Why the 302s Survived

[HobieSport]

I always like to get the stories behind a phone that I'm interested in.  In conversing with a helpful woman on Ebay about her 302 she said that it had stayed in the family attic since being replaced by a 500 because "in those days, the phone company let the customers keep the older phones".

That makes sense in a way.  Ma Bell had no use for the 302s anymore.  I guess they weren't cost effective to scrap.   And my guess is, many people didn't throw them away because they still worked, and coming out of the depression and war, things often weren't thrown away. I also suspect that some folks had a sentimental attachment to the 302s, as a familiar family item used every day with lot's of memories.

Just my .02 of course.    -Matt

[BDM]

Ehhhh, I doubt Ma Bell did that. Maybe a repair man, but that was by far & wide, not Ma Bell's policy.

[HobieSport]

BDM,  I think you're right.  I sit corrected.  I guess we'll never know why so many 302s survived.  Whatever the case, good thing.

[BDM]

BDM,  I think you're right.  I sit corrected.  I guess we'll never know why so many 302s survived.  Whatever the case, good thing.

Well, I received my great aunt's 302 she had in her basement. Some time around 79 or 80. I don't recall her mentioning the Ma Bell asking for it back. That phone was in her basement from day one, when they order service at there home in the late 30s. Or something to that effect.

I admit, I often wonder my self?

[McHeath]

What's odd is how many of the old phones do not have stickers on the bottom showing the date sold to the customer, usually in 83' to 85' on the ones I've seen.  Seems like Ma Bell would have been on top of that, it was money to be made afterall, yet I rarely see the sticker.

[Shovelhead]

Ma Bell got sloppy at times with their equipment. It was not uncommon to see a vacant house with a telephone still there.
In the 1970's the Bell System came up with the "Clip and Save" program.
Cut the cord. take the phone(s) in and get a credit on the final bill of five dollars per phone.
The program worked, but a number of vintage phones removed from elderly person's homes never made it back to the recycling facility.  My mother worked for Bell, and heard that at a different office a vintage candlestick was turned in for the credit. I can guarantee that that one was lost in transit.
I know of a certain 202 that never made it inside the phone company office, it was bought "on the street" on the way in for the five dollar credit. Too bad the subset wasn't with it though .
My 302 was found in a corner of a basement, in a phone company office in 1966.
Still had the cloth covered cords on it, and the handset cord was a spring cord. I'm sure that this was a original, unmodified phone as it was in a storage closet, buried under a lot of junk.

[HobieSport]

Hi Shovelhead.  Thanks.  Good info there.  I wonder if some folks also choose to keep the old family phone instead of getting the $5. credit.

[mienaichizu]

here in the Philippines, old phones were taken by the telephone men to be replaced with new ones, I'm not sure if they are returning it to the telephone company but most of the phones, I think ends up on thrift shops and antique collectors

[Mark Stevens]

...she said that it had stayed in the family attic since being replaced by a 500 because "in those days, the phone company let the customers keep the older phones".

Very interesting!  I've always been curious why so many 302s are around, and while this probably wasn't done extensively, I'll bet it explains the survival of at least some of them.

[HobieSport]

I've read that there were 25 million 302s made over the years 1937-195X.  Not sure of the accuracy of this info but it gives an idea why so many are still around.  I'd say a third of the 302s on Ebay seem to come from the original family households, and most of the rest are bought direct from family estate sales then sold on Ebay.  Whatever the case...Lucky for us.

[JimH]

BDM,  I think you're right.  I sit corrected.  I guess we'll never know why so many 302s survived.  Whatever the case, good thing.

Well, I received my great aunt's 302 she had in her basement. Some time around 79 or 80. I don't recall her mentioning the Ma Bell asking for it back. That phone was in her basement from day one, when they order service at there home in the late 30s. Or something to that effect.

I admit, I often wonder my self?

You often hear about people still paying "rental" fees monthly for their phones.  Recently I heard about a woman who'd paid over $5000 to rent her 500 she had installed back in the 50's.  Makes me wonder if your Great Aunt paid dearly for hers as well....hmmmm....the 30's up to 79 or 80?  I can't imagine!  And for a lot of people  they had the nerve to make them turn it in because it was "their" property?  They should gold plate it for them and mount it on a pedistal. 

[Sargeguy]

All previous models had parts which could be recycled into newer models, so the phone company had an interest in taking them back.  302s didn't have a lot of recycling potential once the 500 series came along and the 302s (and all older models) were being phased out.  The phone company would have no use for the older models by the 1960s or so.