Telephone? Nonsense! Our street was all single family homes (except the duplex that had been a barn before it became a street). We would go to the front of the house where the friend lived, stand on the lawn just off the side walk, and yell out their name. If there was no response, we'd moved on the the next friend's house.
My mother loved telling the story about my younger brother and sister who came home from looking for someone to play. My brother said, "San (Sandy) and I were the askers. No one was out but Filmer (elderly retired neighbor) and he wouldn't play." I think that my brother was married with children when my mom was still repeating that quote.