Western Union Man

"Western Union" man, not western "union man". The telegraph operator in The Western, generally wears a white shirt, suspenders and a green eyeshade. The telegraph office is in the railroad station; while owned by two separate companies, they have a symbiotic relationship. May or may not employ one or more young boys to deliver incoming messages to in-town businesses and homes - if not, everyone else in town has to go to the office to pick up incoming telegrams. Since messages could arrive at any time the Western Union man himself is seldom seen outside the office. Unlike his Pony Express predecessor, tends to be a Meek Townsman. Sometimes gets to Take a Level In Badass if the train station gets robbed.

The Western Union corporation provided most of the telegraph service in the United States from the 1850s to 2006. The long period of obsolescence - unlike the Pony Express - masks just how bleeding-edge the technology was when introduced. It was a major development for human communication, the first time private information could travel faster than it could be physically carried.^[1] The Western Union Man is the forerunner of all geekdom.

Examples of Western Union Man include:

Film

Back to the Future uses a Western Union telegram in one of the sequels to send a message forward in time from 1885 to 1958.

Live-Action TV

Deadwood: "Blazanov" (Pavel Lychnikoff) is Deadwood's Russian telegraph operator following the arrival of cable in Season 2. He establishes his office next to Merrick's press and the two become close friends.
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Horace the Western Union Man was in love with Myra, one of the prostitutes at the local saloon, and she with him. He paid the saloon owner to spend time with her, and they just talked. After she left the biz, they got married.
A few episodes of The Wild Wild West had scenes in telegraph offices, usually to explain just why Jim and Artie couldn't call for help that episode (cut lines, wrecked batteries, etc.)

Web Original

Scryer's Gulch^[context?]

↑ Some European governments had semaphore systems in the early 1800s, but - since they depended on flags that anyone could see - they were hardly private.

[1] Some European governments had semaphore systems in the early 1800s, but - since they depended on flags that anyone could see - they were hardly private.

[1]