I never gave much thought to WHEN land-line telegraphy was phased out in the US. I was reading this short article (http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2014/11/20/Telegrapher-connects-at-event-in-Waterville.html) on a presentation an 83 year old gave who started his career as a railroad telegrapher at the age of 19 (around 1950). In the article it says:
"One of the most memorable telegrams he sent came after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, alerting all trains to stop for one minute and blow their whistles to honor the president."
That was in 1963! I had no idea land-line telegraphy was still in use then. I googled around and couldn't find a concise article on when it was phased out, but Canadian railroads were still using it in the 1970s.
Anyone know of a good history of telegraphy in the US?