before service could be restored. Many customers didn't understand, but the company continued mastering one crisis after another."
"In 1942, all operators, with the exception of one, resigned to accept employment with the Cactus Ordnance Plant, a wartime operation 13 miles north of Dumas. We did everything we could to keep it (the telephone company) going."
Thinking back to when they came to Dumas, Mrs. Spencer recalled, "There were no paved streets here then, and when we first bought the telephone office there were only 41 'magneto', wall type telephones." The company grew rapidly, requiring more switchboards, many more operators and changing over to the dial system in 1945.
Maud became president of the company in May of 1934 when her husband died. She remained active in the business for more than three decades. The Spencer sons managed the business and became the third generation of Spencers in the telephone business.
She received state recognition when she received the Outstanding Woman of Texas award in 1953.
The business was sold April 18, 1962 to Transcontinental Electronics Company.
Business phones were $3.50 a month, residential phones were $2.50. Long distance calls were limited. In an interview in the Sunday New-Globe on April 4, 1965, Mrs. Spencer recalled during wheat harvest season, men lined up outside the telephone office, waiting to place calls. "Many waited all day," she said.
"It wasn't exactly a thriving industry," she continued. "However, we always had more applications than telephones. People were amazed that we didn't have to go out and sell. Oh, it wasn't smooth sailing, there were many ups and downs."
"An extensive ice storm in 1940 almost put the company out of business," she recalled. "About a month went by before service could be restored. Many customers didn't understand, but the company continued mastering one crisis after another."
"In 1942, all operators, with the exception of one, resigned to accept employment with the Cactus Ordnance Plant, a wartime operation 13 miles north of Dumas. We did everything we could to keep it (the telephone company) going."
Thinking back to when they came to Dumas, Mrs. Spencer recalled, "There were no paved streets here then, and when we first bought the telephone office there were only 41 'magneto', wall type telephones." The company grew rapidly, requiring more switchboards, many more operators and changing over to the dial system in 1945.
Maud became president of the company in May of 1934 when her husband died. She remained active in the business for more than three decades. The Spencer sons managed the business and became the third generation of Spencers in the telephone business.
She received state recognition when she received the Outstanding Woman of Texas award in 1953.
The business was sold April 18, 1962 to Transcontinental Electronics Company.