Some residents of Ludlow, are attempting to pull their village, into the 21st Century.

Two weeks ago, Becky Davidson, a Hamilton Township resident and the township supervisor/administrator, mailed out 51 forms she had collected over the past several months from local Verizon phone customers, requesting that the company provide high-speed Internet service to the area. If the company obliges, Verizon will be the only high-speed Internet service available for the people living in the area, all but a few of whom currently rely on painfully slow dial-up service.

Now, Davidson has begun another venture. She is trying to help fellow township residents to obtain cellular phone service.

Cell phone connections do occur in some small pockets of Ludlow, and occasionally, under certain conditions, a rogue signal from elsewhere suddenly becomes available. One resident said he visits a certain part of a road bridge, where his cell phone can often get a signal. Another said he visits his grandmother’s dining room when he needs to use his cell phone. But for most people, their cell phone, if they have one, can only be used while they are away from home.

The area east of Sheffield, to east of Wetmore Township is “such a dead area,” Davidson said.

Davidson began by contacting Horvath Towers, an independent cell phone-tower building company, with the names of potential willing land owners. Company representatives visited the area, and selected a property on Gibbs Hill, Davidson said. That landowner, who wishes to remain anonymous, has signed a lease with Horvath Towers to have a cell phone tower built on his property, Davidson said. But in order for this to happen, township residents will need to contact their current cell-phone carriers and inform them that Horvath Towers has a site identified and ready to go, Davidson said. The company will only build the tower if at least two cell-phone carriers agree to sign on, she said.

    Davidson said she would appreciate if the forest service, DEP, or businesses that operate in the area got involved in the effort, too.

Ludlow residents may be used to being somewhat behind the times. It took a long time for them to finally receive touch-tone phone service, as opposed to rotary dialing, for instance, Davidson said. And residents still must pick up their mail in person at the local post-office, as there is no postal service delivery available to their homes.