Burnt into Memory: How Brownfield Faced the Fire

Presenter: Jo Radner

In October 1947, in just a few hours, a terrible wildfire destroyed almost all of the town of Brownfield, in western Maine, including all its churches, schools, post offices, and other public buildings. In the face of the fire, Brownfield residents responded with courage, care, and, in some cases, obstancy—retired schoolteacher Mabel Stone, for instance, chose to stay home with her beloved dog Woofie and fight the fire with a broom, a bucket of water, and her snow rake. Confronting the devastation after the fire, neighbors ingeniously made do, shared what they had, and rebuilt what they could. Jo Radner spent a year interviewing people who experienced the Brownfield Fire, and from those interviews, letters, historical photographs and newspaper reports, created a powerful story of terror, courage, neighborly responsibility, recovery, and – yes – even humor. 

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