Telephone Connection

The first telephones were installed in Ocracoke homes in 1956. A representative for the phone company visited islanders to sign them up for service. One older resident wasn't too keen on having one of those new-fangled devices. She couldn't see any point to it. The rep told her it would be good to have a telephone so she could call neighbors if she fell or had another emergency.

The elderly woman thought for a moment, then called out several of her neighbors' names. The nearest one was "getting old," she said. The next one was "failing," and another was "up in years." Finally she averred that she "would take one" if the salesman could guarantee that it would "connect her to glory!"

This month's Ocracoke Newsletter is a delightful story written by Dr. Warren Silverman, who in 1981 became the island's resident physician after forty years without a doctor. The story is about Dr. Silverman's very first Ocracoke patient, island native Maltby Bragg (1904-1985). You can read the story here: https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/my-first-island-patient-by-dr-warren-silverman/.