HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Holland Museum’s observation of The Great Fire’s 150th anniversary included a display, two walking tours and readings of first-hand accounts of the fire that devastated the city in 1871. See WHTC’s photo gallery: whtc.com/pictures.
Holland was one of several U.S. cities, including Chicago, that suffered horrific fires between Oct. 8 and 10, 1871. Hundreds died in the fires, but in Holland, Sara Tolk’s death was the only one reported. Mrs. Tolk was a widow whose husband, Jakob, had died earlier in 1871. She was 68 and living in a rented cottage at the corner of Ninth Street and Pine Avenue.
Michelle Stempien, the museum’s education and community programs manager, joined the readings of first-hand accounts of the fire. She shared the words of then-11-year-old Bernardus Kieft.
“We went down to Vander Veen’s hardware store. Got all his shovels and fought the fire as best we could. I was only eleven years old, but I took a shovel and threw sand on the grass whenever it started to burn … ,” she read, later reading from his account of collecting groceries and clothing for his family, which had lost virtually everything, as did hundreds of Holland families.
Ricki Levine, the museum’s executive director, provided narration between each vignette, helping those in the audience follow the path of the fire, after it veered one way, then headed right down Holland’s Eighth Street.
Holland Fire Marshal Bret Groendyke didn’t grow up in Holland but often visited family in the city. He said he’d always heard stories of the fire. Recently, he’s been reading contemporary accounts of the fire. On Saturday, he joined each of the two walking tours, in addition to reading passages from that era. Listen to the full podcast:
Holland native Deb Kiekover, 69, said she grew up hearing stories about how bits of flaming debris traveling from Chicago’s great fire to Holland. She said it was interesting to learn the fire’s cause was traced to a what Groendyke called a weather event — a combination of drought, heat, wind and flammable debris. The fires caused millions in damages in the Midwest, killing more than 200 people.
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