QuiltE, my phone was a dark blue, not black...spiders and their webs were black. Yes, I do remember the old black wall hanging phones that you had to ring by rotating a small handle on the side to get the 'operator' to answer you to connect with your party, but there was eight to ten others on the party line also, so you had to listen to see if anyone was using the line, before ringing the operator to put your call through. Some busy bodied persons listened all the time, so they could gossip about your business, but in the case of emergency and needing help, they came through with flying colors to organize help and send it right away to your doorstep.
My gm worked one day as an 'operator'...a lady called her to be connected with the 'doctor'....so she rang up the doctor's and his wife answered the phone...the lady was his secret girlfriend...and the secret was out, and gm got fired for putting the lady through. Then she tired to be a postal clerk and was too short to reach as high as they had too then.