I just read in the Enquirer that Cincinnati Bell has been sold. Not a big deal they say—we shall see. I began my journey at Cincinnati bell on my 18th birthday in 1963. Well-not Cincinnati Bell.

Linda Dollenmeyer of Union Township.
Cincinnati and Suburban Bell Telephone Co as it was known then. A great Anstaett Lady from Batavia-(you know them) recommended me for the job at CSBT. I was really out of my element. I had been out of Clermont County very little. Hamilton County was far far away. And Cincinnati (Big City) was farther away! In the beginning I caught the bus in Batavia and rode to Fountain Square then walked to E 4th St. Beautiful old building. Great old clock in front of the building. The inside was great! Marble slabs halfway up the walls. Elevators with an attendant. Yes an attendant! My first job there was sorting and delivering the mail throughout the building to the different offices. The mail came in big bags-we sorted-and then filled our arms and walked from office to office and delivered the mail to each person. I was lucky enough to deliver to the big shots. The head of the whole thing (Mr. Kilgour) asked me once to sit down and talk to him. I was amazed! I mean I had gone to Birdies Café and picked up a smoked tongue on rye many times for him. This was the first time he asked me to talk. He asked me all kinds of questions and I told him all about my life. He smiled and laughed. He called the mail office to let them know I would be late coming back. Needless to say whenever he was in the office he asked me to sit and talk. He was a great old guy.

I was promoted to service representative. This is where I began my respect and admiration for Cincy Bell. I spent six weeks in training for this job. Customers called in-we helped them with new service –a new phone, bad service etc. When the time came to go on line I was more than ready. Oh yeah you also had to sell-guess what? Telephones! Need a phone in your bedroom in case someone calls late at night? How about the gift of a Princess phone for your teenage daughter. We were trained so well that you knew the answers immediately. Always, always, emphasis on customer service. The absence of good customer service in our lives now, drives me crazy. You all hear me out there?!!

One other thing I will tell you before I go. On December 9th 1979 I was working late shift taking cable and pair information from log books and entering the information in a new computer system. There were probably about 12 of us

working in this large room facing 3rd St. I think 5th floor? It was dark and we began to notice lights flashing in the windows. When we got up to see what was going on-we could tell it was something big. We had already talked about The Who concert. People were lined up since early in the afternoon. I have never seen so many ambulances, fire trucks, police cars in one place in my life. We finally got the info from the radio. Tickets were sold as festival seating-first come-first served. The crowd began to surge and push through the locked doors. 11 were killed and, 26 were injured. Festival seating became a thing of the past. It was such a spectacle. I remember standing looking down from the windows and praying that it was not as bad as it looked. It was. Needless to say we didn’t get very much done that night.

I was not a Who fan then but became one later after hearing them on the opening of CSI! I drink my coffee from a WHO mug every morning.

This is just the beginning! Catch you later !