Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 5 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By (.KHALI) S. HAWKINS
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
My wife, Julia, and I were slow to have the phone hooked up. We enjoyed the privacy and country quietness. and friends who wanted to see us could always come down the hill to visit.
Another reason was the long buried line. It hadn’t been used for years, and I had my doubts about whether it would work. Was it corroded, did it have a break in some hard-to-get-spot? I had traced it from where it entered the property at the roadside, along the fence, marked by little grey metal boxes, standing flower-like on metal stalks.
It was buried under the hay field all the way up to the Ravine, but then it disappeared. This was a craggy place, with cedars, brambles, and fox holes. Somehow or other, the line went down there, and under the swift-running water of the branch. There was a box at the farmhouse end of the line, labeled antiquely "AT & T,” so 1 felt confident that whatever the telephone company called itself now, it would know its business. When the time came, whatever the difficulties, we would be connected.
Like most places in the country, it is difficult to describe where we live, but I called the business operator from a phone in Washington, D C., and began the adventure.
"Is your farm north or south of the James River?” asked the operator.
67.4%