Almost as long as Holliday has existed as a town there has been a telephone system. The first central office was in the livery barn. It was a small switchboard, which hung on the wall of the barn. It had but one bell, and all the lines rang this one bell. Whoever heard the ring would answer and connect the caller with the party he wanted. This did not provide the best service to customers, but it was a means of communication and the starting of our present day system. When Lon Blades owned the livery barn, the switchboard was run by Mrs. Minnie Jackson.

The first telephone line out of Holliday ran to a switchboard in Madison, and was built for a Dr. Johnson by Charley Hartman. The line was put on poles similar to fishing poles. The second line out of Holliday was sponsored by John Wilson. Later a Mutual Telephone Company was formed, with various men of the community serving as directors of the board through the years. With the formation of the Mutual Company a new switchboard was obtained, and was set up in the home of Currier sisters, whose house was on the lot where Gerald Pence now lives. Some years later the telephone office was moved to the upper floor of the present Donovan building, and still later, to what is now the Oscar Burnett building where it remained until the present dial system was put in. The first operator in this location was Mrs. Charley Hartman. This switchboard was equipped with small doors which dropped down when someone rang in, but no ringing was heard. The operator had to be on the watch to see the little doors drop open. The power of the switchboard was supplied by sixty-six telephone batteries. If one battery became weak it was located and replaced by a new one.

The bicycle was a common means of transportation at one time for the men who maintained the lines. Country people owned and maintained their own lines, though these lines were connected by the switchboard in town. One telephone out of order would often ground a whole line, and men would “run the line” trying to find the trouble. Telephone operators through the years have been Harry and Christine Wood, Willis Wainscott, Mrs. Charley Hartman, Mary Parrish, Mrs. Will Thornton, Mrs. Frank Smith, Ruby Dry, Nancy Davis, Gladys Clay, and Josie and Essie Durbin. It was quite common for people to call “Central” to inquire about sick people in the community, or to find out where an ambulance or doctor seen going through town, had been called. This friendly service, which provided news of the area, was missed when a modern telephone system was put in.

In 1964 a dial telephone system was put into operation by Richard Sullins, manager of the Madison Telephone Company. This connected the Holliday and Granville exchanges to the Madison system. The office was built Just south of the Odd Fellows Hall. In opening ceremonies the first long distance call was made by Ralph Howe, then mayor of Holliday; the second by James H. Blades, president of the Holliday Mutual Company; the third by Hazel Harrison, longtime telephone operator at Granville; and the fourth by Ray Blades, president of the Granville Mutual Company. It was at first necessary to dial an operator to make a long distance call. Direct dialing was installed in the early 1970’s.

The telephone system is now owned by Allied Telephone.