History of Wahkiakum West Telephone Co. | Appelo Archives Museum Tour

How did people make phone calls before smartphones? 📱 In this video, Anika Kay, Director of the Appelo Archive Center in Naselle, WA, takes us on a tour of their upstairs local history museum to explore the fascinating history of the Wahkiakum West Telephone Company! Discover how the phone company started out as small "farmer lines" running on batteries, evolved into shared party lines, and eventually used rotary phones and manual operator switchboards. We also share the story of our founder, Carlton Appelo. Alongside his father, Carl Arthur Appelo, and mother Agnes, the family helped extend telephone lines through the Upper and Lower Salmon Creek and Deep River valleys starting in 1919. Learn how Carlton’s passion for local history led him to include historical inserts and photographs inside the local telephone directories—a project that eventually grew into the Appelo Archives Center and Museum we know today! Special thanks to WWest Communications for sponsoring this video and helping us keep local history alive. 📍 Visit Us: Stop by the Appelo Archives Center in Naselle, WA, to see the museum, browse our library, or pick up a bound book of Carlton Appelo's historical telephone directory inserts at our bookstore! #AppeloArchives #WWestCommunications #LocalHistory #NaselleWA #RotaryPhone #TelephoneHistory #MuseumTour #PacificNorthwest History #WahkiakumWest