The I-TEAM helps 100-year-old get 'best birthday present'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For two and a half weeks, Margaret Ellsworth struggled to get AT&T to install a landline at her home, but after her son contacted the News4Jax I-TEAM, her phone is up in running, just in time for her 100th birthday.

Ellsworth was surrounded by cake, flowers and family for her birthday. The centenarian even received an autographed picture from Tom Selleck.

The days leading up to her birthday were troubling, as Ellsworth was unsuccessful getting a landline installed in her home.

"My cellphone kind of went kaflooey, and ... I'd had a landline before, and I thought, 'Well, I'd go back to a landline,' how hard could it be?" Ellsworth said.

After waiting two and a half weeks, she became worried, not having a way to call her doctors and nurses.

"It was like pulling on teeth. One person didn't know what the other one was saying. They told us one time that somebody had canceled it. Well, we didn't," Ellsworth said.

On Tuesday, her son contacted News4Jax. The I-TEAM reached out to AT&T and by the evening, installation crews were at Ellsworth's home, taking care of the landline.

"It was the best birthday present I could have had," Ellsworth said. "They got right on the business, and the guy was out here, stayed out here yesterday, stayed out until 9 o'clock last (Tuesday) night and took care of it."

Ellsworth said she's grateful she had her landline installed so she could answer the calls from loved ones wishing her happy birthday.


About the Author:

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.