Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Things 26, 27, and 28

Did I totally forget to blog about meeting Hippie Tom??  I'm so behind!


26.  Meet a celebrity.

I met Hippie Tom from 'American Pickers'.  I can't believe that I didn't blog about that!  I may have to do a make-up post purely about that adventure.


27.  Enter a writing contest or sweepstakes.

I entered a 'Memory Contest' for a local restaurant.  I submitted my childhood memories of eating there and I WON!  I won a $100 gift certificate to that eatery!  Guess who didn't need to buy groceries that week?  hee hee hee


28.  Visit the Peshtigo Fire Site.

 
If you grew up in the Midwest chances are that you've at least heard of the Peshtigo Fire.  My friends and I learned all about it in school.  It was clear as the years passed though that the Peshtigo Fire was just a small murmur in the shadow of "The Great Chicago Fire".  And that's sad.

The Peshtigo fire occured on the same day as the fire in Chicago.  Odds are that you've probably heard of the Chicago fire and not the Peshtigo fire.  That's crazy to me.  Here are a few facts for you:

     -   The Chicago Fire killed about 250 people.

     -   The Peshtigo fire killed between 1,200 to 2,400 people.


     -   Extreme drought along with clearing of fields caused the fire in Peshtigo.  The death toll is untotalled and so broad because many undocumented people had just arrived in Peshtigo to help clear the land for the railroad.

     -   Within about an hour the entire city of Peshtigo (seen on the map below) was wiped out.  Winds of up to 150 miles per hour created a cyclone of fire and carried that fire quickly throughout the town.


     -   Chicago is more talked about simply because it's a big city and was at that time.  Peshtigo was a frontier settlement with only one telegraph line.  That line burned in the fire.

     -   The Peshtigo fire was put out naturally.  They were not prepared for a fire of that magnitude so it burned it's way to the waters of Green Bay.

     -   The survivors of the Peshtigo Fire were those who jumped into the river.  They spent the entire night in the icy waters as fire burned on every side of them.


Enough history for today.  All that to say that I was at my Family Reunion this weekend and passed the sign for Peshtigo.  I couldn't believe it.  I wasn't expecting to really get there this year - mostly because there is no way that I'd have a car that could make that trip!  I mean, I desperately need new tires so going out of the city I live in is a stretch for me most days. 

At the end of Reunion it was decided that we could make the 30 minute detour to the site; and I'm so glad that we did!  I got to cross another thing off the list.







Thursday, August 9, 2012

Almost Back in the Saddle, Again

Gee, I've really fallen off the horse here; the Blogger horse!

I should probably get back to updating more often.