Photos and Story by Jean A. Flanagan
Special to Examiner
Once upon a time, and not too terribly long ago, women were discouraged or even excluded from having certain jobs. They couldn’t own property or a business. They couldn’t attend certain colleges. They were discouraged from having certain “traditional” male jobs, like engineer, police officer, firefighter, mechanic, construction worker, doctor and lawyer. They were only allowed to serve in certain very limited capacities in the military.
However, throughout history, women have broken barriers and excelled at every level of public and private occupations. In celebration of women’s achievements, March has been deemed Women’s History Month.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, Wordplay Connects brought a female author and female firefighter to Moorefield Intermediate School on Friday, March 7. Author Jess Rinker and Firefighter Mystik Miller told the students of how they came to choose their respective professions.
Rinker told MIS students, as a child, she really didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up until she had a talk with her grandfather, her “Poppy.”
“He asked me what I liked to do,” Rinker said. “What do I enjoy doing? What brings me happiness and peace?”
Since Rinker liked to read and write, she decided to pursue a career as children’s book author. She has published several picture book biographies and middle-grade fiction books.
Rinker highlighted her book “Send A Girl: How Women Joined the FDNY” to the students at MIS. It tells the true story of Brenda Berkman, a firefighter in New York City.
When the fire department in New York City began allowing women to join in 1977, they created a new physical fitness test that was exceedingly difficult. No women, and even very few men could pass it. Berkman thought it was unfair, took the FDNY to court and won.
In 1982, the FDNY created a fair test and as a result, Berkman and 41 other women passed. Berkman served in the FDNY for 25 years and saved countless lives in her career.
Mystik Miller is a West Virginia native, who loves exploring caves. One day, members of a fire department asked the caving club she belonged to for help. A caver had been lost in a cave for almost 24 hours. Since Miller had explored the cave in the past, she was able to direct the fire department to the man and he was rescued within a few hours.
Miller found she loved working with the fire department and began the necessary training. She is currently a member of the Bradley-Prosperity Volunteer Fire Department in Raleigh County. She is a rope rescue technician, and Training Captain of the Central Appalachian Cave Rescue Team. She has trained with fire companies all over Appalachia, including the Moorefield Volunteer Fire Company.
“To be a firefighter you have to be strong and you have to be brave,” Miller told the MIS students.
She also said that being a woman is sometimes a benefit in the fire department. “We are often smaller than the men, so we can get into and out of smaller spaces,” she said.
A question and answer period followed the presentations and the MIS students were both attentive and inquisitive.
A collection of books by women and about women, including “Send A Girl,” were donated by Wordplay Connects to the MIS Central Library and each classroom library.
The Wordplay Connects program with Jess Rinker and Mystik Miller was also presented to the students at Ice Mountain Elementary School in Slanesville. Their libraries also received copies of books by and about women.
Wordplay Connects is a nonprofit organization that connects young people in the Potomac Highlands with authors, illustrators and books to encourage a lifelong love of reading. Wordplay Connects hosts author and illustrator presentations and provides free books to partner organizations, schools and students. For more information, go to www.wordplayconnects.com.
