# Witness to Progress

First phones, first radios, first cars  
1914 – 1925

Born just eleven years after the Wright Brothers and Henry Ford transformed the world, Ella witnessed the technological revolution of the twentieth century unfold in rural Georgia. She saw her community's first cars, heard the first phone calls, and gathered with neighbors to experience the magic of radio.

Ella describes witnessing the technological marvels of her childhood

"My grandmother had the first phone I ever heard, and it was a party line. And we went over to Mr. Howard's house to hear the first radio. So I have been around."

## The Firsts She Witnessed  
**1903**  
Wright Brothers fly at Kitty Hawk  
_(11 years before Ella's birth)_

**1903**  
Ford starts assembly line production  
_(11 years before Ella's birth)_

**~1918**  
First cars in the community  
_Her grandfather Kelly had one_

**~1920**  
First telephone  
_Grandmother's party line_

**~1922**  
First radio  
_At Mr. Alph Howard's house_

## The Transcript  
**[02:52]** I was born December 7, 1914. I was born just 11 years after Henry Ford put cars on wheels—the assembly line—and the Wright brothers did the airplanes.

My grandfather and grandmother Kelly had the first—they were two cars in the community. One was the Maxwell and the other one was my grandfather Kelly's.

My grandmother had the first phone I ever heard, and it was a party line. And Mr. Alph Howard lived up next door to us, up the street, up the road. And we went over to his house to hear the first radio.  
_So I have been around._

**[03:40]** And we moved when there were three children—in the second—I was in the second grade. We moved two miles over, and that house wasn't too much bigger, but we did have a room that we didn't sleep in.

And then it was too far for us to walk, and there were lots of kids. You know, it would have to cross the creek before the bridge was put up. So we moved to the Wakeford place, and it was about 200 yards from the school.

So we moved to Lithonia then. And I rode the bus for them—for months—from the start until Christmas. And then we moved to town to where we could walk to school.

### Historical Context: The Technology Revolution Comes to Georgia  
In 1914, when Ella was born, **less than 10% of American homes had electricity**. Rural Georgia was even further behind. The automobile was a luxury item—having two cars in an entire community was remarkable.

**Party line telephones** were shared by multiple households. You would pick up the receiver and might hear your neighbors already talking. Each household had a distinctive ring pattern so you knew which calls were for you.

**Radio broadcasting** began in 1920 with KDKA in Pittsburgh. By the early 1920s, when Ella was a young girl, owning a radio made you the center of neighborhood attention. Families would gather at Mr. Howard's house to hear this new marvel—voices and music traveling through the air.

The **Maxwell automobile** Ella mentions was produced from 1904-1925. It was known as a reliable, affordable car—the "good Maxwell" of its era.

## People Mentioned  
- Grandfather Kelly  
- Grandmother Kelly  
- Mr. Alph Howard

## Places Mentioned  
- Lithonia, Georgia  
- The Wakeford Place