Santiam Telephone History

Many of us today, cannot imagine life without our cell phones, let alone any telephone service at all. But, in the late 1800’s the telephone was quickly moving from a curiosity to a general means of communication. In the early days, many phone companies were started by farmers using barb wire fences to conduct the current. It is certain that the sound carried in this way was not the clear sound that we experience now.

At the turn of the century several of these small telephone lines, in our local area, were consolidated under the ownership of Mr. Lagarmarsino. A central switchboard was established in the Santiam area in 1903 and the various lines hooked into this board.

In 1949, Jim and Janice Welch, together with Ted and Catherine Houck, invested their life savings in The Santiam Telephone Company. Sharon Lundgren, current President of Santiam Telephone Company (Jim and Janice Welch’s daughter), recalls the newly acquired phone company “It was primitive in its design. It was single wire and fastened in trees in many places. All the phones were magneto.” This single “open” wire construction was susceptible to the weather and other interference. Sharon recalls “in the afternoon, the thunder heads upcountry could be heard on the line, it was a loud “roar”, you could hardly hear your call.” Reception was not clear by any means. The “magneto” phone used a “crank” to create an electric charge to work the ringer. All the lines were party lines, with as many as 16 people to a line. Each person had specific “ring”, it could be one long, one short, 2 longs and one short, etc. The ring wasn’t always perfect and chances are, when the phone rang, everyone on the party line answered! So, after it was sorted out who the call was for, everyone else would hang up (hopefully), except the operator. The operator would either listen to the call or check back every so often to determine when the call was over. One would imagine that you could not assume that any call was “private”. It was safe to guess that the operator was the person “in the know” in the community! To make a call you would first, crank your phone, the operator would be signaled on her switchboard and she would plug into your line and answer “Operator”, you would request your party, she would connect you.

At the time the Welch's took control of the Telephone Company, they had plans to improve the lines and the service. But, before any of that could take place, an unusually harsh winter storm came to the area. Sharon recalls that they woke up one morning to find that most of the telephone lines were on the ground! Sharon’s Father, Jim Welch working with his lineman Ray Hale, laid cable on top of the snow to get the phones ringing again.

In 1952, the company began to upgrade to “dial service”. This meant that you could place a local call by dialing the number. You could call out of the area by dialing “0”, and have the operator connect you to another operator, who would connect you to your party. By 1954, all of the lines were converted to “dial” and the manual switchboard was “retired”. It was at this time that the “Main Dial Switchboard” was moved to Pine Grove. The business office moved to Pine Grove in 1968 with about 12 employees.

Taking advantage of the latest technology of the times, a new computerized billing system was installed in 1965. In conjunction this allowed for an automatic “ticketer” to record the length of each call on a tape. This was quite an innovation.

By the 1970’s many of the mechanical switches were being retired and the move to a hybrid of digital and analogue technology took its place. Along with these improvements came better quality of sound and service. By 1981, a new system that was completely digital was installed in Santiam and West Point. This was brand new technology for its time and represented noticeably clearer calls. By 1987, the entire system was now digital. And the plan was in the works to upgrade to fiber optics. The first fiber optic cables were started in 1993 on the main line to Jackson. By 1995, fiber optics were installed to the Santiam Telephone Company’s customer service area. This was a bold move, with an eye on the future.

With an advanced fiber optic system in place, the company was able to be the first to offer High Speed Internet Access to its customers in the area. DSL was introduced in April 2001 to all its customers. At this time neighboring communities still do not have this service available.

Since the 1950’s the company has seen many changes. Santiam Vision cable provider began in 1983, Santiam Telecommunications began in 1984, Santiam Internet Provider began in 1995 and Santiam Long Distance began in 2001.

The Santiam Telephone Company is a family oriented organization with employees who have spent long careers with the company. Sharon Lundgren has been with the company since 1956, Ken Stahl since 1967, Jay Lucke since 1968, Jack Stone since 1970, Ron Youmans since 1971, Dede Harder since 1972 and Richard Smith since 1972.; And there are many others who follow.

When asked about the future of the company, John Lundgren (Sharon Lundgren's son), Vice President of Santiam Telephone Company, says that they will continue in the same way that they have in the past, with a dedication to excellence and leading edge technology. Mr. Lundgren believes that the future will hold faster internet connections along with more integration of voice, data and video.

The Santiam Telephone Company remains dedicated to its customers and the community. The company has been a great supporter of local charities, employs 115 people, supports local businesses whenever possible and provides a tremendous tax base for the community.

No matter what the weather, if your electricity is working or not, you can pick up your phone and make a call. The Santiam Telephone Company is here to serve your communications needs from telephone, to internet, to business systems, to cable TV and even your long distance...all provided with the best and friendliest customer service. We have a rich history and incredible plans for the future.