Venues of Northeastern Wisconsin 2013-2022

By Warren Gerds

In every direction from where you are is a theater where actors act in front of a live audience. This book offers a slice of America – a rich variety of performance places colorfully explored by a professional critic. The story is repeated where people love plays.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Recollection Clips: Town of Brazeau

By Jean Grosse

Read all about the early years in the small Oconto County township of the Town of Brazeau. The land and its rural people is what nurtured its existence. History tells of one- or two-room country schools, local cheese factories, and community stores. Enjoy a stroll into past days of living in the Town of Brazeau.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

98 Days: A True Covid-19 Story

By Douglas Hines

This book is about a 63-year-old man getting Covid-19 in 2020. Spending time in a coma and on a ventilator, 98 total days in the hospital. The persistence and fighting hospital protocols his family went through, with emotions running on a roller coaster ups and downs. With life teetering in the balance, they pushed through the red tape and had a huge hand in my survival. There were things that happened along the way that proved that there is a higher power. The story will suck you in and keep your interest to the end.
 

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

My Journey… Sort Of

By Gary Parrill

In 1968 a little boy is riding his bicycle he is approached by a grown man named Mick, and a dark-haired girl named Starr. He asked the question do you know Jesus as Savior?

Some ten years later, in 1978 that little boy who was riding that bicycle, dating the love of his life will come to know Jesus as Savior at the age of eighteen.

We read in Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (NASB).

I’ve titled this book “My Journey…sort of” God takes us on a great journey for His glory, not for ours. Great is the future and hope that is only found in Him.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Better Off Dead

By Nyoka Hall

Suddenly, emersed in a world saturated in mass psychosis, Better Off Dead is a jolt of truth to help open eyes and encourage hearts for the Glory of God. Take a candid journey through the author's life, and see the faithfulness of Jesus. Be shocked, inspired, and moved to action!

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

The DANIEL J. MORRELL
Lost, But No Longer Forgotten 
by John DeBeck (Author)

  In February 2018, 30 months after the DANIEL J. MORRELL’s lone survivor, Dennis Hale, had passed away, and 15 months after the fiftieth anniversary of the MORRELL’s sinking on Lake Huron on November 29, 1966, Great Lakes marine historian John DeBeck met with Hale’s widow, Barbara, at which point a long, ongoing discussion about what to do with all of the MORRELL related items Hale had collected over 49 years developed into an idea. The idea was to donate all of these items to a museum which would be interested in creating a first-of-its-kind exhibit on the MORRELL and the 29 crewmembers. Executive Director Bruce Lynn, of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, stepped up, and plans developed for an exhibit scheduled to debut in June 2020. DeBeck, whose goal was to help with research for the exhibit, wanted to locate all of the 29 families of the crew—a gargantuan task—but one which could likely provide answers and clues that have never been known about the MORRELL and the wreck. As he went through this process, each answer seemed to create two more questions, and a full-fledged study of the MORRELL bloomed, turning into what affectionately became known as the “MORRELL Project.” It took DeBeck on research trips from coast to coast throughout the United States and Canada. Experts anxiously jumped on board at DeBeck’s request, including men like David Trotter, the famed diver, explorer, and leader of Undersea Research Associates, whose team joined DeBeck for a number of weekend dives and debris field studies of the MORRELL. Vintage ship expert Bruce Halverson from Fincanteri Marine Group took data that was discovered by DeBeck and the URA team and did extensive analysis with other shipping experts. Dozens of other professionals also added to the project. Much as DeBeck suspected, and was confirmed by research, the Coast Guard Board of Inquiry report was highly inaccurate, as brittle steel was not the cause of the breakup of the MORRELL. He also uncovered facts that people lied during their testimony during the Board of Inquiry, and long suspected that there were cover-ups as well. Never before has any author gone so far as to interview each family of a Great Lakes wreck, get the stories of the crew and their loved ones, search far and wide for documentation, and do the type of analysis done to give honest answers and better postulations about the third largest wreck in Great Lakes history, and the largest ever on Lake Huron. Yet, the story is not done, as more research and data is being conducted to find additional answers and hopefully prove some of the other theories that are postulated herein.

Peshtigo Fire Survivors

By Diane Nichols

In the late 1990s the author, an Oconto County resident, discovered an old book of first-person accounts regarding the Peshtigo Fire. She wondered how much area people really knew about this disaster and if they realized how people lived and died in it. The result was the creation of two stories from women who survived the fire, one living in Peshtigo, newly married with a baby, and the other living in the Sugar Bush area. Though originally developed as monologues for groups of students and others interested in the fire, they are now printed here for those interested in survivors of one of the worst natural disasters in our nation’s history.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

JOHN & ALMIRA VOLK
Early Pioneers of Northeast Wisconsin Revised
by Diane Nichols (Author)

    John and Almira Volk came from New York to the mid-West in the mid-1800s. Never staying in one place longer than three years, they moved fourteen times in thirty years before finally settling in Oconto Falls in northeast Wisconsin in 1861 with their eight children.

    Almira’s autobiography, written at age eighty-seven, tells of their many journeys and homes as they lived in Chicago, Kewaunee, Racine, Kansas, and finally Oconto Falls. John’s journal and writings give us a view of an early lumberman, temperance supporter, long-time Methodist, and community activist with a pioneer spirit. These writings give us a glimpse of common folks from the nineteenth century who chose to show us their world.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

A History of Oconto Falls–Volume II: 1901-1910 
by Diane Nichols (Author)

  Like many towns in northern Wisconsin, Oconto Falls began as a sawmill site in 1845. Having the Oconto River run through it, however, gave it additional advantage as that river also fell over a falls of considerable height. Water power was free power back then so when a rail line was built through the town, businessmen saw the potential for larger prospects. Almost immediately a new company, the Falls Mfg. Co., was formed that began making wood pulp; by the 1890s paper was added. Over the next century and into the twenty-first, a paper mill of some sort has made Oconto Falls its home. This history is explored in some detail and with accompanying photos, tells the story of one town’s major industry from 1845 to 2019.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

The Mills at the Falls 
by Diane Nichols (Author)

  Like many towns in northern Wisconsin, Oconto Falls began as a sawmill site in 1845. Having the Oconto River run through it, however, gave it additional advantage as that river also fell over a falls of considerable height. Water power was free power back then so when a rail line was built through the town, businessmen saw the potential for larger prospects. Almost immediately a new company, the Falls Mfg. Co., was formed that began making wood pulp; by the 1890s paper was added. Over the next century and into the twenty-first, a paper mill of some sort has made Oconto Falls its home. This history is explored in some detail and with accompanying photos, tells the story of one town’s major industry from 1845 to 2019.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Green Thumb: Biblical Thinking in the Church That Keeps Faith in the Father

By Joe Humrichous

Is there a way to put the message in one sentence so that we branch-leaders can rest and sing in the midst of troubled times that are being allowed by our faithful Father-husbandman?

I think there is. Here it is. When God can't be understood, He can be embraced by faith. That makes Him very happy and allows us to sing.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Lead Pastor: Biblical Thinking in the Church that
Keeps Jesus in the Lead 
by Joe Humrichous

  In her book, "Beholding and Becoming," Ruth Chou Simons succinctly says, "What we chase shapes our race." This book is designed to help the local church chase after Jesus by thinking biblically about the Christ-Church relationship.Before the foundation of the world God ordained the church, Jesus then bought Her with His own blood, and then sent the Holy Spirit to be with her always. To this very hour He "knocks" with a heart to be our first love and welcomed guest.While church ministry may have many dimensions, it has only one driver–intimacy with Jesus. An acrostic for A.B.I.D.E as mentioned in John 15 could be: "Affectual Biblical Intimacy Drives Everything."
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

A Herculean Task: Teachers Making a Difference 
by Sue H. Baker Ed.D. (Author), R. Drew Baker (Author)

  We can all relate to school teachers, but mothers, fathers, grandparents, neighbors, friends, and many others invest their time as teachers. Students are available in a variety of ways and in an assortment of situations, it’s what is done with the students that makes the difference. The authors have chosen twelve labors of Hercules that will challenge, encourage, and instruct the reader to embrace their role as a teacher. The twelve labors of Hercules are instructive, and his methods and tactics will help with the daily labors every teacher faces.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Seeing for the First Time – A Child's Unexpected Visions 
by Bill Jo Collette 

  My journey began with a visitation from a spirit that was very near and dear to my heart. With the help of my mom and others, I have grown not only as a spiritual communicator but also as a person. I wrote this book to share my experiences with the world, show and encourage children that they aren't crazy, and explain to parents how important it is for them to listen and support their child as they try to figure “things” out. I talk about what I did to learn more about my gift, whom I turned to for help along the way, and give crystal children and their parents the proper tools to understand and begin to pave their own path as they start their spiritual journey. Sudden experiences like my first can make the start a bit rocky and scary, but once learning how to control and use the gift to its fullest potential, having the power to communicate with the other side is truly a blessing.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

OVERWHELMED: Mitchell's Memoir 
by the Minor Family 

  Mitchell Lee Minor was born October 6, 1989, at Wurtsmith Air Force Base (AFB), Michigan. The minute Mitchell was born, the doctor noticed he had a slightly smaller head than normal. It was another six months before doctors knew for sure something was wrong. One week later, Mitchell’s initial diagnosis became microcephaly (small head) because his head and brain were growing slower than his body, causing his now obvious developmental delays. Mitchell’s diagnosis was only the beginning of the Minor family’s journey that would span nearly three decades.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Together We Cried 
by Granda Lea Chambers

  Discover the God who hears when we cry!This Warrior child of ours endured great suffering both in the theatre of war in Iraq, and unbelievably in our nation's finest military hospitals and VA as he fulfilled his sacred call of duty to his country during the Iraq surge of 2007. May our story of God breathed miracles and heartbreaking sorrows encourage you to cry out to Him in your day of trouble. Never forget the sacrifices made by these heroes continue long after their uniforms are replaced by civilian attire and follow them like their shadow for the length of their days. Their stories must be told and preserved for historical value for they reveal the Warrior heart of those who defend America and the Republic for whom they served.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

The Vine and the Church 
by Joe Humrichous 

  This book is my attempt to answer the question, “How can I allow Christ to build His church and still maintain responsible leadership?” It is my love offering for Christ to set forth the idea that the essence of revival is “Jesus Christ obviously present and actively in charge.” The Kingdom of God advances both incrementally and in seasons of extraordinary providential outpourings.Practicing Christ’s presence and submitting to His authority as a ministry lifestyle prepares the way for sovereign visitations. We draw near to Him and He draws near to us. It also serves to follow up His movements with a stewardship of His activity within the church which ends in evangelism. I have included points of personal breakthrough along the way which keeps the process meaningful.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

La VID y la IGLESIA: Siete mayordomías para el avivamiento
(Spanish Edition)

By Joe Humrichous

his book is my attempt to answer the question, "How can I allow Christ to build his church and still maintain responsible leadership?" This is my love offering to Christ, to expound the idea that the essence of revival is "Jesus Christ obviously present and actively in charge."

The Kingdom of God advances in two ways, incrementally and in seasons of extraordinary providential outpouring. Practicing Christ's presence and submitting to his authority as a lifestyle of ministry paves the way for sovereign visitations. We move closer to him and he moves closer to us. And he also helps us to follow his movements with administration of his activity within the church that ends in evangelism. I have included personal discovery points along my path that keep the process meaningful.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Pray with Christ 
by Oliver W. Price 

  Today’s typical, lifeless prayer meetings are not preparing Christians for these difficult times. Many Christians long to see this changed but don’t know where to begin. Pastor Oliver Price shows us how our churches can claim the presence of Christ in corporate prayer and trust Him to take charge — to change us, to use us, and to meet our every need with power.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

The Tormented Life of a Government Assassin

By Ronald Hoffman

The author twists parts of real life and fiction together, allowing the reader to determine for themself what the truth is. In 1969 Jayce Morgan is approached by a man who informs him that his government needs his assistance. The unwilling Peterson has no alternative. It’s a secret he must carry with him for the rest of his life.

This book will transport you on his missions around the world assassinating people whose names have long been forgotten over time. Only historians may remember the events that take place within the pages of this book.

Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Play Your Way
by Jenevieve Woods 

  Not long ago, near a pond covered with snow, lived a family of ducks named Peach, Duckie, and Mama. Peach was a princess in a red dress with white dots, and she always had a big bow on top of her head. Duckie loved baseball and always wore a cap with a big visor. Peach and Duckie were twins, but when Peach was born, she was very, very small. Her legs and wings didn’t grow strong like Duckie’s. Peach would hobble around as best as she could, but her legs and wings did not work as well as they should. “Hmm,” thought Mama. “I must think of a snow adventure, fast! The nearby pond ....”
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Peach: Celebrating Live in the Shadow of Death

by Jenevieve Woods 

  PEACH – written in lyrical, soulful prose and poetry by Jenevieve ‘Peach’ Woods – is a heartfelt account of her life as the invisible girl, shunned because she is afflicted with a life-altering disease. Her book is part of her mission to ‘celebrate our differences, and to treat each other with kindness and dignity’. Ms. Woods’ book demonstrates wisdom, compassion, and insight into the human condition that is far beyond her eighteen years. She praises her mom for being her hero, her stepfather for being her rock, and her brothers for being her soul mates. She accepts the life granted her with grace and even gratitude: ‘HERE IS THE GREAT PART: I am glad I have this disease, mostly because I have come to understand and have discovered the meaning in my life. It is to help others. I have a unique set of glasses that I wear that gives me the power to see everybody’s soul and their truest self.’
Published via The Expressive Press

My Poems are Yours: The Poetic Soliloquies of Hope and Courage

by Jenevieve Woods 

  This is the second - and, one can hope, surely a bridge to the third - of books authored by Jenevieve (Peach) Woods, a remarkable teen who lives with a disease that alters her life in profound ways and could shorten it as well. She conveys, in heartfelt prose and in soulful poetry, her message of courage and hope, her call for universal acceptance and equality of all people, her love of family and others in her support group, and her deep appreciation of the beauty that surrounds her.
  The book is her gift to you of dreams and reassurance without a hint of the despair that ordinary mortals might feel given similar circumstances.
Published via The Expressive Press

The Event
by Laurence Dunn

  What happened to my father (Stan) five decades after his death in 1966 is called “The Event”. To explain, Stan did go to heaven after his death, but broke all the rules and misbehaved so badly that God had no other choice but to send him back to Earth. He needed to be rehabilitated! Stan’s path to get back into heaven is to do major good deeds on Earth. He has one year to comply or go to hell.

  My big problem is that God sent him back to me. How does a 72-year-old son handle a 53-year-old father?

  “The Event” has everything… Humor, nostalgia, fiction, mystery and suspense ….

  Email lardia@att.net to request/order a copy today.

Gnome Home No More
by Joy Bashara

  How do you find out who you are? Eilert and Karin have found something which will help them find his home. Can you tell what it is? Do you have some documents that tell you about yourself? Have you seen them?

​  Follow Eilert on his journey to Norway to uncover some information about his family.

  This is a great book for kids in grades 3-6. Check it out today!

Who Else is Listening?
by Kay Williams

  Texas University Student, Tara Hutchins, unknowingly stumbled into a world of treachery, deceit, and terrorism on her immaculate manicured and picturesque college campus in Austin,Texas. Fear has gripped the heart of Tara as her very life hangs in the balance. Death and destruction seem to surround her and those she loves. Fleeing for her life has changed Tara in ways she would have never imagined.

Real, Honest Sailing With a Great Lakes Captain
by Warren Gerds

  This book is a form of autobiography. The book is written by Warren Gerds in the voice of Captain Gary Schmidt based on 30 recorded interviews and conversations with the captain. Some of the chapters are stand-alone stories. Captain Schmidt sailed all over the Great Lakes during his long career. He made his home in Allouez when he was not off sailing.

Three Miles Past Lost and in the Pickers 
by Warren Gerds

   A pine seedling in a century-old stump, bears, plays, ticks and tickets, newsprint, digital imagery, deadfall, TV scripts, turkey vultures, symphonies and show tunes, blackberry picking, computers, a snake in the kitchen, publishing, one-liners, chainsaws and chaps, “Romeo and Juliet” and “Guys on Ice,” Teleprompters, howling at wolves, wireless microphones, soaring eagles, reviews by the hundreds, and live reports from the Dead Cow Farm.
   Enter the world of George, who writes. George works in reality and in his imagination. And he takes photos. The blend is dynamic.
   George is the alter ego of Warren Gerds, one of Wisconsin’s particularly prolific journalists. First for a newspaper and now for a CBS-TV affiliate, Warren has written upwards of 10,000 byline stories and columns. There is more to tell and show – as in these pages.

Nickolaus and Olive – a naïve opera (in words) 
by Warren Gerds
  The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 sets the story of two people in motion. The dashing Nickolaus sees his aspirations smashed by his foolhardiness. The impassioned Olive sees her castles in the air toppled like a house of cards. Though they are caught up by the fire, it will be in another place when they will feel its impact on their lives. Author Warren Gerds, a theater critic, takes the reader by imagine to an evening at the theater during which "Nickolaus and Olive" is the world premiere event filled with touching and wildly comic experiences.

Of Silken Waters 
by Denise Ryan
  Denise Ryan’s poetry has appeared in THE SHOp, Crannog Magazine and the Lakeview International Journal of Literature and Arts, in addition to inclusion in the 2012 anthology Prose on a Bed of Rhyme published by Swan Press. Her poetry was also shortlisted and runner-up in the 2012 Francis Ledwidge and Jonathan Swift poetry competitions, as well as contributing two poems to the National Famine Commemoration, one of them read in Dublin and at the twinning commemorative event in New York City in 2010. She is a long-term member of the Rathmines Writers Workshop.

All By Design
by Andy Harkleroad

  Women’s roles in a church setting have been a growing point of tension in some settings. This short read will hopefully dispel some of that tension as we see from Scripture what God intended for His church. We need to be really careful not to let the culture, whether in the church or out of the church, dictate our conclusions on the matter. The contents of this booklet are captured in the title, All By Design, as I endeavor to show the difference between pragmatism and what God intended. I also hope this book communicates a humble approach to the issue, knowing that we will not all agree 100% on everything.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

All That Jesus Commanded
by Andy Harkleroad

  In the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20, we find the phrase, “Teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” Churches can be perfect in their evangelical efforts to reach the lost; but often, churches fail to follow up with the discipleship process. All That Jesus Commanded was written with the purpose of cutting through all of the opinions of man and concentrate on the true commands of Jesus. It is my prayer that this book will encourage people to live the Christian life under the authority of Jesus Christ and not confuse His commands with church dogma crafted by men.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

All the World is Junior High
by Andy Harkleroad

  SOCIAL VALIDATION is a major factor in our daily lives. Many bad decisions are made on a regular basis as we clamor for attention. People wreck their lives, families, and reputations as they try to fill a “God-sized hole” in their being.

  Only when one recognizes the need for and embraces the sufficiency of Christ in his or her life will they find freedom from this endless, empty pursuit. It is my hope that this book will first of all expose the reader to his true desire for social validation. Secondly, that the reader would develop a Christ-centered purpose for his life. And finally, give him insight as to the “why” others say and do the things they do.
Also available in eBook via Amazon.

Through the Righteousness of Faith
by Mike Hohenstein

  Righteousness is to a Christian what a robe is to a king:
a covering that identifies its bearer as belonging to royalty.  But unlike a king’s robe, the Christian’s righteousness is not fashioned by any man. It cannot be earned by merit. It is a gift purchased by Jesus Christ so that He could bring us to God. The gift cannot be received through our own efforts, but only through the righteousness of faith. May the pages of this book lead you to that Righteousness.

  Email info@fbccovington.net to request/order a copy today.