We’ve been finding great fire books over the past few weeks, both at the library and ones that we have purchased. However, we also came to own a classic children’s fire book thanks to FireDad’s Grandma, also fondly known by TheBrothers as Mamaw. The book, when researched on the Internet, is referred to as vintage and actually sells for a pretty penny. Ours has been well-loved and we have no intention of selling.

Johnny the Fireman was written by Rebecca K. Sprinkle and illustrated by Ruth Wood. The book was published by Rand McNally in 1954. The front cover lists the price at… wait for it… $0.25. (How many books would you buy today if they were priced that low? A whole library’s worth!) It’s taped together both with old, yellowed tape (as apparently FireDad’s own father was a bit rough on books back in the day) and the clear tape I added to keep the cover attached.

The story is just lovely. Of course, being vintage, the book doesn’t mention firefighters who happen to be women. Nor are there any firefighters of different ethnicities. 1954 was a different time. (Remember when I wrote about old firefighting books and my feminist button? Thankfully there are no blatant, “Women can’t do this job,” mentions in this book.) This book, however, can still be a great illustration of fire life. Johnny, who is a city kid, was used to seeing the big city fire station near his home. When he went to stay with his aunt in the country, he got to see a volunteer fire department for the first time.

As the book moves along, Johnny watches all of the volunteer firemen (yes, men) leave their jobs when the fire whistle sounds and rush to the fire department. Johnny is pleased to learn that he can, in fact, be a hardware store man like his Daddy and still be a firefighter as well. It’s really just a cute story to illustrate the fact that, in small country towns, the fire station is not manned at all times. They don’t sleep and live there for twenty-four hour shifts. They live their lives, work their jobs and fight those fires. For any family who has a volunteer firefighter in their ranks, or really any firefighter, this vintage book is a cute way to talk about the difference in station types.

I’m so glad that we were given this book. Sure, it’s a cute story. Sure, it’s a piece of firefighting history. But, mostly, it’s a book that my father-in-law was given by his loving aunt. FireDad’s father went on to be a volunteer firefighter for years. And now my sons have the book. I wonder if the fire service is in their blood as well. I wonder if we’ll pass this book on to their children someday.

Whatever they turn out to be, hardware store men or firefighters or writers (!) or doctors, I do hope to pass this piece of family history on should they bless me with grandchildren. (Remember that BigBrother just informed me that he’s having 40 children.)

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[I have some great reviews of fire books coming up over the next few weeks, including a gem for Thanksgiving! As always, if you come across any great fire books in your trips to the library or the store, please let me know. We love suggestions from our readers!]

A few months ago, BigBrother was given some old firefighting books by a local teacher who is also a family friend. The school’s library was cleaning out old books and was simply going to toss them if no one took claim. My teacher friend spotted these titles and snatched them up. BigBrother was happy to receive these antiques. Or, should I say, antiquated? Because, oh, my feminist button.

The True Book of Policemen and Firemen by Irene Miner was written/published in 1954. For the most part, the book has some regular, factual information on both the police and fire departments. You know: police officers wear badges and firefighters drive trucks. Nothing that we haven’t read in the many (many) other fire books we own. But near the beginning of this gem is a page that made my hair stand on end. FireDad was actually reading this book to BigBrother the first time, looked at me as he finished the sentence and just laughed. And laughed. He knows me too well.

The offense?

That’s right. Policemen and firemen are not just big strong men. They are BIG STRONG MEN!

Prior to that page, neither of us had checked the publication date. FireDad flipped back to the front of the book and found the date of 1954. Put in that context, we were able to laugh a little bit and explain to BigBrother that women are also police officers and firefighters today. He didn’t seem to notice my slightly crazy eye or FireDad’s smirk.

We didn’t know where the next two books would go then… but we read them all the same. What It’s Like to Be a Fireman by Arthur Shay was published in 1971. (Of note: this book has a dedication that touched my heart. It reads: This book is for those firemen who have fallen so that our homes and cities might stand.) It’s a look at Dan the fireman and his day at work. While this book doesn’t mention firefighting as a male only field, it also shows no women. At all. On any page. In fact, most of the time, his crew is referred to simply as “the men.” The historical sexism is not as blatantly obvious but, oh, it’s there!

Fire Fighters by Rhoda Blumberg was published in 1976. (Also, note that the first and third were written by females. Interesting.) Apparently by 1976, the world of firefighting has seen a change. This paragraph says it all:

Women Fire Fighters

Until a few years ago, fire fighting was for men only. Times have changed. Now women, too, are fire fighters. There are just a few women fire fighters now, but each year there will be more and more. Of course, women must train and pass the same tests as men.

In fact, yes, there are lots of women in the fire service. And there have been for longer than any of these three books are giving credit. Just take a look at the International Association of Women in Fire & Emergency Services. Their history page gives a fabulous rundown of women in fire service. Interesting that not one of thse books mentioned the women who entered the volunteer fire service during World War II to take place of those (men) who had been called to duty. Even a mention of Molly Williams, a slave who joined the Oceanus Fire Company in 1815 would have sufficed! Of course, these three books, with the focus on professional firefighting, are likely talking about how women didn’t join a career fire department until just after the second book was published.

In brief: in 1973 and 1974 the first two paid female firefighters joined departments in North Carolina and Virginia. Sandra Forcier was initially hired in July of 1973 as a Public Safety Officer while Judith Livers was hired the next March as the first ever full-on female firefighter. These two women went on to serve full careers (likely fighting battles within their own departments) and retired with a rank of battalion chief. Makes me feel all empowered!

I get that the books were likely talking about these two trailblazing career firefighters. But it rubs me the wrong way that books, two written by women no less, totally ignored the history that women helped create prior to actually being paid to do the job. One might argue that speaks to the issues that exist, ego-wise, between volunteer and professional departments but history is history.

And so the question remains: do we get rid of these books? The answer is no. First of all, unless a book really offends me, I rarely “get rid of it.” These books, however, are going to remain in our library as a look at how far we’ve come. Sure, I’m raising boys. But their mother wants them to understand not just the historical aspect of women and their fight for equality but how it applies to them today. And that women don’t have to wear special and/or pink uniforms. And, of course, we have current books like Fred the Firefighter (among others) that show and talk about female firefighters.

And a mother who will never let them forget to respect women. Ahem.