PESHTIGO – Growing up and moving between Shawano, Crivitz and Green Bay meant that Susan Gordon was always familiar with the tragic history of the 1871 Peshtigo fire. However, as she moved away from Wisconsin and to the East Coast, she found that very few people knew about America’s deadliest wildfire.
“It always amazed me that nobody had heard about this fire. I told people, ‘[The California wildfires] are horrible, but this is nothing compared to what happened in Peshtigo,’” Gordon recounted.
She spent her professional life as a nurse and award-winning medical supplies sales manager, but the history of the Peshtigo Fire stuck with her through the decades. Gordon approached different types of writers and people in the film industry with the story of the fire, but was consistently told that this was her story to share.
For over a decade, the story quietly grew while Gordon conducted research and collected firsthand accounts of the disaster.
Her first steps into writing began after her own personal tragedy with the unexpected loss of her 40-year-old son.
“It was cathartic — the tears just flowed. This was the best thing I did to deal with my grief because I sat and sobbed and everything came pouring out of me and turned into a poem of sorts. I had never thought of myself as a writer before,” Gordon explained.
After retiring in 2023 and receiving encouragement from her daughter, she returned to the story that had been waiting.
Gordon explained that she drew from her professional background to create an outline similar to the nursing plans she once used. From there, she brought in the research she conducted on a real life couple Jennie Lenerville and Big John Mulligan who survived the blaze and became the main characters of her historical fiction and romance novel.
She also brought in the story of Abraham and Elizabeth Place, discovering the knowledge of the Menominee people.
Her book recounts the treatment Menominee people faced from settlers for their way of life and taking proactive safety measures like digging trenches around their settlements.
“They were giving warnings to people [about an approaching fire] and people didn’t want to hear it, they laughed at them,” Gordon explained.
Even though they faced judgement, the Menominee people immediately opened their arms and homes to those who were injured and in need of shelter.
These historical aspects received praise from the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin — who Gordon consulted with when writing — as well as the Peshtigo Historical Society.
The Beecher Pembine Dunbar (BDP) Chamber of Commerce will host holiday festivities on Friday, July 3, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Families can enjoy a variety of children’s activities, including a bubble station, train rides, a “Chalk the Streets” area, free face painting with D’s Creative Faces and bounce houses courtesy of Lisa Hanson.
Food trucks will be on-site, and a photo booth will be open at ZibLor’s in Pembine from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Attendees can also browse a craft fair from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. or try their luck with raffles drawn at different locations throughout the night.
Anyone looking for information regarding the craft fair can reach out via email at bdpchamberofcommerce@gmail.com.
The band Victorious will perform at Winters Family Restaurant from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., while Lone Riders Karaoke will host singing at the Silver Dollar from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The night will conclude with a grand fireworks display at dusk, which is scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
The celebration continues on July 4, when guests can start their day with a pancake breakfast at Richards, followed by a community fishing tournament held in Dunbar from 10 a.m. until noon.
If the fireworks are postponed due to rain, they will be rescheduled for the night of the community picnic on August 1.
The City of Menominee is hosting a Fourth of July celebration from 2:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at 1000 1st Street and Great Lakes Memorial Marina Park in Menominee, Mich.
The festivities kick off with the Kiddie Parade for 250 Years Celebrating America.
Participants can begin lining up at 2 p.m. at the Zelm Building on 1st Street and the parade will officially start at 2:30 p.m., traveling down to the end of the 1st Street playground.
This year’s theme is “All the Decades of America,” and families are encouraged to dress their children to represent any era from the 1950s through the 2010s. Walkers, bicycles and wagons are all welcome, and participants are invited to bring candy to throw.
Prizes will be awarded for the best-dressed individuals and groups, and all parade participants will receive a free freeze pop at the end of the route, courtesy of 35th & Coffee.
Following the parade, inflatables will be operating from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., while carnival games and a free crafts station will run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Later in the evening, professional face painting will be offered from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. To access the primary children’s attractions, families can purchase full-activity wristbands for $20 each, or opt for individual tickets priced at two for $1 or 15 for $5. Only individual tickets will be available for purchase after 7 p.m.
In addition to the youth events, community members can enjoy various food options and live entertainment throughout the grounds. The band Bad Mother Truckers will take the stage to provide live music for the crowd. The entire celebration will conclude with a special fireworks display over the water at dusk.
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