This ad in the Yorkton This Week newspaper of June 23, 1982 gives us a history of telephone service in Yorkton over a period of 79 years — 1903 to 1982.
1903 — First time that Yorkton subscribers are able to use a telephone. Thomas Paul, local jeweler had introduced a telephone service in the Carson Block, #29 Broadway Street East.
1912 — The telephone owned by North West Electric Company comes under the control of the Saskatchewan Dept. of Railways, Telegraphs, and Telephones, the forerunner to SASKTEL.
1936 — Automatic switching resulted in dial telephones.
1966 — Yorkton receives the convenience of Direct Distance Dialing.
1977 — Yorkton was introduced to the latest telephone technology, the electronic switch.
1981 — Over 150 SASKTEL employees were working to serve the Yorkton area.
1982 —Yorkton became the first city in the province to utilize the world’s largest fibre optic network.
Source: Yorkton This Week, Centennial issue, John Miller donation.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
heritage@yorkton.ca
