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| NEW FACILITIES - Keystone Arthur Telephone Company
Vice President and Manager William B. Hill |
displays the new computerized and electronic equipment at the new central office at Lemoyne. |
| Lemoyne - This lake community now boasts one of the most
modern privately owned telecommunications operations in the state, thanks
to the new facilities of the Keystone-Arthur Telephone Company.
The firm observed Founder's Day and the 89th birthday observance of Company president William B. S. Kill with an Open House of the new Facilities on July 14th. It marked a move earlier this year of the firm's central offices from keystone to Lemoyne. The company staked its growth on continued expansion in the Lemoyne area which has seen marked expansion of developments at Lake McConaughy the past 15 years. Lemoyne precinct experienced the largest percentage increase in population of any precinct in Keith County during the 1970's. Commercial developments have followed. Admiral’s Cove has announced a major campground and marina complex development and Samuelson's constructed a new facility this year. Of the telephone company’s 480 Customers, two-thirds are in the Lemoyne area. It's a considerable change since William B. S. Hill traded an implement dealership for the phone company at Keystone in 1952. At that time, there were 75 customers at Keystone and three in Arthur. The Keystone-Arthur Telephone Co. was organized by a group of Keystone citizens in 1918. A Bill Hill (no relation to the present owners) was hired as manager. The firm underwent several management and ownership changes until Arthur merchant William B. S. Hill acquired the company. ' He updated the |
ancient switchboard in 1955 and in 1957 the system
was enlarged with the construction of 15 miles of line to Lemoyne. In 1962,
the firm switched over to a dial system and the firm incorporated, becoming
the Keystone- Arthur telephone Company. In 1969, underground cables were
built from Keystone to Arthur. In 1970, a dial board was also established
for the Lemoyne area, reflecting the start of the growth in the area. The
company also acquired customers of the Thuen Telephone Co. In 1981, the
family sold the Arthur Non-Stock Telephone Co. and efforts were begun to
modernize the Keystone-Lemoyne facilities.
The family applied for a $1.95 million Rural Electrification Ad- ministration loan. Since November, 1983, the firm has buried an additional 157 miles of cable. Construction on the new facility was completed in January. The company now boasts a completely computerized operation with a digital electronic switchboard, local automated message accounting and a plant designed for 14,000 customers. The new message data retrieval system by data line is a far cry from writing out bills and from the time when all calls were timed manually by the family. Equipment has been installed for 400 customers at Lemoyne and 300 at Keystone. Cable has already been laid for 1,400 customers. Growth in the take area has not all been good news for the firm. "We can't keep up with our maps because of all the new subdivisions," ex- plains company manager Bill Hill. Although still a family-owned operation, the firm has undergone considerable |
change since the pre-dial phone days when the closest family
member made connections when the switchboard rang. Today the company has
seven employees. In addition to the president William B. S. Hill, vice
president, and manager William B. Hill, Mabel C. Statler is office manager
and corporate secretary- treasurer, John Elliott is plant manager, Gerald
Williams and Marty Williams are installer-repairmen and Roberta Kubiak
is, in charge of accounting.
In addition to William B. S. Hill, William B. Hill, and Mabel Statler, directors of the company include Martha Gies and Lois Vath. The new operations room has a specially controlled environment for temperature and humidity as well as antistatic tile and even a "grounding strap" for personnel to wear while working on the circuit boards. An alarm system rings when there is a shutdown for some reason-a computerized system, which tells what is wrong, prints it on a computer and calls the officers. There is an automatic standby generator-which has a battery bank back up. The company now offers all modem services such as forwarding and call waiting, three-way calling, speed dialing and touch tone. The firm will soon be offering appliances as well as a wide variety of telephones, which are already on hand. There is more space in the new plant's commercial area than they had in the whole plant at Keystone. Never the less, there are still a few retired people living at Lemoyne who don't want telephones. When they do, The Keystone-Arthur Telephone Company is geared up to handle them. |