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Headlines through the years

A look back at the events, people and places that made North Pinellas the unique place that it is. The information is compiled from past editions of the St. Petersburg Times.

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 12, 2006

March 13, 1974: Women get approval as fire volunteers

OLDSMAR - Debbie Coleman and Mary Lister have been given six months to prove they can become firefighters.

The Oldsmar Volunteer Fire Department voted March 4 to reject the women's application for membership, but that was changed at a special meeting Monday night.

"There wasn't really a vote. ... We just came to a verbal agreement," says Alfred Clipper, assistant fire chief.

Under the new agreement, anyone who submits an application to join the department will serve a six-month probation period before his or her application is voted on by the officers. If it is rejected, he or she has the right to appeal to the entire department. During probation, applicants will have voting rights and will be trained for the job of firefighting.

The flap over women joining the force came up after Clipper appeared before the homeowners association of Harbor Palms asking for more volunteer members.

As a result of his speech, 13 residents applied to join the department and will now serve the six-month probation.

Mrs. Coleman, who was taking a safety and first aid course at the time, submitted her application after Clipper told her he didn't think there would be any objection to a woman joining the force.

Word quickly spread and prompted Mrs. Lister, wife of the fire department's secretary, Charles Lister III, to submit her application.

One month after they were submitted, the applications were voted down for no official reason. Some said the rejection was a matter of personality conflicts, others that the women could not do the job, most that men thought women had no place on the force.

Mayor Charles Lister Jr. objected to the third reason. He pointed out that while he was fire chief, Bige McKnight of Safety Harbor served on the force with all the rights and responsibilities of the men.

Now Mrs. Coleman has even been appointed to a committee that will study and rewrite the department's bylaws to make sure they do not discriminate on the basis of sex.

PALM HARBOR - The children at Curlew Creek Elementary School are signing petitions and hoping to rally support from other elementary schools to keep the Centre Ice rink open at Countryside Mall.

The third-, fourth- and fifth-graders on the student council at Curlew Creek want to take their case directly to the mall owner, Corporate Property Investors of New York City, said Rita Spillers, the council's faculty representative.

The rink, one of two in Pinellas County, has been told to shut down by April 19 to make way for fountains and kiosk shops, according to Centre Ice owner Bruce Hyland.

Places for children to go in northern Pinellas are few, Ms. Spillers said. The student council members think the mall should let the Countryside rink stay open at least for another year, to give Centre Ice a chance to find another location nearby and build a new rink, she said.

CLEARWATER - Pickets reading "Don't Draft American Girls," "A Woman's Role is Sacred, Protect It," and "God knows the Difference, Shouldn't We?" greeted people passing by the offices of local legislators Saturday.

It was all part of a statewide protest by Equal Rights Amendment opponents who picketed against legislators who support the amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Locally, about 25 people of all ages - including elderly people, mothers carrying babies and teenagers - picketed the offices of state Rep. Mary Grizzle, R-Belleair Beach, and Rep. Betty Easley, R-Largo, and then picketed in front of the Pinellas County Fair.

Rani Davidson, spokeswoman for the group, said members of the Conservative Political Action Committee of Pinellas County and the Florida Federation of Women for Responsible Legislation oppose the Equal Rights Amendment because it is a "dangerous act that will destroy more rights than it creates."

The amendment reads, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any states on account of sex."

Theresa Blackwell compiles the history column. You can reach her at 727 445-4170 or tblackwell@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 12, 2006, 01:32:24]