Photo: Jacob Gieselman’s add listed him as a dealer in “Pure Drugs and Medicines” as well as “choice family groceries.”

Did you ever hear of Gieselman’s Drug Store? How about Austen’s, Baker’s, Cook & Salisbury, Fuller’s, Mann, Miller or Seeley & Scott Drug Stores? Sandy Creek/Lacona had several drug stores that were found during the research for the Doctor’s book. This book is a very interesting look at the history of local doctor’s and medicine in our town and makes a great holiday gift.

Town of Sandy Creek - Villages of Sandy Creek and Lacona – Doctors, Optometrists, Dentists has been published and is available through the Town Clerk’s/Village Clerk’s office or Historians Office.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

According to popular legend, the fire broke out after a cow - belonging to Mrs. Catherine O'Leary - kicked over a lamp, setting first the barn, then the whole city on fire. People have blamed the Great Chicago Fire on the cow and Mrs. O'Leary, for more than 144 years.

Those who survived the Chicago and Peshtigo fires never forgot what they'd been through; both blazes produced countless tales of bravery and heroism. But the fires also changed the way that firefighters and public officials thought about fire safety. On the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the Fire Marshals Association of North America (today known as the International Fire Marshals Association), decided that the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire should henceforth be observed not with festivities, but in a way that would keep the public informed about the importance of fire prevention.  The commemoration grew incrementally official over the years.

In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925.

The glass case in the meeting room has a display of interesting fire department memorabilia. Stop by.