“A small hamlet sprang into being
in 1879, eventually it was named Cameron by Colonel George W. Ginty,
in honor of Hon. Angus Cameron United States Senator from Wisconsin
for many years. The location was in the old Town of Rice Lake which
was created in 1874. Old Cameron was located 1 ½ miles south of the
present site of Cameron at what was known as Holman's crossing.”
pp. 63-64
…
“When the Soo Line started to
build East and West from a point one and a half miles north of Old
Cameron there was consternation in the village, some of the people
wanted to move up to the junction and others wanted to stay put.
Eventually everyone decided to move.” p. 64
“The History of Cameron” by Mr.
& Mrs. Ray Burton, chapter 4 of Pages from the Past: An
early history of Chetek and surrounding communities by
Hazel Calhoun (1971)
A week ago today, I
drove eight miles north of Chetek to spend the day in the village of
Cameron. Just as I had in Prairie Farm a few weeks before (see Prairie Farm Prayer Journey),
my purpose for coming was essentially to wait on the Lord and pray
for this community. But unlike Prairie Farm where I was unacquainted
with that community, I am fairly familiar with this small town. In
our early years in Chetek, our two oldest who had learning
disabilities received good and quality care at the Early Education
program run out of Cameron Elementary. One of the first pastors in
our area that I became introduced to was Pastor Wayne Hall of
Abundant Life Church on Museum Road. He reached out to me and invited
me to his weekly Tuesday prayer gathering for pastors. Over the years
I have attended various services at Abundant Life or participated in
county wide prayer events led by Pastor Hall. While the Cameron
Prayer Bank was in operation, we held a couple of prayer retreats at
that facility. Some of the kids from our fellowship's youth group
have been students in the Cameron School District. And frankly, not a
week goes by when either myself or members of my family pass through
Cameron on our way to work or shop in Rice Lake. All this to say that
at the onset I was aware of the need for greater discernment as I
engaged in prayer for this small town.
Just going by
appearances, Cameron has a very different feel than Prairie Farm.
There is no “Welcome to Cameron” or “The Churches of Cameron
Welcome You” sign (later in the day I did find a very small city
sign that did welcome people to the village but it was on a street
that, compared to Highway SS or Highway W, is seldom rode upon and
therefore hardly noticeable.) Here is a community three times as
large as Prairie Farm but the welcome mat apparently is not out. My
first stop on my day long journey was Guy Speirs Park, a small
community park located on the west side of Cameron on Cranberry Creek
just as you are leaving town. Unlike Pioneer Park of Prairie Farm,
this has all the trappings of a small town park. A pathetic looking
swing and slide placed a couple of hundred feet from a swampy area.
The grass was long. No flag adorned the small monument raised by the
VFW. While their shelters are clean and look like they have been
constructed in the last 10 years or so, when I went to use the mens
room I was greeted by two snakes who had crawled in under the
entrance door. Taken as an aggregate, this park and by extension,
this town, has the look and feel of neglect and decay. Much like the
creek flowing through the park which is ringed with algae, the
village has the feel of a community that has seen better days.
For
several years I have been struck by the apparent disunity or, at the
very least, disconnect of the different fellowships of Cameron. There
are three Lutheran fellowships – St. John's (Missouri Synod), Faith
(ELCA) and Living Waters (ELCA), four congregations in the
Pentecostal/evangelical tradition - Abundant Life, Towering Pines
Community (Assembly of God), Good Samaritan Ministries and Highway
Gospel - and St. Peter's Catholic Church. At one time, there was a
Methodist congregation here (a two-point parish the other being
Chetek) but that has been closed for many years. A Baptist fellowship
in the separatist tradition moved in but they have since disbanded.
The building sits empty now and up for sale. A group connected with
the Methodist Church did try to begin afresh a couple of years ago
(calling themselves Cranberry Creek) but I believe that effort, too,
has ceased. A few years ago a family purchased the old Cameron Bank,
remodeled it and opened up what they simply referred to as the
Cameron Prayer Bank. For several years they were open on Wednesday
nights and on every 11th
of the month from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (on the basis of their persuasion
that America was in its 11th
hour) and some of us from the Chetek area would gather there to pray.
But they closed up shop last year and have since moved on. From an
outsider's perspective, there seems to be something in the water that
is choking off new faith ventures. While I may be incorrect on this,
I do not believe there is much cooperation between the active
fellowships in this community.
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| Guy Speirs Park looking north |
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| Contrary to appearances, the water is flowing |
I think the phrase
that best sums up my impression of Cameron from my day of prayer
there is that it seems to be a city of contradictions: they boast a
beautiful new Middle School and plans are in the work for a much
needed elementary school. Mosaic, a local telephone, internet and
cable company built their headquarters here not too long ago. St.
Peter's Catholic is a gem of a facility to visit. Rausch-Lundeen
Funeral Home is also a relatively new beautiful facility. And just a
few years ago, the citizens of Cameron dedicated their new public
library and community center. Sitting in Guy Speirs Park I am struck
by the fact that you are never out of earshot of the din of traffic –
people passing on Highway W/Main Street traveling to or from Barron,
the roar of traffic on Highway 53 just west of the city limits or on
Highway 8 just south of Cameron or the steady stream of vehicles
passing north and south on Highway SS. So many people pass through or
around this little burb every day but how many live here? How many
have placed roots here and are seeking the shalom of the city that
they now call home? The homes on Main Street (I mean the old ones)
are beautiful and ornate. Chetek has nothing to compare with it but
for all these signs of promise – the new construction, the flow of
traffic, the growth in the population (nearly 2,000 as of the last
census), I was left with feeling of stagnancy much like the Cranberry
Creek flowage passing through the park.
 |
| There's treasure in Cameron |
I had brought my
GPS unit along and knew there was a geocache in the park. I quickly
found it and was struck by what I found in the cache: a pocket New
Testament. I immediately sensed the Lord say, “There is treasure in
Cameron.” That find put me in a different frame of mind and for the
rest of the day I was in search of that treasure. I pulled out my
Bible and re-read my devotional reading from that morning – Luke
12:49-59. It's the passage where Jesus sets the record straight: He's
not here to make nice with everyone nor help everyone to make nice
with each other. He's here to make trouble – to make a person
choose are you for him or against him. He chides his audience for
being willfully ignorant. “You can read the signs for a change in
the weather, why can't you read the signs of what you see?” (see v.
56). He then warns them to repent before it's too late. It's not what
I would refer to as “feel-good” devotional reading. He doesn't
want to put us in a contemplative mood. He wants to unleash a hive of
bees among us. Sitting in the shelter at Guy Speirs Park I read that
aloud over the city and then walked out to the southern most point of
the park to pray where I made a discovery: though it appears entirely
stagnant, Cranberry Creek's water is flowing steadily. So out on that
point I prayed for Cameron to respond to the Lord while there still
is time and then prayed for the Church of Jesus in this community as
well as for the pastors and shepherds who lead her. I prayed that
wherever there was a sense of stagnancy, the water would flow again
in their individual lives as well as in the congregations they
pastor.
I then drove west
out of town to Rudolf Road and turned into the new subdivision where
I had run a year or so ago on a cold, winter morning. In this
neighborhood of new homes there is a small park and boat landing on
the Cameron Flowage. Unlike Guy Speirs, Babe & Phyl Park is
nicely kept up and better equipped with playground equipment. But it
must not be used much as their seems to be lots of green weeds
growing in the sand where kids should be playing. I walked down to
the Flowage to find the next cache there and pray for awhile at one
of the picnic tables that are located in a nicely maintained area
along the lake. According to the DNR website, the Cameron Flowage is
a 59-acre lake that looks more like a stagnant river than anything
else. Great globs of algae fill every bay. Where the public dock is I
noticed two forlorn bobbers that must have been cut loose by
frustrated fisherman. I was able to fish one out and it sits now on
my desk as a mnemonic device to pray for every pastor in Cameron,
every frustrated laborer who has been discouraged because of their
lack of a catch. I prayed for each of them that they would cast
again. The DNR assures anglers that there are panfish, largemouth
bass and northern pike out there. Jesus assures us that the harvest
remains unharvested and in need of more hands for the work.
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| I caught that one and it now sits on my desk as a reminder to pray |
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| Looking at the Flowage caused me to ask, "Where's the flow?" |
Looking at that
gross, murky water that I wouldn't even dare to wade in, I was
inspired to read Ezekiel 47:1-12 and so read it over the Flowage but
especially v. 10: “...so where the river flows everything will
live.” I prayed again that wherever things are stagnant and murky
and slimy that the river of God would flow fresh to renew the heart
of the Church in Cameron.
 |
| Abundant Life Church |
A third cache is
located at Johnson's Landing on the Red Cedar River west of Cameron
but there were way too many people at the take out area so I drove
back across the river and into Abundant Life Church's parking lot to
see if Pastor Wayne was around. I was fortunate to find him home
cutting his lawn. We visited for awhile. Pastor Wayne shared with me
that 2011 was a tough year for him. His small congregation split in
two apparently over issues having to do with special offerings
received for paying off their land. Yet despite the pain of the lost,
he assured me “God is good! Our bills are paid and praise God I
still receive my full salary!” Wayne has been here nearly 40 years
– a generation – and if he took the time could fill a small book
of God's move in this area. One of my favorite stories I once heard
him tell was the Service of Reconciliation they once held in their
sanctuary. Before white settlement in mid-1800s, this area was
contended over by the Sioux and the Ojibwa. Eventually, the Ojibwa
pushed the Sioux out only to be evicted themselves by the incoming
Europeans. Wayne and his folks believe that their present sanctuary
may have been built on or near a former Native American village due
to the height of the banks at this part of the Red Cedar and for the
ability to see up river and down quite easily. So he initiated a
Service of Reconciliation between White, Sioux and Ojibwa. Wayne,
speaking for the Europeans, a Sioux man from Pine Ridge in South
Dakota and a contingent of Ojibwa from Lac Coutre Oreilles
Reservation near Hayward sought and tendered forgiveness with one
another and shared communion together. After the service, while
preparation for the fellowship dinner was being completed, a great
commotion came from outside. Twenty eagles were flying in great
concentric circles over the sanctuary – a huge demonstration of
God's favor (in any culture!) A good friend of mine who serves at LCO
was also there that day and substantiates Wayne's story. Wayne and
his wife, Karen, and the folks of Abundant Life, are part of the
treasure in Cameron.
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| Abundant Life's property from Johnson's Landing |
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| Home of good hot beef |
I had lunch at
Crossroads Cafe in Cameron and was served by a friendly waitress.
After lunch, I stopped in at the adjoining gas station and who should
the attendant be but Jill, a woman who when she was much younger had
attended the youth group I led in the 90s. Though we are friends on
Facebook, we rarely chat there. I spent a few moments reconnecting
with her before she got busy with customers. After lunch I drove back
out to Johnson's Landing and spent some time in prayer there by the
banks of the Red Cedar. The popular worship song from the 90s - “The
River is Here” - percolated up from foggy bottom and began to run
in my mind. I sang the chorus (all that I remember of it) and for the
third time that day prayed that the Spirit of God like a river would
flow through Cameron. Once again I found myself wrestling with the
contradictory sensory experiences of the stagnant waters of the
Flowage and the roaring din of the traffic on Highways 8, 53, and W.
A lake crawls through this town but people race through it on their
way to other points of interest.
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| The Flowage as seen from 15th Ave looking north |
 |
| Looking south |
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| Living Waters Lutheran |
After prayer, I
drove back into town but this time I went the long way – north on
19th Street and then east on 15th Ave that
crosses the north end of the Flowage. I entered Cameron on Clayton
Street and drove over to Living Waters Lutheran (Living Waters Lutheran Church.) Two years ago during
our sabbatical summer, we had worshiped one Sunday morning with these
folks. They were formed sometime in the last five years out some kind
of family rift at nearby Faith Lutheran. While I have never worshiped
there, on our field trip to Living Waters in 2010 we found them to be
very friendly, welcoming people, worshiped to the same songs that we
sing at Refuge and enjoyed the pastor's message from Luke 15. This
past Friday, I tried their front door and found both Pastor Ted and
one of his leaders in the office. They were talking shop about their
fellowship's mission trip to Denver that was leaving town the next
day. 35 young people and chaperones would be spending a
week in the Mile High City's downtown neighborhoods. “One of our
specialties is taking kids on affordable mission trips,” Pastor
Ted shared with me. During the last two Liberty Fest parades, they
have always entered a float full of worshipers who boldly proclaimed
Jesus Lord over our area. He and these folks here are also part of
the treasure in Cameron.
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| The former Cameron Prayer Bank |
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| The former Methodist, former Baptist congregation |
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| I wonder the story on this place |
After a brief time
of prayer with these brothers, I then drove over to Main Street and
parked my van across from the VFW hall. I decided to engage in a
prayer walk proceeding west on Main as far as 11th Street
and then crossed and walked back on the south side of Main as far as
9th Street, over to Towering Pines Community Church
(Pastor Mike was not in) and then further east on Arlington as far as
4th Street. While I walked down Arlington, I prayed for
the “heroes” of faith that remain in this community, who are
persevering, who are staying the course and believing for God's
kingdom to come to this city of Comets (Cameron High School's
mascot). In ancient times, a comet was a harbinger of doom, a
messenger that bad things were heading this way. A week later as I
try to collect my thoughts from this day in Cameron, I am brought
back to my devotional reading from that morning (Luke 12:49-59).
Jesus' words are like a shot across the bow, urging his countrymen to
read the signs of the times and believe God's message before it is
too late. I prayed in a similar vein for the people of Cameron as I
walked down Arlington. I stopped in at Faith Lutheran but the pastor
was not in so I headed back to Main Street. I stopped in at the
Public Library and who should be working the front desk but Deb, a
friend of mine who, along with her husband, used to be a part of
Chetek Alliance Church back in the 90s. We visited for awhile. She
told me that her ministry is to the kids who frequent this beautiful
new facility. There is a sense of God's Spirit on her. She, too, is
part of the treasure of Cameron. After praying for her, I stepped
outside and headed to my van parked just a block away.
As I did in Prairie
Farm, I finished my day of prayer back where I started – at Guy
Speirs Park. I grabbed my guitar and walked down to the north shelter
and spent some time worshiping there. Songs I sang and prayed there
included,
Let the River Flow
Let It Rain
Let Our Praise to You Be as Incense
Lord Most High
Lord, Let Your Glory Fall
Cameron has much to
be proud of – their new construction, the growth in their
community, this southernly crossroads in our county. But part of her
real treasure are the disciples of Jesus who live and worship there,
faith communities endeavoring not just to keep the doors open but
live out loud and vibrantly in honor of the Name. According to Pages
from the Past, there was quite a bit of contention of moving the
city from its original location to where it stands now. It may be
reading too much into that to connect it to the present state of
apparent disconnect between the various faith communities. It
probably has more to do with a lack of intentionality on their part.
So I pray John 17:21-22 for and over them – Pastor Wayne (Abundant
Life), Pastor Mike (Towering Pines), Pastor Ty (St. John), Father Jim
(St. Peter), Pastor Ned (Living Water), Pastor Loren (Faith
Lutheran), Pastor Gene (Good Samaritan) and Pastor Jim (Highway
Gospel) - that they would be “one...that [Cameron] may believe”
that Jesus is God's Son sent to redeem them and that God will build
his kingdom there.
