R.I.P. Janet Travers

  Tuesday, June 30th 2009

It is with sadness that I have been notified of one of the Greenfield Fire District's greatest members passing away.

I recieved word that Firefighter Janet Traver passed away the evening of June 29th.

I'm fairly certain that Janet was a charter member.

Many people have many fond memories of Janet.

When I joined MAFD as a "young pup", it didn't take long to learn how special Janet was. Everyone in the county knew of Janet - her trademark "grandma" voice was the corner stone of the Maple Avenue Fire Company.

As a young and inexperienced firefighter, having Janet at the firehouse just seemed to make everything "easier," well, at least "safer." Even with the "bad calls", hearing her voice over the radio - "KYK three O eight to fire control", created this sort of "safety blanket". I just knew - hearing her voice, that no matter what it was, that everything would be okay in the end.

I remember vividly when one of our junior members had something in his teeth and decided to spit on the firehouse bay floor - in clear view of Janet (a mistake he soon regretted). I'll tell ya what, for a older lady, she was quick on her feet! Janet boxed his left ear in so hard it almost knocked his shoes off. He stumbled a few feet to his right and almost fell over.

My jaw nearly hit the floor.

As he stood there rubbing the left side of his face, he looked at Janet puzzled. And Janet raised her finger and got right in his face and said "you don't spit on your floor at home do you?"

His eyes swelling up with tears he replied, "no ma'am". She then said, "if I ever see you spitting again, you'll be even more sorry - now go in the bathroom and put some cold water on that." And I dont' think he ever spit again!

But that was the type of lady Janet was, standfast in her convinctions, passionate and strong. Perhaps the best way to describe Janet is "dedication" - arguably her most endearing quality, although its hard to pin-point just one - as Janet had so many. She made every fire call, every meeting, every fundraiser - and she served the community with distinction.

She will be missed by all who knew her.

posted by spackmann in News at 11:28 AM (434 day(s) old)  Permalink