29322 A Fire Department in Action

Already the roof of the burning church is falling in. The firemen want to save the outer walls and stop the flames on the inside of the building. They are fighting with many streams of water thrown high and from a distance. The walls might crumble from the full force of the water from the hose.

The sparks and flames rise high. The fireman may cut the electric cable to prevent live wires falling to the street. The street cars may be stopped a block from the fire.

People like to see swift fire trucks and firemen at work. They like to see the hose unwound and fastened to a hydrant. Perhaps they wish that they might help fight the fire.

When there were no paid fire departments, all the neighbors rushed to a burning building with buckets. A line, or double line, was formed from the fire to the well or stream. Buckets of water were passed up one line and poured on the flames. The empty buckets were then sent to the well or stream again by way of the "dry line." Hence in olden times everyone was a member of the fire department.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.

13725 A School Garden with Children at Work

"Would you rather play or eat?" This is what the teacher of these children askec them. Some answered "play" and some said "eat." Then she said, ìWould you like to have a school garden?î You can raise things to eat. But we shall have to take part of your playground for it.

Some of the children in this city school are poor. They know how hard it is to get enough to eat. They wanted to grow things to help feed their small brothers and sisters. They wanted to grow things to sell, too. They said, "We want a garden. We will do our playing by working on it."

So after the ground was made rich and plowed and smoothed, they sowed seeds in straight rows. You can tell from the picture what kind of seeds they sowed. When it grew warm enough, many tomato plants were set out. They will have bushes of tomatoes on them. The girl nearest you is showing you one.

How clean these children keep their garden. They do not leave a weed to eat up the food of the plant. So the plants get all the food the ground has to give them. And when the clouds do not send enough water to drink, why, the children see to that with their watering pots.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.

18271 Story Hour

When the teacher says, "Story time now!" all children bring their chairs close; for they love stories. Some days, in story hour, the teacher reads a story to the children. Some days the children read stories to each other. Some days the children tell stories that they have read or stroies that they have made up. Other days they just tell each other about good stories to read. What is happening in this story hour?

Have you had fun making up stories of your own? You could make up a story about these children telling about the things they do in school. You could make a story about their doll house. You could make another story that isn't about these children at all. You could tell stories of things you have seen and done. See if you can have something about this picture to tell the other children today, during your story hour.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.

18274 First Grade At Work

This is a busy time in this schoolroom. How many different things can you find the children doing? Make a list of all the things they are doing. See if you do some of the things in your room. Are there some things you would like to do? Ask your teacher if you may do the things these children are doing.

There is one thing that you are doing now that is just what some of these children are doing. What is it?

Copyright The Keystone View Co.

26293 Bird's-eye View of Lower Manhattan, N.Y., from an Airplane

This is how the skyscrapers of New York look from an airplane. This part of New York City is called the tip of the island. The big ships that cross the ocean come up New York Bay. You can see some of the big piers where they dock. You can see bridges that span the East River. Many people cross these bridges on their way to and from work. Others go under the river in subway trains that run in big tubes. Still others cross the river or bay on ferryboats. Why do you suppose these people live so far from their work? Where do you suppose they live? Why do you suppose New York is so big and so busy?

This picture is almost like a map. Maps are really easier to draw than pictures. Some maps show just a few things. Pictures show just how everything looks, but a map only shows where important things are.

You could draw a map to show where the bridges are and where the boats land. Or you could draw a map to show where Battery Park is and where the skyscrapers are.

Copyright The Keystone View Co.