Book Review: Firestorm at Peshtigo
On the evening of October 8th, 1871 cold gusts of wind from the west moved through the area transforming small fires into massive ones sweeping parts of five counties in Wisconsin. These fires were so intense jumping over the waters of Green Bay and over the Peshtigo River destroying the town on both sides. Months prior without rain and dry weather only intensified these catastrophic hazards. “Eleven weeks had passed without rain except for a shower so light on September 5th that the rain evaporated as quickly as it fell. The forest “panted” one survivor said later, while another claimed the entire landscape was ready for “suicide by fire”.” (Gess & Lutz, 2003).Thousands of people were killed, although the exact numbers are unknown because most of the town’s population records were destroyed along with the fire. This particular fire caused the most amounts of deaths by fire in the U.S. history. In addition to the hazard that occurred in Peshtigo, the Great Chicago Fire and several cities near the Great Lakes and Michigan area suffered fires that day, though not as fatal.
The general basis of the book followed the two prominent lumberjacks, Isaac Stephenson (lumber baron and business partner of Ogden) and William Ogden (first mayor of Chicago and owner of the Peshtigo Company) as they worked towards creating some of the richest towns in Wisconsin through their lumber mills and construction efforts to build and profit day by day. These two men never imagined all their hard work would be demolished in a matter of hours. The story also follows the story of Father Peter Pernin, newly appointed Archbishop, who saw many of the churches he preached in crumbled to the ground. “Pernin, a small, dark-eyed man with a faint smile and softness of the mouth…” (Gess & Lutz, 2003). The story follows the lives of these men as they try and make their way in the growing United States, a land of opportunity. Peshtigo in the 1800s was a land of progress, where migrants from New York and Pennslyvania were migrating. These people from the east had experience in the practice of lumber and Peshtigo was overflowing with trees; a perfect place to start a new life. Luther B. Noyes, also a prominent figure in the book is the founder and editor of the Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle, a newspaper where a large portion of his writing was dedicated to reporting on weather and fires surrounding the area. People failed to recognize the underlying messages of what might happen to Peshtigo in the news articles. The summer had been dry and warm, and fires were occurring in places only hours away. Sawdust from the lumberjacks was heaped into mounds everywhere and a fire could easily spark at any moment. It was as though the people were waiting for something major to happen, failing to take precautions. The excitement of everything beginning to transform was too much for people to give up.
The general basis of the book followed the two prominent lumberjacks, Isaac Stephenson (lumber baron and business partner of Ogden) and William Ogden (first mayor of Chicago and owner of the Peshtigo Company) as they worked towards creating some of the richest towns in Wisconsin through their lumber mills and construction efforts to build and profit day by day. These two men never imagined all their hard work would be demolished in a matter of hours. The story also follows the story of Father Peter Pernin, newly appointed Archbishop, who saw many of the churches he preached in crumbled to the ground. “Pernin, a small, dark-eyed man with a faint smile and softness of the mouth…” (Gess & Lutz, 2003). The story follows the lives of these men as they try and make their way in the growing United States, a land of opportunity. Peshtigo in the 1800s was a land of progress, where migrants from New York and Pennslyvania were migrating. These people from the east had experience in the practice of lumber and Peshtigo was overflowing with trees; a perfect place to start a new life. Luther B. Noyes, also a prominent figure in the book is the founder and editor of the Marinette and Peshtigo Eagle, a newspaper where a large portion of his writing was dedicated to reporting on weather and fires surrounding the area. People failed to recognize the underlying messages of what might happen to Peshtigo in the news articles. The summer had been dry and warm, and fires were occurring in places only hours away. Sawdust from the lumberjacks was heaped into mounds everywhere and a fire could easily spark at any moment. It was as though the people were waiting for something major to happen, failing to take precautions. The excitement of everything beginning to transform was too much for people to give up.
The story continues to build until the tragic day of the Peshtigo Fire, striking quickly and swiftly, tearing through the land, and destroying everything in its path. People were burned alive because the fire spread so quickly and was so massive. Parents and children were separated from one another and many jumped into the Peshtigo River to try and save themselves. Thankfully, rainfall drenched the area soon after the fire. “There was only one difference between night and day: the rain the residents had been praying for had finally come” (Gess & Lutz, 2003). Days after continued to be a struggle as families struggled to find each other. Mass graves ended up being the solution for many of the dead bodies that were still partially intact, but a majority of the bodies were nothing but ash. Additionally, no one is sure of the number of loggers in the forest, travelers in the area, or even recent immigrants that had just arrived in the area who may have been killed.
Eventually, however, people began to pick up their lives again. Memorials were set up and people hoped everyday that their loved ones would turn up. The Peshtigo Fire and the other fires that occurred that day were big wake-up calls for the people of that era. There was no way of escape and people were unprepared. Today, many people don’t even know the story of the Great Peshtigo fire. It is but a memory, overshadowed by the Chicago Fire which killed so few people compared to the Peshtigo Fire. “Peshtigo has erected only one marker of that night 129 years ago. It is so small you can drive past it ten times and never notice it; you can drive past it for a lifetime and not see it” (Gess & Lutz, 2003). The marker is large stump scattered among the graves in the local cemetery containing the markers of loved ones, some as young as three days old.
Overall, I wasn’t a big fan of the book. Not only did it jump from person to person, but it did not provide simple and general facts. Instead, facts were placed in the book but you really had to dig deep and read parts over to find out what was going on and who the authors were talking about. I had trouble deciphering who the authors were talking about, and sometimes even why they chose to add people to certain portions of the. It was a very slow build book. However, there were a few things I thought were done very well. Descriptions were vivid and very graphic at times which helped me understand the sheer impact of this particular fire. I liked how the authors used a wide variety of affected people, and I thought they did a job good of conveying the terror and tragedy of the fire. I also liked how they mentioned what happened to some of the more major characters in the book, such as William Ogden and Isaac Stephenson.
Gess, D. & Lutz, W. (2003). Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History. (Vol. 122,). New York City, NY: Owl Books.
