Old photos of street scenes frequently had telegraph poles and wires along the side of the roads.  Now in urban areas the wires are usually buried.  In fact the poles are no longer really called “telegraph poles” since telegraphs were phased out in 1982 but are referred to as utility poles and support telephone, electrical or fibre optic cables or other public utilities.  While the poles still tend to be made of wood the tops have changed shape with different types of insulators and are still found in most rural areas.  During the last two days I have seen men checking the poles in three different country roads where there are still poles. 
JensPhoto’s  widwed challenge is “looking up” today.