1918 Fire, Remembered by Dagmar Westin Michler

Collection — Item: tapes

Identifier: S6030

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

One brief tape, recorded when Dagmar Westin Michler was 78 years old.

Michler’s memoir describes the Saturday when fire was spread by high winds in eastern Minnesota, which was started by railroad engine sparks. Michler had been playing in the ashes with her cousin Rubin, and her mother didn’t leave until her husband returned. They packed a small bag of precious items and left in a truck to stay at his mother’s brother Algot’s house. People on Mesabi Avenue were standing on the roadside offering places for the people needing refuge. She continues by recalling how some people initially survived by standing in lakes or streams but later died of influenza, and that many people suffocated.

The wind shifted and Michler’s family went home the next day to find their house still standing although the area was charred and black and “ugly.” She remembers seeing a line of cars that had missed the turn and all of the people in the vehicles had died. She also saw numerous dead horses and recalled the smell of roasted pork from a pig farm. Michler finishes by saying “the world went on and started to repair.”

Dates

1918

Creator

Michler, Dagmar A., 1911 August 6- (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

Biographical / Historical

Dagmar Westin Michler was born in America [St. Louis County Minnesota] of Swedish parents. Her mother was from Jamptland and her father from Halsingland. They built a house at 233 East Locust Street in the Duluth Heights neighborhood.

Dagmar Westin Michler was born in St. Louis County Minnesota of Swedish parents. Her mother was from Jamptland and her father from Halsingland. Dagmar's parents met when her father worked near her mother's home. He preceeded her to America by one year. He came through Canada, she through Boston. Mr. Westin, Dagmar's father, first worked in a lunber camp (his father had worked in lumber camps) in Canada, but then "worked all his life for the Water and Light". He was a foreman and froze his cheek so many times fixing burst water mains in the winter that he had permanent nerve damage in his cheek. He passionately loved America. Conversely, his wife was always sad. They initially rented a house in the Denfeld high school area, but built a house on an acre lot at 233 East Locust Street in the Duluth Heights neighborhood.

Extent

2.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

One brief tape, recorded when Dagmar Westin Michler was 78 years old.

Physical Location

This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.

General

This collection is part of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections, which are housed in the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives at the Kathryn A. Martin Library.

Subjects

Animals Subject Source: Local sources
Audiocassettes Subject Source: Local sources
Automobiles Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Biography Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Buildings Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Childhood and youth Subject Source: Local sources
Disasters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Duluth (Minn.) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Families Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Forest fires Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Forest fires--Minnesota--History Subject Source: Local sources
Immigrant families Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Spanish Flu Epidemic, 1918-1919 Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Women Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings