On October 8, 1871, fire turned night into a living hell.
While Chicago's blaze claimed the headlines, a fiercer and more devastating inferno swept across Wisconsin's Green Bay peninsula-obliterating farms, forests, and families in its path.
Here, among immigrant settlers carving new lives from the wilderness, survival came down to split-second choices: to run, to hide, to fight the flames. Mothers shielded children with their bodies, fathers vanished into smoke, and neighbors faced the firestorm with nothing but faith and will.
Inspired by forgotten accounts and newspaper fragments, Secrets in the Woods brings to life the untold human drama of one of America's most harrowing nights-a story of resilience, loss, and the fragile hope that rises from the ashes.
Praise for Secrets in the Woods:
'This book will stay in your thoughts long after you finish it!'
~ Patricia Cords, 5* Amazon Review
He pulled me to the stone base of the well. The rug was only half over my head, and I could see there was a ladder placed inside. He didn’t wait for me to move. Instead, he lifted my leg over the side and placed my boot-clad foot on the first rung. My foot stuck and it registered that I was glad that Antoine had insisted we wear our leather shoes and not our sabots.
When our faces were even Jacques said “noh-tâ-w i-nan ki-se-ma-ni-to.” ‘Watch over us to help us.’
I didn’t hear the rest, but I learned much later that it was a Cree blessing to keep us safe. I was off balance with Atlan strapped in front of me but skittered down the ladder, missing rungs and hanging on too long to others. When I reached the bottom, I felt my feet enter water that reached to about my knees. The ladder was tugged out of my hand.
Susan D. Levitte
Susan was born and raised as the fifth generation to live on the family land in Northeast North Dakota (nearly Canada). She moved to Wisconsin in 1997, living in Door and Manitowoc County and now resides in the pastoral Kewaunee County. Married to Quentin, they share their home with Olive and Penny, their silly Labrador retrievers, and Gil, their ever-lazy cat.
As a devoted reader of historical fiction and nonfiction, she brings her passion for history and desire to educate readers into her work. With twenty-five years of experience in global advertising and marketing, she holds a master’s degree in communications and currently contributes her expertise to the Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport.
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