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    Carrie and the Crazy Quilt: Carrie Heidenworth, Pioneer Girl
    Carrie and the Crazy Quilt: Carrie Heidenworth, Pioneer Girl
    Carrie and the Crazy Quilt: Carrie Heidenworth, Pioneer Girl
    Ebook91 pages1 hour

    Carrie and the Crazy Quilt: Carrie Heidenworth, Pioneer Girl

    By Nelda Johnson Liebig

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    About this ebook

    In pioneer Wisconsin in 1871, thirteen-year-old Carrie Heidenworth, daughter of a German immigrant family, runs for her life from the raging storm of the great Peshtigo Fire as it races through the countryside to the north of Green Bay. Separated from her family, with little brother Fritz in tow, Carrie races with others, including Father Pernin, priest of the local Catholic church, to a bridge crossing the Peshtigo River.

    Suddenly, young Carrie finds herself clinging to the back of a cow swimming in the river, praying that she and Fritz and several friends will survive the night as the firestorm raged overhead.

    The Peshtigo Fire occurred on the same night as the Great Chicago Fire (October 8) and was much more deadly, with over 1,000 lives lost. This dramatic chapter book for young readers, based in part on a true story, deals in positively with issues of faith and trust, friendship and courage. Recipient of a Book Award of Merit (1997) from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.

    Also by Nelda Johnson Liebig

    Carrie and the Apple Pie

    Carrie and the Boarding House

    Carrie and the Homestead

    Nelda Johnson Liebig was born in Oklahoma. She has taught elementary school in Alaska and adults in Russia. When she wrote this book, she lived in Oconto, near Peshtigo, where the story takes place, but she now lives in the town of Gardner, Kansas.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrispin Books
    Release dateOct 8, 2017
    ISBN9781883953935
    Carrie and the Crazy Quilt: Carrie Heidenworth, Pioneer Girl

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      Book preview

      Carrie and the Crazy Quilt - Nelda Johnson Liebig

      Preface

      Carrie was a real person who survived the Great Peshtigo Fire that happened October 8, 1871. In a book about that event, Fire at Peshtigo, author Robert Wells wrote about a young girl named Carrie Heidenworth who survived the fire by holding onto the horns of a cow that was swimming in the river to escape the flames.

      I chose to create a fictional story to tell about what it might have been like to be a young girl, like Carrie, the daughter of a German-American immigrant family, who experienced and survived such a terrible forest fire that swept through northeast Wisconsin in the pioneer era.

      The historical facts about the fire that appear in my stories are, as best I can research, as they actually happened. Much of the information comes from the journal of Reverend Peter Pernin, a survivor of the fire who helped others during and after the great disaster. His journal was later published by the Wisconsin State Historical Society.

      In 1999, I met two nieces of Carrie Heidenworth. They told me many interesting things about their great-aunt Carrie who lived in Peshtigo all of her life. The real-life Carrie was an excellent seamstress and made many beautiful quilts. She gave one to each of her five nieces. I was honored to hold in my hands one of Carrie’s colorful quilts, a treasured heirloom that now belongs to her niece, Loretta Bundy, of Peshtigo. Carrie was also an excellent cook.

      In the first book in this series, Carrie and the Crazy Quilt, Carrie faces a great forest fire that approaches her town, Peshtigo, Wisconsin — a fire that will overrun the forests, farms, and small villages in more than a hundred square miles of northeast Wisconsin.

      There are two more books in this series, Carrie and the Apple Pie and Carrie and the Boarding House, with a fourth book underway, all following Carrie’s courage, faith, and friendships.

      Nelda Johnson Liebig

      Chapter 1

      Found

      Mama, here they come! Carrie tucked her long blond hair behind her ears as she often did when she was excited.

      Carrie’s mother came running out of the cabin and peered down the narrow road that disappeared into the forest. Carrie cupped her hand to shade her eyes from the evening sun. They found him! They’re coming from the marsh.

      Mama’s hands shook as she twisted her apron. Worry lines on her forehead changed to a question. Fritz . . . my baby . . . is he all right?

      Yes, Mama. Look! He sees us and he’s waving. So are Papa and Father Pernin. And three of the searchers are with them.

      Kleine, Fritz’s collie, raced past Carrie down the road. He jumped and barked with joy. His plumed tail wagged wildly. His master was home!

      "Oh, thank our liebe Gott!" Mama exclaimed with a long sigh. She almost always spoke German. Even after five years in America, English was so hard for her to learn.

      Carrie nodded. She too, was thankful the men were bringing her little brother home. When Father Pernin had stopped for Fritz before dawn that morning, he had assured Mama they would be home by mid-day. Fritz was always eager to go with Father Pernin when he was hunting pheasants or rabbits.

      The men sat around the big table in the kitchen. As they drank mugs of Mama’s good coffee, Father Pernin explained.

      There we were, Mrs. Heidenworth – your Fritz and me. Hunting pheasants and enjoying the beauty of the woods when, without warning, fire crawled through the underbrush towards us. He stopped and rubbed his big hands together. We turned to escape by way of the old marsh, but there it was – more fire. And then before I could pick Fritz up and run, we were standing in a circle of fire. I thought of stamping it out, but I knew I couldn’t. I knelt to pray right there in the marsh which is almost dry as it has been all summer. I asked God to help us.

      Father Pernin looked across the table with a grateful look at the other men. "Then – right then – you came out of the woods calling our names. It took you no time to beat a path for us. The boy and I walked out of that circle of fire without so much as our socks scorched.

      Everyone was quiet. Fritz, exhausted from the long day, was sleeping peacefully, curled on Papa’s lap.

      Carrie, seated on a stool near the open door, remembered how excited Fritz had been about going hunting with Father Pernin. He woke her up three times in the night asking her if it was time to get up. She sighed. What a pest! She knew it was wrong to have such thoughts and she was truly grateful that he was safe.

      But, God, you know it’s true. He’s a pest. And had been ever since that high fever two years ago, when he was four years old. Mama explained that because of his sickness, he would never be able to go to school or learn to read. But he could work on the homestead. And there was always so much to do.

      Papa ran his hand across Fritz’s blond curls. Yes, when we came over the rise looking for you, we saw that fire. I tell you my heart stopped.

      He sighed. The fires! When will they burn out? All is so tinder-dry in the woods now. If only God would send rain.

      Carrie felt as though her heart stopped too. She could hardly turn to look

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