The Telephone Museum’s annual appeal from President Martin Harriss went out by mail in August 2025. We share most of the text of the letter below (Full Letter PDF).
Friends and Supporters of The Telephone Museum:
I hope that 2025 is being kind to you. We are in full swing at The Telephone Museum, and we have already had many visitors this season to whom we have demonstrated the wonders of telephone technology history.
Once again I write to you in the hope that you will support our mission. Our museum visitors often have no idea of the technology at work inside their local central office, and we are more than happy to provide them with a working demonstration. It is so very satisfying to know that our visitors leave with a deeper understanding of what went on “behind the scenes” at the Telephone Company.
Our collection puts us in a unique position to demonstrate the social and technical developments in the history of telephone communication through hands-on exhibits. Our skilled volunteers make the equipment fully operational and provide personal, hour-long tours. But we need your help to continue.
Our preservation work requires many resources, so I ask you to help us continue to tell the story of this remarkable technology. We are an all-volunteer organization so all funds raised go directly to keeping the museum running. Your donation will allow us to protect and maintain the museum and its exhibits and allow us to demonstrate to future generations how we got from Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone to today’s world of cell phones and the almost instant communication they bring. Would you send a donation today to help keep the switchboard lamps glowing and the switches stepping to be enjoyed by future visitors?
You’ll find enclosed the traditional return envelope, or you can choose to make your donation through the website at www.thetelephonemuseum.org. Please give as generously as you can to help keep our switches and networks up and running! We are immensely grateful for your ongoing interest and support.
GIVE ONLINE or mail in the APPEAL CARD with your check.
Sincerely,
Martin Harriss
President, The New England Museum of Telephony, Inc.