This small Wisconsin town survived America’s Worst Wildfire 🔥

[@earllutz2663]

Thank you Sally and Marty for telling and teaching us about the PESHTIGO, Wisconsin fire that was actually THE worst and most devastating wildlife in the history of the USA. I am pretty sure that most people including myself have never heard of the team [ Fire Nado ]. And I have been in the Fire Department since 1964 and have a degree in Fire Science. Thank you so much for another great video.

[@pendlechild7516]

With today’s communications technologies the events of Hawaii can be seen by the world immediately, aid can be initiated quickly, and we can all witness the level of human suffering by those affected, but not so for the inhabitants of Peshtigo, yet theirs was every bit as real and tragic, and assistance would have been glacially slow by comparison. In producing this video you and Marty have connected today with yesterday in a very special way, bringing the story of that little town to the world after so long being hidden by time. History’s like that. You have honoured the Peshtigo survivors and the victims respectfully whilst also teaching at least this one viewer another piece of American history. I thank you for that.

[@Tapiocah]

A large thank you, Sally. How very apropos that you should share this now. It helps to give the lost lives and survival stories a much deeper sense of the actual humanity involved.

[@pamdekeyser6168]

I lived in Peshtigo for 10 yrs raising my family! The fire happened the same night as Chicago fire! Peshtigo is a wonderful town for your children! 😊

[@stucook8622]

Thanks for another cool video! And keep Marty away from that siren...lol 🍦🐾

[@1954shadow]

Yep, Marty is susceptible to the, siren’s song.

[@howitzer8946]

Awesome presentation about an item that should be known nationwide

[@SightseeingSally]

Thank you! I’m hoping this video will change that at least for some.

[@rtroyer8963]

I had read that many people died in the heat wave of 1871 that preceded the fire. Wow, a single fire the size of Rhode Island, and then the Chicago Fire, dark days. Thanks for the history lesson!

[@mpetersen6]

There was also a large fire in the northern part of Lower Michigan at the same time.

[@augustharter981]

I was following along as I normally do with your videos, and making comments as I watched when something happened and my comments disappeared. I will say that I enjoyed the video very much. Thanks for posting!

[@SightseeingSally]

I don’t know what happened to them. That’s KZbin for ya. Thanks for leaving another comment 😊

[@billwenzel2161]

I grew up in Peshtigo. My grandmother volunteered at the fire museum which was only 1 block from the high school. Thanks for the video and for sharing the story with others.

[@petersemple9278]

Thanks guys, I love this kind of stuff. Sorry all those lost their lives in the fire. My grandpa logged N WI, and I have recently been to a small patch of virgin forest on Trout Lake. My Mom worked for the Dept. of Natural Resources there back in the 40s. I have a few log ends that were cut off logs that were stuck in the mud for over 100 years. My Mom and her old buddies would go looking for them in the lakes and rivers. Mine are hammer marked with HK that was a registered mark of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Co' Have a great celebration and Ice Cream!! Hoping to head up north with Mom next year. She's doing well at 93

[@SightseeingSally]

That’s so awesome! I hope you and your mom have a great trip. And you’re welcome 😉

[@toyo1267]

Amazing disaster we didn't know anything about. Today it's a nice little town on a beautiful river. Thanks for taking us there. Best wishes to you two. Lynn & Steve

[@SightseeingSally]

You’re welcome 😉 and thank you!

[@buckeyeguy82]

Thanks Sally & Marty for the great video! It's crazy how the great Chicago fire started the same day as the Peshtigo fire, I learned a lot from this.

[@MINTEXPRESSIONS]

Very nicely done! An excellent and very educational video. Thank you for the history you've shared. And we would be delighted to whip you up some awesome Sight Seeing Sally goods! Stop in any time. Would be great to meet you, Sally & Marty!

[@badapple65]

Job well done! Two years ago on a motorcycle trip my buddy that was leading the way suddenly pulled into the Fire museum and said “Let’s take a break here I’ve got something to show you”. I’d never known about the great fire. We toured the museum and watched a film. I found it very interesting (and horrific). The conditions set up the perfect storm for that fire to happen.

[@kimmathis694]

Awesome video. I never knew a lot about the fire but now I do thanks to your video. We used to have a cabin in Athelstan and we used to go to Peshtigo sometimes. Nice to see you and Marty out exploring again!❤

[@robertcolpitts4534]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing the story of the Peshtigo Fire Storm. Very few know about it. We used to drive through Peshtigo on the way to our cabin in the UP. Before they put that crazy bypass around the town. It was a bustling place then. The local grocery store sold a local smoked summer sausage the was outstanding. I personally supervised their safe arrival home but never got a taste. Those were for dad. Went through there on the way back to Texas from my sister's memorial service in Marquette in 2016. Definitely a trip down memory lane! It was sad, though.

[@joannunemaker6332]

It's hard to believe there was an awful fire in this town years ago. I really enjoyed this video😊❤.

[@PunmasterSTP]

I always enjoy some hiking and history!

[@davidross5169]

I took my mom and dad,and little sister.around lake superior we stoped at pestigo, went to the museum, and cemetery ,

[@marty5859]

"I just was sitting here and 'Bam...!! I thought, after over a year watching I've never said how much I enjoy your style..., refreshing..., I'm glad you do what you do. Nice video.

[@SightseeingSally]

Well I’m glad you enjoy what I do, thank you!

[@Cojiii1959]

Super interesting! Amazing how the news is just opinion anymore. Facts matter and thanks for sharing!

[@donnaeriksen7316]

Awesome video~~ my Mom lives there and I’ve been in that museum~~ my Dad donated coins to the museum.

[@davidross5169]

There is a town west of loyal Wisconsin, called willard,I believe its an old loging town ,its a ghost town,that's coming back from the dead,its not on a main road,the last time I was there ,it was dirt,/gravel roads,by this was 50 years ago, but by the map,it may have different streets,

[@darrellashby3906]

Another excellent and very educational video from Sally & Marty!! This town experienced such a horrific tragedy and yet the survivors managed to rebuild it. A truly fine example of resilience!! Thank you Sally & Marty for sharing this story!!👍

[@jonerblich9827]

Thanks! In honor of my son-in-law Glenn Thompson, who’s great grandfather started the Thompson Boat company (which has a rich history and proud reputation as one of the finest wooden boat manufacturers in America) my wife Jane and I would love to make a donation for underwriting your and Marty’s wonderful travelogues. You got me through my bout of covid, Sally. I love your cheerfulness and adventurism! Hey Sightseers! 😊 Sincerely, Jon and Jane Erblich, your pals in Clayton, MO, St. Louis area😊

[@SightseeingSally]

Such a small world! Thank you for watching and for adding to our “trip jar” 😊

[@browngreen933]

When I was a kid in the 1950s-60s my father had a wooden Thompson fishing boat. I'm guessing 12-14 foot long and he used it for fishing and duck hunting. He painted it rush brown and green camo. He had a 1952 7 hp Evinrude outboard on it, also painted camo. Since he used it duck hunting when there was ice, he fiberglassed the prow to protect the wood. He sold it around 1962 for a new aluminum boat. I still have the motor and oars. I'm guessing he got the oars with the Thompson boat. 😊

[@annagroark5919]

Thanks!

[@SightseeingSally]

You’re very welcome and kind! Thank you!!!

[@RoyJohnson-tr5uy]

Thanks for visiting Peshtigo! I used to go through there every time I visited family in the UP, but with Hwy 41’s by-pass built several years ago I haven’t been through the city since. As a kid, I remember seeing the large homes on the north side of the river as we would work our way to Peshtigo Beach. Looks like the site of that beach was in the background of one of your shots, but no longer a public beach? I recognized The Landmark building and always thought it was a nursing home when I was a kid. Several of the newer buildings are in the place of earlier tear-downs. I’ll need to check it out again if I ever go that way again. Thanks for sharing!!

[@tictacjak5247]

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since I first saw this video!😮🙂🤩

[@SightseeingSally]

Time goes by so quickly these days!

[@1954shadow]

I’m all fired up, watching this video.

[@davidcarlisle6244]

Be happy the only "siren song" Marty hears is attached to buildings.😄 👍

[@SightseeingSally]

hahaha good point

[@128titanic]

Hi, Sally! Welcome. Thank you for your video.

[@SightseeingSally]

You are so welcome!

[@rodney4917]

Peshtigo was served by the old C&NW RR, now CN Railroad between Ishpeming and Green Bay WI. Final run of the remaining on C&NW RR passenger train between Green Bay and Marinette WI was on April 30. 1971. Indian Trails bus service between Milwaukee and Hancock, MI stop at Carroll Family Restaurant in Peshtigo.

[@badgerpa9]

Just another example people need to remember what they are told by the news is often not accurate. There were fires in Michigan also same time just not as populated areas. I saw a show a couple years ago with scientist that where looking into what they could find on the fires thinking a meteor could have started the fires scattered over multiple states and into southern canada. If I can remember what it was called I will edit the comment with the title especially if I can find it on youtube. The volcano eruption in the south pacific about a year ago added millions of tons of water to the atmosphere causing more rain in places and warmer temps from more water in the air. This has been all but forgotten by so many weather people. Tango is in the south pacific and made one of the loudest sounds in history when it blew under water. Hope you and Marty stay safe and healthy and he gets his old siren some day.

[@tictacjak5247]

Very interesting indeed! Great video! Tell Marty he will need a bigger truck and a crane to get that siren home!

[@SightseeingSally]

lol 😂 thanks! I will be sure to tell him.

[@RioAbajoBelen]

Excellent video. By the way, what is the address so we can send Marty that hacksaw? ;-) Doug and Pam Belen, New Mexico U.S.A.

[@A-O-Life]

Wow! That's crazy!

[@cheriebrantner5543]

Very timely considering the Maui fires. I learned about this fire in grade school. I have not done my research on the Cloquet Minnesota fire that was mentioned from the early 1900’s. The mass graves are so sad. I fear many people in Lahaina have not been found.

[@thomaslockwood8870]

This could be your new work" Sally's Sprinkler Systems"!!!!

[@johnmagin3379]

If I remember right, Michigan had a large forest fire the same time. Would be nice for you to cover it also.

[@davidkoehler136]

Yup , it was the same day as the Chicago fire, and it killed more people. It was a summer of drought and abnormally high temps. . One scientific explanation is that meteorites touched off the fires, when the hit the dry ground. One of my great, great uncles died in the Chicago fire, all they ever found was his gold watch

[@cherylgillis4978]

I was a school bus driver in Marinette and my route was picking up and bringing back the Goodwill workers . The Landmark was one of my stops . Quite a few residents did not like the Landmark because the majority of the food they were fed was Sandwiches They told me that a Dr and his wife owned the place. One of the ladies on my bus was able to move out to low income housing. I was so excited for her . A couple of months went by and I saw her . She looked great and had lost 80 lbs . She got away from those sandwiches and was able to have fruits and veggies. So I'm not surprised it shut down. I think it was a old hotel before

[@SightseeingSally]

Yikes! What kind of sandwiches were they feeding them?

[@cherylgillis4978]

@@SightseeingSally like sub stuff . Owner probably pocketed the $

[@badgerpa9]

@@cherylgillis4978 money from what? there was no federal aide to the Doctor.

[@nancyedgar8639]

Dr. Barrette didn't build the Landmark. It was built before he bought it. He and Dr. Pelky only ran it a few years. It was called the PelBar at that time. I worked there in the late 60s shortly after they bought it. It had been there years before they owned it. Rennes' bought it in 73 and it was closed because state regulations required an elevator and there wasn't one elevator for the top floor residents. I heard it was condemned a few years later because of asbestos but not positive about that. I grew up there, went to school there, and lived there and still live close by. All of the family of the lady who lived across the street from us survived the fire except a sister who was sleeping at a friend's house. They lived very close to the river. Our neighbor was born soon after the fire. And the Cholette Hotel was never called the Charlotte by anyone I knew in town. I don't know what locals you talked to but they got some things wrong.

[@SightseeingSally]

@@nancyedgar8639 The locals I talked to were the volunteers who were manning the Peshtigo Fire Museum on the day I filmed. I didn't catch their names, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn't put them on blast here on KZbin for what they told me. I try my best to share as accurate of information I can. Nobody is perfect. Hope you can understand. Thanks for the corrections. Have a nice day!

[@garymackovic7019]

Just a few yards from Thrifty Treasures is a great little shop called French Street Floral And Gifts. Too bad you didn't stop in. 😊

[@SightseeingSally]

Next time! I know Marty will want to go back to check out the thrift store. While he’s doing that I’ll stop in 😊

[@kristymcnett5746]

My brother lives in Peshtigo & you told me things I didn't know 😮

[@josephgrasser3746]

There's a winery in Peshtigo worth checking out if you're in the area called Forgotten Fire. Good wine, and a nice place to sit and be.

[@Anthony-ot8vl]

I actually read up on this. Among the devastation a miracle happened.

[@ThankYouJesusTheChrist]

Do tell

[@timmyangeltlc4888]

Growing up in Mountain and in Gillett, i learned about the Peshtigo fire in the fourth and fifth grade.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

I also learned about the Peshtigo Fire, and went on a field trip to the Fire Museum...the community of Peshtigo did rise from the ashes of devastating wildfire...

[@TomG-f4r]

Big fire..see alao door county , by Brussels there qas fifw ,same time

[@juliogonzales5441]

Cool 😎 glasses you 😎 and Marty

[@SightseeingSally]

Thanks! 😃

[@deeswearingen5778]

there is a place in Champion that servived the fire. it is a school that was run by nuns and was surrounded by fire. it was the only place that had water, so farmers brought their livestock there.

[@JohnShinn1960]

Hey! It worked! 😉👍

[@SightseeingSally]

Hey, you rock John! Thank you 😁

[@patmadden8647]

Great video. A couple of things though. The church is not the oldest bldg. there is a home on Beebe ave tht was framed up and survived the fire. I know as I lived across the street and they were friends. I’ve seen the charred boards personally. the old Odd Fellows bldg was also the library and a hardware store. if you look at the history you will find tht a lot of the same businessmen tht lost property in the Chicago fire were the same ones the were establishing Peshtigo. Some of the roads are named after them. Again many thanks for sharing this.

[@SightseeingSally]

Thanks! Might want to let the volunteers at the Fire Museum know, tho. That’s where I got the info about the church being the oldest building in Peshtigo.

[@patmadden8647]

@@SightseeingSally they know but they also volunteer at the museum so they have a vested interest there or they may just not know. Either way it’s still one of the oldest bldgs. Again thx. Great seeing some of the old bldgs and remembering what they actually were.

[@SightseeingSally]

@@patmadden8647Regardless, one of these days I must remember to go back and take a drive down Beebe Street as I certainly would like to see the home from the outside.

[@patmadden8647]

@@SightseeingSally if you go left off the bridge instead of staying on 41 to the right, Beebe is the first cross road. Turn right and it’s the 5th house on the left. It was partially constructed and according what I read it was fresh timber. I have the page from the book saved where it’s mentioned but don’t know how to attach a photo. The address is 150

[@SightseeingSally]

@@patmadden8647 Ok, cool. I should be able to find it. Thank you!

[@hawaii50th]

The fire in Lahaina, Maui like so many others is not natural, or accidental, it is negligence, poor management, and land take overs. Back in the 19th century and earlier it would be natural, and very bad due to the lack of technology.

[@SightseeingSally]

Some of the wildfires back in the 19th Century were caused due to negligence. They frequently used slash and burn methods for clearing the land. Not saying that is how the Peshtigo Fire started, just that back then they didn’t always use good judgment or techniques either.

[@hawaii50th]

@@SightseeingSally With the Lahaina, Maui fire there are a lot of strange events during, days, and months before the fire. Like in January of this year, the governor signed an executive order, that if any catastrophe happens, the government could confiscate the land. When the fire fighters were spraying down the flames in one area, the water flow from the fire hydrant was shut off, and they could not continue. That is just the tip of the iceberg, there are a lot of other questions, and strange things said, and that happened, and continue to happen, like more fires, this time on the island of Oahu. Hawaii may look like paradise, but there are a lot of bad things, and skeletons in the closet in the islands. A lot of greed and corruption.

[@frankjoseph4273]

Some people think a meteor did both fires as it split

[@cherylpearson1963]

Hi Sally👋🥰

[@SightseeingSally]

Hi 👋🏻

[@tammydiesen9031]

About 3 years ago in my hometown we had temps over 100 degrees and alot of fish died in a pond. So heat from the fire could have killed the fish due to taking the oxygen out of the water. People were saved by the water because they did not get oxygen from the water like the fish do.

[@SightseeingSally]

Good point! I wonder why nobody has ever mentioned this as a theory for all the fish that died. 🤔

[@tammydiesen9031]

@@SightseeingSally It may not be known by people up there. May have never happened there before. Maybe share the info with someone there.

[@JohnShinn1960]

I was thinking falling ash may have killed the fish. 🤔

[@tammydiesen9031]

@@JohnShinn1960 Maybe or maybe both the heat and ash.

[@SightseeingSally]

@@JohnShinn1960 That's certainly a possibility as well.

[@Madge778]

Some of my ancestors died in that fire.

[@onrycodger]

Hey kids! You know what another weird phenomena is?.....put your thinking caps on. You've had to wonder about it. I say: Who mind you, Who comes up with these peculiar names of towns across the country???🤔 It sure makes me wonder. Thumbs up 👍 Carpe diem

[@SightseeingSally]

Thanks! It’s interesting you mention that. I was just reading something the origins of the name “Peshtigo.” Apparently the author had no idea where the name came from.

[@bobknull7502]

The fire happening at the same time as the Chicago fire was kind of like Mother Teresa dying near the same time as Princess Dianna. All Odd Fellows halls had theaters where they put on Shakespearean plays. That one was turned into a ballroom. The same thing was done with the Odd Fellows hall here in LaCrosse. Why didn't you show the Peshtigo fire department?

[@SightseeingSally]

Excellent question! Honestly I don’t remember going past it.

[@bobknull7502]

You would think that they have a pretty well funded department there. Thank you for telling this story. More people need to know this story. @@SightseeingSally

[@trash425]

Fun fact! The school is built on some of the graveyard’s property, but nobody really minds or cares anymore

[@trash425]

The Landmark used to be a nursing home and a school, but a lot of the windows are now broken and there are doors that lead to nowhere. It's very strange

[@trash425]

The Sprinkles building used to be a bunch of different things, but most people miss it as the Dairy Queen.

[@trash425]

The river’s water was actually boiling in some places from the heat of the fire

[@trash425]

I'm surprised you didn't show off the mural that's on the Pharmacy

[@1954shadow]

The residents got $50, that was a better deal in 1871, in 2023 terms, $50 back then was worth $1,252.83 dollars today.

[@SightseeingSally]

and they could go anywhere they wanted too!

[@maxinehuebner7322]

Find another use for the mental health building.

[@MoellerEngineeringCo.]

Nobody knows about this.

[@SightseeingSally]

I fully agree with you on this.

[@bagboy1942]

Any comparisons with Sodom and Gomorrah as to the cause of the fire?

[@SightseeingSally]

I don’t recall reading any comparisons like that. I do know some of the people thought the end of the world was happening.

[@bagboy1942]

So they didn’t find a pillar of salt after they returned.😮

[@1954shadow]

If there were any pillars of salt …

[@slice40]

I knew right away it was Peshtigo!! Most people don’t know but I know that it was horrible and too bad all anyone cared about was the crappy Shitcago fire. I can only hope Illinois burns down again soon

[@SightseeingSally]

Tell us what you really think 🤣