A phone at the lake is a relatively new convenience. When I was a kid, Mama Syd would have a list of people to call when we got to Uncle Bert’s on our trips into town. Or she’d fill her pocket with quarters and I’d accompany her to the store and we’d wait our turn at the pay phone, bugs swarming under the lightbulb over the door, and she’d have to make it quick. So why we had some antique/vintage/old phones around, I have no idea. But they did provide great entertainment for the girls and inspired all sorts of questions from the kids.
“But how does the phone know which number you’re dialing? Like how does it remember how far you went?” -Philip
“You mean you had to go all the way around?”
“But what’s this cord for? You couldn’t go farther than this?!“-Tess
“How did you know who was calling?”
“Wait. The phone didn’t know the numbers? You had to know them?! But what if you didn’t?”
“IT’S WINGALING!!!”-Lucy (Translation, “It’s ringing!)
And now I am officially old. I’ll hang up now.