I got to thinking that it has been a long time since we had a campfire. They were a regular occasion when the grandchildren were young. I guess that was our entertainment in those days.

Sometimes we camped out. Sometimes we just had a campfire. They were a lot of fun and the young ones could be there with us to enjoy it. Even when they were babies, we had campfires.

I remember one particular campfire. I think maybe I had been to the hospital gala serving coffee. When I came home the youngest came running across the lot on the corner of the road yelling, “Grandma, Grandma!” He was so happy to see me. This caused a little trouble with the other grandparents who were already there, but oh, well, I was the grandma that was always around so of course I was missed.

Our campfires were held in several spots. First, it was behind the trailer where my son and his family lived. That made it handy for them. Then, it was moved to that spot on the corner. I had plenty of good fire wood so I contributed that. I drove down in the gator with the wood in the back end. That was the way I cleaned out my garage after I removed the wood stove from my kitchen.

When Dick was alive, we used that wood stove as our primary source of heat in the downstairs of our home. We had indoor campfires at that point since we often grilled hot dogs by the stove. Once Dick died, I decided the wood stove needed to go. I was not going to require my children to cut wood for me and keep the chimney clean.

Once my son built his pond our campfires moved to that spot. We would start our fire, then let it die down some while the kids went swimming. Then, we got out our sticks to cook hot dogs and marshmallows. We also had some pie makers. We used those for dessert over the open fire.

I had never had a s’more before I moved over here. I guess they did not do them in the city.

While I enjoy roasted marshmallows, I really do not care for s’mores. Of course, I like the chocolate, too. I just do not like everything together. I remember being at church camp and making banana boats – bananas with chocolate and marshmallows. I did not like those either.

Oh, yes, we had campfires at camp. During the week of camp, we had several campfires. We sang silly songs around the campfires and had some Bible lessons there as well. They were fun. That is where I began to sing the harmony for songs. I just heard it and sang it. I remember going to church camp two different years. It was an experience that I really enjoyed. I liked the crafts best. At night we were allowed to visit the little store to purchase treats. By the way on the nights of the campfires the store was not open.

Back to camping by the pond — we had a lot of good times listening to those bullfrogs that kept me awake the first night of camp. By the second might I was able to sleep through their deep sounds.

One day when we camped, the children caught some fish. My granddaughter wanted to know how to filet them so my son taught her. That night we enjoyed freshly caught fish grilled over an open fire. It tasted so good. Since my daughter does not eat fish, we also roasted some hot dogs and hamburgers. I remember frying potatoes over the fire, too. That night we slept well. Everyone was tired.

One night when just my son’s family and slept out in the tent we had another adventure. My son and I were the first ones up. He had a small device to heat water for coffee that we intended to use.

The only problem was there was no water — except for the flavored water we brought to drink the night before. We decided how bad could it be if we used lemon water. Well, folks, I lived to tell about it, but it was not good.

We dumped it out and went home for breakfast where we had water for coffee.

I think the children have had some campfires, but I was not around. Hey, kids, time for a campfire — if it ever stops raining that is! Hot dogs roasted over the fire sound good!

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.