BOB JARMAN

Bob Jarman hangs up from local phone service

By Matt Pranger

posted 08/31/05
The guy who put a cheery face on local telephone service is disconnecting: After three decades of hooking up islanders, Bob Jarman is retiring tomorrow, Sept. 1, 2005.

"I’ve always enjoyed interacting with people," Jarman said. "There’s a fulfillment you get when you bring services to people."

On his 52nd birthday earlier this year, Jarman pondered his career. He decided he didn’t want to work more than another 10 years. As an area plant supervisor with CenturyTel, he could not advance any higher in the corporation without moving off island. He also reflected on missed business opportunities. When an opportunity to start a new business came up, Jarman figured 29 years with phone companies was enough.

"I’m not leaving the company because I’m upset," he said.

Jarman plans to continue providing a service for islanders: He and his wife Susie are partnering up with Lew and Debbie Dickinson to form Island Communications and Electric Inc.

"I’ll always be connected with the telephone communication industry," Jarman said.

Jarman grew up in Palo Alto, Calif. He met a San Juan Islander, who encouraged him to move to the islands and work for Lyman Phifer, the owner of the local phone company.

"Lyman said, "If he wanted a job, he’d be living up here.’"

Jarman moved to San Juan Island in the 1975. He performed various jobs for Wade Sundstrom and was hired as a mechanic’s helper at San Juan Airlines. Phifer eventually hired him in April 1976.

"I had no telephone experience whatsoever," Jarman said.

Inter-Island Telephone Company served Orcas, Blakely and San Juan islands when Jarman started.

"It was fun working for a small telephone company," Jarman said.

Jarman and the other Inter-Island Telephone Co. workers dug holes for telephone poles, repaired downed lines, hooked up new customers and more. "Being a small company... you did everything and I enjoyed that," Jarman said.

The phone business boomed along with construction in the 1970s. "We couldn’t keep up with the growth," Jarman said.

Phifer moved Jarman from the field into the office so he could develop plat records. The "gruff but caring" boss also sent Jarman to professional development classes.

"Lyman gave me a lot of breaks in life I never had," Jarman said.

Jarman recalled Phifer paid his crew on Mondays to limit weekend partying. "He didn’t pay us on Friday because he wanted us to be able to pay our bills," Jarman said.

Jarman noted Phifer would not spring for a line truck with an auger, claiming, "If we can dig it by hand in four hours, we’re money ahead." However, his boss attempted to keep pace with technology.

"In 1979 we installed one of the first digital switches on the West Coast," Jarman said.

"As long as I worked for Inter-Island Telephone Co., I wanted to make it the best small telephone company that it could be," he added.

Phifer died in 1981 and Inter-Island Telephone Co. was sold to Telephone Utilities of Washington, which became Pacific Telecom Inc. "After we were purchased, we brought in Lopez and we had all the islands," Jarman said.

The phone company rebuilt infrastructure on Orcas and San Juan islands and took service to Decatur and Henry islands. "The heyday was getting rid of the party lines and installing single lines," Jarman said of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"All we could do is keep up with the growth," Jarman said.

Jarman became the business office supervisor under PTI. He helped set up an inter-active video network that linked Friday Harbor High School, Orcas Island High School and Skagit Valley College. He saw Enhanced 911 become part of the islands emergency dispatching system.

"It’s not often you can be in a remote area and have all the services that are elsewhere," Jarman said.

Those services included high speed DSL service to homes and businesses. In October 2004, Jarman saw the completion of a five-year effort by CenturyTel to complete a cable loop project which allowed the company to increase capacity for telephone and internet service in the islands.

"Once the Internet popped, the world changed," Jarman said.

Jarman saw assisting senior customers with changes in technology as an important duty. "We’ve always taken care of the elderly," Jarman said."My motto is: ‘It’s their tax dollars that have paid for anything I’ve enjoyed.’"

Though the ringer will be silent on Jarman’s local phone service career, his work phone likely will be buzzing.

"I’m going to miss the telephone side of it but I’m looking forward to doing something different," Jarman said.

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