Red Oak's First "Hello Girl" Contributed by Sylvia Smith Nellie Ross Conner, who was Red Oak's first "Hello Girl" as a telephone operator many years ago, celebrated her 101st birthday Jan. 13, 1990. She then lived in Roswell, New Mexico, but once was one of Red Oak's best known citizens. Mrs. Conner was born Jan. 13, 1889, and came to Red Oak as a little girl (after her mother, Rowena Conger Ross, died after being bitten by a poisonous spider) to live with her grandparents, Dr. J. B. Conger and Mary Caroline Mitchell Conger. Her uncle, Tom Conger, was taking care of his mother at the home place just east of old Red Oak. Tom Conger put in the first telephone company in Red Oak in the early 1900s and Nellie Ross was the first "Hello Girl" which is what they called telehjone operators in those days. Although Mrs. Conner has not lived in Red Oak for some time, she is well remembered by many old timers in the Red Oak area. the 1986 edition of Red Oak's County Cookin' (pub together by the ladies of Red Oak United Methodist church) was dedicated to Mrs. Conner: (Source: Article by Mary Lois Savell in Red Oak Rambler, Thurs. Jan. 11, 1990). On Wednesday, September 12, 1990, in Roswell, the long life of Nellie Galena Conner came to a peaceful close. She had reached the age of 101 on January 13, 1990. She married J. A. Conner, who worked at Ligon and Hamm Hardware Store [the sign can still be seen in Red Oak] and later moved to Lancaster. She and her daughter, Rowena, moved to Roswell after the death of her son, Lenn, and her husband, to be near her daughter, Maurine. She was injured in a fall just prior to her 101st birthday and spent her last days in a care center. (Article in Red Oak Rambler Nov. 6, 1997).   Copyright © 2012-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:30:25 MDT