network serving communities between Toronto and Whitby reached the Pickering Village. At that time, the Village had only one telephone, which was in a drug store owned by Dr. Byron Field. It was used only for long-distance calling. The service was expanded in the following years, when a Gilliland switchboard was installed in the store. By 1885, five other businesses plus Dr. Field's residence had telephones. In 1886, Dr. Bateman became Dr. Field's partner. When Dr. Field retired in 1887, Dr. Bateman took over his practice, his telephone agency, and his residence. In 1900, a more modern switchboard, of the 117 type, was installed at the drug store. As the telephone agency's responsibilities increased, Dr. Bateman relinquished the job to another person in 1906. In 1922, the Bell Company transferred its Pickering exchange with 63 subscribers to the Home Company. In 1949, Home Company was amalgamated into the Woodbridge & Vaughan Telephone Company. In 1949, Woodbridge & Vaughan instituted a new exchange service in the southern part of Ajax. In 1953, the North Ajax customers were transferred from the rural Pickering exchange to the Ajax exchange. In 1960, Bell acquired Woodbridge & Vaughan, and all Ajax telephone subscribers became Bell customers. Medical services The Pickering Village was served by doctors at least since the 1850s, but most of these doctors remained there for a very short time. The first resident doctor of Pickering Village was Dr. Burns, who lived north of the Head's Mill. Dr. Vernon-Cartwright was the first doctor to live in Pickering Village for a long time: he served there from 1917 to 1951, when he retired and moved to Burlington. He was also the local coroner for 25 years. In the 19th century, dentists from other places saw patients in the village on certain days; for example, Dr. F. L. Hemy saw patients at Gordon House every Saturday in 1877. In 1925, Dr. Herbert T. Fallaise became the first resident dentist of the village, seeing patients at his home on Kingston Road. The first veterinarians in the village were George O'Leary and W. H. Hopkins, both of whom graduated from Toronto's Ontario Veterinary College in the 1880s. Media In 1881, W. H. Higgins, who also published the Whitby Chronicle, established The Pickering News. The first issue of the newspaper appeared on 11 November 1881, with James Campbell as its editor. Its ownership changed several times, with John