Home Telephone

Home Telephone Co. (HomeTel) is a family business that has a long-standing goal to provide the latest high-tech services to area residents and businesses. We have a proven history of ensuring our customers have the best services possible - as soon, or sooner, than anywhere else in the country. Today, HomeTel serves approximately 950 customers in its 52 square-mile service area. Currently, we are in the process of upgrading our service area with a fiber optic network. Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology allows telecommunications services to be transported over fiber optic cables-the best technology available. Fiber has virtually unlimited capacity to bring telephone, Internet, digital television, and other services to your home or business with very high quality and reliability. No other provider is making this kind of investment in the St. Jacob community. How did it all begin? Home Telephone Co. was formed on July 6, 1906 when 75 local residents met to expand the service beyond the single phone available at a local store. The new business was operated out of a house (thus, the name) and the first switchboard was located in a room attached to the East side of Gaffner's Drug Store. The first owners of Home Telephone Co. were Frank Virgin and his son, Bert, and Phillip Baer and his son, Harold. In 1910, the business was sold to Edwin Michael and his son Oscar who moved the switchboard around a couple of times until it came to rest in a home at 411 N. Douglas St., in St. Jacob. In 1923, Ed and Oscar Michael then sold the company to Edwin Frey and his son, Clarence. On March 1, 1927, the company and the house at 411 N. Douglas St. were sold to Roland Schmidt. Schmidt, a local dairy farmer, learned the electrical trade while serving in the Navy during World War 1. There were 304 telephone subscribers at that time. The changeover from magneto (crank) to "dial" equipment in 1953 required a new central office switch. This equipment was placed in a new brick building at 409 N. Douglas, between the Schmidt's house and the appliance showroom also owned by Roland Schmidt. At that time, the HomeTel business office moved and shared the appliance showroom location at 407 N. Douglas. The St. Jacob exchange was "cut over" to dial service at 3 p.m. September 3, 1953. Mrs. Schmidt served homemade sandwiches and doughnuts on tables in front of the office. Richard Schmidt remembers his mother frying over 400 Golden Puffs, a small round doughnut, the morning of the "cut over." Richard Schmidt joined his father as a partner in 1961 after graduating from college. In 1967, St. Jacob was converted to one party service with the rural areas following in 1971.