WNHHS November Zoom Meeting — Jo Radner — "Burnt Into Memory: How Brownfield Faced the Fire"
Mon, Nov 10
|Online Zoom Event
Author and Folklorist Jo Radner will tell us the powerful story of the October 1947 fire that destroyed the town of Brownfield, Maine, and how its people responded to the tragedy with courage, care, and, in some cases, obstinacy! An RSVP is not required, but allows us to send you an event reminder.
Time & Location
Nov 10, 2025, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
Online Zoom Event
About the Event
Burnt Into Memory: How Brownfield Faced the Fire
With author, folklorist and storyteller Jo Radner
This program is made possible in part by a grant from the "New Hampshire Humanities "Humanities to Go" program.
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, obstinacy—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…