The First Pioneer Meeting

What a difference 35 years made!  When Bell called out “. . . come here” from his attic, there was only one other telephone pioneer to heed him.  And Watson scurried in from a nearby room.But when Pope, Truex and Doolittle said, “Telephone Pioneers, come here. We Want you,” 244 men responded.  And they came from everywhere in the United States and Canada — from Minnesota and Quebec, from South Dakota and Texas, from Rhode Island and Ohio.

The initial meeting of the Telephone Pioneers of America was held on November 2 and 3, 1911, at the Somerset Hotel in Boston.  In a sense, it provided a surprise for everyone.  Even in its most optimistic moments, the organization committee had not dreamed of so large an attendance — half the present membership.  And it is said that the convention program exceeded the fondest hopes of the guests.  What surprised no one was the all-prevailing spirit of warm fellowship and enthusiasm.