[GreenKeys] Why?

[John Brancich]

Hope this isn't too much of a tangent, but teletype equipment was involved. 
. .

I recently toured an excellent Telephone Pioneers Museum in Lincoln, 
Nebraska.  Lincoln Telephone & Telegraph Co. was one of the largest 
independent phone companies in the nation and had been owned by the same 
family from about 1900 until 1999 when it was sold to a mega-conglomerate.

On the tour, I asked about surplus teletype equipment.  The volunteer told 
me that there had been a huge warehouse of past phone (including teletype) 
equipment which pretty much went back the 100 years of the company's 
history.  When the new mega-company came in, they had everything hauled to 
the landfill.  The Telephone Pioneers tried to get some for the museum, some 
collectors made sizable offers for the whole warehouse, but the company 
adamantly refused.  On the day they hauled the equipment to the dump, they 
posted guards to make sure there would be no scavenging and crushed the 
equipment.  I was practically getting choked up listening to this story!

My question is to the former phone guys on the list:  why would a company 
not want anyone getting anything, even for a museum?  They guy at the museum 
told me that it is still a mystery to everyone there.  Can anyone help me 
understand this seemingly-unwarranted carnage?

Thanks,
John, NJ0N

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