I would hate to seem them on a party line. Have some neighbors pick up and listen to what you are talking about.
How about the old wall mounted phone where you cranked the handle, spoke into a tube and held another piece to your ear. Zing, zing, operator answers and you asked to be connected to Jim Bob down at the grist mill.

I used to hate rotary phones. The letters instead of numbers too used to confuse me. Nobody says letters anymore though.