DES MOINES, IA (08/04/2008) -- Pirates on the Prairie chronicles the achievements of a remarkable group of athletes, the Pirates, who explode out of tiny Halstad, MN, population 500, in 1952, much to the amazement of the Minnesota media and fans who quickly learn to love them.
Author, nurseryman, and American history lover, Eric Bergeson, of Fertile, MN, carefully traces the development of Halstad's homegrown Pirates, their classmates, and families, while also bringing vividly to life the environment that nourishes them. Readers become part of the seemingly ordinary day-to-day dynamics in Halstad, from the home lives of the players to the play-by-play reports of their movements on the court-and in the field.
Gradually Pirates on the Prairie answers its fundamental question-how did this happen? What enabled this particular group of boys, at this time, in this place, to perform the larger- than-life feats that earned them third place in the 1952 Minnesota state boys basketball tournament and first in the 1953 state baseball tournament-both against much larger, big-city schools? As excitement builds and hopes grow stronger, readers learn about-or in some cases recall-life in small-town America, when communities worked hands-on together to support and develop their children. At the same time, we detect a foreboding undercurrent-a realization that this will also be a story of loss. For Pirates on the Prairie also documents a profound change in rural American culture that those with small-town roots still feel today.
"This book is not just about a team, it's about a community-they cannot be separated," says Paul Dovre, past president of Concordia College in Moorhead."
Hiram Drache, well-known historian and author of a dozen historical documentaries, states, "The story [is] cleverly woven into a social-economic and cultural history of what was happening in agriculture and small towns throughout rural America . . . Bergeson has done a splendid job."
The writing of this book was first and foremost a labor of love made possible by Clarence Stennes, a Halstad native who hired Eric Bergeson to research and write the story in time for Halstad's 125th reunion, July 19, 2008. The book, greeted with great enthusiasm at that event, is now available in selected Minnesota Thrifty White drug stores, book stores, libraries, and online at
http://www.piratesontheprairie.com/.
Call 515.278.1292 or email
info@piratesontheprairie.com for interview requests and Pirates on the Prairie book signing information.
