Maifest Book Signing with Local Author Phyllis Zatlin

During the Maifest celebration on May 28 & 29, the Jacksonport Historical Society (JHS) will sell their celebrated book series in the JHS booth next to the Erskine Root Cellar, on the west side of Highway 57 at County V.

Of special interest for commemorating American veterans is a small volume, published late last summer, Remembering the Great War: Letters from the Front. Local author Phyllis Zatlin will be on hand from 11 am to 1 pm on Sunday to sign copies of the book that contains writings of her father and three of her uncles.

Brothers Charles and Frank Butler, who were born in Jacksonport, and brothers Joe and Frank Zatlin, who were longtime Jacksonport property owners, were soldiers at the European front during World War I. Their letters to family at home were saved by Ellen Butler Zatlin, who united the two families through her marriage to Frank Zatlin in 1921.

Collectively the four men reveal their patriotism, the horror of war, and concern for their families back home. This brief book provides an interesting picture of their experiences during the Great War and their time in France and/or Germany after the Armistice.

Remembering the Great War: Letters from the Front may be ordered for $7 plus $1.50 postage and handling from JHS at jacksonporthistoricalsociety.org. It is also available at Bley’s Grocery in Jacksonport and Jefferson Street Books in Sturgeon Bay.