'Phone Operators Did Splendid Work During New Bern Fire, Dec. 6, 1922

‘Phone Girls Did Splendid Work Friday. . . Some of Girls Worked More Than 12 Hours at Stretch Without Stopping

There is one branch of work during the course of last week’s terrible fire of which very little has been said thus far. It is the work which was done by the telephone operators.

Three hundred and ninety-five long distance calls were sent from New Bern Friday. There is no way to estimate the number of calls that were received here.

Telephone operators worked for 12 and 14 hours at a stretch Friday, without stopping for food or rest. When one takes into consideration the strain of continuously endeavoring to put through long distance calls for this length of time, the work which the girls did is little short of remarkable. They deserve the entire thanks of the community for their splendid efforts.

From the New Bern Sun-Journal, Dec. 5, 1922