HISTORY
IF No Answer Call "2443" - For Nearly 75 Years

In 1934, the telephone was still somewhat of a novel gadget and only about fifteen millions were in use in America. The Medical Profession, however, quickly discovered that the needs of their patients demanded use of this new means of communication.
Lottie Bradshaw operated a boarding house in Gary, Indiana and when an occasional boarder became ill, she put to use her skills as a "Practical Nurse". She discovered tht the installation of a telephone would be of great help to her when she consulted with the local physician, Dr. Philips, on her most severe cases. Through this frequent exchange, Lottie and Dr. Phillips became close friends, with Dr. Philips dropping by to sample Lottie's fresh apple pie and draw up a chair for some pleasent converstaion. One afternoon, Dr. Philips stopped in with a special request. He would advise his patients who did no recieve an answer on his office telephone to call Lottie's phone, which was "2443". He would pay Lottie 5 cents for each call that she answered for him. As the pair shook hands on that day in 1934 and settled in for a mug of coffee, Bradshaw Answering Service was born and Lottie became a pioneer in the Answering Service Industry
Bradshaw Answering Service became more successful than the boarding house business and in 1949 it was sold to new owners. In 1986 The Centre acquired Bradshaws and is please to be a part of that history.
Since that very simple begining, the Answering Service Industry progressed from: