A strange sound awoke an uneasy William Archer Hall in the early morning hours of October 15, 1929. It was a strange noise and sounded like metal was grinding against metal.
house on the system had a distinct ring that signaled when it was their call. The ring for Hall’s personal phone at home for example was one long ring followed by two short rings.
Early in the last century Mr. Hall had invested in the telephone fervor and was awarded rights to operate the local telephone service. The newfangled telephone calling was the going thing.
There went that grinding again and it made Mr. Hall uncomfortable. It was the middle of the night and he was all alone. He decided to check on his wife “Sis” at their home across the meadow. There was no answer and he felt she must be fast asleep.
The switchboard was inside his General Store which was located in Speedwell, Tennessee, about halfway between LaFollette and Harrogate. It also housed the Speedwell Post Office. His son Charlie Hall was the postmaster. Mr. Hall manned the switchboard on some nights, plugging in each call on the board and disconnecting them after they were complete. As the night wore on there were less calls and he slept the long periods between. Each 72
“Oh, she’s alright,” he said to himself. “That sawing noise is coming from nearby not over at our house.” Hall quietly arose from bed, grabbed his gun and slipped into the dry goods section of the store. He thought the best thing to do would be to frighten them and they would leave. He pointed the gun toward the bottom of the door and fired.
