DreamWorks

CHAMPION—August 12, 2013

        Fox Creek left its banks and cut a wide, wet swath through Champion last Thursday leaving mud coats on trees and brush higher than Cowboy Jack could reach if he were sitting on his high horse!  Big round hay bales floated by from Denlow headed on down to 14 Highway and who knows where from there?  One lodged itself in the tidy little garden next to the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square where bright sunflowers persisted above the deluge to wave happily in the sun that finally presented itself.  The water touched the steps of the store, but they remained dry.  The little church had six inches of water stacked up inside.  It may have been that deep in there when it flooded on Mother’s Day 2002, though the comparisons serve little purpose when it comes to wet carpets.  Gratitude still is the word of the day where comparisons are concerned.  Not too far away are a great number of people who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods.  Champions will not complain.

        Norris Woods was up at the Skyline Picnic and said that he had had 22½ inches of rain in fifteen days.  Several of those brave, good looking, friendly, helpful men who work for Leon Potter and this end of Douglas County made brief appearances at the picnic.  They say that there have been some people stranded because of the road conditions, but that everyone is being patient and understanding as they see the enormous amount of damage that has been done to the county roads.  Places are washed out that never have been before.  River Stillwood has a sign up looking for plans to build an ‘ark.’  Ronny Thompson and his co-worker were talking about how in the winter time  years ago the roadways would just dissolve under a car as the road thawed and it was not a matter of being stuck in the mud, but stuck in a hole.  “There’s a hole in the bucket, Dear Liza.”  There will always be plenty to do.

        “The bear went over the mountain” from one neighbor’s house to the next one.  The story was told that neighbor ladies ducked in their garage when they saw it and shut the door.  Fortunately, one of them had a cell phone and was able to call someone who came with a camera and a gun.  He took some good pictures they say and then fired the gun which caused the bear to leave.  The report was that the bear had pulled the garbage can off the deck and that on a previous occasion had attempted to take a bite out of the top of a barbeque grill.  It seems like the big fellow has found a home in the neighborhood.  Hopefully those good pictures will become available soon and Jerry Bennett, who lives up in Bluegrass, Iowa, will be able to put a face on the bear about which he reads and warns his Champion friends and family.  He knows how much his sweet Aunt Ruby Proctor loves Champion and so he is looking out for her at a distance.  McClures from Cincinnati, Iowa were sitting with Ruby at the picnic Saturday and were wishing Jerry could be there.

        Jeffry Goss called from down in Stone County looking for information about Linda’s Almanac.  He would like to have some copies of it available for the September 27^th meeting of the Christian Agricultural Stewardship Institute (CASI) which will be held at the Vanzant Community Building.  He says the meeting is free and that there will be speakers talking about farming in general and about the various ‘free energy’ scams that are going on these days.  Activities will start at 10:00 a.m. and farmers are encouraged to bring dry ears of their various corn varieties for comparison.  There will also be tomato tasting and that is sure to bring some out who might ordinarily not go.  Goss was interested in finding out about the ‘Millionaire’ tomato, saying that he had heard that a family named Henson in Champion had once had a tomato cannery and that the family had preserved this particular variety of tomato.  Anyone with information about that can share it at Champion Items, Rt.2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion at getgoin.net.  He mentioned the Harris Farmer’s Almanac.  He says it comes in a tan cover and is written by people in the area and oriented toward the Ozarks.  Linda’s Almanac is an amalgam of Ramon’s Brownie Calendar and Blum’s Almanac plus a few items of useful lore.  It comes out monthly and is available for perusal at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Downtown Champion.  Mr. Goss had the presence of mind to ask upon which side of the Square the store might be located.  He does not use the internet so he cannot access the almanac at www.championnews.us as many, such as the Ava Garden Club, do.  Arrangements have been made to mail him a copy.  He will be pleased to know that the 17^th and 18^th will be good days for planting above-ground crops and that the 22^nd and 23^rd will be ideal for root crops. Linda contributed some lovely hanging baskets to the silent auction at the picnic.  Karen Griswold won one and Sherry Bennett won the other.  Karen works hard for the Skyline VFD year round and Sherry lent a welcome helping hand in getting the auction set up.  She is also quite a music lover and includes in her repertory “Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlights.”

        Picnic music is always wonderful in these parts.  In the excitement of getting ready for the picnic a special birthday slipped by.  Kalyssa and Foster sang “Happy Birthday!” to their dear old dad who was born August 8, 1968!  The 12^th of August is the birthday of Katharine Lee Bates who was born in 1859, and whose best known work, America the Beautiful, says, “O beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain.”  Again, all the picnic music was great, but Master of Ceremonies, Ray Bradley, did such an outstanding job with the National Anthem on both evenings that everyone is sure he has sung it many, many times.  He has those high notes down, with no strain and plenty of sustain.  What a guy!  He conducts the ceremonies, introduces the bands, gives away door prizes and makes announcements with such a nice dead-pan sense of humor, that a person forgets he used to be an undertaker!  When he calls the name of an absent person who must be present to win, he says, “Don’t say the guy is ‘no longer with us’ to an undertaker!”  His Champion friends are glad that he has relocated back to the area.  He just couldn’t stay away.

        Darcy Cecil of Boise, Idaho had the winning ticket for the exquisite cross stitched quilt.  She’ll have to get another suitcase to get it home on the plane.  She has but to notify the concierge at Chez Upshaw and one will appear.  She is part of the contingent of visitors from Idaho and Alaska who have come to soak up enough of their Ozark heritage to get them through for a while.  There are family reunions of the clan going on in various locations in the area and it would seem that rooms at The Upshaw Arms are quite commodious and the staff is ‘adequate.’  The White River Valley Electric award of $100.00 of free power went to Judie Pennington who lives in bear territory up Tar Button Road.  The super weather radio that the Howell Oregon people donated was sold in auction to Kent Stamper, the Grinning Garbage Man, who in addition to his generous bid, generously helps with the cleanup after the picnic.  Other auction items included the diamond ring donated by Marjorie Carter at the Downtown Pawn Shop that wound up on the pretty finger of the lovely Darlene, placed there by the man who loves her.  They are a Champion couple and dedicated workers for the Skyline VFD.  Several people, new to the area, expressed an interest in participating in the auxiliary.  So things are changing, growing and getting better and a big “Welcome Neighbor’ sign is vigorously implied.

        The next big order of business will be the Champion School Reunion.  That happens on the Saturday before Labor Day every year.  Hopes are that the weather will be accommodating by then and the old school house will be dry.  Feel welcome to sing, “Oh! It ain’t a gonna rain no more no more, it ain’t a gonna rain no more!” out on the spacious veranda of the Historic Emporium looking out over the beautiful flood plain that is Champion!—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 5, 2013

CHAMPION—July 29, 2013

        One Champion asks, “Is there is any better weather ever for sleeping?” The reprieve by the rain from outside chores, the perfect temperature, the soft quality of the morning light and the comfort of the sheets all invite the drowsy pensioner to linger. Those first thoughts of the day savored in the luxury of sloth: “How green is my valley!” Champions have plenty to do inside as well, so they are up and at it.

        Friday night was damp for the Up and At It 4-H picnic, but it was reported widely that Saturday night was good. Good food, good music and good fellowship are the hallmarks of this annual event. Everybody has a good time. The year goes by so quickly, if you missed this one, the next one is just around the corner. Meanwhile the 4-H kids benefit year around from this fund raiser and their Champion friends wish them every good success in their endeavors. Leadership programs in the 4-H Club prepare young people to step up to the challenges in their community and the world. Head, heart, hands and health—Champion!

        Miley Day Schober was around every corner with her rake on Wednesday helping her grandmother and the other Skyline Auxiliary members get the picnic grounds ready for the big happening.

Miley Day Schober worked with her grandmother and other members of the Auxiliary to get the picnic grounds ready for the Skyline VFD Picnic on the 9th and 10th of August.

Wednesday evenings are dedicated to picnic preparedness and Miley is an enthusiastic participant. Her family has a long history with the Skyline VFD back to its very beginnings. It is a fine thing to see individuals willing to work as a group for the benefit of the whole community. A man named Edmund Hale said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” That is a mouthful and a great Champion sentiment. A phone visit with Irene Dooms lets Auxiliary members know that she will be at the picnic with some coconut cream pies made from her sister’s receipt. She allows that her pies will probably not be as good as Esther’s but she wanted to keep the tradition going. Her pies will rival any that the generous membership can contribute. Everyone will look forward to a mouthful of that goodness. Irene and Esther’s old family home place is still in the family and a year or so ago was seriously threated by a grass/brush fire that jumped the road. She was so grateful that the Skyline firefighters were willing to take her gate down and get it put out before the fire took the whole place. Her membership in the fire department and a few scrumptious pies express her gratitude. She is a Champion.

        Last Tuesday morning very early the wind blew a tree down in the Mountain Grove apartment complex where Ruby Proctor lives.

Ruby looks on as a neighbor examines the downed tree in front of her apartment in Mountain Grove. The wind of early Tuesday morning brought the big multi trunked tree down without doing any damage to nearby structures.

The tree did not hit her house, but it came close to her sister Amy’s place and made a mess in the yard for a little while. Amy has some beautiful flowers that the tree top missed as it thrashed and crashed almost to her door. A luscious double begonia in a color somewhere between tangerine and orange survived nicely on its shepherd’s hook by her walk way. Across the courtyard, Ruby has some beautiful roses and a petunia planter that is just exquisite. It was a lovely morning for a pleasant visit out on the porch. Ruby always thinks of Champion as her home. She grew up right in the heart of the place and the place is much in her heart. She was pleased to hear that Lorene Johnston’s notebooks are being enjoyed. Lorene was Ruby’s husband’s niece, so Ruby is well acquainted with Lorene’s long time habit of conserving things of interest. She would certainly have clipped out a newspaper picture of the tree down in front of Ruby’s place.

        Champions are all relaxed and smiling as the green beans go in the jars and the tomatoes begin to ripen. A vigilant eye is directed toward the corn patch lest the raccoons decide on an early feast. Linda’s almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 30th and the 31st of July will be good days for planting root crops and for transplanting. Likewise the 1st of August and the 4th and 5th will be good for root crops and for starting seedbeds. The joys of the garden are many! Hopefully Taegan (Peanut) Krider will be down on the Square in Champion on Friday and Saturday with some of her Dad’s extra zucchini. Several young families will be down there for an informal swap meet then. It is reminiscent of the old days when the square would be full people catching up on the news of the week and seeing what people had brought to sell and barter. Those were the days before the internet and television. There were phones then, but not nearly everyone had one, so they would just head on down to Champion with their eggs, or rabbits, or fish, or extra green beans and would come home with a needed tool, or some dishes or something nice from someone else’s closet. It is a lively community yet—Champion!

        Tennessee family and friends have graced the place with warm smiles, wholehearted handshakes and hugs, and beautiful singing. They were well met and will be always welcomed. Birthdays for early August include Seamus Heffern and Skyline School bus driver Paul Kennedy. They both celebrate on August second. Seamus lives in Springfield but has recently spent some of the best part of his summer vacation with his grandparents just over in Champion South. He and his little sister, Lizzy, and the new puppy, Skooter, romped and played until the grandparents were exhausted—in a good way.

        Walter Pidgeon and Maureen O’Hara were the stars in John Ford’s 1941 movie. The protagonist said, “How green was my valley that day, too green and bright in the sun!” So it was not a question but an expletive. Richard Liewellyn’s 1939 novel ended with, “How green was my Valley then, and the Valley of them that have gone.” It is easy to look at a place full and vibrant with life and yet see the shadows of dear ones, gone, moving through memory in the intervals of present business. So it is in this valley. The many songs about valleys often have references to old and new loves, sweet and sad. “I’ve got a mountain of love for the girl in the valley. I’ve got an ocean of dreams for the girl in the valley.” Share your favorite at Champion at getgoin.net or Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, Mo 65717. Come down to a beautiful valley, at the bottom of several hills, at the junction of country roads and the beginning of the pavement, just down from the joining of Clever Creek to Old Fox Creek where stands the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square. You may stand in the lovely lanai there to sing your favorite valley song or just look out across one of the world’s most charming valleys–Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—July 22, 2013

        Champions arose from their comfortable beds early on Monday morning and went out to inspect their rain gauges and varmint traps and to marvel at their good fortune.  It would seem that the dry spell is, for the moment, broken and there is every chance that this will turn out to be the growing season which will be remembered into distant decrepitude as having been the start of all the great ones.  “Don’t tell me 13 is an unlucky number!  Don-cha remember?  2013 was the year we ran out of fruit jars!“  It is a marvel that a person can fanaticize about a marital spat many years hence.  Champion!

        A bunch of good citizens—community minded folks—got together Wednesday at the Skyline VFD fire-house/picnic grounds and began the process of getting things ready for the picnic.  The chief honcho deftly drug the brush hog around while his near neighbors weed ate and lawn mowed.  New neighbors, the Georges (Joseph and Salina, Tristan, Harrison and Nickolas), joined in with Ms. McCleary, Chris Dailey and others to scrub to a bright shine all the cooking equipment.  When fourteen people get together to do something, some things get done.  They will be doing it again this Wednesday and, most likely, each Wednesday until the picnic is over and then maybe the following Wednesday just for the fun of it.  Anyone in the fire district or anyone driving by is welcome to join in.  The work starts at 5:00 p.m. and goes on until quitting time.  The reward is that good feeling of being part of something worthwhile.  All the rural fire departments are made up of volunteers.  Some fight fires and do the dangerous work for which they train so rigorously and some work on the sidelines doing the other important things that have to be done to keep the vital outfit operating.  A temporarily overwrought individual was heard to say one time a few years back, “This is not the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department Picnic Society!”  It turns out, that for a few weeks in mid-summer every year, it is.  Wednesdays at five—come join the fun.

        “The Black Kettle Ride” by Cinita Brown will be summer reading for one Champion.  The story has been preserved as it was printed in The Douglas County Herald starting on November 7, 2002, and ending on April 17, 2003.  Each page has been carefully cut out of the paper and glued onto ruled notebook paper and archived with dates and references in one of the seven thick notebooks of Mrs. Lorene Johnston, which are currently on loan to The Champion News.  It is an honor to be allowed access to a person’s private papers as the things that are deemed important enough to be conserved give great insight into the character and disposition of the individual.  This promises to be an excellent adventure.  The second entry in this first notebook is comprised of all the clippings (April 5, 2001) of the story of a Springfield youth who was rescued from Brown’s Cave.  The 16 year old boy (Joseph Brown) was half a mile deep in the cave and rescuers had to crawl, to wade deep water and mud, and traverse slippery slopes to find him.  He was in shock, suffering hypothermia and a compound fracture of the leg.  That was an extraordinary story that involved volunteers and technicians from Goodhope Fire Department, Cox-Ava Ambulance, Cox Air Care, Ava Fire Department and Skyline Fire Department.  It looks like Mrs. Johnston’s interest in local affairs will prove to be an educational journey if the first random opening of the treasure trove is representative of the whole.  Thank you, Richard.  Thank you, Lorene.  Thank you Ms. Brown.  The summer will go quickly, starting with “Chapter 1, Christmas Day 1844.”

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 25^th through the 27^th are good days for planting beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, peanuts and other root crops.  They are also good for planting melons, cucumbers, pumpkins and other vine crops that can be planted now.  The almanac says they will yield well.  Those three days are good for transplanting as well as good days for weaning, hunting, fishing, and pruning to encourage growth.  This full moon is called The Thunder Moon and a person born in July has the ruby for a birth stone.  (There will probably be no shortage of rubies in the life of the royal baby about to be born on the hottest day in the UK in years.  Congratulations in advance from the Champion News!)  There has certainly been some thrilling thunder in recent nights, and compensation for not being able to see the enormous full moon comes in the rain gauge.  Farmers and gardeners are happy.  The rain has made earth working easier for people who enjoy spending their time with shovels.  It might be a good time to rework some of the roads.  The men from the County Shed at Drury stay busy and the list of projects the residents of the area have in mind is long.  The process of prioritizing this work is probably more complicated than the average rural person with the rutted drive can imagine.  One old Champion is complaining that it is too wet to mow.  When it gets dry enough to mow he will complain about having to mow.

        A new lease on life is an expression used when one begins to realize success after a series of failures.  Things look dismal and then get much better.  The expression would seem to indicate that a person is just renting life– having temporary possession of it with the responsibility for taking care of it.  An old farmer has some good advice about life:  “Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.  Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.  Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.  A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.  Words that soak into your ears are whispered….not yelled.  Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.  Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.  Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.  It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.  You cannot unsay a cruel word.  Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.  Don’t judge folks by their relatives.”  The old farmer has lots of advice.  A migrant farmer advises, “Show your enemy the road to reconciliation.”  A Champion advises, “When it is good, say so.”  So Champions are happy with their lease on life.  It is good and they are grateful.

        The always charming proprietor of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square reports brisk sales of tickets for the lovely quilt on display there.  It is a queen sized beauty, brilliantly white and cross stitched with the “Tree of Life.”   Examine the fine workmanship and get your name in the pot.  While you are there, register your good advice or, if you must, your pithy complaint, out on the spacious veranda.  You will be in excellent company, hobnobbing with the locals, catching up on the news, watching the grass grow.  It might be a good time to sing, “Singing in the rain, just singing in the rain!  What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again!”  In Champion!—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—July 15, 2013

        Champions are optimistic by nature and the idea of a little rain early in the week has some of them making preparations for it.  Others are purposely not preparing, daring nature to rain on the clean clothes on the line or on the pie cooling on the windowsill.  One calls it the “theory of positive and negative jinxing.”  Rain or shine, Champions take what comes and make the most of it.  One says, “Might as well, we can’t dance.”  It is unclear whether dancing is not allowed or the individual is just incapable of dancing.  The weather, however, does look clear and so Champions stay optimistic rain or shine.

        Reports are that it was hot and sunny on Friday for the Vanzant Picnic, but that Saturday was just delightful.  A big band of clouds rolled in from the northeast; the temperatures were quite temperate and the humidity was low.  It was perfect!  Those volunteer firefighters from over at the Eastern Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department were out directing traffic in the most expeditious and efficient way.  Polite, friendly young fellows kept it safe and a couple of other guys ran a golf cart shuttle for folks who had to park a distance away.  The entertainment, the food and the games were all great, but the best part was seeing and visiting with friends and acquaintances that get together at this event every year.  Ruby Proctor chose the right night to be out.  Frankie and Freda accompanied her and she had a good time.  Frances Banks said that the fish had come from a farm in Arkansas and that Gwen from down at the Drury Café had arranged for it through an outfit in Ava.  Everyone held that it was just first-rate.  Elvie Ragland enjoyed her fish dinner with her friend Linda Collins of Richfield and had some good stories to tell about her recent adventures over in Oklahoma.  She said she has not been spending as much time as she would like out on the porch at the Historic Emporium in Champion, but figures that she will get over there soon.  The General was in full Generalissimo Mode ramrodding and nattering and hobnobbing all to good effect.  Mrs. Don Walker and her charming daughter were on hand selling those tickets for the drawings and greeting the arriving crowd with their sweet smiles.  Sherry Lynch and her sweetheart were there selling tickets for the fifty/fifty drawing and someone alleged it was he who did such an excellent job of the National Anthem, though one person thought he said ‘truth through the night’ instead of ‘proof through the night.’  Bob Upshaw said that master of ceremonies, Steve Moody, is responsible for booking the talent for the program.  He is quite a talented fellow himself and knows it when he sees it.  Those Shannon sisters, Judy Wood and Yvonne Unger, kept the cake walk spinning and a great deal of excellent conversation ensued around that little numbered square of ground.  Linda Clark won a lemon cake for her dad, Wayne Anderson, and Linda Kaye’s older sister had great luck and won three cakes during the evening, all of which she gave away.  Champion!

        “I fell out of a barbed wire fence, straddle of a cherry tree and I tore myself from now until tomorrow morning.  The Doctor said I wouldn’t live from one end to the other,” said Rufus Keller, according to his grandson, Larry Wrinkles, the other day.  Larry said that his grandpa was full of riddles and limericks and stories of all kinds.  One interesting one was about a couple of guys standing around talking when they saw a fellow coming up the road.  One asked the other, “Who is that coming up the road.”  His companion replied, “Brothers and sisters have I none, but that man’s father is my father’s son.”  This is an old riddle, but it still works a hardship on some brains to figure it out.  Hard work is no stranger to the Wrinkles clan.  Teresa was busy in the cook shack at the Vanzant Picnic.  She will work the Up ‘n At It 4-H Picnic in a couple of weeks and has pledged to help out at the Skyline Picnic as well.  It will seem strange to have the quilt and door prize ticket table without Esther Wrinkles this year.  Teresa sat with her mother-in-law there for many years and will carry on,  a Champion.  Esther had her 95^th birthday last June.  She would have been 96 this year.  That is corrected information via Irene Dooms, Esther’s sister, and the other of Rufus Keller’s daughters.  Irene will make some pies for the Skyline picnic, she says.  It is always good to see her and her Champion and Skyline friends hope she will make it out this way often.  Before Kenneth and Dawn Henson left to go back to Houston, they made it by Henson’s Grocery and Gas to buy some tickets for the beautiful quilt that will be given away at the Skyline Picnic this year.  It is figured that since Hoovey only bought five dollars’ worth of tickets, he will not mind paying the shipping charges if he wins.  He might ask someone to hold it for him (if he wins) and he will pick it up when he comes for the Champion School Reunion on the Saturday before Labor Day.  He will have to win it first, and his few little tickets among the many will have to prove him to be luckier than experience has demonstrated so far.  Well, he does have that lovely, sweet wife.  Time will tell on August 10^th.

        Ethan Alexander shares his birthday with his Uncle Zee on the 19^th of July.  Together they share their birthday with Samuel Colt, 1814; Edgar Degas, 1834, and Lizzie Borden, 1860.  Ethan has a cousin named Lizzie.  She is Uncle Zee’s daughter and she was born in 2007, on the 15^th of May.  She probably will learn about the other Lizzie eventually, but her family is not worried.  When it comes to swimming across the pool, or figuring out a hard problem, or understanding things, she says, “I’ve got this!”  And she means it.  Her old Granddad says it is so.

        Lizzie’s Granddad is hoping the deer will stay out of his garden this year.  Taegan’s folks are hoping the raccoons will stay out of the corn.  It is pitiful to have a good crop just ready to harvest when the critters come along and reap it in advance.  Live traps, shot guns, and good watch dogs might keep them at bay, but luck is a factor in there as well.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 20th and 21^st will be good for planting above-ground crops and the 23^rd will be a lucky day for planting beets, carrots and other root crops.  There is always something to do.  Every now and then it is a good thing to take a break, a little rest, to catch up on a little visiting with friends and neighbors on the comfortable, spacious veranda of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  Friends will look for Elvie there singing, “Luck be a Lady Tonight!”  Take a break and enjoy your good luck to be in one of the world’s truly beautiful places…Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—July 8, 2013

        “Truth, Justice and The American Way!” was the message scrawled on the bathroom wall and discovered after the last of the early summer guests had departed.    The message was really written in a precise hand on a small slate hung on the wall in that little room and it caused the host to smile reflecting back on the pleasant hours of conversations concerning music, art, literature, philosophy, politics, religion, farming, gardening, engineering, innovation, health, health care and myriad other subjects.  The pleasure derived from such pleasant visiting is one of life’s treasures.  Champion!

        Dawn and Kenneth Henson surely had some of those great conversations while they were in town for the Mountain Grove Alumni gathering this week.  The alumni celebration ties in nicely with the Fourth of July festivities.  Saturday was the regular day for the parade and general get-together of people who have attended school there in past years going way back–way back.  Dawn did not go to school there.  She grew up in Tulsa and had six hundred people in her high school graduating class, which had its 50^th reunion this year.  She did not attend, saying that she does not feel as close to her own graduating class a she does to Kenneth’s in Champion and in Mountain Grove.  She likes the friendly environment in these parts.  The two of them spent some pleasant time on the wide veranda at the Champion Store on Sunday.  The store was not open, but they still enjoyed a few minutes of leisure looking out over the tranquil scene.  Dawn said that it had been 107˚F when they left Houston the other day, so it was not just family history that had them so glad to be back in Champion.  They were going to spend some time Sunday afternoon with Uncle Deward Henson’s daughter, then head up to Springfield to visit with brother Royce Henson and his wife Jo.  They planned a stop off in Arkansas on their way home to see a granddaughter perform in a school function there.  When complimented on his apparent vigor and weight loss, Kenneth (Hoovie) credited his by-pass surgery.  He said that he had blown his strict diet in a big way on this trip but that he will get back on the straight and narrow soon.  Their Champion friends hope the straight and narrow will bring them back for the Champion School Reunion on the Saturday before Labor Day.

        “Is this the Information Bureau?”  That was the opening salvo of the telephone conversation initiated by a prominent Champion who was calling to find out what he could do that day according to Linda’s Almanac.  The July almanac was late in being posted on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown G & G and he could not figure out what to do.  It turned out that the day he called and the subsequent day were perfect days for destroying weeds.  He had been killing brush the day before so he felt like he was on the right track.  The 14^th through the 17^th will be the next favorable days for planting, particularly for those crops that produce their yield above the ground.  The almanac can be studied on the bulletin board in Champion, on the internet at www.championnews.us and over at The Plant Place in Norwood.  It is nice to have a plan or to have the comfort of knowing you are doing the right thing at the right time.

        Plans are well underway for the Skyline VFD picnic that will be the 9^th and 10^th of August this year.  The Skyline VFD Auxiliary will have its next planning meeting in Champion on Thursday the 11^th of July.  Time is flying by!  Hoovie and Dawn did not get to see the beautiful quilt that is on display in the Historic Emporium, but they have been promised pictures and the opportunity to buy as many tickets as they would like by mail.  The drawing will be held on Saturday night of the picnic.  The White River Valley Electric Cooperative people have been very nice again this year, awarding $100.00 in free electricity to be won by a participating member.  Howell- Oregon Electric has also contributed a Deluxe AM/FM weather alert radio which can be examined at the store in Champion.  It will be offered in the silent auction at the picnic so some lucky bidder can enjoy the good news about bad weather and as the Missouri Electric Cooperatives say, “We can’t change the weather, but we can help you plan and prepare.”

        Sophia Zappler will have her eleventh birthday on the 13^th of July.  That is just about the time that Kate and William Winsor are expecting their royal baby.  Maybe Sophia will share her birthday with a future queen.  Ceiara Carroll will have her birthday on the 14^th of July.  She will be in the seventh grade at Skyline this fall.  Summer is an excellent time for a birthday.  Some friends celebrate Christmas time birthdays in the middle of the summer just to have the day be truly special.  “Birthday” money should not necessarily have to be spent on other people at Christmas.  While giving may indeed be the greatest joy, sometimes it takes a while to figure that out, and for a child or an adult receiving is also most pleasant.  That is particularly true of a thoughtful gift.  It takes practice to figure out just what might be the most wonderful thing to give to a friend or loved one.  The thought behind the gift is decidedly more important than the amount of money spent on it.  One old Champion grandmother thinks she will just start giving boxes of “Thank you” notes to grandchildren, who do not seem to have been taught the concept.

        Love and Gratitude go together like biscuits and gravy.  Country musicians have written many songs about being thankful.  Roy Clark sang, “Thank God and Greyhound Your Gone.”  Kris Kristofferson wrote to God in his thank you song:  “Thank you for that burning sun that’s rising golden in the air that smells so sweet.  Thank you for that empty far horizon that opens to a new eternity.”  Send your favorite thank you song to Thank You, Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion @ getgoin.net.  Better yet, make the trip down to the bottom of the hill on the wide, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek and sing your thank you song right out loud.  Climb up the broad graceful steps of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium and turn to look out over one of the world’s truly beautiful places.  Hold on to the porch rail with both hands as you express your jubilant joy and gratitude for being in Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—July 1, 2013

        John Adams, Ben Franklin, George Washington and some other guys got together in Carpenter’s Hall in Philadelphia in 1774, to chat and conspire among themselves with the doors and windows closed against the Royalist spies.  By the second of July 1776, they had moved to Independence Hall and John Adams kept yelling “Now is the time!”  There was a thunderstorm going on.  They got it figured out and here we are…. a big lusty Nation.  Even back then Adams and others were concerned about the direction of the country and continually said that it was “going to Hell.”  The country was in turmoil.  It has always been in turmoil.  It is the nature of the Nation to be in turmoil because it is an amalgam of the ‘melting pot,’ roiling with growing pains and optimism.  Champion is the very seat of optimism in the very Heart of the Nation.  Hurrah! for the Red White and Blue!

        “Now is the time!” said Harley to Barbara or Barbara to Harley on July 3^rd forty eight years ago.  So they tied the knot just before Independence Day, forever abandoning their individual independence for the joy of joining together “‘ till,”  well, everybody knows “’till when.”  For the most part, it seems to have worked out well.  It is good for the city girl that her farm boy needs to go spend some time in the hay every year.  That way, when he has had such a productive country sojourn away from her, and she, such a peaceful respite of freedom, they are again delighted with the sight of one another, just like the old days!  Flowers, dinner out, lengthy conversations about their respective time alone make it all seem like it is starting all over again.  They were young and the future stretched out before them endlessly.  Romance is truly Champion.  Congratulations.

        Vickie Baumer, a graduate student working at the Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station is quite a fan of the old fashioned hollyhock.  An article featuring her and the flower in the Ozarks Fruit and Garden Review confirms the plants origins and its Victorian placement around the rural outhouses.   Ms. Baumer could, no doubt, corroborate the information that the tap root of the hollyhock is probably so deep that an attempt to transplant it, especially in extreme heat, would most likely be pure folly.  So when the gardener saw that brand new bright red truck speeding by the other day, she was sure that the driver had read the Champion News of June 17^th, 2013, describing the unlawful digging of the lone blossom and was hoping the cheeks of the driver matched the color of the truck.  Read about the theft at www.championnews.us and see in that particular article the Champion children at the Tri County Fair and some excellent illustrations of the hollyhock, which was suggested by Texas granddaughter, Zoey Louise, who was much saddened that someone would steal a flower.  Readers of the Herald particularly might visit the internet to verify that they are getting all of the Champion News.  Sometimes there are edits for length or for content or for no apparent reason.  Last week the article ended mid-sentence with the word ‘where.’  The subject was homecoming and the sentence finished thusly:   “where the pavement starts it is good to be home—in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!”

        June Slipped away so quickly.  Nick Massey had a birthday on the 25^th and Dancing Nancy out Dogwood way celebrated on the 26^th.  Esther Wrinkles would have had her 95^th on the 28^th.  Champion Eva Powell shared her birthday on the 29^th with KZ88 Radio personality Butch Kara.  Now it is July and a most pleasant curmudgeon up on the side of a hill rejoices that he has made it to yet another astounding number of years.  Patrick Vincent, who will be a 4^th grader at Skyline this fall, will have his birthday on the 3^rd of July.  Kyra Curtis has her birthday on the 6^th.  She will be in the 7^th grade when school starts up again.  Lyla Brown will be in kindergarten.  Her birthday is on the 7^th of July.  The 14^th Dali Lama will celebrate his 78^th birthday on the 6^th of July.  He shares the date with Professor Daryl Haden formerly of Smallett, Missouri, and now of South Fulton, Tennessee.  Of course, The United States of America celebrates its birthday on the 4^th of July!  The creeks will be full of revelers and the fun will be effervescent.  Huzza!

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 8^th and 9^th will be excellent days for planting crops that bear their yield above the ground. Some Champions will use those dates to finally get their green beans in.  “Surely,” think they, “there will be plenty of time for them to make.”  They hope to spend some days in early September canning beans.   Their friends wish them good luck.  These spectacular days are a genuine gift.  Folks to the west and south are suffering mightily from the heat.  The wildfires are horrific.  Friends and family living in those affected areas are much in the thoughts of their loved ones across the Nation.  The firefighters who put themselves at risk for the protection of lives and property are to be commended certainly and the families of those lost firefighters considered in National prayers.  “O beautiful, for heroes proved in liberating strife, who more than self their country loved and mercy more than life.”

        Singing “America the Beautiful” is definitely an exercise in spirit lifting.  It is suggested that everyone give it a try out.  Sing it out loud on the comfortable veranda at the top of the graceful steps overlooking the tranquil splendor of one of the world’s truly beautiful places. “O beautiful, for pilgrim feet/Whose stern, impassioned stress/ A thoroughfare for freedom beat/Across the wilderness!” to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—June 24, 2013

After a prolonged absence or a short one, the joy of coming home is a joy that almost everyone gets to experience sometime in his life time or maybe many times in a life time. Home is the most venerated of all human traditions. It is that place that you know where you are known. The poet, Robert Frost, said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” The privilege of calling Champion home is one that none take for granted. It is where the heart is.

Fifteen Cherokee high school and college students from Oklahoma joined up with seven riders from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Echota, Georgia on May 30th and began the 950-mile ride to commemorate the forced move of Cherokees from Georgia to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears in 1838. They arrived in Tahlequah, Oklahoma on Friday the 21st. For some of them it was a home coming. For the rest it was the experience of going to a strange place. Many of them said it was an amazing trek, but that they never lost sight of the fact that for the survivors of that original trip the experience was much different. Thousands did not survive. The trail passes through many states and at various times of the year many motorcycle riders, some of them Cherokees, retrace the trail as a reminder of the difficulties of those long ago times. One of them said that he makes the ride to remind himself that now the country has a great many different people in it from all over the world. He thinks people should be less quick to decide that they are very different from anyone else. Everybody comes from somewhere and “The moon shines tonight on Pretty Red Wing.”

It is obvious that the past ten days have been busy ones for the haymakers. Some fields look like they have produced three times last year’s yield. It will be interesting to conduct a survey of the increase if those guys ever get down off their tractors. Barns are stuffed and the bounty is greeted with gratitude even considering the hard work it takes to collect it all. Gardens have leapt ahead in the meantime for those fortunate enough to have a garden husbandman at home willing to water from time to time. The weeds seem to have made a great success of themselves as well. A few days of remedial weeding will have it all looking just right. Linda’s almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 28th through the 30th will be a favorable time for planting late root crops and for transplanting. These are also good days for vine crops, for setting strawberry plants, for pruning to encourage growth and for applying organic fertilizer. There is always so much to do that a person can forget how important it is to get down to the creek!

City girls have come to the farm. They are excited about the garden, the full moon in the country, the fireflies, the frogs croaking at night, the whippoorwills, the neighbor’s cows and horses, and the wild flowers. Penelope says, “When I grow up I want to be a teacher!” Country girls have moved to town. One of them has had the interesting circumstance in life to have a General for a father. He has provided direction, if only sometimes the way not to go. He has most likely been responsible for an enormous amount of embarrassment from time to time and certainly much entertainment. He did, however, offer a steady hand of positive guidance that has resulted in a confident, capable young woman who can pull up her big girl tool kit, pull out her own needle nose pliers, walk into O’Reilly’s Auto Parts and get what is needed to do what has to be done to fix her own car. Admittedly, it was a simple ‘fix,’ but it marks willingness to take personal responsibility and that is a sterling trait of any girl from the country or the town. Champions!

Descriptions of sterling traits are welcome at Champion@getgoin.net or Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717. Look in on www.championnews.us for some visual poetry. “A hush surf sound sighs and a quiet light glides through dense bows overhanging the deep, cool, soft sand. Dragonflies dance while small spiders dangle by sticky silk threads in the still air.” From the sands of South Padre Island to the broad inviting veranda of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square just to the west of the wild wooly banks of Old Fox Creek, at the bottom of the hill where the pavement starts it is good to be home—in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—June 17, 2013

        AUSTIN—It is strongly recommended that a person get up and go elsewhere every now and then.  Just get out of Dodge.  Look around and try to grasp the reality that there are more than seven billion people in the world—a billion being a thousand million.    It may be that everyone thinks his own part of the world is best, and it is easy to be confident of that when living in Champion.   Champions have lots of good neighbors on Planet Earth, and while it is nice to be neighborly and to go visiting, it will be glorious to be back home in the beautiful hills.

        The big rain over by Springfield on Saturday was big news on the internet.   Friends and family living over there are much in the thoughts of their Champions.   Golf ball size hail does not sound good for the garden.  The forecast looks like more for the week ahead, so it is hoped that the hay is in bales already when the rain comes and that it comes in just the right amount and that all the golf balls land squarely in the fair way.

        Reports are that Champion kids and cousins had a great time at the fair.  Jacob Brixey and Teagan Krider were the youngest farmers to show their livestock.  They are both three years old and both won a bucket, a halter and a trophy for youngest exhibitor– Jacob’s in blue and Teagan’s in pink.  His folks say that Jacob has not wanted to put his trophy down.  He wanted it in bed with him but settled for having it next to the bed where he could reach it as soon as he woke up.

Young Champion dairy farmers made a fine showing at the Tri County Fair. Jacob Brixey is here examining his trophy for youngest boy exhibitor. Behind him is Foster Wiseman with the leather hater awarded as the Herdsmen award for the Krider family. Jenna Brixey and Kalyssa Wiseman also received ribbons for their performance. Taegan Krider has her pink halter as part of her prize as youngest girl exhibitor.

Jenna Brixey, 5; Tyler Klingensmith, 4; Jacob Brixey, 3; Maddox Klingensmith, 7. Each won three ribbons for their excellent performance showing their calves at the Tri-County Fair.

Jacob’s sister, Jenna, showed her calf and their cousins Maddax and Tyler Klingensmith also came to show again.  Teagan’s cousins, Foster and Kalyssa Wiseman of Marshfield, and Dillon Watts from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, were also a big part of the exhibition again this year.  This seems like a Champion farm family tradition.  Young farmers are what the world needs to keep itself fed and healthy.  Champions all!

Champion Hollyhocks

        “Alcea” is the scientific name for the flower known as the hollyhock.  There are about sixty species of the plant and they are said to have originated in central Asia, though a few are native to southeast Europe or Egypt.  They must have arrived in America during the Victorian era (1837 to 1901) when they were commonly planted around out-houses so that a young lady visiting would not have to ask the embarrassing question about where it was.  These days, they are a much enjoyed garden ornamental.  They grow on tall stalks in shades that vary from deep purple, almost black, through all the pinks and reds to white—a very lofty elegant plant.  They are quite drought resistant and do well in the full sun so a person who sows the seeds along their fence row might expect to see their lane dressed up and lovely to drive through.   While some seeds fall on stony ground and others are crowded out by tares or eaten by birds, a few will take root and one did out in East Champion a few years ago.  It has been making seeds every year but none of its offspring have caught on and the beautiful single pink sentinel has been waving in the breeze all alone until last week.  The gardener who sowed the seed lives close to the road and happened one day to notice a bright red, very new pick-up truck driving very slowly down the road.  That is good because between showers dust billows behind speeding vehicles.   The gardener watched in amazement as the truck stopped at the bottom of the hill and a woman emerged with a shovel and began to dig up the single hollyhock.  She made short work of it and soon had the tall plant lying flat in the back of her truck.  The bewildered gardener watched as she drove away.  It is to be known that the plant has a long deep tap root and the chances of a mature plant surviving a transplant in the heat of the year is slim.  So the gardener is deprived of its beauty as are admiring passersby and the robber will most likely not succeed in having the coveted plant thrive in her own patch.   Ex-Route 2 mailman, Bob Chadwell , will tell a person straight out that it is illegal to pick up rocks out of the creek and to dig roadside plants.   The part about rocks has not been verified, but there was a law passed in 1994, that levees a fine of $500.00 and up to six months in jail for digging roadside flowers for transplant.   Since the rule was established to protect native species, it may not apply to the hollyhock.   Still, the woman in the new red truck with the windows rolled up to stay cool could just cruise the roads slowly and enjoy the beauty of what is there. If she must possess it, she could go to a nursery and buy herself some hollyhocks.  Linda probably has some over at The Plant Place in Norwood.  Meanwhile, the gardener with the missing hollyhock might put up a sign on the fence where the plant was dug saying—what?

        Say, “Happy Birthday!” to Daniel Parkes who will be in the second grade at Skyliine School in the fall.  His birthday is on the 19^th of June.  That is also the birthday of a Champion nephew who spent a great deal of his formative youth on the farm on Cold Springs Road.  Joshua Cohen had many good jokes with Ed Henson.  Now he is an older fellow, still much loved.  Alyssa Strong will be a fifth grader and her birthday is on the 23^rd.   Dillon Watts’ mother, Linda, has her birthday on the first day of summer.  It is hard to believe she has completed her second score!   Sierra Parsons, the granddaughter of great Champion friends from over west of Ava, also has her birthday on the Summer Solstice.  It is the longest day of the year, a good time to celebrate.  She and her sister, Bailey have been visiting with their grandparents.  They live in Portland, Oregon and like to come to the Ozarks whenever they can.  Of course, their grandparents like it too.  They have a wonderful garden and the girls will have a chance to pick some peas and strawberries and swim in the creek.   Summertime is wonderful in Champion.

        “Summer time and the living is easy” unless you live on the farm and then there is work to do.  It is healthy, wholesome work though, and nobody really complains about it very much.  Since it has to be done anyway, there is hardly any point in complaining, but a person can brag about how hard he works though.  He can go down the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square and share some of his produce which is the price of bragging.  Sing your summertime song or do a little bragging while you stand on the broad inviting veranda and look out over one of the truly beautiful places on Planet Earth, Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—June 10, 2013

        Glorious early summer days in Champion have haymakers busy and all the exciting summertime events are beginning to happen.  It seems that every time of the year has some excitement built into it in Champion.  It is just that kind of place, poised on the balance of past and future with the pleasant present as the central pillar.  Nostalgia and optimism teeter back and forth on the lovely here and now.  Champion!

        It may come as a surprise that Father’s Day was forty years late in becoming the counterpart to Mother’s Day.  It was not until President Lyndon B.  Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.  Six years later the day was made a permanent national holiday when President Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.  Senator Margaret Chase Smith accused Congress of ignoring fathers for forty years while honoring mothers.  Most countries around the world have a Sunday in June dedicated to fathers.  Champions honor the old guy year around with much Love and Gratitude for the hard work, the good guidance, stewardship, and the steadfastness which he exemplifies.  Good fathers are teaching their sons how to be good fathers by example–being fair and kind as they apply the Golden Rule.  Champion, Dad!

        Ms. McCleary’s garden is looking good.  She plans to run some fence and hang some aluminum pie plates to deter some critters.  She might visit a barber shop and get some hair to spread around the perimeter and she has several other ideas about protecting her pretty parcel.  She has quite an appreciation for wild flowers and posted a picture on line of what may have been a buttercup.  She is on a quest to identify it.   Linda’s Almanac says that from the 16^th through the 20^th will be good days for planting and transplanting above the ground crops.  There will not be another good time to plant root crops until the 3^rd of July.  Linda’s main garden helper was planting sweet potatoes Saturday.  He is famous for growing huge sweet potatoes.  His method is hard work, but it really pays off.  He digs a deep trench, 18 to 20 inches, and fills it in with layers of compost and sand and keeps building it until he has a raised bed a foot or so high.   He covers the bed with a good quality weed cloth that has been cut to accommodate the plants.  He may have drip irrigation installed in it too.  It seems quite elaborate, but once the initial work is done he can just sit back and watch them grow.

        It was a surprise to see radio personalities, Myron Jackson and K. Z. Perkins on television the other day.   They were talking about storm damage that the station had sustained recently.   KZ88 is the community all volunteer listener supported radio station in Cabool.  On Sunday they had their Barebones Bottom-Of-The-Barrel Birthday Bash with lots of good food, a silent auction and a rummage sale.  In spite of a fast moving thunder storm that roared through during the event, they were able to raise $1,161.00.  That will go a long way toward affecting the repairs to the tower.  Thursday is the new big day for garage sales they say, so the volunteers will have another sale at the station then to add to the repair fund.  KZ88 has been a good neighbor supporting the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department in all its various happenings and it is a joy to be able to reciprocate.  Some radio station volunteers shopped at the sale in Esther Wrinkles’ yard on Friday and Saturday.  Her sons and daughters-in-law worked for some weeks getting ready and were exhausted by the end of it.  Many friends and neighbors who loved Esther had a chance to secure a little memento for remembrance.  Esther was a real Champion.

        Remembering birthdays is no kind of chore.  The pleasure people take in being remembered on their special day is beyond price.  Adeline Homer and Isabelle Creed will both be in the third grade at Skyline when school starts up in the fall.  They celebrate their birthday on the same day, June 12^th.  That is also the birthday of a certain-mother-in-law who may have coined the phrase “SPS” (self-praise stinks).  That may be a lesson in humility.  Dylan Ford and Wyatt Hicks share their birthdays on 13^th.  Dylan will be a seventh grader and Wyatt will be in the third grade.  Zachary Coon will be a second grader and his birthday is on the 15^th.  Foster Wiseman’s birthday is the 16^th.  He is growing so fast that it is hard to remember if he will be seven or eight.

        Cousins Foster and Eli had a good visit during the week.  They caught turtles and named them, and did all kinds of serious boy stuff while Emerson Rose, Kalyssa and Taegan did all kinds of interesting girl things.  They all went up to Clever Creek together to play for a while and no doubt many good memories were made.  In forty years they will all be middle aged people looking back on a wonderful childhood.  It will be exciting to hear of their adventures at the fair and their Champion friends all wish them well in their showings.

        “Now the moon shines tonight on Pretty Red Wing.  The breeze is sighing, the night bird’s crying.”  The song was written in 1907, and the music was adapted from a composition by Robert Schumann, “The Happy Farmer, Returning From Work,” in 1848.  One version of the song says that she is weeping her heart away because far away her brave is sleeping.  Another version says he is dying.  The Remember the Removal Bike Ride is going on currently.  A group of young people are riding nearly a thousand miles commemorating the forced removal of the Cherokees from their original homeland to what is now Oklahoma.  It was in 1838 that the federal government under the presidency of Andrew Jackson forced the Cherokee and other tribes to give up their land.   Looking out over the beauty of the country and feeling deep roots here, it is easy to imagine how painful the experience must have been.  The wide and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek have probably not changed too much in the last 175 years.  The wide and inviting veranda on the Recreation of the Historic Emporium is a good place to look back over time.  Share your thoughts on the subject at www.championnews.us, at Champion@getgoin.net or at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  While you enjoy the beauty of the place, sing a little bit of Pretty Red Wing and be glad to be in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!