Minooka brothers continue father's legacy

Jul. 19—The vast collection of photographs, helmets, badges and other memorabilia remain simply "dad's collection" to Greg and Bill Boock and those that know them.

The two brothers have served as stewards of the organized, well-cared-for items that trace the history of Scranton's firefighters since their father, Mark Boock, died in 2009 while doing what he loved: documenting the city's first responders. They were the natural choice to continue tending to and building on the collection — both had grown up following their dad to fires, where the family took photos and video of the firefighters in action.

Today, they display the private Mark Boock Collection in their mother, Mary Ann's, home in the city's Minooka section, where a large upstairs room is filled, floor to ceiling, with pieces big and small. It consists mainly of firefighting items but also includes some pieces related to general Scranton history and the city police department.

"My mom always said he wanted to this to pass on to his kids and to preserve history," said Greg, 41, who lives in Scranton and works as a forklift operator for McLane Co.

That Mark developed an interest in firefighting was only natural, considering he grew up near a firehouse and the men who served it. Mark had a chance to become a firefighter himself but turned it down because he didn't want to upset his father, instead building a career as a foreman in the Quaker Maid cabinet factory, said Bill, 42.

But Mark found other ways to pursue his interest in firefighting. He started to build his collection of memorabilia in the 1970s and headed to fires to take photos and eventually video. The firefighters came to hold him in esteem, and Mark became their historian, often bringing them them copies of the photos he took of them. Some of his photos and video even came in handy for training, as firefighters could see what to do — and not do — in certain situations he captured.

The fire chief even issued an order allowing Mark to ride any department apparatus, and the firefighters sometimes collected money for him to put toward videotapes and film. The firefighters' union eventually made Mark (and later his wife) an honorary member, and the department bestowed on him his own helmet to wear when out at fires.

"I know that meant a lot to him," Bill said.

Joining their dad

When his sons reached their teens, Mark started bringing them along to fires so they could take photos while he videotaped. That was all they ever knew, said Bill, a 20-year veteran of the fire department and a lieutenant at Engine 7 in West Scranton. It was a unique way to grow up, Greg said, and "looking back on it, it was cool to me to spend time with my dad and my brother doing something I liked."

"We'd all run out," he said. "It didn't matter what time it was, what day it was, how cold it was."

Taking photos back then wasn't like it was today, either, the brothers pointed out. Now, photographers can shoot hundreds of photos of a fire, while they were subjected to the limits of film photography.

"It was a challenge to get a good shot," Bill said.

For Bill, working as a firefighter was all he ever wanted. His dad wasn't the type to gush, he said, but he knows Mark was proud of him joining those ranks. And when 57-year-old Mark suffered a fatal heart attack while shooting a fire on Cherry Street in February 2009, it just so happened that Bill was there too, hard at work.

The union gave Mark full fire department honors for his funeral. Flags were lowered, and Mark's remains were driven past the city fire stations, where the firefighters lined up outside to salute him.

"Our guys did a great job," Bill said, adding, "Even though he never fought a fire, he was a Scranton firefighter."

He and his brother have set up a memorial to their father in the collection's display room, which looks like a small museum. Fire helmets line the ceiling, a rotating display case includes dozens of badges, and frames filled with convention ribbons fill the walls. There are old-fashioned fire call boxes and the cards that went with them, lanterns, toy fire trucks, lights from real trucks, axes, coats, license plates and, in the garage, even a vintage fire truck. In the corner of the attic room sits Mark's desk, with his glasses sitting on top and his camera nearby as though he will return any second.

While some bigger fire departments in the state — such as Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Reading — have museums, the Boocks' collection is the closest thing Scranton has to one. Their collection provides a "tangible connection to our past," said Bill, who noted that the fire department truly is a big family rooted in history.

"It's important to keep that tradition," Bill said. "The fire department itself is very tradition-based."

While "everything is kind of unique" in the collection, Bill said, several items are more rare than others, including a plaster-framed photo compilation that's so big the Boocks can't even hang it up and an antique invitation from a firefighters' ball along with a checkbook that paid for some of the supplies.

"Some of the small items, how they didn't get lost to time is amazing," Bill said.

Continuing tradition

The brothers carry on their father's legacy in different ways. Greg continues to shoot fires and give copies of the photos to the firefighters like his dad did, and he attends collector shows to see if he can find anything new for the collection. Bill orders the badges for his fellow firefighters, something his dad did before him (Mark had even located the original method the department used to craft them so they could use it once again). And Bill sometimes shares photos of the collection on Engine 7's Facebook page.

Members of the public occasionally reach out for help with genealogy, asking the Boocks to track down information about or photos of a firefighter ancestor. The brothers can then check the various binders and books that make up part of the collection to see what they can find. Those shelves include two books by Mark ("'Where Duty Calls, There You Will Find Us': Firefighting in Scranton, Pennsylvania" and "The Pictorial History of the Scranton Fire Department") and one by Bill ("Duty Is Our Pride: 150 Years of Firefighting in Scranton").

"People are always looking for stuff," Bill said. "Sometimes we can help, and sometimes we can't."

Some firefighters paid back Mark by donating items to his collection, where tags today bear the names of people who used helmets and other pieces. Bill and Greg know certain items likely would have ended up in a landfill if not for their family's efforts and others' gifts.

"A very large quantity of this stuff was not bought," Bill said. "My dad would get a call: 'Mark, I got something for you.' ... A lot of this collection has been amassed because of people wanting their stuff preserved."

People still approach the Boocks with items and tell them, "Add this to your dad's collection." They don't plan to donate it to a museum, although Bill said the firefighters' union hopes to one day have its own hall where some of the items might go on display. The brothers see a risk of items "growing legs" if they loan them out, and they said their dad never wanted to let go of the collection anyway.

"It's a private collection, and that's OK," Bill said.

More than anything, Greg just wants to make sure their father, who gave so much of his free time to preserve the department's history, is not forgotten.

"When I come up here," he said, "I feel like I'm with him."

Contact the writer: cwest@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5107; @cheaneywest on Twitter