GREENWOOD — If you read the number sequence "07734" and don’t think "Hello," there’s a good chance you never had to decode pager messages.
Pagers or beepers were the must-have item for Hoosier teens 25 years ago.
The communication device began as a business tool, but soon became a fashion statement for area teens allowing them to communicate via numeric messages.
Pagers allowed a recipient to be paged or alerted to call a specific number. A user would then return the page via a phone call.
The device gave parents a faster way to get in touch with their children.
“I had to beg to get it,” Sarah Fischer told former WRTV reporter Ben Morriston in March 1997.
However since early beepers weren’t capable of handling text, teens often resorted to pager-speak, communicating with numbers only. Teens wanted to keep some messages "007" or a secret.
Jim Anderson with Quality Cellular said teens were drawn to certain pager features.
“They like the colors, predominantly the colors are the big thing. They like the ones with 3 to 4 bell tones,” he said.
-
Hundreds rally at the Statehouse against SB1 affecting education and libraries
Opponents of the bill worry it will reduce funding and force public schools to share property tax revenue with charter schools, leading to financial strain on public education and library services.
Indiana health professionals try to encourage measles vaccinations amid outbreak
There are more than 700 cases of measles in the United States this year, including six in Indiana. Local health officials are doing what they can to stop the outbreak before it gets worse.
58-year-old killed in crash involving a dump truck in Hancock County
A 58-year-old man was killed in a crash involving a dump truck in Hancock County on Monday morning, officials said.
12-year-old charged in alleged razor blade incident at Southport school
A 12-year-old girl is facing felony charges for allegedly bringing a razor blade to Southport Sixth Grade Academy and injuring another student.
