TELEPHONE, LIFESTYLE CHANGES HELPED PHASE OUT THOSE AFTERNOON TEA PARTIES

The women folk of the world are more inclined to visit than men.

For centuries it was customary to pay social calls on friends in the afternoon, at which time tea and cake or tea with small sandwiches were served. If you lived in a southern state, afternoon tea began at 4 o'clock, so a fresh cake and a tray of tea sandwiches had to be ready. Water either had to be boiling for tea and a tray with tea service set for callers or you had to be out of the house and unable to answer the door, on your way as a caller in someone's home.

Before the installation of telephones, the afternoon tea sessions were an important way news was circulated. It was faster than the weekly newspaper, and the coverage was better.

There was another way of getting important news fast, and that was Uncle Charlie. He was black and he carried a bell that he rang as he walked through Cape Girardeau. A number of years ago one of the senior citizens told this writer about Uncle Charlie: "When we heard his bell we would rush to the front door because we knew something terrible had happened."

If Charlie stopped to give details it was customary to tip him. That was one way he made his living. He was called "The Town Crier."

During the Civil War, when newspapers were far and few between, unless the Army had something it wanted printed, The Town Crier was the best means of learning about a lost child, a fire, a train wreck or other news of importance.

Telephone service was not installed until near the end of the 19th century. The telephone soon replaced these means of communication.

Bernard S. Ferguson of Jackson installed the first telephone line in Missouri and the first voice over the wire was on Dec. 17, 1877, four months before the first exchange was established in St. Louis on April 15, 1878.

Jackson, the county seat of Cape Girardeau County, has a number of first accomplishments of historical importance, and installation of the first telephone line and long-distance line in Missouri is one of them.

According to Southwestern Bell Telephone News from the middle of this century, the Jackson-Cape Girardeau line was built by Ferguson with the backing of John W. Wheeler; James F. Brooks, who remained a director until his death; T.F. Wheeler; Uz McGuire; Joseph Schmuke; and Will H. Wheeler.

The line was laid to assist Jackson merchants in conveying their orders to the warehouses on the Cape Girardeau waterfront and the incoming and outgoing boats that carried freight. It was not a success as a telephone line because the wires were strung in trees; a heavy rain or storms could disrupt service. The connection as a telephone line was brief. It later was turned into a telegraph line, so its life continued and held up the historic part it played in the history of Missouri.

Businessmen in Cape Girardeau and Jackson recognized that a telephone connection between the two cities and other nearby was important, and immediate steps were taken to make the possibility materialize. After many details were finalized the Cape Girardeau County Telephone Co. was organized and the county court granted a franchise Aug. 9, 1897.

James F. Brooks and A.R. Ponder of Cape Girardeau started the campaign for a telephone line from Jackson to Cape Girardeau April 16, 1897, and a company was formed.

The telephone story was only beginning. There was much red tape and years of transactions before a satisfactory line resulted and a fine wire conveyed voices and messages. The news then moved over the wires quickly, and The Town Crier and his bell were not needed. The ladies met for afternoon tea, but their conversation did not keep the city informed of daily happenings.

Today, the modern world could not function without telephone service.