Haleyville, AL

How Haleyville Rescued America

The town of Haleyville is a gracefully aging belle in northwest Alabama. The pace here is pretty slow, and folks like it that way. A previous generation planned to modernize the area with an enclosed shopping mall, but to the relief of many the idea was short-lived.

Lovers of old Westerns know that Gene Autry’s sidekick Pat Buttram spent much of his life in Haleyville (pop. 4,182) and chose this town as his final resting place. But few people are aware of Haleyville’s role as rescuer of the nation.

The fact is, though, every time a fire, police, or emergency medical unit rolls out to answer a cry for help anywhere in the country, their immediate response capability is due to the town of Haleyville and a few of its most forward-thinking citizens who set up the first 911 system 33 years ago.

As a youth in a small Missouri town, Bill Frey Jr. served as a volunteer fireman, and in the 1960s he was managing the Alabama Telephone Co. Never did he dream the two occupations would one day have a remarkable connection. He vividly recalls how it all began.

“In 1967 a Presidential Commission issued a decision that a nationwide number for reporting emergencies was needed,” he says. “Not long after that, the president of the phone company (here), B. W. Gallagher, read that AT&T had chosen 911 as the numbers for this proposed service. He was determined to be the first to develop this system, so we started looking into the feasibility.”

It turns out Haleyville had just the right manpower for the job.

“Robert Fitzgerald was the equipment manager for all of the Alabama phone companies,” Frey continues, “and when we talked to him, he agreed that we could make this happen right here in Haleyville. We applied to the Alabama Public Service Commission, got their approval, and got busy.”

Frey went to work developing the system, which included connecting every phone in the Haleyville area into a network that would enable the dialing of 911 to ring at a central location. A “hot line”—a shiny red telephone installed in the police station —was the finishing touch on the project.

On Feb. 16, 1968, Rankin Fite—Alabama’s speaker of the House and Haleyville’s representative—lifted the receiver of the town mayor’s telephone as Mayor James Whitt stood beside him. Slowly spinning the rotary dial, he entered the numbers 9-1-1, and anxiously waited.

Over in the police station, Alabama Rep. Tom Bevill stood ready to answer the all-important red phone. Alongside him were Gallagher and Eugene “Bull” Connor, president of the Public Service Commission. Bevill’s “Hello” as he answered the ringing phone met with cheers and applause, and a new era in emergency response capability was born.

Frey is extremely proud of the system, but discounts his own role’s significance.

“Gallagher and Fitzgerald made it work—I just developed it,” he shrugs in modesty. “But most importantly, the dispatchers made it work. Back then, dispatchers didn’t have any training; this was a whole new ball game. These guys trained themselves and trained others.”

Today, dispatchers receive extensive preparation regarding the ins and outs of handling phoned-in medical emergencies.

Randy Stults has served as dispatcher for Haleyville’s fire and police services for 19 years. In this stretch of time, he’s routed countless emergency response teams and affected hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.

Asked how it feels to know his town started it all, he leans back at his desk and gives the slightest hint of a smile. “Proud,” he answers succinctly. “It makes me feel proud.”

Stults offers an example. “I remember a call coming in from a little girl who said her grandmother was choking. She and her brother were with the grandmother, so I just walked the girl through what to do and she relayed my instructions to her brother. By the time the medical team arrived, she was okay.”

Frey offers another perspective on the 911 history. “You know, I’ve gotten a lot of credit for 911, but the ones who really ought to get the recognition are those other guys—the fire, police, and medical personnel who do their jobs and do them well. 911 would be useless without them. They make it work. The telephone company just gave them the tool.”

Judy Bates is a regular American Profile contributor.

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