Telephone Pioneers of America ConventionHere’s another shot of the Telephone Pioneers shindig. (Wow, just think, the term “shindig” hadn’t even been coined when this convention took place!) It looks like they cleared out the chairs once business was concluded and proceeded to do a little mingling. Why, I’ll bet later on they even started shakin’ their tootsies. (now that’s an expression they were familiar with!) As before, I’ve included a larger version and the legendary much larger version.
For those who aren’t familiar with the TPA, let me fill you in on this organization. The Telephone Pioneers of America was conceived in 1910 by Henry W. Pope, Charles R. Truex and Thomas Doolittle, who thought that long-time telephone workers should foster a sense of fraternity, whether active or retired from the job. AT&T president Theodore N. Vail was behind the idea, and everyone associated with early telephony was contacted regarding membership. By the end of 1911 their ranks had grown to almost 450. Bear in mind that this was during a time when long-time practitioners of telephony had been active practically from its invention. In fact, the first charter member was Alexander Graham Bell himself.
Twenty-one years of service in the industry were needed to be eligible for membership into the Telephone Pioneers of America, a stipulation that remained in place until the mid-60s. The required years of service was lowered over time, ultimately permitting even new-hires to join. A slow changing of values began in the 1950s, when the TPA became less focused on the fraternal aspect and more towards charitable works. Commendable though this may have been, I can’t help but to wonder if something got lost. The Telephone Pioneers of America is now called the TelecomPioneers, who describe themselves as a “volunteer organization”.