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Just in time for fire prevention month, author Dianne Ochiltree offers a vibrant picture book portrait of the brave but heretofore unsung heroine Molly Williams, this country's first female firefighter.
In Molly, by Golly! The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter (Calkins Creek, 2012), it's winter 1818, and most of the volunteer firefighters of New York City's Fire Company 11 are out of commission with influenza. When the fire bells ring, Molly Williams, the company's African American cook, leaps into action, donning colonial firefighting gear, helping to pull the pumper wagon through a blizzard to the blaze, even manning the bucket brigade and the hose. “Molly, by golly, you’re as fine a fire lad as any!” the amazed fire captain ultimately proclaims.
Ochiltree crafted Molly's colorful tale using historic records and pictures and consulting with firefighting experts. The book's useful back matter includes firefighting websites, recommended books about firefighting, and information on fire museums across the country.
AUTHORLINK: How did Molly, by Golly! come about?
"Molly’s story leaped from the page and into my heart." —OCHILTREE
OCHILTREE: My picture book retelling of the legend of Molly Williams, America’s first female firefighter, was a happy accident. I’d started writing a story about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and naturally that meant researching historical firefighting methods because many fires sparked throughout the city during that great natural disaster. This led me to scour many books about firefighting history, and in one of them, Dennis Smith’s History of Firefighting in America, Molly’s story leaped from the page and into my heart. Only eight sentences long, Molly’s legendary firefighting tale had me hooked!
The idea of Molly, an African American household cook, volunteering her help in the middle of a blinding snowstorm when her beloved firefighters and neighbors needed it most started my mind working on just how her bare-bones story could be expanded with historically accurate details and retold in a way that would engage young readers. I was inspired by her can-do courage and unselfish volunteerism and thought kids would be too. And while I found many picture books published about modern firefighters, there were few explaining how fires were fought in early America. Molly’s tale seemed a perfect opportunity to do this.
AUTHORLINK: What kind of research did you do? You've incorporated so many authentic period details, from speech to food to clothing and vintage firefighting gear. It really gives a feel for the time.
OCHILTREE: To build Molly’s world, it was necessary to go beyond the historical firefighting research, which encompassed searching historical documents, firefighting websites, and books on the subject and, most important of all, interviewing experts at firefighting museums to make sure all those details were a reasonable representation of the techniques used at the time.
For Molly’s kitchen and the work she does there, old cookbooks from the colonial era were a great help. Theatrical costume and historical reenactment websites and books were an invaluable tool in dressing not only Molly but the rest of the neighborhood as well. The buildings and cobblestone streets were drawn from the pages of texts describing early American houses still standing, along with lithographs found of New York City in that era.
AUTHORLINK: How did you approach interpreting the Molly Williams story for younger readers? How closely did you follow the primary sources? Were you worried at all about fabricating dialogue or action?
OCHILTREE: The first step for retelling the story for younger readers was the characterization of Molly, with emphasis on having her read as a real person a young reader could easily relate to; her emotions, in particular, had to ring true. It was also necessary to infuse the story with the innate drama and action implied by the facts of the bare-bones legend.
My only worry in fabricating action was that it might not correspond with what might really have happened at the time in a similar situation. Fortunately, I had two wonderful experts, David Lewis of the Aurora Regional Fire Museum and Damon Campagna of the New York City Fire Museum, to guide me in this area throughout the writing and editing process.
“. . .that I sprinkled enough early American expressions throughout the text to give it an authentic 'flavor' . . .” —OCHILTREE
As for the dialogue issue, I gave that a lot of thought. To keep things brief, I will simply say that I sprinkled enough early American expressions throughout the text to give it an authentic "flavor" but was careful to place them in context so that a modern reader could figure out the meaning even if he or she had not heard of the word before.
AUTHORLINK: What surprised you the most in your research?
OCHILTREE: Lots of things surprised and delighted me. I loved the names of things: spatterdashes, fish muddle, muffin bells, and so on. I learned that the term "fire buff" is said to have come from the habit of citizens who enjoyed watching a fire being fought to regularly stand or squat nearby under the protection of a buffalo hide. I was impressed by the idea that in Molly’s day, heavy fire engines were pulled by hand and not by horse.
Through my research, I realized that in Molly’s day, while firefighters fought with the same passion as today’s firefighters, they did not have the modern technology to help them battle a blaze. Often, the best early American firefighters could hope for, particularly in a city neighborhood like Molly’s, was that the fire could be contained and would not spread to other homes.
AUTHORLINK: What do you hope readers will take away from Molly, by Golly!?
OCHILTREE: My hope is that young readers will be inspired by Molly’s courageous spirit and sense of community service. She didn’t know how much good she could do until she did it! Molly’s volunteerism shows kids that whether you grow up to be a firefighter or not, you can help your neighbors somehow if you are willing—even if you’re "just a kid."
AUTHORLINK: What advice would you give fledgling writers of historical fiction or biography for young people?
OCHILTREE: Two of the best tips to offer are these:
When you are searching published books on your subject, always take a look at the author’s bibliography and footnotes section. This will certainly expand your pool of resources and may offer you a slightly different slant on a subject, one that you might not have considered on your own.
“Don’t wait for 'all of the research' to be finished before you start writing your manuscript.”
—OCHILTREE
Don’t wait for "all of the research" to be finished before you start writing your manuscript. Get a good grounding via research first, of course. But avoid using research as a procrastination technique. The reality is that you will not know exactly all the bits of research you need until you begin telling your story. Writing historical fiction or biography is a constant seesaw of research and writing. Even in the editing process, you may need to keep researching in order to polish your manuscript to completion.
Susan VanHecke is an author and editor of books for adults and children. Her titles for young people include Raggin' Jazzin' Rockin': A History of American Musical Instrument Makers (Boyds Mills, 2011), Rock 'N' Roll Soldier (HarperCollins, 2009), and An Apple Pie For Dinner (Cavendish, 2009). To find out more about Susan and her books, visit www.susanvanhecke.com and www.susanvanheckeeditorial.com.
