> The Phila schools utilized their 32A38 system, which apparently was compact    
   > and inexpensive; it offered up to 100 stations but only one channel, ideal   
   for  > school buildings where there was light intercom traffic.  It fit into a   
   small    
   > cabinet.   
      
   Because these systems utilized a rotary Strowger switch, some maintenance was   
   involved, such as annual lubrication, and perhaps some spring adjustment every   
   few years.  Strowger switches had a long lifespan.  However, the systems also   
   required a    
   rectifier for power, and I don't know the lifespan or maintenance, if any, of   
   rectifiers built in 1950.  Some were "selenium".   
      
   Also, some very large schools, such as certain big high schools, may have used   
   a manual cord switchboard instead of a dial system.  The big schools might   
   have had more than 100 telephones and needed more than one channel for   
   communication.  A cord board,    
   though requiring a part-time operator, could provide that economically.   
      
      
   But not to worry--I believe these systems were all replaced in the 1980s or   
   1990s after a service life of 30-40 years.  The new systems, unlike the old,   
   could connect into the outside telephone network.  Thus, a teacher wishing to   
   call a parent, could do    
   so from her classroom instead of needing to go to the school office.   
      
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