Telling the story of Port

Noted children’s book author Barbara Joosse is taking inspiration from her adopted hometown of Port Washington, and it’s reflected in her newest book.

“The Fishermen, the Horse and the Sea” is Joosse’s 55th book, and it’s based on a well-known lake rescue that’s become part of Port’s lore.

The story, told from the eyes of a young Lester Smith, tells of the cargo ship Mary Ludwig, which was caught in a storm in 1895. The Smith family spied the boat as it took on water, and saw two crewmen launch a small rowboat and head to shore.

The boat overturned, and Delos and Herbert Smith set out to rescue the men, but after realizing their boat couldn’t handle the waves they fetched the neighboring Frank family’s horse. The horse loved the lake and reached one of the men in time to rescue him, bringing the soaked crewman back to shore — and safety.  

Joosse’s story begins simply: “Lester was the son of a son of a fisherman. He knew Lake Michigan could be soft as a kitten one day and terrible as a sea monster the next.”

“That is Port Washington,” Joosse said. “In one sentence or two, I am telling the story of Port. It shows the grit. It shows the loyalty. It shows the heritage. It shows the lake, all in one story.”

The book, she said, is a love story for Port Washington.

“I didn’t make it romantic and sweet. That’s not Port Washington,” Joosse said. “I’m from Grafton — they were the brawlers.”

Joosse grew up in Grafton, and for many years lived in Cedarburg. Three years ago, she and her husband C.T. Whitehouse moved to Port.

But, she said, she didn’t move here for the lake.

“I moved here for the views of the town. I love that,” she said from the couple’s condo in the Harbour Lights building at the corner of Main and Franklin streets in downtown Port.

She and her husband have immersed themselves in Port Washington, and Joosse said inspiration is everywhere, from the plethora of local characters to the charm of the community.

“People here are quirky as all get out, and I like that,” she said. “For a writer, you don’t get juicier than this.” 

However, while she moved to Port for the community, Joosse said, “there is no better place for an author than living on a lake. These stories are big stories. They’re crazy fun to write. Some are true and some are made up.”

Port, she said, has affected her in a way Cedarburg never did.

“The history there is that of retailers, of the buildings,” Joosse said. “The history of a city on a big body of water is bigger. It’s life and death, not profit and loss. It’s knowing you built something and it can be destroyed in a minute.”

Since moving to Port, Joosse said she’s published eight books and probably written another eight, as well as three screenplays.

“This is who I am,” she said. “I can’t stop the ideas.”

Joosse said she considers herself a classic storyteller.

“I want to grip you in my tale,” she said.  

In addition to the story itself, she uses language and cadence to express emotions and draw people into her books. 

One thing that some may question is her use of the word sea to describe Lake Michigan. The lake, she noted, is considered an inland sea.

A historical book like this most recent volume is new to Joosse, who noted that because the book was published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, everything in it had to be backed up by facts. So she researched the story, searching through newspaper accounts that gave her a sense of Delos Smith’s voice. 

She also interviewed the late Lloyd Smith, Lester’s son, who set her straight about his family’s history sometimes. For example, Joosse said she wanted to give Delia Smith, Delos’ wife, a greater role, but Lloyd said no, she was a housewife of her time.

And she originally had Lester running to fetch the Frank family horse for the rescue, but Lloyd told her that Delos would never have sent his son for the horse in that situation.

“I am so sad he is not here to see the book,” Joosse said.

In addition to the story of the rescue, the book gives a synopsis of the lives of the members of the Smith family — Delos and Delia and two of their three children, Evelyn and Lester — and includes photos of the family.

Joosse said she was introduced to the story of the rescue and the Frank family horse by the brother-in-law of the book’s illustrator, Renee Graef.

Initially, she said, she didn’t think there was enough of a story for a book.

“When I have an idea, especially if I give up on it, it seems to create a stubborn little seed in my brain,” Joosse said. And sure enough, about a year later she woke up and had the title for the book.

“I ran to my computer and typed up a couple lines,” she said, noting they are the lines that open the book. “I know I’ve got a story if I can do that.”

Then she let the story percolate as she researched the topic and finished other projects she was in the middle of. 

But once she started writing, she doesn’t stop until the story is done, Joosse said.

“By the time I start writing, it goes pretty fast,” she said. “When I start, nothing gets in my way.”

A book, she said, generally takes her three years to complete. The first year, she researches and writes. In year two, she revises the book and works with the illustrator. In the third year, she works with the publisher, continues to edit the document and creates a discussion guide.

As she rolls out her new book, Joosse is at work with her newest story, a collection of six stories dealing with Death’s Door at the tip of Door County that’s told from the point of view of the waterway itself.

“It’s so dangerous there. There are so many lost ships and lives.”

All these stories, she said, came to her because she now lives here in Port.

Joosse will read from her newest book and sign copies at the Port Exploreum at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2. Tickets are free to members of the Port Historical Society and are $5 for nonmembers. To register, visit www.pwhistory.org/events-1/the-pwhs-speaker-series-welcomes-barb-joosse.

Copies of the book will be available for purchase at 10 Port venues throughout October with proceeds going to the Port Historical Society. 

She will also speak and sign books at the Niederkorn Library at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26.