Candlestick phone in Harlingen, Texas, 1939Taken by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration, this photo from February of 1939 shows a Harlingen, Texas “ice house”. Our intrepid ice man is surrounded with the tools of his trade, including a telephone that was already obsolete in ‘39. It is a testament to the durability of the phone (a Western Electric model 20?) that it could survive outside in the harsh Harlingen climate. Photo is courtesy of Dave from shorpy.com, a website you need to visit!