Come Together
Connecting can be as simple as a shared glance between friends, or as complex as a plant’s root system. We are all part of an endless web of connections.
Barriers, such as language or distance, can weaken these connections, but access to different tools and technology can improve the ways we communicate with one another.
How do you connect with the world around you?
Talking on the phone used to involve a third person to connect your call. Telephone operators would use switchboards to manually connect phone lines.
A Bell Canada employee named Joyce Martell used this in Peterborough throughout the 1950s to connect long distance calls. She received it as a gift when she retired from the Hunter Street location.
Switchboard PMA, 2015.32.1 circa 1949-1962
Here, There, and Everywhere
People have lived in Peterborough and the surrounding area for a long time. Different people have created their own connections to the land around them. Even now, the city is always changing, like the beating heart of the river that flows through it. The way we connect to Peterborough and its people is constantly evolving.
Hello operator!
In the early days of the telephone, phones were connected to a central locale that would connect the call. In this photo, Mr. Smye, from the Peterborough Examiner, is telling the operator who he would like to speak with.
PMA, 2000-012-016305-3
Knowing Me, Knowing You
How we communicate depends on the situation. You can have a personal connection to your diary and spill your secrets. You can write a letter to a loved one. An email can be sent to an entire company!
The tricky part of communicating in relationships is learning to tailor yourself to the situation. If you were writing a text to your friend, would you write the same way as if you were writing a letter to your grandmother?
Catharine Parr Traill (1802-1899) is well-known for writing about her experiences in the Peterborough area. She wrote books, letters to loved ones, and diaries. Each of these mediums has a distinct style and voice.
PMA, 2000-012-014747-1
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