Cinnamon Moon
Page 16
“Mr. Olsen wants to buy our farm in Peshtigo for the railroad. If we agree, we will be able to move into a larger apartment with Ida. Nettie can stay with us, too.” I hold out Mr. Donlope’s calling card. “And we could pay for you to go to this music school.”
“I told you, I’m too old to start school.”
“You’re too young to walk away from something this important,” I say.
Quinn takes the card and tries to straighten it out, pressing the bent corner between his finger and thumb. “I threw this in the gutter,” he says.
“And I took it out. Look, Quinn, I know you’re nervous, but I also know you have a gift. If you can’t do this for yourself, do it for Father’s memory. Do it so we can have the future they would have wanted for us.”
“I don’t know about living with Ida,” he says. “Does she really want us there? What about Sam?”
“She really does. And Sam will always be your friend,” I say. “But it’s time for us to find our own way. And give Nettie the family she deserves.”
He keeps his head down but gradually, slowly nods. “Okay,” he says.
I go back into Mr. Olsen’s office. He is deep in discussion with Ida and, when he sees me, says, “It is becoming clear there are issues with the management of my boardinghouse. I am sorry to have been so unaware.”
I glance at Ida, who raises a shoulder in confession. I don’t want her to feel bad so I sit next to her and say, “Miss Franny’s not the best with children.” As soon as the words come, I think, not the best with children? Here is my golden opportunity to rightfully fillet Miss Franny and serve her up on a platter to her employer, but all I can manage is not the best?
“I see,” Mr. Olsen says. “She’s been with me for many years and I know she came from difficult circumstances, but maybe I can find another place for her within my organization.”
“That might be a good idea.”
Mr. Olsen seems satisfied. “Now that we’ve settled that matter, what is your brother’s opinion of my offer?”
“Oh, yes,” I say, leaning across his desk and reaching my hand out. “We have a deal.”
“Wonderful!”
As his warm palm presses against mine, I think of the grubby cinnamon moon on the night we lost everything and how it turned back to its clean white color so easily. And the thought comes to me that life inches forward moment by moment, day by day. That today will end—whether we are ready for it to end or not—and that a new tomorrow will always come. And I suppose the only choice we ever really have is to allow ourselves to splinter against the weight of it all or to dig down, gather courage, and walk on.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The idea for this novel came to me when I read about a violin that survived the horrendous Peshtigo, Wisconsin, fire of 1871 because its owner buried it deep in the ground. The thought of that violin and the curiosity of who owned it stayed with me. Shortly after reading that story, I visited Chicago and heard the most beautiful violin music being played by an immigrant under a bridge by Lake Michigan. These elements merged to become the Doyle family’s fiddle and story. Additionally, I have long been intrigued by the tragic plight of Catherine O’Leary.
My personal family history is a blend of Irish, French, and German immigrants and I pulled from that for this novel. The character Ida Muench was inspired by my great-grandmother’s sister, Ida Dixon, who ran a millinery shop in the early 1900s and never had any children of her own. I imagine she would have taken in Ailis, Quinn, and Nettie had they crossed her path.
FIRESTORM: PESHTIGO, WISCONSIN
The deadliest fire in American history took place in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, on Sunday, October 8, 1871. Like the Great Chicago Fire, which occurred on the same day, the origins of the Peshtigo fire remain a mystery. Thousands of acres were destroyed in and around Peshtigo and an estimated 2,400 lives were lost, although records were sparse and bodies were burned beyond recognition, making a true count difficult. What differentiates Peshtigo’s fire from most others is that it was reported to be a rare phenomenon: a fire fueled by a tornado. Survivors recorded finding glass spun along the roots of felled trees, indicating temperatures inside the fire-tornado that must have reached in excess of 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Compare that number to the typical 450–800 degrees of a regular forest fire and it is easy to understand the depth of devastation that took place in Peshtigo on that fateful day.
Like fictional Ailis and Quinn, a small number of residents survived the fire by jumping into the Menominee River. Also like the characters in this novel, many of the survivors left Peshtigo, hoping to find a new life in other cities. Peshtigo, Wisconsin, still exists today and there is a small monument erected in memory of those who lost their lives in the 1871 firestorm.
THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE
The Great Chicago Fire also occurred on Sunday, October 8, 1871, taking approximately 250 to 300 lives. It did, indeed, begin in the barn of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary, who were exonerated of all charges in the months after the fire. The cause of the Chicago fire remains unknown.
Joseph Medill was publisher of the Chicago Tribune at the time and ran for the office of mayor on the “Fireproof Ticket” in November, winning by a landslide. He was instrumental in reaching out to other states and nations, soliciting donations, and spearheading the rebuilding effort that would forever change the destiny of Chicago and make it one of the greatest cities of its time. Chicago was in a state of turmoil and disorder in the weeks following the fire. Much of the city was a dangerous and desolate place. Still, tourists poured in from around the country, hoping to get a glimpse of the devastation.
MRS. O’LEARY AND THE NEWSPAPERS
One of the heartbreaking results of the Great Chicago Fire was the story of Catherine O’Leary. While the fire did start in her barn, she steadfastly maintained her innocence, stating that she and her family were asleep at the time the fire began. For some unknown reason, a reporter from the Chicago Evening Journal (which later became the Chicago Times) decided to write a fraudulent article wherein he described that Mrs. O’Leary was: “Apparently about 70 years of age, and was bent almost double with the weight of many years of toil, and trouble, and privation. Her dress corresponded with her demands, being ragged and dirty in the extreme.” In truth, Catherine O’Leary was only in her forties at the time of the fire and denied ever speaking to the newspaper reporter. He further stated in his article that she admitted to setting the fire intentionally when city officials denied her welfare claim, writing: “The old hag swore she would be revenged on a city that would deny her a bit of wool or a pound of bacon.” Catherine O’Leary ran a successful milk business and was never the recipient of state assistance. In her statement to the investigative council, she asked the poignant question of why, if she was accused of seeking revenge on the city, she would set the fire in her own barn, causing her to lose her business and threatening the lives of her own family members.
Later, this reporter admitted to making up the story in an effort to sell newspapers, but few people paid attention to the article’s retraction. The damage was done and Catherine O’Leary spent her remaining years avoiding public interaction.
The newspaper articles from the Chicago Evening Journal and the Chicago Tribune mentioned in the novel are historically correct as they pertain to Mrs. O’Leary and the Fire Commission’s investigation. The portion about Absolute Exterminators is fiction.
MR. OLSEN
The character of Mr. Olsen in this novel is loosely based on Mr. William Butler Ogden. William Butler Ogden was elected Chicago’s first mayor in 1837. He held properties in Peshtigo, Chicago, and New York, and was a man of great influence with many political connections. He was also elected the first president of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1862 and worked tirelessly to extend the railroad from Chicago through Michigan and eventually out West.
WHAT HAPPENED TO NETTIE
Child labor has been a part of societies throughout all human history. It was at an all-tim
e high during the years following the Great Chicago Fire due to the Industrial Revolution. Children were considered useful because their small size allowed them to access areas of machinery or work where adults could not fit. They were also considered more expendable and less expensive than their adult counterparts. By the year 1900, as many as two million children under the age of sixteen were employed in the United States, with half of those children under the age of twelve. Homeless children were at the mercy of strangers and it was not uncommon for them to be preyed upon and sold into various trades such as chimney sweeping, mining, textile mill work, and even rat catching. Tragically, child exploitation still exists today. Though less overt, and now illegal in the United States, it is not unheard of. To learn more, visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at missingkids.org.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS AND PERIODICALS
Bales, Richard F. “Did the Cow Do It?: A New Look at the Cause of the Great Chicago Fire.” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, vol. 90 (1997).
______. The Great Chicago Fire and the Myth of Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc., 2002.
Gess, Denise, and William Lutz. Firestorm at Peshtigo: A Town, Its People, and the Deadliest Fire in American History. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002.
Knickelbine, Scott. The Great Peshtigo Fire: Stories and Science from America’s Deadliest Firestorm. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2012.
Lowe, David Garrard, ed. The Great Chicago Fire: In Eyewitness Accounts and 70 Contemporary Photographs and Illustrations. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1979.
Murphy, Jim. The Great Fire. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1995.
Pernin, Peter. The Great Peshtigo Fire: An Eyewitness Account. 2nd ed. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 1999.
Sawislak, Karen. Smoldering City: Chicagoans and the Great Fire, 1871–1847. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
DOCUMENTS REVIEWED AND REFERENCED
Chicago Evening Journal, October 9, 1871.
Chicago Evening Journal, October 18, 1871.
Chicago Tribune, November 25, 1871.
Union Fireproof Ticket 11th Ward.
Mayor Roswell B. Mason’s handwritten note to release prisoners post-fire, dated October 9, 1871.
Handwritten statement of events from Catherine O’Leary’s testimony before the Chicago Fire Commission Investigative Council.
Death certificate for Catherine O’Leary, showing her age at the time of the fire to be forty-four years old.
WEBSITE
greatchicagofire.org
Also by Tess Hilmo
WITH A NAME LIKE LOVE
SKIES LIKE THESE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tess Hilmo is a writer and an amateur composer who lives in Highland, Utah. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
Author’s Note
Selected Bibliography
Also by Tess Hilmo
About the Author
Copyright
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
An imprint of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC
175 Fifth Avenue, New York 10010
Text copyright © 2016 by Tess Hilmo
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition, 2016
eBook edition, October 2016
mackids.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Hilmo, Tess, author.
Title: Cinnamon moon / Tess Hilmo.
Description: First edition. | New York: Margaret Ferguson Books/Farrar Straus Giroux, 2016. | Summary: “Historical fiction about two siblings and a friend trying to find a new family and a home after the Great Chicago Fire”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015036345 | ISBN 9780374302825 (hardback) | ISBN 9780374302832 (e-book)
Subjects: | CYAC: Great Fire, Chicago, Ill., 1871—Fiction. | Refugees—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Historical / United States / 19th Century. | JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Siblings.
Classification: LCC PZ7.H566 Ci 2016 | DDC [Fic]3—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015036345
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eISBN 9780374302832