Can You Hear What Needs to be Heard?

My grandfather was a telegrapher for the railroad way back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication. Morse Code was the language of communication via this medium. You had to know how to decipher the code before any message became meaningful.

Like my grandfather, a young man wanted to be a telegrapher and so applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed.

When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter including the sound of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist's counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office. . . . (to read the remainder of this article, please log in below.)