The first telephone system in Schaller was organized in 1900 by W.K. Whiteside. An operator was on duty daily from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. to help the 27 patrons complete their calls.

Four years later (in 1904), the Eden Mutual Telephone Company was organized, with local townspeople and farmers owning the stock. According to terms of the charter, Eden Mutual was dissolved December 27, 1915 and replaced by the present company.

The Schaller Telephone Company was organized from stockholders of Eden Mutual and received its Certificate of Incorporation on March 20, 1915. A.D. Woodke served as President and W.M. Speaker as Secretary.

Construction of the present two-story building was completed in 1915. Dr. T.H. McCrary occupied office space on the first floor, and the “new” telephone switchboard was installed on the second level.

Sac County Electric Company gained control of the company in March 1929 by purchasing a majority of the outstanding common stock. H.E. Russell became President and served until April 1940 when H.J. Reimers purchased controlling interest and became both President and Operating Manager.

Following World War II, modern and dependable communications became a necessity. The first modern dial system was installed in 1957, replacing the outmoded manual switchboards used at that time. Glenn Reimers became the Manager that same year.

The Company has grown through a series of three expansions: Galva’s Telephone Company (405 Patrons) merged with the Schaller Telephone Company (522 Patrons) in December 1960. Then, in February, 196l, the exchange at Cushing was purchased. New dial equipment was installed at Cushing, cable was put underground and single-party service was provided to the 1,133 Patrons of the Schaller Telephone Company. The Company acquired the Kiron exchange January 1, 1974, and the task of upgrading facilities to improve service in that area began.

Schaller Telephone Company is committed to improvement. It continued its modernization efforts on 1984 when the company began conversion to digital switching. At the heart of this upgrade was the installation of Northern Telecom DMS 10 digital switches in each of Schaller Telephone Company’s four exchanges. This project was complete when the digital switch in Kiron was put into service on May 28, 1987.

Similar programs of modernization will be undertaken as new technologies and equipment are developed. Schaller Telephone Company’s goal is still to provide the best possible service to its 1,656 patrons.