The Fire Cat

By Esther Averill

Copyright 1960

Revisiting favorite old books from childhood is always fun. Upon opening up The Fire Cat, memories came flooding back of sitting in an armchair next to my mother while she read this books to me over and over again. I clearly remembered the illustrations of Pickles the cat and his escapades. 

When the story opens, Pickles is living in a barrel near an apartment house, bullying all the other neighborhood cats. Mrs. Goodkind lives in the house. She believes that Pickles is not all bad. He just needs a loving home. Unfortunately, Pickles had a hard time adjusting to his easy new life with Mrs. Goodkind and ended up escaping back to his barrel, chasing and teasing all the little cats. One day, he chased a cat up a tree and would not let her down. When a storm blew in, Mrs. Goodkind ended up calling the fire department when she noticed Pickles was stuck. The fireman that climbed the ladder to get to Pickles not only saved his life, but also gave him a new purpose. 

Pickles should not be a house cat – he should be a fire cat! His great big paws are meant for big things.

Pickles rode back to the fire house and began training with the fire fighters. He worked hard day after day, and learned to slide down the pole, ride the fire truck, help with the hose, and even save a little cat that became stuck in a tree. Brave Pickles not only learned the job, but he also learned how to be kind.

 

It turns out that a lack of purpose in life made Pickles into a grumpy bully. He found no satisfaction in being a pet and so, due to boredom, he teased the other cats. Once he found his passion and had a goal, his energy was directed towards fulfilling that goal. 

Everyone – and every cat – needs a purpose in life!

Life Magazine

February 28, 1949 

Several weeks ago, I wrote about a Saturday Evening Post magazine from 1944. Glancing through that magazine, I noticed the overall sense of war time frugality permeating the articles and advertisements.

Looking through this Life magazine from 1949, I can see how much the attitudes had changed in just 5 years. Now, instead of encouraging people to make their cars last longer, advertisements are telling the reader that bigger and newer is better. The Dodge ad states, “When Army physical exams revealed that our wartime generation was far bigger, taller, and more active, Dodge engineers started planning this great new car!” While you’re at it, you may as well get a new Kelvinator refrigerator. “You never saw such room. It’s cold clear to the floor.” You can now shop ahead – buy more – all that excess food will stay fresh!

One article in this magazine really emphasized the new feeling of abundance and wealth. Potato Chippers Have a Convention details the Chicago meeting of leaders in the fast-growing business which had grown to $300 million a year. Home economist Florence La Ganke Harris gave dramatic rebuttals against the slander that potato chips are fattening, while also giving new ideas for adding chips to your diet. Crumble them into meat loves and cookies – all for better health, apparently. From the photos, we can see that the convention was definitely not all work! The convention queen sported a bra made from potato chips, for which she was paid $30 a day. 

From extreme frugality to frivolous excess in five years.  I wonder what people 50 years from now, when looking at a 2017 magazine, will be thinking about the American culture of today. 

When We Were Very Young

By A. A. Milne

Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard

Copyright 1924

What book do you give to a brand-new baby? The options are overwhelming due to the vast quantity of excellent children’s books. But when that book is for a grandchild and her name is Emmeline, the choice is easy!

Tucked into this book of poetry by A. A. Milne, is a sweet little poem entitled Before Tea.

                     Emmeline

Has not been seen

For more than a week.  She slipped between

The two tall trees at the end of the green…

We all went after her.  “Emmeline!”

“Emmeline,

I didn’t mean—

I only said that your hands weren’t clean.”

We went to the trees at the end of the green..

But Emmeline

Was not to be seen. 

Emmeline

Came slipping between

The two tall trees at the end of the green.

We all ran up to her.  “Emmeline!

Where have you been?

Where have you been?

Why, it’s more than a week!”  And Emmeline

Said, “Sillies, I went and saw the Queen.

She says my hands are purfickly clean.”

Pasted inside the front cover of this particular copy of When We Were Very Young is a book plate with my name on it, put there by me when I was very young. I never could have guessed that many years later, I would be passing it along to Emmeline Adrienne, a beautiful, sweet granddaughter. I give it to her with the hope that she will come to love her books enough to proudly paste her own name inside of them!

A Child’s Book of the Teeth

Written and illustrated by Harrison Wader Ferguson, D.D.S.

Copyright 1918

Revised and enlarged edition 1932

Dr. Ferguson was obviously passionate about his profession. Not only did he write a 106-page book about teeth for young children, but delightfully illustrated it as well. His book goes into great detail about the composition of teeth, their purposes, potential problems, and the necessity for care, in words that are easily understandable for a youngster.  My guess is that, working as a dentist a hundred years ago, Dr. Ferguson met many young patients with problem teeth. I can imagine his frustration, knowing how preventable many of these problems were.

What strikes me about this book is the care the author took to explain every aspect of teeth in a language a child can understand, and in a manner that is actually fairly interesting. An adult merely commanding a child to brush their teeth, with no explanation of why, often raises some resistance, or at least half-hearted brushing. However, if that same child was given clear and logical reasons to care for their teeth, they just might be more apt to comply. 

In the same way, if a person is commanded to perform a task by a supervisor with no reason given, they are more likely to grumble and complain. Knowing a logical reason for performing a task makes it so much easier to do. Take a lesson from the talented dentist, writer, and illustrator, Dr. Ferguson, and give understanding and meaning to the tasks you give. If we can find purpose and meaning in our work, it becomes so much more joyful!