Farm Bell

[flingwing1969]

Some time ago, we found a free for the taking mid-40s Quonset Hut to disassemble and move to the ranch.  Not being too bright, we jumped at the "opportunity" and disassembled it, moved it here, built a second story floor on top of my workshop, and reassembled the hut on the floor.  Anyway, on the hut's outside we found a very old Bell Systems farm bell that I installed on my house. 

It works well, although it could be a bit louder and I like the retro look.  I have the cover for it too but it would not fit when installed under the eaves so I'll put it on after I reposition it later. Anybody know anything about this thing?  Sorry about the quality of the photo, it's raining outside and I didn't want to linger too long.  Thanks.

[rp2813]

As a kid I remember neighbors a couple of blocks away having one of these bells mounted way up high on the outside rear of their house.  I don't know how long it had been there, but when originally built (appx 1900-1910), the house may have had more property around it, as it had a windmill and tank house still standing, but by the 1940's (if not earlier) was on an averaged sized lot for the neighborhood.

[flingwing1969]

Now that's a good memory, and a great story.  I'm sure Ma Bell charged an extra dollar a month for the pleasure of renting one of their farm bells.  I know that an extension line in the 60s and 70s cost that much, and you paid fifty cents for color.  My father-in-law, a 25-year AT&T installer got a nice commission on each extension, color or Princess he sold.

[keysys]

Seems to be a Western Electric L1A ringer and appears to have been re-painted green.  Original gray finish is evident on the right gong.  "Uses a C4A ringer coil and is subject to the same circuit arrangements and limitations as the C4A ringer", according to Bell System Practice #501-258-101.