Somewhat shy, perhaps a little frightened, a dozen children huddled with their teacher at the back of a full sanctuary. They had just returned from the church yard where they had been working in God’s Garden. They stood quietly (as carefully instructed) tentatively scanning the crowd to locate their parents. One little boy, perhaps six, suddenly broke from the group and darted down to the front of the center aisle. At the end of his parents’ row, he screeched to a halt, triumphantly held a zip lock baggie high in the air and, face beaming, shouted, yes shouted, “We got beans!”

A few years back, a retired elementary teacher, Dee Hoffman, built that raised “God’s Garden” outside our church building. She dreamt of little ones being active and learning while their parents participated in Sunday worship. That summer, children started in worship with their families, heard a kids’ message and then went out to work in the soil. There they learned about the loving Creator and the beloved creation. As the weeks of summer went along, hopeful, expectant, they prepared the soil, planted the seeds, watered, and weeded. Then finally, on this Sunday, it was time for the harvest.

In his delight, our little friend shouted, “We got beans!” The sanctuary filled with laughter as all the other children moved to find family and place.

He wasn’t excited about ice cream, candy, or pop. He held no expensive toy or gadget. That little guy maybe didn’t even know beans are good for us. He maybe didn’t remember beans are not his favorite vegetable. Somehow a little seed, some dirt, water, and sunshine had put into his hands something to feel good about. Something he was a part of. Something to feed his family. No matter how dark the world might have been that day, he was glad to have beans.

At our house, despite having many reasons not to bother, my wife, Jennifer, faithfully plants a small garden every year. There are many obstacles to success. Sandy soil. No cow manure. Deer, rabbits, squirrels, mice, birds—everybody is looking for something to eat. Weeds, bugs, slugs, hornets—you know the challenges.

So, this year, our harvest included six apples, three cucumbers, and beans, lots and lots of beans. The beans always seem to thrive. In addition, we gathered, perhaps a small basket full of the other vegetables—potatoes, peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, onions and two tiny pumpkins—only a small taste from each of these. But enough beans to can! Beans are not my favorite vegetable. The Honeycrisp apples, from a young tree, and the cucumbers were amazing. Everything else gone, we will still be eating beans through the winter. Year after year, we have gotten mixed results. Yet each spring she plants again, seeds of hopefulness.

This was a tough summer for our world, 2020. Drought. Fires. Hurricanes. Flooding. Pandemic. Lock-down. Unemployment. Homelessness. Racism. Lies. Dishonor. Fear-mongering. Hatred. Violence. Armed vigilantes. Fighting over masks meant to keep people safe. No respect. Anything goes. One might consider giving up.

After the kids returned, that morning, to the sanctuary and their families, beans safely tucked away, we all gathered around The Lord’s Table and had some bread and wine. Fruits of the creation from the Creator. Can seeds of hope and life-giving community still be planted? World far from perfect, very much broken, fearful—is it worth trying to see if, together, we can still grow some beans? Something to feel good about. Something to be a part of. Something to sustain our family, our world?

We have threatening men carrying assault rifles, long lines at unemployment centers and food shelves, rampant racism, and injustice, raging pandemic—terrible harvest. But we still have the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. We can still vote. Speak our piece. Talk with our neighbors. Pray. Then work together for the good of all. We have in our hands something to feel good about. Something we are a part of. Something we can use to feed our families. The little boy showed us. We got beans. (Taken from “Who Will Carry the Fire? More Reflections from a North Woods Lake.”)

When you have a good friend, you know what makes him tick, and why. CAMPFIRE IN THE BASEMENT contains all the “whats” and the “whys: that helped form author Darrell Pedersen and what makes him tick.

The ‘whats’ include lakes, woods and rivers, his family, his experiences, his loves, and his private tragedies. His “whys” are a list of motivations that drove this mischievous little dickens into becoming a sensitive human being, willing and able to share his “whats” and “whys” in words that elicit warmth, humor, and love. And, through it all, the silent work of God has woven his life.

Well done, good friend Darrell Pedersen!

Charlie Johnson
Music Teacher, Pillager High School, Retired

Campfire in the Basement: Reflections from a Northwoods Lake is a captivating

memoir of childhood stories supported by previous generations’ values, hard work, and life’s lessons.

Told through the eyes of “the little dickens” with authentic descriptive detail, this journey is woven with love throughout generations of family, community, and the world.

Readers will relate to the simplicity of growing up in the 50’s on Eire Lake in rural northern Minnesota along with stoic Scandinavian immigrant relatives. These reflections truly embrace recurring themes throughout the author’s predecessors’ lives, his own life, and the lives of his grandchildren: learn from disappointments or consequences (e.g., ruined cherished cowboy boots, poked holes in a screen door, or leaving the class goldfish over a holiday break). “Get an education,” and care for the critters and our natural world.

After laughing out loud and tearing up reading these stories, I found myself wanting to say, “Tell me another story!”

Patsy Ophaug

Special Education Teacher, Northfield Elementary School, Retired

Darrell Pedersen’s Campfire in the Basement takes us to a place in our midwestern soul where a bowl of steaming tomato soup is being served with a side of grilled cheese on a cold, winter’s night. The folklore of fishing at the lake, believing in monsters under the bed, and having a teacher that made us squirm, yet gets credit for our character formation isn’t just for one age group of listeners. The Great Depression seared some cellular memory into one generation that became the DNA in all its descendants. Campfire in the Basement takes some of our connected experiences and, just at the last moment, something not so common is thrown in.

Each telling of a story comes from a personal perspective. Pedersen’s tales flow out of a daily observation of his life, as it evolved in Northern Minnesota. With a soft, yet direct voice, he unrolls his magic carpet and you step on board, riding through small town football games, cowering with your family while a storm blows overhead, or enjoying a penny candy at a mercantile.

Depending on your generation, you will have heard similar stories or find yourself telling them, but Pedersen’s stories have a twist. A Campfire – in the basement. An assignment to read Silent Spring leads to environmental awareness. A scholarship for a full ride in college ends up changing his direction away from the prize. Without giving up details, I’ll just say that, this preacher presents his collection without being preachy. It is a joy to read. Maybe it will encourage you to tell your stories, too.

Janet E. Kurtz
Spanish Professor, Central Lakes College – Brainerd, Retired
Author of Northern Shores Southern Borders – Revelations of a Bilingual Life

I’m fortunate to have had a ringside seat as Campfire in the Basement came into being over the past fifteen years. I initially met Darrell Pedersen at a workshop and have been part of a small circle of writers as he created some of the stories included in this impressive collection. You may not know Darrell as I do—or at all—yet I’m sure you’ll feel as if you’ve gained a close friend as you read this book. His devotion to honest and empathetic writing is evident, and these are the qualities of a deep friendship after all.

Through his stories, Darrell helps us understand the dynamics of his childhood family and its heritage. He recalls his conflicted emotions as he watched his father shoot a black bear at his childhood Minnesota home. He describes the guilt he carries after taking a small polished agate from an unsuspecting merchant’s stall without paying for it.

Darrell remembers such things and more—and he cares. We readers get a sense from Campfire in the Basement that he cares for us too. He invites us to join him around a small Northwoods campfire where “even eternity comes to visit” us—if we only give it the time.

Steve Robert Simmons
Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
Who Publishes Personal Essays Here

Darrell Pedersen’s Campfire in the Basement: Reflections from a North Woods Lake will entertain and charm you.

You will laugh out loud as, nearly naked, Darrell chases squirrels from his bird feeder on a late-winter morning. Your heart will stir when you stand with Darrell on the bank of the Artichoke River as his dad reveals a romantic secret. But there’s more. A stolen agate will remind you that as an adult, you must speak up about injustice and about the need to care for creation. The arrival of winter birds will help you appreciate the changing seasons, but will also remind you that we all need to care for each other all the way through to the winters of our lives.

So go ahead. Take this trip with Darrell. Just know that, having done so, you will be changed. His irresistible, self-deprecating wit will entice you to seek out grace in your own life–those unearned blessings bestowed upon you by the people you love. And you will see and feel the world around you with newly discovered and abundant gratitude.

Katy Perry
Writer and Retired Teacher and education advocate, who is working on her own memoir.

As in his first book, we find the author’s theme centered around memories of growing up in the rural North Woods of Minnesota. Many of these memories involved stories sitting around campfires. This book goes beyond the effect of a warming campfire. It immerses us in memories and stories that will warm our hearts. We are allowed to visit the author’s childhood through a celebration of a life full of God, creation and the happiness found in the love of family and friends.

There are memorable pictures and letters written of and from family throughout the book. We are even given a recipe for a delicious Swedish rye bread. But after reading the stories and memories of the author’s life in the North Woods, we find that we have been given another recipe – a recipe for a great life – one filled with the ingredients of a love of God, love of family and friends and sprinkled with a bit of humor. Thank you for another heart-warming experience!

Rick ZumBrunnen

Architect, Retired

A collection of short stories all of which encourages us to “do the right thing.”

Especially enjoyed the Ojibwe stories of work, survival, love for their family and care for creation, a lot like our own! The travesty they were subjected to by our government was never covered in Minnesota history classes! It also explains the perfect title “Who Will Carry the Fire?”

Sid Johnson

Central Lakes College Machine Trades/Metal Working Instructor, Retired
Brenda Johnson

Brainerd Public School District Administrative Assistant, Retired

Lucky YOU, dear Reader! You’ve been invited to sit at Darrell’s campfire and listen as he generously shares the wisdom and gratitude that arise from his love of family and of the good earth. You’ll feel almost a part of the Pedersen clan as you listen to stories of hard work and survival along with times of celebration and thanksgiving. Laugh along with him as he humbly tells of mistakes and achievements. Feel the awe as he describes north-woods adventures and tales of harvesting the gifts of the forest. Be warmed at the campfire as Darrell tells of his years as son, young husband, father, pastor, co-grandparent, retiree, volunteer, keeper of memories. Sit alongside him as he speaks of his losses and his strong faith in the Creator. Be inspired by his deep awareness of the spirits of those who came before us and his gratitude for friendships with those who are still with us. Join with Darrell in his commitment to carry on the protection of Creation that our indigenous cousins teach us. This book is a love song to Minnesota. Enjoy your time of listening and learning around Darrell’s campfire!

Lolly Kalinoski

Medical Transcriptionist, Retired

Who Will Carry the Fire? is a wonderful sequel to Darrell’s first book, Campfire in the Basement. In both books, Darrell is true to his word when he speaks about his stories being heartfelt, open and positive. His descriptive words paint images in my mind as I read. He reminds me “How powerful the sharing of stories can be. Your stories and mine – stories of history, community and hope.” Playing on his metaphor of fire, Darrell also writes: “Since the days when the earliest people used fire to cook precious food and to defend their group from marauding predators, I am convinced, we humans still need the support of each other, of community, of fire to provide for us and to drive back the things that threaten in our own lives. And to be hopeful for the future. We need each other.” His personal stories and the words of wisdom that he has gleaned from his life experiences invite me to reflect on my own follies and foibles, strengths and shortcomings and to discover there is much to learn, to share and to celebrate.

Jerry Friest

ELCA Hospital Chaplain, Retired