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CHAMPION—March 10, 2014

        It was a little damp, a little cool, a little muddy and it was a lot of fun to get together with friends and neighbors at the Skyline VFD Chili Supper on Saturday night.  The food was excellent with loads of wonderful pies.  The music was superb.  Whetstone kicked off the evening rocking the place ‘like a southbound train.‘  Then came Flatline with some great gospel music.  “There is Coming a Day” is one of Louise Hutchison’s favorite songs.  She and Wilburn were not able to be there, but they were much in the thoughts of many who remembered how much energy they have devoted to the fire department over the years.  Backyard Bluegrass’s D.J. Shumate fiddled the crowd out with a train song that included the whistle and steam coming off his bow.  He learned that from his Pa.  It was a delightful evening when old and new friends had the chance to catch up and get acquainted.  The place was loaded with dignitaries, and celebrities.  A most clever bluebird house came along with another of Tim Scrivner’s excellent bird feeders and the accusation of deviousness on the part of The Champion News.  Bidding was hot for a huge Ethan Allen basket between a Douglas County official and a prominent Wright County musician.  The winner was the Skyline VFD!  It is a joy to see people come together to support such a vital organization.  Champions all!

        Six year old birthday Bailey out in Portland had a pink heart shaped cake decorated with raspberries…almost as pretty as the girl herself.  Kay Dennis over in Ava most likely had a glorious birthday as well celebrating with friends and music and optimism that her health insurance will indeed get less expensive next year when she reaches that magic Medicare age.  Old friends will look forward to seeing her at the 40^th Back to the Land Reunion this summer.  The 12^th will have some special distinction celebrated with a “yahrzeit” candle.  It is a tradition that burning this special 26 hour candle on the birthday of a departed loved one is a warm way to acknowledge his life, disregarding the sadness.  Some people burn this candle on the day the loved one died, but others think to celebrate the life is somehow more positive.  Jacob Masters will be 11 years old on March 15^th.  He lives in Austin, Texas and is reported to be ‘a hand-full’ by his old grandpa who lives out in West Texas with the rattlesnakes and armadillos where he is very much in his element.  One of the best things Jake has going for him, apart from his older brother Jack, is that he shares his birthday with his Uncle Sam who is thirty years his senior and exemplifies a conscious and well lived life.  They do not know each other, but they have lots of time.  Ursula of Edinburgh celebrates that day too.  She will soon have her own child for whom she can make birthday parties.  Congratulations!  March 16^th is a special day for Elizabeth Mastrangelo Brown.  She was 23 in 2013.  She is not seen as often as her Champion friends would like, but she is sure to have a great day.  The 16^th is also Helen Batten’s birthday.  She is the secretary at our great Skyline RII School.  She is forever young.  She just cannot help it.  Her smile and good humor meet all our one hundred kindergarten through eighth grade students every morning and gets them started on another great day—teachers and staff too.  Happy Birthday Ms. Helen!  Then Myla Sarginson has her birthday on March 18^th.  She is in the 2^nd grade.  Kayelyn Souder is in the 8^th grade and has her birthday the next day.  Snow and ice make-up days may keep the kids in school way into May.  Grandparents will be hankering for their racket and their raids on the cookie jar.  Those Skyline Volunteer Fire-Fighters by the name of Cochran were carrying a picture of RyAnne Daniel Harvey, their first granddaughter who was born on March 3^rd.  She weighed nine pounds and six ounces and is a beautiful child.  Just ask her grandmother.  Future veterinarian Candice will most likely be spending the summer with her Wilbanks grandparents.  She will be helping her grandpa out with his injured mule.  Ah summer!  It will be here just after Spring.

Frances and Wayne Sutherland

        Last week Wayne and Frances Sutherland marked their 64^th wedding anniversary.  It was revealed by their daughter, Laine, who posted on line, “Happy Anniversary to my parents, Wayne & Frances Cooley Sutherland, who drove to Mountain Home, Arkansas, 64 years ago and got married.“  It was March 4^th.  They were and are a handsome couple.  Look for their picture in their heyday in Champion Snapshots (Frances & Wayne) at www.championnews.us.  Laine was seen at the Skyline Chili Supper keeping company with old time fiddler Bill Connolly.  Old time refers to the music not to Bill.  He likes the old music and likes to square dance.  He says that there is going to be an especially good one on Saturday the 15^th in Ava at Marriott Music on the North Side of the Square.  The dance will start at 7 p.m., and what makes it special is that David Scrivner, Alvie Dooms, and Junior Marriott will be making the music—fiddle, guitar and bass respectively.  Bill will be dancing.

        Certain stretches of road will still have a little ice and snow long after everything else has melted.  As the naked ladies (surprise lilies), crocus, hyacinths, and the glorious daffodils emerge, hearts are lightened altogether at the prospect of true spring.  There will still be cold mornings and chilly evenings that will satisfy the need of some to grouch about something.  Old hearth tenders say this is the hardest time of the year to stay warm.  “If you build a big enough fire to get warm in the morning, by mid-day you’re sweltering.”  Long suffering spouses point him to Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood.  The 12^th to the 16^th will be a barren period—a good time to get the garden tools and equipment in shape or to haul some manure.  St. Patrick’s Day will be ideal for planting potatoes, sowing fodder crops or hay.  Linda already has her Cole crops transplanted and she said the little marigolds are up and looking good.  Find her Almanac on line, on the bulletin board at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Champion or on the counter at The Plant Place up in Norwood.  Thanks, Linda!

        The Edinburgh Evening News reports are that the city hopes to change the appearance of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations there to a ‘less boozy’ image.  Toward that end they post a picture of half a dozen comely lasses in full fling, dancing a jig.  The Scots Irish heritage of this part of the world shows up in the Wednesday morning tall tales confab in the chat room of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  On Saturday night The General was heard plotting a competition with the accomplished Almartha story teller.  He says he does not want the “Ferlie” (Champion’s “Oscar”), just the attention!  So far the only suggestion for the Ferlie Awards program for next year is the addition of a category for “The most abstruse in the written or spoken word.”  The notion that making something intentionally and unnecessarily difficult to understand might be entertaining is a caution to him and has escaped this distant reader.  Send examples of this sort of amusing confusion to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion @ championnews.us.  Come down to the broad wooly banks of Old Fox Creek on Wednesday morning or any time with your blarney and join the fun.  Sing “My Wild Irish Rose, the sweetest flower that grows!” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 24, 2014

        It is easy enough to see that Champions are resilient and a stoic people who rarely complain about the weather as there is hardly any point in doing so.  They do, however, express their delight in a glorious day.  “Isn’t this wonderful?”  One pair out on a lark to Ava Saturday ventured out on 14 and returned on 76.  It seems that along both roads as well as C highway many have accomplished quite a little cleanup of their property.  Certain yards are suddenly fairly free of refuse and are beginning to look altogether tidy.  It could have been Thursday’s big wind that did the trick.  There were reports of some roof damage and downed limbs but nothing too serious locally, according to a preeminent Champion.  There is plenty of reason to be grateful.  Meanwhile, what treasures and surprises there are to be found in the woods and fields in the days ahead!

        Parents and grandparents are hugging their young ones close to them in the wake of the recent tragedy in Springfield.   The uneasy feeling of vulnerability comes with the distressing news and the realization that catastrophe can happen anywhere.  It is a terrible reminder to stay watchful as compassion for young Hailey’s family wells in Champion hearts everywhere.  There is no fixing this.

        A distant reader of The Champion News inquires about the timber thief.  A call to the Court House reveals that a continuance was issued and now the date to set the date for the preliminary hearing will be March 20^th.  (The attorney of the accused had a family emergency.)  The preliminary hearing will determine whether there is substantial evidence that he committed the crime.  Witnesses will testify in front of a judge who will, if he finds the evidence compelling, send the case to the Circuit Court for trial.  The witnesses who saw Mr. Bobby Davis of Willow Springs attempting to leave the scene with a semi-truck load of red and white oak logs taken from private property adjacent to the Mark Twain National Forest in eastern Douglas County are the Forest Ranger who blocked the exit and Sergeant Vernon Johnson of the Douglas County Sheriff’s office who responded to the Ranger’s call.  Ninety 50 and 60 foot red and white oak trees amount to a good size chunk of change and the mess left behind by the woodland marauder will be evident for a long time.  The crime occurred on December 13^th.  The arraignment was on the 23^rd of January.  The date to set the date for the preliminary hearing was February 20^th, now March 20^th.  The wheels of Justice roll on.  In the “Perry Mason” television series, the courtroom scenes were almost always preliminary hearings.   Tree huggers and other Champions will be watching.

        Skyline pre-kindergarten student Mattalynn Hutsell will have her birthday on February 27^th.  Frankie Proctor has not been in school for a long time, but he still has birthdays just not very many of them.  His is on the 29^th of February so he is not scheduled for another birthday until 2016!  He and Freda always look like they are having a good time anyway.  See them at www.championnews.us  in the snapshot called Ruby’s Family.  They are a nice looking family which brings us back to “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Yes, Old man Potter got away with the $8,000.00, but he was destined to die a twisted, thwarted, lonely old man with no one to love him or mourn his loss, while George and the garlic eaters proved to be a resilient community able to rely on each other for financial and moral support during stressful times.  During the Great Depression, the film’s director, Frank Capra, became America’s preeminent filmmaker, leavening despair with his irrepressible optimism of the Everyman triumphing over seeming insurmountable odds.  He said, “I always felt the world cannot fall apart as long as free men see the rainbow, feel the rain and hear the laugh of a child.”  That is very American and very uplifting.  He sounds like a real Champion.  Still, some want Potter to give back the money.

        Remnants of Blackberry Winter and Rene Woods’s Jazz Trio were some of the entertainment at the Yellow House in West Plains on Sunday.  The benefit for the listener supported local radio station KZ88 out of Cabool turned out to be a lovely affair.   It is great to have a local station with so much interest in the old time music and such an appreciation of local musicians.   Excitement is building for the Skyline Auxiliary Chili Supper and chances are quite good that some of those nice radio people will be there.  Last year KZ Perkins made a recording of much of the program and it was nice to hear it repeated a couple of times in the following weeks.  With Backyard Bluegrass, Whetstone and Flatline on the program this year it ought to be a special time.  Jerry and Diane Wilbanks will be at the Chili Supper.  They were in Ava on Saturday having lunch with their beautiful granddaughter and her beau.  They are a smiling family, a positive addition to the community.  They came ambling through town with the West Plains Wagon Club a while back and decided this part of the country was home.  Diane said that Ray Gibson of Paragould, Arkansas has bought a place in the area as well.  He belongs to the Gee and Haw Club out of Arkansas.  Welcome neighbors!

        Drayson Cline will be ready for the Olympics in no time.  He had his six month birthday on Sunday and is ready to start crawling.  He is getting quite a voice too and seems to have figured out that it is himself making that wonderful sound.  He is a pretty good traveler and it looks like he will enjoy watching the races with his old Dad.  Round and round.  It will not be long before he is up and running around with Taegan and Foster and Kalyssa.  Time seems to fly faster around young ones.

        Linda’s Almanac is up on the top of the page on The Champion News website.  It is on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown G & G.  It says to finish pruning the grape vines and other fruit trees and late blooming shrubs such as Rose of Sharon and spirea, but not lilacs or forsythia.  The Jigsaw Puzzle quilt that will be the Skyline Chili Supper treasure this year is on display at the G & G as well.  Get a look at it and you will want to have it.

        Bring your enthusiasm for Spring and your love of music that gets a person up and moving to the conversation lounge behind the wood stove at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  Send any of that kind of thing to champion @ championnews.us or to The Champion News, Rt. 72, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717. Daffodils will soon be showing up and Wordsworth’s poem will be circulating through peaceful thoughts:  “I wandered lonely as a cloud/ that float on high ore vales and hills, when all at once I saw…” Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 17, 2014

        Champions are pleased that George Washington and his army were willing to endure great hardship at Valley Forge in 1778, in order to break away from the Crown.  It has been so long ago that it might be easy to take those sacrifices for granted.  “No taxation without representation!”  That was one of the rallying cries and some think that is the case now when wealthy people buy politicians who then do not work for the betterment of their constituency.  The great Scots poet, Robert Burns, was a big fan of Washington and as Scotland prepares to vote on its own independence, his ode for the General’s birthday may be repeated, “A broken chain exulting, bring and dash it in the tyrant’s face, and dare him to his very beard, and tell him he no more is feared…They shout A People freed!”  The Queen probably has a lot to mull over.  The vote is in September.  Champions will be paying attention.

        Shelby Ward was given a pink violin for her birthday on Valentine’s Day.  She wants to be in The General’s Band.  He wants to be sure she does not get too much classical training as he does not want to be ‘showed-up.’ LaShell Upshaw Bearden had her birthday on the 16^th.  Her uncle, The General, used peanut butter as a stifling agent when LaShell was little in order to stem her flow of conversation.  Trish Davis has her birthday on the 17^th.  She lives over by Ava and is a health care professional and not married to the Bobby Davis of Willow Springs (whose preliminary hearing date for timber thievery will be set in Douglas County on February 20^th), but to another guy by the same name from the Ava area—a nice guy they say.  Pete Proctor’s birthday is on the 18^th.  He is a proud Veteran and active in the VFW.  The 19^th is set aside to remember Pete’s mother, dear Ruby Proctor.  She had lots of birthdays, a number of charming children, and many friends who miss her dearly.  Joana Bell celebrates her birthday on the 21^st.  There is fun and laughter where ever she goes.  Drayson Cline’s mother, Staci, was born on the 23^rd of February.  Drayson is just about to start crawling they say.  He has several teeth now and is already better looking than his Papa!  Judi Pennington also has a birthday on the 23^rd.  She had a bear in her yard last year and is just about over the scare.  Ell Mae is a great Champion friend.  That is not her real name, which is Margaret, but people call her Peg.  Her birthday is on the 24^th.  That is Arne Arhnstat’s birthday too, but folks figure that must be his real name.  Find him in the garden year round.  Emma Evans is a 6^th grade student at Skyline.  Her birthday is also on the 24^th.  Birthdays might be more exciting when a person is in the 6^th grade, but Emma might find out that they just get better and better the more of them a person has!

        The Thursday bluegrass jam at Vanzant went on without Sue Murphy as she and Duane (Murphy) went off to see their granddaughter play basketball that evening.  That is another wonderful kind of fun.  No reports have been circulated of any untoward behavior on Thursday, so it is generally figured that the jam was its usual success.  Warmer weather will find more Champions there in the future.  There was a report of a great success by Morgan Whitaker.  She won second place in the Rogersville Archery Tournament.  Congratulations are due to Morgan and to the fine Skyline Archery program.  There are more accolades to share as Mike Upshaw’s play, “The End Came in Spring,” is to be presented at the Stained Glass Theatre in Ozark.  The show will run between April 24^th and May 24^th.  It is very exciting to see some talent in that family!  A tour around the internet reveals that during the first week of the performance a DVD will be made and will be available for sale and available to those who may not be able to go to the theatre or to those who just want to see it again and again.  Bravo!

        Catherine Mallernee of Kimberling City wrote that she was interested in the letter from Ethel McCallie where she mentioned that she was related to Doyles and Dickersons around Mansfield and Macomb.  Catherine’s mother was a Doyle and she looks forward to a visit with Ethel about family.  All the connections have been made so they can get together.  Catherine received an email and Ethel will get her information on a Champion post card.  Be advised:  it now takes 34 cents to mail a postcard.

        The Skyline Auxiliary meeting on the 12^th was most productive and enjoyable.  Guests and now active new members, Diane and Jerry Wilbanks and Star Peters, have joined right in to help make the upcoming fund raiser a success.  They will be baking pies, chopping onions and finding good items for the silent auction.  Karen Griswold has used her good organization skills to create a task list that is one sheet of paper front and back that covers every aspect of the affair.  It is still a lot of hard work but the smoothness of the operation makes it a pleasure.  It is always a joy to see people out and about again after a lot of bad weather.  They get together for a good time with good food, good music and all for a good cause.

        “Trolling” is a technique for fishing.  It also describes a pricking devise for use in conversation when one makes a deliberately provocative statement with the aim of inciting an angry response.  That is exactly what one distant Champion submits happened in The Champion News recently when the unseemly word “ignoramus” was applied to the provocateur.  The troller is now perceived to have been the victor in the exchange and the frustrated writer diminished in equal measure.  This is a valuable lesson.  Perhaps the tables will turn and he will be called a “Teabillie” who is whimpering about how the cold snap proves global warming is not real.  Is that provocative enough?

        “Groundhog Day,” the movie, was recently compared to “It’s a Wonderful Life” as one of those timeless pieces of film that helps to define the American experience.  Filmography aside, a Champion astutely points out that Mr. Potter still had the $8,000.00 at the end of the movie!  George Bailey was saved from committing suicide by Clarence the angel and had the wonderful knowledge that the world was a much better place with him in it.  The townspeople gathered in support of George and among them came up with the necessary funds.  The Champion suggests that this is very much going on today.  The banking industry is in the robbery business with no regulations or sanctions and the poor people have to come up with do re mi again and again.

        “If you’ve got the money, Honey, I’ve got the time!”  Poetry, music, laughter, stories, fishing techniques and tales of great adventure are welcome around the stove or out on the veranda of the Historic Emporium nestled securely over on the North Side of the Square.  Look out across the wide, wild wooly banks of Old Fox Creek and know you are in one of the world’s truly beautiful places—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 10, 2014

        The Olympic Spirit is alive and thriving in the heart of Champion.  Last week before the games started, young Taegan Krider’s parents posted a YouTube of the girl singing “We are the Champions!  And you’re going to hear us roar!”  It was very cute.  Janna Brixey posted that Jenna had been singing it too and apparently it is a big song in Skyline among the prekindergarten set.  They may be part of the opening ceremonies for an Olympics someday.  Sochi has some pretty incredible slopes and they must have cameras on drones to get some of the pictures that they show on TV of skiers and snowboarders catching big air.  Adventures are becoming fairly common in these parts as well and if a person could get down to the store he might hear all kinds of stories about catching air.  Any gold medals handed out around here will be for the “Most Amenable Companion.”  Being snowed in with a grouch could be a real drag so once again Champions have reason for much gratitude.  There is an old saying that when it is raining in the sunshine, the devil is beating his wife.  They call that kind of rain a “sunshower.”  There are some feminist who would say that the devil is beating her husband since they are looking for gender equality in all things.  When it’s snowing in the sunshine it could be called “sunsnow” and it is just about to be decided that winter is kicking the butt of the mid-west, south, north and east.  Like Taegan says, “We are the Champions!” so it is fairly well figured that we will get through it and winter does not stop birthdays!  Madison Bradshaw is in kindergarten in Skyline and Wyatt Nelson is prekindergarten student.  They both have their birthday on the 16^th of February.  Some think it will thaw by then.

        The internet was rich with philosophy and yearning this week as many were confined to home.  Here are a few of the stories gleaned from social media.  Connie Grand celebrated her birthday up in St. Louis on Sunday the second with her lovely granddaughter.  Lilly’s photograph showed her wrapped in the growth chart quilt that her grandmother had made for her.  Connie is a master craftswoman artist.  Then Lannie Hinote had some great news about medal winner Morgan Whitacre bound for State competition in Archery.  The archery project has been very successful at Skyline and Lannie is a big supporter.  She also had great pictures to share of herself and some nice looking young people enjoying the excitement of a Lady Bear’s Game.  Elizabeth Johnston posted some great pictures of her niece Shelby Ward’s birthday party.  They were at the Firehouse Pottery Studio making some interesting looking crafts.  Of course, her sister Madeline Ward was there and distant cousins Drayson Cline, Kalyssa Wiseman and Kyle Barker and a number of other good looking young folks.  It looks like they really had a good time.  Internet surfers were well rewarded with music of Dennis and D.J. Shumate.  It is advisable that if a person is going to be snowed in with a musician try to find one who can really play.  It is very nice of them to share their music.  They will be the headliners—Backyard Bluegrass–at the Skyline Auxiliary chili supper on March 8^th.  Excitement is building for a cabin fever party.

        One of the philosophical conversations had to do with the phrase “Take America Back.”  The gist of it seemed to be that people have a romanticized portrait of the past that is free of cruelty and privation, but fraught with adventure and genial fellowship that made for contentment.  Contentment is what they think they have lost and that is what they want back.  It probably never existed because tragedies and difficulties are best forgotten.  Perhaps the trick is to find some contentment in the present.  It is like a preacher on a Greyhound bus said last summer, “The past is history; the future is mystery; the present is a gift of God!”

        Ms. Ethel McCallie from over at Nowata, Oklahoma writes in her beautiful old fashioned penmanship to say how much she enjoys The Champion News.  She particularly likes references to the old songs and she made a list of some well know songs and a few that are fairly obscure.  She said her most favorites are “Fair Carlotta,” “Long, Long Ago,” “Angels Climbing the Golden Stairs,” and “Twilight Is Stealing.”  She says that they always sing at their Hayden family reunion.  “I don’t want to brag, but actually the Haden families are really good singers.  They get it.  Or it comes from the Kay family.  My granny Haden was a Kay.  Her name was Frances Indiana Kay.  If you ever knew any Doyles or Dickersons in or around Mansfield or Macomb, they are our relatives too.”  Find more of the text of her letter in the “Champion Neighbors” section under “Oklahomans” at the www.championnews.us website.  She closes this letter by saying, “I’m still not walking good after a broken hip and pelvis at age 96, but I’m thinking I probably will not walk good anymore, but I’m not going to give up or stop trying.  I know I’m sunk if I do and I don’t want to be totally incapacitated.  I hope you and your family are all well.  Well, keep everything good and looking on the Bright Side.  My best wishes to you and all Champions, especially Ms. Henson.  Also my prayers for all.”  And she signs it “Ethel Mc.”

        A lovely Texas woman, Phyllis Winn, sends a letter full of jokes from Auntie Acid.  It came just in the nick of time for some solid laughter.  In one story Auntie says she is going to move in with her kids when she gets a little older.  She is going to eat all their food, hog the computer and when they ask her to clean, she’ll throw a hissy fit.  She says she can’t wait.  Phyllis can spin a yarn and has that particular drawl that makes a person hungry for more.  She has two pairs of earrings.  One is gold and the outline of the state of Texas.  Her other pair of earring are fishing lures.  She loves to fish.  Chances are pretty good that she and another Champion friend will make it up for a summertime visit.  She will be in the middle of the “perpetual series of occasions for hope” which is what John Buchanan said about fishing.

        The pavement is clear, but the gravel roads are still icy.  The admonition is to stay safe even if that means not getting down to the broad and wild banks of Old Fox Creek to sit around the stove with the merchants, cowboys, carpenters, farmers, firemen, fishermen, tourists and loafers.  Send your adventure stories to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 via the wonderful United States Postal Service (thank you, Karen) or to Champion @ championnews.us. When it is prudent to do so get yourself down to the very seat of optimism—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—February 3, 2014

        Champion is the kind of place that makes a nice home.  The scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and helpful, and the amenities rival any for convenience and comprehensive amplitude.  Why wander afield?  Travel broadens perspective and helps maintain a compassionate worldview.  Also, travel brings newcomers to Champion and that is a plus.  Jerry and Diane Wilbanks came ambling through the place with the West Plains Wagon Club and decided to make it their home.  Their neighbors, the Pricharts, had moved off to Hawaii for a while, but found the lure of their Champion home too much to resist.  They made the transition just in time to be dazzled by the ice and snow.  Welcome home!  They will be pleased to know that the Vanzant Weather Lab over in Far East Champion predicts that February will not be as severe as January due to having a shortage of days.  “The cold weather is expected to break around the last week of June here in Booger County with near normal temperatures predicted through most of July.”

        Diane Wilbanks called on Thursday to say that on Wednesday, in advance of the expected snow, Jerry had gone out to cut some wood.  The chainsaw had not been run in a while and the carburetor spit out a spark that quickly ignited a fire that headed directly for the house.  Jerry came to the door and said, “Call the fire department!”  She did.  They came.  Diane was most complimentary of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department.  They surrounded the fire and used those leaf blowers to contain and control the blaze.  With the wind so fierce, Diane said that it was just amazing to see how efficiently the men worked.  Their training really showed.  Diane had been to Champion on January 13^th for ice cream.  That is her birthday and her favorite outing.  She thinks she will come to the Skyline Auxiliary meeting at 6:30 on February 12^th to get acquainted with some of the help behind the fire department.  Those leaf blowers and lots of other equipment including a ‘Jaws of Life’ apparatus are the results of Auxiliary activities.  Star Peters thinks she will come to this meeting too.  She has some nice items to donate to the silent auction at the Auxiliary Chili Supper in March.  A couple of days of moist misty rain and now snow again have reduced some of the fire danger, but Champions are very glad to know that those Volunteers are at the ready.  Kristie Towe of Pea Ridge, Arkansas has sent $20.00 for tickets for the Auxiliary Jigsaw Puzzle Quilt.  She saw pictures on-line and now has 24 chances to win a family heirloom while supporting a great cause.  She has some genuine Champion connections.

        Skyline seventh grader Angel Parkes will celebrate her birthday on February 6^th.  If school is back in session by then, the kids will have a ball.  Birthday gifts include some saddle soap and a new horse blanket for the Cowboy who will have a special day on Friday.  It is a dead sack cinch that his friends will have some fun with him over the big number.  Sarah Rucker, mother of Champion granddaughters Zoey and Alex, will have her birthday on the 8^th of February.  Austin will be a rocking place for that party.  Aubrey Johnston is in the first grade at Skyline and will celebrate next Monday the 10^th.  Then Cheyenne Baker, 4^th grader, will enjoy her day on the 11^th.  Joshua Garner, a first grade student will be hoping to be in school for his party.  He will share his birthday with Sondra Powell, daughter of Champion Mrs. Eva Powell.  Champion granddaughter, Shelby Ward, will have her party on Valentine’s Day.  She is a real sweetheart according to older sister Madelyn and the rest of her lovely family.

        Treacherous road conditions are the reason many even adventurous folks have been sticking close to home.  Sherri Bennett did a do-si-do Saturday night.  Snagged off the internet:  “Left the Dance tonight at Diggens.  It was slick as glass.  I got down the road and my car started to fishtail.  When I got stopped I was in the ditch and almost met myself coming back.  LOL.  I calmed myself down and put that little white Versa in low gear and said, ‘Lord help me get this car back on the road.’  We made it.  Drove about 10 to 15 mph the rest of the way home.”  That was Saturday night and Sherri went to sleep at home hoping that everyone else had made it home safely.  Some did not.  Three of the foursome that make up the Fortnight Bridge Club wound up the overnight guests of the hostess.  Linda made everyone comfortable and the game resumed after a lovely breakfast until enough snow had fallen to provide traction to get home from Norwood.  The MoDot guys were out in force on Sunday.  In Douglas County, C Highway was sanded on the steeper hills and the sharper curves and prudent cautious driving got everyone home by the middle of the afternoon.  It was a real adventure in very good company.

        Good company indeed!  It was a glittering and elegant evening at the Robbie Burns-Groundhog Gala in Champion North.  The entertainment was lavish with homage to both Burns and the rodent.  To Burns:  “Oh! My Luve’s like a red, red rose, That’s newly sprung in June.  O my Luve’s like the melodie.  That’s sweetly play’d in tune.” To the other via Buffy St. Marie:  “Ground hog, ground hog, what makes you smell so bad?  I’ve been living in the ground so darned long, I’m mortified in my head!”  Then, having been reminded by Laine Sutherland what George Orwell said in ‘1984’ in 1949:  “Football, beer, and above all gambling, filled up the horizon of their minds.  To keep them in control was not difficult.”  It is a sure bet that The General was in on that and probably some of Steve Moody’s famous pulled pork, as he had RSVP’d in the negative to the Gala.  Back to the party:  By that time it was figured that it was about half time at the game, so some of the ladies wanted to tune in to see Bruno Mars.  One was saying that he is the new James Brown—very musical, athletic and sexy without being vulgar.  When the rappers joined in the ensemble, the girls switched it off, preferring Bruno alone.  With Vince Guaraldi, Jusef Latif and Jonny Hodges in the background, they enjoyed sparkling repartee, good gruyere and a nice Chablis.  All in all it was a fanciful evening, a chance for the ladies to wear their finery and for the gents to shine.  Tom Cooley still cuts a dashing figure in the woolen overcoat that his mother gave him for his high school graduation.  It still fits and he has had many opportunities to show it off this winter.

        Those householders who so easily resist the appeal of socializing, leaving the place, or doing much of anything apart from grumbling about the weather, are apt to discover a mate who is perfectly willing to have extra fun in order to make up the shortfall in the family quotient.  Musical excitement, adventure stories, estimates of gambling losses, examples of extra fun are all welcome at Champion @ championnews.us or at The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Put some wax on your skis and climb to the heights of Mt. Champion and ski down Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive to the Historic Emporium where you can warm around the stove and soak up a good dose of optimism.  Champion!—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—January 27, 2014

        The wild vicissitudes of the weather have had very little effect on Champion.  With more ups and downs in store before predictably constant warmth sets in, about all the astonishment and annoyance has been used up.  “Yep,” is the answer to “Is it cold enough for you?”  “Staying warm?”  It is figured by some that if you are able to complain it is because you are alive and are breathing wholesome fresh country air.  Champion!

        Ferly Lambert was the subject of much discussion around the ‘round’ table the other day.  The talk was about what a scrawny little guy he was and what a powerful individual.  He broke up bull fights with a pitchfork and saved a bunch of fox hunters from a rampaging bull threatening them at their campfire.  He just took a branch a beat him with it and ran the critter off.  Jerry Smith said that he could catch a wasp and pinch its head off and never get bit.  Wes Smith said he saw him do it many times.  Ferly told Jerry, who was a little kid at the time, that if a person held his breath the wasp would not sting.  That did not work for Jerry.  Ferly could snap the head off a black snake when he was young.  Later on, he had a hummingbird feeder that he enjoyed watching.  One fractious hummingbird was hogging the feed and not letting the others get at it.  Ferly addressed the offender with his 12 gauge shotgun.  Someone asked reckon he had enough firepower for the job.  Nothing was said about the condition of the hummingbird feeder.  Ferly’s older brother Clark Lambert had his picture taken for the National Geographic book on “Hidden Corners of America.”  A cold afternoon around the same stove Clark warmed by is a place for these great stories.  If you cannot make it down to the Historic Emporium, send your stories to Champion @ championnews.us or to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.

        The weather has been such that Jerry has not opened his sawdust factory up in Seymour for a while.  He will be back at it one of these days.  He turns out some lovely pieces and has made a number of boxes, benches, and picture frames from some of the lumber that was the old Champion Store.  He grew up just over the hill and is lucky to have Champion cousins to visit.  Wes had arrived at the round table saying that he had just read The Champion News to Cowboy Jack.  That must have had something to do with the Polar Plunge Non-Event.  It seems to have been considered ‘over reported’ by some.  Wes and Pat have a new grandson to report.  He is a couple of weeks old now, a lad by the name of Miles.  He is a little Arkansawyer and the apple of several Champion eyes.

        Skyline School kindergarten student Kimberly Wallace is having a birthday on the 29^th.  Erika Strong is a first grade student.  Her birthday is on the 30^th.  She shares the day with Jenna and Jacob Brixey’s dad who was 40 in 2012!  He must be getting older now.  Speaking of old, that guy with the dachshund was born Feb 1, 1940!  Wow.  For a real wow, get acquainted with Zack Alexander!  He has Champion grandparents.  He is going to be in the neighborhood of seven years old on the first.  His Aunt Angie has her birthday on the 2^nd of February, together with Judy Sharon Parsons, and Charlene Dupre.  Great ladies all!

        A Champion asks about getting skunk smell out of a house.  There are several homemade remedies to be found on-line.  One says to put some small bowls of vinegar around to neutralize the smell.  Another says to mix 1 quart of hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup baking soda and one teaspoon liquid laundry soap or dish washing detergent.  They say the first two ingredients form an alkaline peroxide that chemically changes the skunk essence into an odorless chemical.  The soap breaks down that oily skunk essence and makes it more susceptible to the other chemicals.  They say the chemicals in this formula are harmless and can be used on people, clothing and pets.  Use immediately after mixing and they say not to store it because it will expand and can burst a closed container.  It is that time of the year when the skunks are busy being attractive for each other.  Love is in the air!  And of the air, a Champion writes about the articles in the electric co-op papers bewailing the ban on the use of coal for generating electricity.  She says she gets email requesting that she support the poisonous coal burning in order to “protect rates.”  She says there is never any mention of protecting life on Earth.  She likes the idea of heat-pumps for heating and cooling and solar and wind energy.  Hydroelectric plants probably have their shortcomings too, as do the nuclear power plants.  There have been some big changes in the world since the power lines reached Champion in the 1950’s.

        Douglas County Associate Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Bock was in charge of the arraignment of the Willow Springs man who is charged with stealing property valued at more than $500 but less than $25,000 on November 12, 2013.  (60 mature red and white oak trees)   He came to court on January 23^rd with his lawyer and it was determined that he will appear again on February 20^th in order for the date to be set for the preliminary hearing.  There was no indication that he had to look Bob Austin in the eye.  More than one tree hugging, property owner is following this case carefully.

        Some Champions have been so busy stacking firewood and hauling ashes that they let their Burn’s Night celebration slip by.  This Robert Burns was a hardworking farmer.  He plowed behind a horse and worked himself to death at a young age.  Like so many farms today, his was undercapitalized, so he and his brother worked to exhaustion.  He also is reported to have lived a dissolute lifestyle which together with the arduous toil took its toll and he passed away at the young age of 37.  Certain Champions are combining their Burns Night with Groundhog Day and will be celebrating on Super Bowl Sunday with Burns poetry, some lilting Scottish tunes and a little easy jazz when the crowd thins.  If the football stadium is belly deep in snow on that day and the game is postponed it is sure that the Champion Burns-Groundhog soirée will be well attended.  (RSVP) It might relieve the anxiety of the General who has been torn about his social calendar.  Apart of Auld Lang Syne, perhaps one of the most popular of Burn’s songs is one of the Generals favorite, The Silver Tassie.  “Go fetch to me a pint o wine, and fill it in a silver tassie; that I may drink, before I go a service to my bonnie lassie.”  He is headed off to war and hates to leave his sweetheart.  It is a timeless piece.  Find more Burn’s poetry and music at www.championnews.us.  Come down to the bottom of the hill at the end of the pavement on the wide wooly banks of Old Fox Creek to enjoy the timelessness.  Champion! Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—January 20, 2014

        Flash! This is the news from January 7, 2014:  The survivors of the first annual Champion Polar Plunge came scrambling up through the vortex of brush on the creek bank fully clothed and no wetter for the effort, the water being shallow and frozen hard.  It was all the idea of a prominent citizen who thought that the spectacle of scantily clad hillbilly boys would entice the beautiful KY3 Meteorologist Abby Dyer down to the broad banks of Old Fox Creek for a feature segment for the noon news.  Hoping for the best, co-conspirator Cowboy Jack stood at the ready with a warm horse blanket to enfold any shivering meteorologist or local plunger.  It had great potential but turned out to be a genuine non-event as the hillbilly boys most generally wait until early June for their bath and the Cowboy had his already over in the swift cold waters of the Rippee Access.  Alas!  Ms. Dyer was a no show.  That polar air is due to hit the country again later in the week so perhaps interested citizens might remount their efforts toward the plunge.  They may recall John Prine’s song “Dear Abby.”  He is writing to the advice columnist, not the meteorologist.  She responds that you have no complaint.  She says that you are what you are and you ain’t what you ain’t.  She admonishes him to “listen up, buster, and listen up good.”  And finally she says to stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood.  While it is good advice it hardly meets the expectations of the daydreamers around the stove in the chat lounge at the Historic Emporium where the weather is always a hot topic.  Meteorologists know all about the heavens.  They can probably tell you that the reason your wishes do not come true when you wish upon a star is because you are wishing upon a planet!  Those are the first bright things up there at night.  Live and learn.

        J. C.  Owsley lives over near Cross Timbers, Missouri.  He is a great supporter of The Champion News and has just had a birthday.  He likes getting over to Champion with Bud Hutchison’s trail rides and comes as often as he can.  When he is not trail riding he is teaching granddaughters how to ride and snapping great piles of green beans and building bottle trees.  His friends in this part of the country are wishing him well hoping to see him again soon.  Marybeth Shannon too!  Her birthday was the 18^th.  She has a dazzling smile and is a proponent of an ecologically sustainable culture.  She sets a good example of country living with a wide circle of interesting friends and a great appreciation of the beauty of the place.  She is a Champion even though she lives over there in Vanzant.  Sometimes a birthday on a Sunday gets passed right over or so it would seem.  Celebrating can happen anytime.  Mrs. Coonts teaches the first grade over at Skyline.  Her birthday will be on Saturday the 25^th so she might get that song sung to her on Friday.  Brook Johnson is in the second grade there.  She might get the song sung to her on Monday since her birthday is on Sunday.  Monday Kay Heffern Alexander will have to go back to work.  That is her birthday so she most likely will have celebrated on Sunday, probably Saturday too and, if true to form, really is most likely to have begun on Friday at the end of her work day.  She has a whole week to plan her fandango.  These ‘future perfect’ verb forms are a little confusing.  Kay’s family and friends will be sure it is present perfect for her.  She is a Champion, a Skyline alumnus and the essence of cool.

        Toes were tapping over at the Vanzant Community Building on Thursday evening.  Bluegrassers were out in numbers singing old familiar tunes and some almost forgotten ones.  It is joyful to hear an old melody resurface again after years.  Guitars, mandolins, banjos and fiddles make that joyful noise.  It all starts with a pot-luck at 6:00 p.m. every Thursday and blossoms into music immediately and delightfully.

        The Skyline VFD Auxiliary had its meeting in the meeting room at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Downtown Champion on the 15^th of January.  The meeting had been scheduled for the 8^th of January and was postponed because of the Polar Vortex.  It was well attended and well organized.  Details of the upcoming chili super were discussed.  Steve Moody has agreed to emcee again this year and the school is available on the designated date which is March 8^th.  President Betty Dye has produced a bright quilt in a jigsaw puzzle pattern that is sure to be a treasure for anyone.  The Jernigan folks over in Ava did a handsome job of the quilting.

Chris Dailey and President Betty Dye display the queen size Jigsaw Puzzle quilt that will be the centerpiece of the Skyline Chili Supper in March.  Betty pieced the brightly colored quilt and it was quilted by the folks at Jernigan’s in Ava.

The queen size beauty will be on display at the store starting in February.  The next meeting will be there on February 12^th.    Everyone is welcome to attend.  The Skyline VFD is the little outfit that allows home owners to buy insurance in this remote area.  It is also made up of well-trained first responders and good neighbors.  Champions all!

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that this is the month to rest up for busier times ahead and to make plans for the year’s operations.  It says to draw out a plan for your garden, order catalogs and select varieties.  Get your equipment in shape.  As days permit, clean up your garden area.  Spread manure and phosphate aids such as bone meal, wood ashes and fish wastes on garden areas, even on top of snow.  Correct highly acidic soils by adding lime.  Add oak leaf mold or pine needles for acid loving plants such as broad-leafed evergreens and dogwoods.  Start onion seeds indoors late this month.  Enjoy Linda’s Almanac at www.championnews.us.  It is up at the very top of the page on the right hand side.  That is also a good place to read the latest Champion News if you think there is a chance that pertinent information, music or things that are topical, controversial, or rhyming might have been edited out for the printed version.  An unedited printed version of the almanac is posted for perusal at Henson’s Downtown G & G.  Find quilt tickets there as well as applications to participate in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library which is sponsored by the Skyline School RII Foundation, affiliated with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.  Young Drayson Cline is already having some stories read to him.  He’s a charming four month old with a great singing voice.

        The arraignment of the timber thief of eastern Booger County is set for Thursday, the 23rd in the Douglas County Courthouse^.  Tree huggers and other property owners will be interested in the outcome.  Send any good news past, present or future to Champion Items, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion @ championnews.us.  Bring your appreciation of ecology, history and folklore, wood craft, gardening, swimming, meteorology, equine husbandry, the beautiful English language, or music of any kind down to the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square and share what you love.  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—January 13, 2014

        There is joy and sadness in Champion.  It is always like that.  Joy abounds in the excitement of young ones like Drayson, Taegan, Foster, Kalyssa, Jenna, Jacob, Faith Anne and more as they start their romp through their busy and blessed lives.  Sadness comes as dear ones slip away.  J.T. Shelton lost his brother Dennis “Red” Shelton back in December.  Dennis was born in Drury and grew up between there and Champion.  When he got out of the army in 1968, he went to work at a cement plant in Davenport and was there for thirty years.  He was only 66 when he passed away.  That seems young.

        On Sunday, Fae Krider pointed out the window of the little church up to the top of the hill to the northeast to the place where the foundation still remains of the house where Ruby Hicks was born.  Ruby grew up there and went to school in Champion.  She married Vasil Proctor and continued to live close by.  She and Esther Wrinkles were baptized the same day in June of 1943 right there in Fox Creek.  She was heartbroken over the loss of her dear friend just a year ago and now she leaves many feeling that same lonesomeness for herself.  Family and friends across the country and the internet are remembering her kindness and her wonderful smile.  Tracee Davis said, “My mother, Inez Laverne Proctor Davis, grew up as close as sisters with Ruby and treasures many fond memories that the two of them shared. My mother visits Ruby daily in her thoughts and prayers. She sends her love.”  Jewell Hall Elliott wrote, “A very sweet lady. She and my mother worked together in Mtn. Grove rode together many miles beside each other.  Their children attended East Fairview together.  She was a dear neighbor and friend.”  Angela Kelsay Barnes:  “A lot of my morning childhood memories have this beautiful lady in them! Heaven gained an angel!”  Laine Sutherland said that she had known this dear lady all her life and Mickey Reilly said that she had made a lasting impression on him.  Donna Smith:  “I only had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Ruby a handful of times but could tell she was an exceptional person and she will be dearly missed by those who knew or loved her.”  Judi Lynnie Waits-Funk:  “We visited my Dad’s Mom and Dad every year in Arkansas and we always stopped either on our way there or home and spent a night or two with Uncle Vasil and Aunt Ruby… Loved them both!”  It is amazing to know how many lives were touched in such a positive way by this one Champion. Her children and sisters and brother have the heartfelt sympathies of friends and family in the place she loved so well.  “A jewel on Earth, a jewel for Heaven.  She’ll brighten the kingdom around God’s great throne.”

        The sunshine and warmer weather lifts spirits all around.  Finally some are getting to hang a few things on the clothes line and hoping this is not the day neighbors decide to burn trash.  Everybody has a different idea about what is suitable to burn in the burning barrel.  For some it is just food wrappings, tissues, junk and personal mail.  Others think burning plastic and Styrofoam is ok.  As to that, one says, “If you can smell it, it’s getting in you.”  One Champion ignoramus thinks that recycling is a joke and that probably the recycling centers just take all that stuff to a dump somewhere and bury it after they burn it.  Solid waste disposal has always been a challenge in this part of the country and different people have different ways to deal with it.  Many just do what their parents did and think they are doing the right thing.  Others struggle to recycle and compost and they think they are doing the right thing.  One gripes continually about the litter on the side of the beautiful country lane and then gets all puffed up with her own goodness when she picks a little of it up.  River Brady spent some exciting years in the Ozarks.  She writes seriously about the environment and the world, “How do we stop the evil we see?  How can we be sure that the innocent are protected?  Does anyone really believe that putting your head in the sand will help?  That’s what those who want you think they’re in charge are banking on. Stand up where ever you are and be pro-active about what you believe.  Are you here to help create a better world or is your will already gone?”  On the way to the clothesline Champions are overjoyed at the beauty they see around them.  They have a lot to think about.  They get a whiff of wood smoke in the air and know that when they wear these clothes to town they will be identified as country folks—some of the best kind.

        Brooklyn Edwards is a kindergarten student at Skyline.  Her birthday is on the 17^th.  Then young Jacob Kyle Brixey will celebrate his very special day on the 18.  The 19^th is a Sunday.  Nathan Nava will have the day off from school to enjoy his birthday.  Several prominent people have that day as their birth anniversary including Robert E. Lee who was born in 1807, Edgar Allen Poe, Janis Joplin, and Dolly Parton.  Dolly is the only one living in that group and she shares it with another live wire in Champion.  Kyle Barker is a big first grade student now at Skyline.  His birthday is the 21^st.  He has a large family which includes a General for a grandfather and will probably have some homemade ice cream at his party.  They will be singing that song.

        Finally the weather may be just right for some to get over to the Bluegrass jam at the community building at Vanzant on Thursday.  Music is a healing component in life.  It soothes, comforts, inspires, exalts, encourages, tantalizes and emboldens.  The year ahead will have its trials and triumphs.  There will be a song appropriate for almost any situation.  Share examples of this with The Champion News on facebook, or with champion @ championnews.us.  Bring them with you down to the Recreation of the Historic Emporium, fittingly situated on Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive just on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—January 5, 2014

        The Polar Vortex is headed to Champion!  Business was ‘brisk’ at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on Saturday as prudent shoppers stocked up on what they might need if things are to get as bad as it is suggested they might.  The shopkeeper was kept busy all day with request for propane and diesel.  Shelves were stocked with a fresh supply of all the staples that Champions need to feel like they are ready for whatever comes.  J. T. Shelton came in for provisions.  Joseph Georges was there looking for duct tape and was glad to get it.  He is doing some tightening up to keep the cold out.  Some folks routinely use plastic grocery sacks as chinking in drafty places during extremely cold weather.  Big humidifiers or pots of water on the wood stove go a long way toward keeping the humidity up and that helps keeps things warm.  Bob Dylan said, “’It was the coldest winter in twenty seven years!’  I felt warmer then.”  There will be some interesting stories about how everybody got through it all.

Coon dogs just go about their everyday business
during the Polar Vortex in Champion.

        The New Year started off on January’s new moon.  That is a relatively rare occurrence; the last time was 19 years ago.  Folks interested in astrology say that New Moons are all about new beginnings and fresh starts.  A note on The Champion News facebook page says, “Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new beginning.”  The statement came from Carolyn Gieseke Penner who shared it with Carolyn Nunn Harvey.  This reflects the bright side attitude that defines Champions no matter where they live.  A reader in the United Kingdom suggested that in the report concerning the timber thief, that the word ‘allusion’ should replace the word ‘illusion’ in the sentence, “Stay tuned for further updates (concerning the fate of the thief) and illusions to the pernicious effects of the lure of mammon on every part of society.”  He is clearly right.  Allusion is a part of speech that indicates a reference to some familiar concept, i.e. Greed is pervasive these days.  Illusion is something that can be seen which is not real, such as a card trick.  Greed is definitely real.  In an effort to start the year off with a clean slate, give me a break!  Or would that be brake?  It is definitely ‘break.’  That new “Champion” product line available at Henson’s Downtown G & G includes ‘brake’ fluid, not ‘break’ fluid.  Hydraulic fluid is also a good seller in the Champion line as well as the all-important antifreeze.  At the beginning of a New Year here now is an illusion of a clean slate!

        Birthdays have that new beginning feeling about them.  Sami McCleary had that feeling on Saturday.  Best wishes were left for her at the Celebrated Mercantile.  She will get them eventually if she is not too busy doing good deeds.  Good Champion friend, Rachel Evans, of Leicester, England will celebrate on the 8^th of January.  That is also Elvis’ birthday and a great fiddle tune that people recognize when they hear ‘The Battle of New Orleans.’  The Skyline VFD Auxiliary has a meeting scheduled in the Community Room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium that evening and if the weather and road conditions allow it will be a good get together.  Elizabeth Johnston will be receiving many good wishes on the 9^th.  She has a host of friends and a great family who all love her tremendously.  Nephew Phillip Holden Moses over in Norman, Oklahoma has his birthday on the 9^th as well.  Hopes are that he and Oliver will make it over to Champion this year to get acquainted.  Tom Van Dyke has been to Champion.  He lives in Houston, TX but makes it up to the Bright Side as often as he can.  He is going to Cuba this month on a church mission.  Teeter Creek’s rock and roll, herbalist granddad will share his birthday with Wilburn Hutchison on the 11^th.  Wilburn will be 80!  It is a nice round number.  He and Louise are warm and cozy up there on the side of the hill.  Their niece, Margaret, is staying with them and they are perking along just fine.  Once Wilburn and Fleming Geer were over by Skyline when they were kids and they saw a dirigible go over.  Kids today probably have no idea what a dirigible might be.  Happy Birthday everyone!

        Insulated houses and energy efficient heating systems go a long way toward making this brutal winter bearable.  It is hard to imagine how difficult a hard winter might have been for folks around here when Wilburn and Fleming were boys.  Ruby Proctor said one time that when she was a girl there would be snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to Easter.  That may not be exactly what she said, but it was something similar to that.  Her friends miss her and are determined to get up to Cabool to see her when the weather breaks. Ruby is a true Champion whose sweet smile brightens the pathway to good memories.  “Around the corner, beneath the berry tree, along the footpath, behind the bush, looking for Emily.  I told my Emily to go away, but now I’m sad she didn’t stay.  And tomorrow night if she comes a looking round for me, I’ll be sittin’ ‘neath the bitter berry tree.  Around the corner, beneath the berry tree, along the footpath behind the bush, looking for Emily!”  That is a song that smacks of optimism.

        Send epic tales of survival in the howling wind of the Polar Vortex to Champion @ championnews.us.  Triumphant songs of jubilation and heroic perseverance are welcome at The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Sad songs that might cause a person to feel better for having sung them, are as welcome there as are slate cleaning allusions/illusions.  Look in at www.championnews for images of the place in warmer times.  Bring any uplifting, happy, enthusiastic optimistic songs with you in your heart down to the wide and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek there at the junction of country roads and the beginning/end of the pavement.  Break for a brake or brake for a break anytime in Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!