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Westmount Gardens 'hangs up' a piece of history
A vintage rotary phone retires on the 75th anniversary of its release
5/21/2025
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Deron Hamel
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On May 1, Westmount Gardens said goodbye to a piece of telecommunications history that had been a fixture at the London, Ont. long-term care community for many years – and, by coincidence, it was retired 75 years to the day it was issued.
The cream-coloured Western Electric Model 500 rotary phone was used for emergencies at Westmount Gardens. In the wake of a storm that went through the area on April 29, administrator Scott Mumberson used the phone to train new team members on how to use a rotary dial in case of an emergency.
This was the last official time the phone was used, says Westmount Gardens life enrichment manager Adnan Resh.
Upon learning the phone would be replaced, Adnan decided to look into its history on its final day and was surprised to learn the Western Electric Model 500 was released to the public on May 1, 1950 – 75 years to the day.
“Believe it or not, this was not planned, but I love how (the day) worked out to mark a goodbye to the 75-year-old phone,” Adnan tells S&R Today.
“It's just crazy to think how old this phone is. The weight alone tells its age; it's the weight of a table printer nowadays. It's safe to say this phone has done its job for being around so long and working; it shows how amazing things were made back in the day.”
The Model 500 began development in 1946 and the first pre-production units were made in 1948 and used in field trials in 1949 before being released to the public the following year.
With the Model 500 retired, Westmount Gardens is using a red touch-tone phone for emergencies.
However, this is not the end of the journey for the old phone, but rather a new one, Adnan says.
“I will be looking at continuing to use the phone for the life enrichment department programming,” he says. “The phone still works, but it will not be a phone in commission, rather it will be used for fun purposes.”
Adnan says he hopes the new phone will also have a long history at Westmount Gardens.
“Hopefully, the new phone is at the start of a brand-new journey to last us long enough to share another story once it's time for it to retire in 75 years,” he says.
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