(Pic) Studebaker Switchboard.....1953

[DEEPNHOCK]

Studebaker Switchboard Operators - South Bend, Indiana

In 1953, the switchboard operators at Studebaker were buzzing.
From front to back: Joyce Jennings, Gail Brandenburg, unknown, Laura Swihart, unknown, Betty Grooms, and unknown.

[2r10jim]

I bet sitting on those chairs all day wan't much fun.

[qsanford]

Great photo! They would all be out of work today- if you know your party's extension, please enter it now.

[2moredoors]

I would bet that they overheard quite a lot of great stuff. Talk about being a "fly on the wall". The first company I worked for had a much smaller switchboard and I know that our operator could overhear every incoming call.

[showbizkid]

I can understand why they put Ms. Jennings in the foreground.

[Bill Pressler]

I can understand why they put Ms. Jennings in the foreground.

She sort-of looks like Marilyn!

I remember her name from the '62 GT Hawk article in April '87's TW. There's a photo of her standing up in the lobby of the Administration Building speaking to the Mayor of South Bend and the Police Chief in that issue. She looks a fair amount older than in the photo posted here (and to be fair, she would be 8-9 years older). She is identified in the photo as 'receptionist Joyce Jennings'. I always remember that since I frequently look at any TW's featuring GT Hawks and also, that name is so 'whitebread' compared to the usual names ending in "..ski" one would see or hear about in South Bend!

[8E45E]

I wonder if Studebaker kept those old-skool switchboards right up until 'the end' in 1963, or if they converted to the "new" Western Electric PABX system as part of Sherwood Egbert's modernizing and efficiency program. Last time I saw one of those in regular use was in an old hotel in Deadwood, SD.

Craig

[BobPalma]

I can understand why they put Ms. Jennings in the foreground.

How nice of you to comment on her proper posture, Clark. BP

[showbizkid]

Those look like workhorse WE 555 or 556 switchboards. Pretty standard stuff right up through the 60s. I have even seen these retrofitted with a 12-key DTMF pad in place of the rotary dial!

If Studebaker had wanted a PBX, they could have done so much earlier. The 755 came out in 1938; first small automatic crossbar switch. The boards in this pic date from about 1948.

[StudeRich]

I am pretty sure everybody "knew" or wanted to know Ms. Jennings!

[Bordeaux Daytona]

I'll have to check my pictures but I think there was a switchboard like that at Sasco before they closed. I think it ended up at Tom Karkiewicz's place being stored for someone.

[qsanford]

Maybe they were fielding calls from people complaining about the lack of a convertible model in the new lineup!

[Bob Andrews]

How nice of you to comment on her proper posture, Clark. BP

I bet she had a ringy-dingy here, and a ringy-dingy here.......

(Laugh-in reference)

[Bill Pressler]

I bet she had a ringy-dingy here, and a ringy-dingy here.......

(Laugh-in reference)

"Is this the party to whom I am speaking?" LOL

[raoul5788]

"Is this the party to whom I am speaking?" LOL

snort, snort!