NORKA
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People > Stories > Wildfires

Wildfires

The book Norka: A German Village in Russia by Marie Olson and Anna Reisbick states that in 1884, "There was a raging fire burning in the threshing field. Word was sent to Pastor Wilhelm Stärkel who arrived in his carriage and quickly circled the fire several times while orally reciting a prayer. The fire did not burn beyond the tracks he had made and the nearby fields and granaries were saved."

George Sauer, Sr. who served as Pastor Stärkel's coachman in Norka for three years recalled a similar event that occurred during the harvest season of 1906 when Pastor Stärkel received word that there was an uncontrollable fire raging in the threshing field. 
"When they arrived at the scene, the fire was well underway and fanned by high winds. The amazing fact of the matter was that Rev. Stärkel stopped the fire from spreading to the nearby fields and granaries loaded with grain by orally reciting a prayer as they circled hurriedly around the fire. The fire did not continue to burn beyond the tracks left by the carriage wheels, but instead burned itself out."
Olson and Reisbick recount several other disasters, including two fires in 1872 where much of the village was burned. Johannes Preisendorf states that the 1872 fires were the largest in the history of the colony, destroying four rows of homesteads.
Rev. Wilhelm Stärkel
Photograph of Rev. Stärkel from the book "Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen: Evangelischer Teil" by Joseph Schnurr.
The 1775 Census of Norka reported on a large wildfire in 1771 that destroyed many homes.

Sources

Giesinger, Adam. "A Voice From The Old Country: The Starkel Letters." Trans. Paul G. Reitzer. Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia 2.1 (1979): 60-65. Print.

Olson, Marie Miller and Anna Miller Reisbick. Norka, a German Village in Russia. Denver. 1981. Print.

Preisendorf, Johannes. "Auszüge aus der Chronik der Kolonie Norka an der Wolga." Der Kirchenbote. Date Unknown.
Last updated July 10, 2021.
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About
    • Reviews
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links