About 6 miles south of Ames,Iowa and just west of HWY 69 is the town of Kelley, Iowa, population 320 in 2008. Setting on the corner of Giddings and Grace Streets is one of the last working phone booths. The plexiglass booth with red panels and a bi-fold door is maintained by the local phone cooperative, Huxley Communications, the owner of the booth. Cost of the maintaining the line is about $20/month for the small town of Kelley. The booth, 33-3/4 inches square, a little more than 7 feet tall, is at least 50 years old.
This relic from the 1950s has become the town’s greatest attraction. A shelter is being built next to the phone booth to accomodate a 15-foot-long mural by a local artist, Dick Shook.
Last year, Huxley Communications personnel started a Face Book page for the phone booth. Currently there are 1,226 followers on the Face Book, 4 times the population of the town!
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