On April 26, 1956, The Minneapolis Star reported plans by members of the Morse Telegraph Club to send “What Hath Cod. Wrought.” over private wire circuits across America, echoing Samuel F. B. Morse’s historic first long-distance telegraph message sent 112 years earlier in 1844. To commemorate the event, 165 members gathered at Fran O’Connell’s Restaurant in St. Paul. At the time, schools like Northwest Telegraph School and Gale Institute in Minneapolis were graduating hundreds of telegraphy students each year, indicating to some that the trade was still alive and in demand.”Contrary to popular opinion, telegraphy is not dying out,” said Ralph Andress, head of the Northwest Telegraph School. Although teletype printers were used in most large railroad stations, telegraphers were still needed, especially at smaller stations. At least Ralph thought so.
