1944 — Half-leather binding. Telephone Talk was the glossy bimonthly publication of the British Columbia Telephone Company. It was written by employees for employees to present information of interest to those engaged in the plant, traffic, commercial, operating, accounting and other departments of the service. Each issue is replete with black and white photos and information on topics such as: company, industry and technological news, traffic levels, expansion plans, personnel announcements, publicity and social events, deaths, weddings, lists of exchanges, and more. As such, these issues serve as a vital preserve of rare and fascinating British Columbia history. This volume covers topics including: "All circuits are busy; I will call you" - the phrase of operators dealing with heavy traffic; Good-bye to the Seymour and Trinity manual offices - photos; Photo of the ladies of the Nelson small bore rifle club; adding switching equipment in Victoria; Gas masks, helmets, and more in Alma operating room - photo; Action photo of the First Vancouver Cadet Training Corps; Record load of telephone calls handled in B.C. in 1942 - article and photos; George Friend - Alma plant man - article and photos; Second birthday of the Van-Tel Credit Union; A few lines from the front lines - parts of letters from phone men on active service; John Jessop dies - photo and article; Back cover wartime announcement "Be Careful What You Say"; Photos of females filling in for males in the Vancouver Engineering department; Victory Bond ad.; Wire Shortage - here's why; "Behind the Lines!" - by George Matthew Adams; Wartime Problems of Telephone Business set forth in Annual Report; Great Cheque mystery solved by new payroll machine - 2 pages of photos and text; Popular traffic official dies - Robert A Henderson; Honour Roll, World War II; Honour Roll, World War I; Credit Union article; Letter by operator Elsie Forman; variety of photos emphasizing wartime parts shortages and recycling; Victory Bond ad.; E.E. (Slim) Sinden, wire chief at Chilliwack; Operator's form association; Roland Arthur Chute, former Kamloops Manager, retires; John Sowerby - survived fire and earthquake to become a phone man - article and photos; P.J. (Pete) McCormick retires; Illustrated letter from G.R. Peakes, Major-General, G.O.C.-in-C., Pacific Command, saluting the telephone industry; Many additional war photos/content; Using phones to report forest fires; Article on operator 'Quiz Kids' - information operators; honour roll of employees who have joined the war effort; Oliver Plant man Reuben Echlis retires; article from Reader's Digest arguing for wartime wage and price controls; James D. Baker passes away; William Henry Cooke retires; Update from Pipe-Major Edmund Esson in Sicily; Ex-operators rally to aid of telephone company, including newspaper ad.; Miss Leonie Michaud retires; Hockey star and telephone man Leslie Steel dies in Vancouver; many wonderful Victory Garden photos; war bond ad; Victory Loan depends on the Phone; Introducing Jack Veitch; Ads showing the wartime contributions of operators; in memory of Henry G. E. Goult; Victoria construction gang at work in photos; Photo of Victoria's operators at work; Farewell to Ernest F. Helliwell; Cranbrook operator, Minnie Egan, retires; Edward Dawson dies suddenly; Sergeant James Clark, R.C.A.F., reported a missing; Ernest S. Harris bids farewell; Cover photo of Pilot Officer Gordon Heselton, the first B.C. man to win a decoration in WWII (with story inside); photo of '25 club' war savings stamp booklet; 40 miles of phone bills - many photos; Record long distance load in 1943 but local calls show decline; John D. Johnston, general commercial manager; Full page instructions with the heading "Strict Conservation of Paper now a Necessity"; Jim Baigent and Arthur (Pop) Harness retire; "Lick Stamps to Lick Hitler" on back cover of one issue; Telephone Talk is shrunk to conserve paper; Net Revenue decrease in 1943; Full-page article o Book
