Mike Lazer-Walker has repurposed a 1927 Western Electric 551-A switchboard into a hectic game that tasks players with quickly learning the obsolete job.“Hello, Operator!,” although controlled ...

Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Portrait of a telephone switchboard operator, 1957. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Women phone operators on Wall ...

Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Portrait of a telephone switchboard operator, 1957. Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Women phone operators on Wall ...

A reunion of Maine switchboard operators highlights the challenges of making a phone call more than 50 years ago and what it was like to handle emergencies, rude customers and delicate situations.