Joseph Marshall's Interview
Listen to and explore the curated OHMS index for Joseph Marshall's interview, created by Dante Silicato in Spring 2016.
A self-described “Old Philadelphian,” Joseph A. Marshall (1901-1990) was born and raised in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia. In 1923 he joined Engine Company No. 11, located at 1016 South Street, the only firehouse to employ African-Americans until desegregation of the Philadelphia Fire Department in 1952. Marshall served the fire department for twenty-three years before retiring in 1946. In 1974 he published Leather Lungs, a short history of Engine Company No. 11 and his own career in the Philadelphia Fire Department.