SANTA ANA : Ringing Up Interest in Phone Work

The youngsters at Willard Intermediate School spent Thursday morning playing telephone. But their game was much more realistic than the old string-and-can version.

In a pilot program, employees from Pacific Bell told several classes of 12- and 13-year-olds about what phone employees do, then offered a demonstration.

“Phone company work is not as easy as it looks,” cable maintenance worker Larry Malberg said as repairman Norm Jewett donned climbing gear on a street corner outside the school.

After hitting a telephone pole with a large hammer to make sure it was sturdy, Jewett climbed the pole and secured himself with a thick leather belt.

Miguel Mora, 13, got a chance to try on the climbing gear and lean back in the belt after it was attached to the base of the pole.

“I thought this was a great experience,” Mora said. “I learned a lot. I didn’t think that belt would support me.”

Malberg and Jewett also showed the children meters and other equipment they use to check phone wires and cables and attached two headsets so the students could talk to each other on the telephone.

Stressing the need for safety around exposed wires with high voltage, Malberg quickly seared a hot dog attached to two wires.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?” he asked as the children watched in fascination while the wiener sizzled and crackled. “There is danger in this job. You have to be careful.”

The students, enrolled in the school’s language-arts classes, also got tips on using the telephone from Maria Diaz, a translator for the phone company. For example, she told them not to give information to strangers over the telephone and to dial 911 only in emergencies.

Jewett said he came up with the idea for going out to schools after participating in a similar program in Los Angeles. He said he not only wants to teach youngsters about telephones, but also to make them aware of career opportunities within Pacific Bell.

“There’s a lot of jobs in the phone company, but they need to finish high school and have a clean record and a good driving record,” Jewett said.

“This age group is a good place to start,” said Neil Buckley, who works in the company’s education and training department. “They’re still young and impressionable, and they are going to be the future of America.”

Howard Haas, principal of Willard Intermediate School, said he is very impressed with the program.

“The telephone is something you see every day, but I don’t think anyone fully understands it,” Haas said. “I know I still don’t understand everything, but I have learned a lot here.”