One phone in the house, bolted to the kitchen wall, with a cord that stretched about six feet if you were lucky. Every conversation happened in front of your entire family.
If you wanted privacy, you stretched that cord around the corner into the hallway and whispered. Everyone knew you were talking to someone important because the cord was taut and you were crouched on the floor behind the door.
Long distance calls cost real money. My mom had a kitchen timer next to the phone. Three minutes. That was what you got for a call to grandma.