The Belgian settlement in Door County has many stories from the past, but the person who presents a reenactment of her ancestors' experience and survival during the Great Fire of 1871 may be the most fascinating. Barb Englebert Chisholm of Sturgeon Bay brings her great-grandmother's story to life by portraying her at the Belgian Heritage Center every October when it commemorates the historic fire that decimated Williamsville in southern Door County.  

Chisholm, who grew up in Misere near Brussels, is a fifth-generation Belgian-American who graduated from Southern Door High School in 1964. She graduated from nursing school in Oshkosh and worked 47 years as a registered nurse at Door County Memorial Hospital (now called Door County Medical Center) before her retirement.

A volunteer at the Belgian Heritage Center in Namur, Chisholm has recreated how the Great Fire impacted the Belgian community through the eyes of her great-grandmother, Emmerance Gaspard Englebert.

Chisholm dresses in character while sharing how her ancestors survived the fiery inferno of the Peshtigo Fire by climbing down a well. She wanted to make history more interesting with the portrayal and pay homage to her family's ancestry.

Chisholm often reflects on how the families who survived the fire handled the devastating experience, especially after the blaze in rebuilding the Belgian community.  

 
Staying active in retirement, Chisholm also volunteers with the hospital auxiliary while living in Sturgeon Bay with her husband, Mike. They have three sons and three grandchildren who live in Northeastern Wisconsin.

You can listen to our full interview with Chisholm below.       (photos contributed)