In 1999, a wonderfully unlikely group of New Yorkers did something that made very little practical sense.
They bought an old fireboat.
The John J. Harvey had served New York Harbor for more than six decades. Retired from the FDNY and facing the scrapyard, she seemed to belong to another age. But a diverse group of people couldn’t bear to see her disappear. They pooled their resources, bought the boat, and began bringing her back to life.
Not because New York needed another fireboat.
They simply thought she was worth saving.
Two years later, on the morning of September 11, 2001, those people were scattered around New York as news of the attacks began to spread.
And their thoughts turned to the same place:
Get to the fireboat.
Soon the nearly 70-year-old John J. Harvey was heading down the Hudson toward Lower Manhattan. Before the day was over, a vessel once considered obsolete would again be doing the work she had been built to do.
In this Chesterton Radio Deep Dive, we explore the extraordinary true story behind Maira Kalman’s acclaimed children’s book Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey — from the great age of New York fireboats to the Harvey’s retirement, unlikely rescue, and remarkable return to service on September 11.
But this is also a story about a larger question:
Why do we save old things?
Old boats. Old buildings. Old machines. Old books. Old recordings. Old stories.
Sometimes we preserve them not because we know we’ll need them, but simply because something tells us they are worth keeping.
And every once in a while, history proves us right.
From the Little Station on Commercial Street in Atchison, Kansas, this is Chesterton Radio.
Support Chesterton Radio
If stories like this are worth preserving, then so is a place where they can still be told. Chesterton Radio is listener-supported, helping us create original stories, thoughtful deep dives, classic radio companions, Daybreak, and the Little Station on Commercial Street. If this program meant something to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a contribution. Your support helps us keep old stories alive—and create new ones worth keeping.
FIREBOAT: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey
