From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Feb. 13, 1975:

Southwestern Bell Co. had begun work on a $250,000 project to provide customers in the south and west areas of the Lawrence exchange who had eight-party lines with the opportunity to have one-, two-, or four-party lines. The project was the final phase of a four-year program to eliminate eight-party lines from the exchange and was expected to be completed by the next fall, according to Bill Collinson, local company manager. The company was also working on replacing more than 335 telephone poles and 35 miles of aerial wire with 22 miles of buried cable. Collinson said the improved service was needed due to increased use of telephones in rural areas, noting that during the previous year’s wheat harvest, long distance calls in Kansas had jumped 20 percent from the average of 366,000 calls a day.