Local History Book Revised

A revised large-print edition of Piecing Together the Butler Puzzle, co-authored by Phyllis Zatlin and Joe Klapatch, is available now.

The original book, published by the Jacksonport Historical Society in 2008, was inspired by a postcard collection Ellen Butler Zatlin began in 1907 at age seven. Her daughter, Phyllis Zatlin, would later play with these cards and begin her own postcard collection in the 1940s, before discovering that the messages on the postcards revealed valuable information on her family’s history.

With help from the postcards and memoirs from various family members, Piecing Together the Butler Puzzle reveals what life in Door County was like for 19th-century pioneers and how that lifestyle changed over the years.

The new edition of the book includes color pictures, highlighting family reunions in 2008 and 2023, as well as pictorial postcards from over 100 years ago. It is available at several local stores, including OtherWorlds Books and More, 1 N. 3rd Ave. in Sturgeon Bay; Bley’s Grocery, 6318 state Hwy. 57 in Jacksonport; and Jacksonport Cottage, 6275 state Hwy. 57 in Jacksonport.