Born in ‘47. As a kid growing up in the 50’s in Rochester, New York, we had to wait for the operator to come on the line, in order to have her connect us to the party we wanted. The exchange number for Rochester back then was Genessee 8, then whatever the person’s home number was. We also had a party line at that time.
My grandma was a phone operator back in the 50’s and 60’s, maybe 70’s not sure. Maybe even in the 40’s. I just know that she was one.