... a tradition so evident in Pioneering was born when the
outdoor plant of our infant telephone industry met and passed its first service test.
"The Spirit of Service" commemorates that historical event. It was during the
great blizzard that began in New York before dawn on March 12, 1888, when all other means
of communication failed between Boston and New York, that the toll line remained in
service, thanks to the foresight of the builders and the courage and dedication of the men
who watched over it. The storm was the worst to hit this nation in a century. It paralyzed
the Northeast, piling drifts as high as houses, blocking every highway, knocking out all
telegraph and train service, and almost—but not quite -
eliminating telephone service. These, of course, were the days of open wire
construction, when the telephone system was subject to the worst the elements could offer.
The telephone industry was in
its infancy—Bell had invented the phone just 12 years earlier.Angus
Macdonald was a
23-year-old lineman in 1888. He was part of a crew that worked through that blinding
storm—patrolling the lines and repairing breaks wherever they found them—to keep
open the last remaining long distance line between New York and Boston.
Thanks to the dedication of Macdonald and his fellow workers,
New York was never without at least some long distance telephone service. But, for several
days, the telephone was New York’s only
means of communication with the rest of the world.
Because of his part in this historic event,
Macdonald was
asked to pose for the painting that was commissioned in honor of the dedication of those
brave workers. It would come to be known as
"The Spirit of Service" and
would serve as a tribute to generations of dedicated telephone people.
Macdonald was an
active Telephone Pioneer as well as a dedicated telephone man. In fact,
he, along with Alexander Graham Bell and 243 other telephone people, attended the
very first Pioneer meeting in Boston in 1911. Macdonald retired from the Long Lines
department in the ‘30s after more than 48 years of service. He belonged to the Life
Member Club of the Edward J. Hall Chapter in New York at the time of his death in 1958 at
age 94.
The spirit of service didn’t die out when old-timers like Angus
Macdonald
retired. It’s still very much alive today, and, over the years, telephone employees
have seen how essential that spirit is in providing our country with the world’s best
telephone service—not just in responding to emergencies, as important as that is, but
in meeting our day-to-day commitments as well.
The tradition of passing this famous print to each President of the Pioneers began in
1970, when
H. I. Romnes, then AT&T chairman, presented it to Pioneer President Robert D.
Lilley at the General Assembly in Cleveland. Southern Bell Pioneer President B. Franklin
Skinner displayed the print in the Southern Bell Center lobby during his term as Pioneer
President, July 1, 1986 to June 30, 1987. In addition, Chapter President Jere Randall was
also presented a print for display during his term of office. Wherever it hangs, the
spirit of service reminds us all that service remains our number one priority. It’s
fitting that it be associated with the Telephone Pioneers, for no one knows the meaning of
that spirit better than those who have dedicated their careers to keeping it alive. The "Spirit
of Service" – it’s our most important tradition. |
