Ed Coleman is a regular columnist for the Valley Journal Advertiser. - File PhotoFor anyone living in Windsor, say around 1887, a five-minute telephone call to someone in Hantsport or Brooklyn would have cost them 20 cents. On the other hand, if one had lived in Falmouth and called Windsor or Hantsport, the charge for five minutes was 15 cents.
In contrast, with my smartphone and for about 20-odd dollars a month, I have unlimited calling anywhere in Canada, and no time limit on the calls.HISTORICALLY SPEAKING WITH ED COLEMAN: Restoring, preserving historical artifacts a delicate yet important task Also during the late 1880s, telephone companies were everywhere — in towns, in villages, and even in communities with fewer than 50 households. Existing around the same time the Hants and Halifax Company was operational, for example, were private phone companies in Ellershouse, St. Croix and Cheverie.
In outlying areas, north and south of Kentville, there were telephone companies in communities such as White Rock, Black River, Blue Mountain, South Alton, Scotts Bay and Medford. A few areas between Kentville and Berwick — Welsford and Waterville, for example — also had private phone companies.