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CHAMPION—November 12, 2012

          Friday afternoon an old Champion finally decided to get her canna lily bulbs dug up for the season and set about to do that.   Many of the garden edibles had made a fairly poor showing, but the cannas were planted late and close to the sprinkler and performed beautifully.  The two overflowing wheelbarrows of bulbs drying out for winter storage are not food, but can be traded for food and so the space they occupied with such elegance was not wasted.  The work was pleasant and engrossing on such a warm and sunny day, so wonderfully quiet in the valley with no little cars whizzing by and no big city busses rumbling past.   After a while she began to hear quiet voices and stood up to see what might be the source.  Bud Hutchison and five mounted companions were riding south toward Champion.  They were going at a relaxed pace and were bunched up close enough together to allow for easy conversation.   Their exchanges and banter may have covered any number of subjects and were indistinguishable to the gardener, but to see convivial friends traveling so easily together in such a tranquil setting spoke directly to the heart of the Champion, so glad to be home.

          The many Veterans’ Day celebrations and parades around the Nation were well motivated and well produced, bringing the annual awareness of the general population to the year round service of their countrymen.    Both the Veterans’ Hospital and the main Veteran’s Administration Office in Manhattan were swamped by the hurricane that blew thru New York City.   One hundred patients had already been moved to other Veterans’ hospitals when the storm hit.  The damage will take a long time to repair and the three million dollar MRI machine will have to be replaced.   Veterans in the area and around the country have stepped up to help their comrades in this difficult situation.  It is the way they have bravely stood up on behalf of all the Nation’s citizens every time they have been asked  since the country was founded.   They have some Love and Gratitude due them and some help.  They are Champions.

          Esther Wrinkles says that her Christmas cactuses are just beginning to bloom.  She has a nice collection, including some old ones that she has had for years and some smaller ones that she has acquired fairly recently.  As her older plants are all pink, she was hoping that one of the new ones would turn out to be red, but it is looking like it will be a dark pink.  Some of her friends will get over to the Plant Place in Norwood soon to see if Linda has a nice blooming red one for her.   Flowers and music seem to boost a person’s spirit and it is very clear that so much of healing has to do with attitude.  It has been four months since her injury and her recovery seems slow to her who is so accustomed to being very active.  Esther keeps a good attitude though and Thanksgiving will soon be here and all the excitement of friends and family will have her lifted up and fortified more so.   Friends and family—the best reasons to be Thankful!

          This time of the year the population swells in these hills.  The visitors are all dressed in orange and drive very slowly.  They bring lots of revenue to the area and take lots of deer away with them.  The local processing plants are already overwhelmed.   Some hunters are so good at it that they can harvest much more game than they can possibly eat.  The really nice ones are pleased to share with their friends and their friends will have more winter food security which makes them naturally more pleasant people.  Sharing the Harvest is a great program that allows hunters to donate their kill to the local Food Bank, which does good work in feeding people who find themselves in need.  In most cases the processor will donate the labor as well.  The hunting stories make good listening:  “It was just at daylight and it came walking right to me.”  “It was heavier than it looked and it took a lot of dragging to get it out.”  “It made kind of a growling sound.  I never really got a look at it, but I was glad I had my pocket knife with me in case it turned out to be a bear.  Probably it was just the neighbor’s truck.  It kind of growls when he starts it every morning and there are two ridges and a draw between us and the way sound travels, it could have been a truck.”  It could have been a bear.   Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. 

          Young people seem to like their own birthday very much.  Old people do too, but for different reasons.   Champion, Rich Heffern, of Kansas City celebrates a birthday on the 15^th and Elva Ragland on the 19^th.  She just lives down the road and around the corner and down a hill and up one or two from Champion.   Elva shares her birthday with Gaven Keith, an eighth grader at Skyline.  Clifford Crain, a second grader will be eight on the 23^rd and shares that day with the dotty grandmother of Seamus, Elizabeth, Zack and Ethan.  Eighth grader, Breanna Carroll, will be fourteen on the 24^th and Waylin Moon will be twelve that day.  He is a sixth grader.   Faith Crawford will have her 6^th birthday on the 26^th and Jhonn Rhodes will be eight on the 30^th.  He is a second grader this year.   Before long, these youngsters will be driving and voting and running the country.  It is good they are getting such a nice start in life in a quality rural school.  As the old folks look back on their dear school days with nostalgia and pride, they see that today’s youngsters at Skyline are in the middle of those formative years.  The Skyline R-2 School Foundation has been set up to boost the school along in important ways.  Everyone is welcome to participate:  Skyline School Foundation, Rt. 2 Box 486, Norwood, MO 65717. 

            The meeting room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North side of the Square in Downtown Champion (Henson’s Downtown G&G) is the site of the meetings of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, the most recent being November 13^th.   Auxiliary President Betty Dye reports that the Chili Supper Quilt, an original queen size beauty of pieced rectangles and squares is on display with tickets available for the drawing at the Chili Supper in early March.  There is plenty of time to support the wonderful little fire department that is such an essential part of the community.

          Recent travels make Champions aware of the beauty of their place in the world.  As the trees drop their leaves, little cabins and home places come out of hiding to reveal a more densely populated area than might have been supposed in the more lush seasons.  New friends just across the Firth from the Kingdom of Fife say that Champion looks just like home to them too.  To the new friends Champions sing, “We’ll meet again.  Don’t know where.  Don’t know when.  But I know we’ll meet again some sunny day!”  Perhaps in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

             EDINBURGH:  Good neighbors in Britain are most interested in the American political system and are as confused about the Electoral college as are many voters back home.  Every four years, sometime around the time of the inauguration, the controversy over the process gets laid aside once again to consider other critical issues. Hopefully, Sandy and the political storms will have abated to the extent that the Nation can get back to the business of being good neighbors.   The devastation of the big storm evokes concern and compassion from new friends.  This last summer as much damage was done to crops in Scotland’s rich farm land by too much rain as was done in the Midwest of the United States by the drought.  Weather everywhere is being unusual.  Champions out in the big world hear that things are just glorious back home and are pleased and excited to be headed that way! 

               The General reports to Cathie Alsup Riley over in Tennessee.  “Hello Cathie. Sharon and I went to Vera Cruz yesterday (Sat). On Friday and Saturday Civil War reenactors were there (with Cannons and small arms) and had mock battles celebrating the skirmish that took place 150 years ago (7 Nov 1862). Carole Coats Barnhart and her brother Wayne, with wife, kids, and grandkids were also there. Carole and I know you would have enjoyed being there, and now that it’s over, I am thinking you probably didn’t know about it. I will send pictures as soon as one of my kids come by (I’m going to have to learn how to do that).”  Bennie Thomas said that he would like to have gone to the event but that he did not know about either.   A note on the internet says, “Once the bustling county seat of Douglas County, MO, the town of Vera Cruz is now simply a beautiful valley in the Ozark hills.  The landowners did not know until years later that their property once housed hundreds and included a courthouse, blacksmith shop, sawmills, gristmill and more, there being no evidence of these structures today.  Nor did they know that a Civil War battle was held at the site on November 7^th 1862.”  Skyline School kids knew about it and attended the sesquicentennial event and probably had some fun saying, “sesquicentennial.”  It will be exciting to hear just what they have to say about the experience. 

                Skyline School kids have a nice motto:  Soft paws–not claws!  Their credo is to be respectful, responsible, safe and caring.  First graders, William Litchfield and Hailey Hall have just had their 7^th birthdays–William on the third and Hailey on the fourth.  A new student to the school, Lea Anderson, celebrated her birthday on the fifth.  She is a fifth grader and a nice addition to the student body.  She shares her day with Karisa Volner who will be thirteen, a seventh grader, and with Miss Emerson Rose Ogleby, a Champion grandchild.  The General’s lovely spouse, Sharon, will have celebrated on the 6^th, and her many friends admire her resilience and her sweet smile.  Mason Solomon will be five years old on the 7^th, and Justin Borders will be six.  Richard Heffern’s younger brother has his big day on the 8^th and will for a few days be as old as his brother.  Lukas Brown, eighth grader, will be 14 on the tenth.  Amelia Olson will always have a special birthday since she was born on November 11^th, celebrated as Veteran’s Day.  Maria Penn and Sherman Hall will both be eleven on the 12^th of the month.  They are fifth graders at Skyline.  

                      In 1605, Guy Fawkes was among a group of conspirators who felt that the government was going the wrong way particularly as it related to religion.  Their solution was to blow up Parliament, in spite of the knowledge that some innocent people would be killed.   The plot was spoiled by one who sent a note to a friend suggesting that he not attend that day.  Suspicions were aroused and a search of the cellar under the building found Fawkes with 36 barrels of old gunpowder.  There is speculation that the stuff was so old that it would not have exploded anyway, and it was just happenstance that Fawkes was alone with the evidence when it was discovered.   Bonfires were lit that night, November 5^th, 1605, to signify the safety of the King.  That was King James the 1^st.  Since then, November 5^th has become known as Bonfire Night.  The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.  Some of the English have been known to wonder, in a tongue in cheek kind of way, whether they are celebrating Fawkes’ execution or honoring his attempt to do away with the government.  Today, the Queen only attends Parliament once a year and, in advance of her arrival, there is conducted a systematic search of the cellars under the Parliament building. 

                     A beautiful sunny Sunday in Edinburgh was finished off with a few minutes of freezing fog that had photographers out on the Meadows snapping pictures of the eerie site.  The sight-seeing is as interesting here as it is in beautiful downtown Champion.  The Highlands are quite high.  The mountains were largely deforested to support the industrial revolution and people were forced off the land in many cases to make room for sheep.   The Kingdom of Fife has some spots in it that could easily be somewhere along Highway C in the beautiful Ozark Mountains where many of Scotts and English descent are enjoying life now.   It is a small world in that people are very much the same.  The songs are as sweet sung with a little brogue and eyes twinkle similarly with new found affections as friendships are forged.  The American actor and dramatist, John Howard Payne, wrote the words and Englishman, Sir Henry Bishop wrote the melody in 1823, “Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”  Champion!   Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 29, 2012

               It would seem that many of the people in the Ozarks are related to people in Scotland.  They immigrated to America in the 1700s and settled in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains which eventually became the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina where they carried on their time honored craft of whiskey making.  When the newly formed government needed money to pay for its very expensive War of Independence against old King George, it was decided to tax the whiskey made by these skilled craftsmen.  The tax was too high to be tolerable and so they upped and moved west again settling in the lovely Ozark Hills.  Of course, not every Scotsman’s descendant makes whiskey or even drinks it, though a few weeks ago somewhere up around Rogersville, a lady of sixty some odd years, had her lovely still confiscated by the revenuers together with 26 of her sparkling clear gallon jugs of pure distilled spirits. (Some call it honey-dew vine water.)  It is considered quite legal to produce four gallons per year for home consumption.  Perhaps the lady has a big family.   Tea totalers or not, many Scotts would be right at home in Champion with their native love of music and of a tranquil countryside, and blessed with the wonderful gift of gab.  

               Reports are that the Skyline School Carnival was a big success.  Wes and Pat Smith’s grandchildren Zoey and Zack said that there was a good haunted house–very scary.  The General Himself was holding court there trying to get the facts straight around his laughter as the husband of one of his many nieces was telling him a bow hunting story about his favorite sister-in-law’s husband.  His favorite sister-in-law’s husband was deer hunting and was able to get a deer without using and losing too many arrows.  When he started to skin the deer it had a rancid odor, so the carcass was discarded.  It was thought the deer may have been pulverized in recent weeks by a vehicle of some sort.  The General is speculating (and guffawing) that the deer may have been dead prior to being shot with the arrow(s).   Since the General has dozens of nieces, this is a story that could have been told about any number of young men lucky enough to have married into the family.  An interesting survey of this stalwart troop of young men might include the question, “Did you meet the General before or after you asked her to marry?”       

                 Good news from the Skyline School Foundation is that the Douglas County Community Foundation is providing a grant of $2000.00 to the Skyline School Foundation to continue the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program.  This is an excellent program for children from birth to five years of age who live in the Skyline School District.  Each month the mail will bring a brand new, age appropriate book addressed to the child and designed to cultivate a love of reading—the great key to success in school and much of the rest of life.  Champion!

                     A pleasant fellow named Graham, a man of about sixty years of age, was walking down Marchmont Road one day and, passing a bank building from within which he heard a great deal of hammering and sawing, and being a wood worker himself, stuck his head in the door.  What he saw was a pair of workmen removing the counter over which the bank’s business had long been conducted.  There was a renovation going on and a great huge slab of polished ancient American black walnut was being wrenched loose destined for the construction dumpster.  He convinced the fellows to hold up for ten minutes to take a coffee break (tea) while he rushed home for his tools.  In the end, for his willingness to help remove it, he was rewarded with the piece.  From this piece, which he reckons to be 75 to 100 years old, he has manufactured a fiddle, a mandolin, and a guitar.  It is a pity he can only play one instrument at a time.  His new friends hope one day to hear them all together in the Old Bank Bench Band.  Graham is an excellent musician as well as instrument maker.  Nothing would please him more than to sit out on the porch at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium in scenic Downtown Champion and play a tune on his black walnut fiddle in the very presence of some of the trees’ relatives.

                        Ones allegiance to a particular baseball team develops over time and according to no particular set of logical rules.  The Detroit Tigers has always been one Champions favorite team because of Norm Cash.   Known as “Punk” by his family, he was a farm boy from West Texas.  He grew up in Justiceburg, Texas, a Champion sized community, out between Snyder and Post.  His folks were Bandy and Mildred Cash and they were cotton farmers and family friends.  He played for the Tigers from 1960 to 1974, during which time he excelled in his sport and was a great source of pride for a high school girl who liked to tell her friends about playing the piano at Punk’s house and how they kept the windows painted shut to keep the dust out of the house even after the dust bowl years and how it did not seem to work.  Esther Wrinkles is also a Tiger’s fan and it will be interesting to hear the story of why it is her team.  She was up late Sunday night watching the game and was disappointed that her Tiger’s did not win.  She is reported to be making slow but steady progress in her recovery, however, and her Champion friends send her greetings and best wishes from far away.

                 Satellite images from space show the enormous storm headed to the East Coast of the United States.  Hopefully, the National Guard will be able to be out assisting those who need it.  All the emergency services people, police and firemen, will be out on the job looking after people.   Champions do not take them for granted. 

                       Friends gathered in Edinburgh on Sunday evening to celebrate an American Thanksgiving early.  Among them were two Old Champions, their fiddler son;  Graham the instrument maker and fiddler; and Morag (Moe) a lovely read haired fiddling lass from Portobello, Scotland;  Jhan a very tall and pleasant Dutch accordion player;  Jesus, an amazing guitarist from southern Spain; Miss Lake Montgomery, a siger/song-writer from Paris, Texas who has been living in Europe for about ten years; Thomas, an harmonica virtuoso from Poland, who hardly speaks any English, but can play unbelievably well;  and another Graham, a Scotsman, who plays guitar and harmonica and sings; and Grahams wife Ingrid, from England.  Ingrid is a talented painter and is very busy being mother to six-year-old Fae and 2 year old Lea.  Many traditional American Thanksgiving dishes and variations of traditional dishes completed the menu and satisfied guests settled in, at last, to an unforgettable evening of music.  Champions have many reasons to be appreciative!  Make your own list of Things for Which to Be Grateful and feel free to recite them out loud as you stand on the broad and elegant steps on the North Side on the Square and survey the many charms of one of the world’s loveliest places—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 22, 2012

               Traveling Champions are pleased to see how excitingly different the world is elsewhere and are delighted to see how very similar it is to home.    An evening in an establishment called The Reverie over on Newington Street in Edinburgh was very reminiscent of any one of a number of places around Champion.  Rambling Heart, a trio of dobro, guitar and fiddle was joined by a banjo, another fiddle and a big, big dog-house bass.  The first song was the Wreck of the Old 97 and so one immediately had the feeling that it was to be an unforgettable evening.  Blackberry Blossom, White Freight Liner, All the Good Times Are Passed and Gone, were followed by Red Haired Boy and Soldiers Joy.  Of course, The Flowers of Edinburg came out and then The Old Home Place which ask, “Why did I leave the plow in the field to look for a job in the town?”  The list of familiar songs goes on and on.  Favorites standing out were Faded Love and I Traced Her Little Footprints in the Snow.  Wayne Anderson would have felt right at home and Champions can smile sweetly at the thought of Lonnie Krider’s wonderful high-lonesome voice in the mix.  Some of the best things about music are how it is draws dissimilar people together and helps to hold precious memories of dear ones close.  Champion! 

The bad weather that was predicted for Wednesday the 17^th caused a light turn out for Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail ride.   It is reported that the forecast was wrong and the bad weather did not materialize.  Those few intrepid riders who were willing to brave the elements were rewarded with an outstanding excursion.   It is good to see the General plodding about on face-book liking a link sent by D.J. Shumate concerning Del Reeves song, The Only Girl I can’t Forget.  (Backyard Bluegrass would be superstars over here.)  For future reference, ‘Himself’ will be telling a joke about a snowman picking his nose in a vegetable market.  His friends are thinking that since he is seeing so clearly now, perhaps it will be as Robert Burns said, “O would some power the gift to give us to see ourselves as others see us!” Certainly the internet is providing some magnificent views of the luscious fall foliage around Champion and Bugger County in general.  Breauna Krider has posted some outstanding photos on her website www.the-dairy-maid.com. 

               Pete Proctor, Archie Dailey and their VFW friends would appreciate the many monuments in the city dedicated to soldiers.  One such on the Old North Bridge says, “In memory of officers, non-commissioned officers and men who whilst serving the King’s own Scottish borders (The Edinburgh Regiment) gave their lives for their country during the following campaigns:  Afghanistan 1878-1880, Egypt 1888-1889, Chin Lushai 1889-1890, Chitral 1895, Thrah 1897-1898, South Africa 1900-1902.”  Some say the Scotts were just London’s cannon fodder.  There is currently a vote on the local ballot for Scottish independence.   It will be interesting to see how it goes, independence being such a Champion notion.  There is also quite a magnificent statue of the First Duke of Wellington, who noted that many cavalry soldiers sustained crippling wounds by having been shot in the knee—a very vulnerable and exposed part of the body when one is mounted on a horse.  The Duke caused the typical boot to be modified with a protection for the knee which may well have contributed considerably to the great victory over Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo.  Later on in 1852, a well-known boot maker, Hiram Hutchison, met Charles Goodyear and the modern Wellington began to evolve.   In World War I production of the wonderful dry boot was boosted with the requirement for footwear suitable for the conditions in Europe’s flooded trenches.   Today, pink lady Wellingtons are available with polka dots and fuzzy linings.  Taegan (Peanut) has a lovely pair of pink and purple ‘barn-boots’ thanks to the First Duke of Wellington and some guy named Hutchinson who could well be an ancestor.  Champion!

               It was a lovely sunny day when two old tourists walked about in the Prince’s Garden just below Edinburgh Castle.  The weather is cooler here, on Monday about 45 degrees, but there has yet to be a killing frost.  Roses are blooming still and little front gardens are full of beautiful plants from exotic places.  The gardens below the castle were once a moat and the big volcanic mountain upon which the castle stands has been a stronghold for three thousand years.   In those far off days it was known as the stronghold of Eidyn.  Then came the invading Angles from Germany, around AD 638, and ever since then the rock has been known by its English name– Edinburgh.   Now the city has about half a million people—just about the size of Kansas City, which also has some lovely gardens.   It looks like the growing season will be continuing throughout much of November for Champions and so Linda over at The Plant Place in Norwood will have all the Cole crops and other things that gardeners need to keep food on the table and their little cottage gardens beautiful. 

               Champions wandering far from home, even some just down to Arkansas, can find themselves quickly out of touch.  Any news that one would like to have known can travel back and forth across the Pond via Champion at getgoin.net.  It  has been a joy to share with new friends  the amazing beauty of a charming spot at the end of the pavement and the bottom of several colorful hills, where country lanes converge on the wide and wild banks of Old Fox Creek.  Old friends from St. Louis who use to make it down to the country often, but have not in a while, were strolling about the Square the other day.  They enjoyed the lovely view from the wide veranda on the Recreation of the Historic Emporium where they found themselves relaxed and happy.   It will always be a warm spot in the hearts of those at home and of the many who are far flung and yearning to return to their dear Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 15, 2012

               News has traveled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean to the effect that Saturday night brought another good inch of rain to Champion and that the weather is wonderful.   Sunday was the birthday of Peanut’s dad and his Tennessee sister and her tall sons were in for a week’s visit.  They joined together with Foster and Kalyssa and their folks and others to wish the Fox Creek Farmer a joyful birthday celebration.  Other birthdays had all the Old Tree-Huggers out at Woodpecker’s Paradise Hall for the benefit of Miller’s son, Davey.  Now that is a gathering one would rather not have missed!  Alas!

               Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride is an event of some significance to Champions.  It has been so for many years.   Riders rendezvous at Champion on Wednesday morning and form up in their ranks to explore the countryside.  Since most of these participants have been on this ride many times already, someone suggested that it is more like a patrol of the area rather than an exploration.  They take out of Champion at ten in the morning and cut a wide loop about the area.  To know just exactly where they go, one would have to go with them.  If you cannot go, just be hanging around the Emporium on the North side of the Square in Downtown Champion early in the afternoon when they come moseying back in and surely someone of them will tell you just where they went and who may have been thrown off in the water or bucked off into the brush.  The best hope is that it will have been exciting excursion but uneventful as far injury is concerned.  

“Rusticity’ Ungainly Form” is another of those interesting short works by Robert Burns.  In eight rimed lines he manages to say that it is easy even for an enlightened individual to misjudge a poor country person by his looks.  Now that his vision has improved so considerably, the venerated General might be more willing to spare poor Sensibility his “ungentle, harsh rebuke,” and may also be a little more grateful when he looks in the mirror.  Look back into the archives at www.championnews.us to find a picture of “Junior and The General” to illustrate the point.     

On a stroll about the city in the late evening an old Champion couple happened into a little restaurant called My Big Fat Greek Kitchen just for a small bite to eat.  The waitress was a Greek girl who had only arrived in the city three days earlier.  Her English was beautiful and she said that her friends note that her accent is very American.  She loves the United States and hope to go there one day.  Just now, however, she was already missing her home and her family.  She plans to stay in Edinburgh for only one year, but she says that people often come to the city and get caught.  She is looking for a second job so that she can earn more money and get home sooner.  She is young and attractive and away from her home for the first time.  She said that she just hopes that she does not fall in love because she might never get home.   Her new friends hope that when she does fall in love it will be with someone who will love her enough to take her home and perhaps to America and to Champion where she can see the Bright Side.

               Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood shows the 16^th & 17^th  to be good days for planting above-ground crops and leafy vegetables. The 18^th through the 20^th are considered to be barren days—good for clearing and plowing, but not planting.  The 21^st and 22^nd are good for above the ground crops again according to the conditions of weather and circumstances that may allow for protected fall planting.  The 18^th to the 20^th and the 23^rd to the 25^th will all be good days to prune to discourage growth.   Weather in Auld Reekie (Edinburgh) is currently much as it is in Champion with no hard frost in the city yet.  There are many roses, bleeding hearts, passion flowers, hydrangeas and many unfamiliar blooming things.   Travelers will take pictures of the flowers and get Linda to identify them when they get home.  There is being an unseasonable amount of sunshine, but the overall temperatures are a little chill.  The city is called Auld Reekie (reek) because it used to be a very smoky city due to the smoke from the chimneys as people heated with coal.  It might also be connected with the fact that in the old, old days people just emptied their chamber pots out the windows!  There is a song about that called “The Flowers of Edinburgh” and it is a marvelously beautiful fiddle tune.  The hardware stores are full of gardening tools and snow shovels.  They say that one can experience all four seasons in a day.  

A nice chat with Esther has her about the same, still making progress toward her recovery, but still experiencing some discomfort in her back.  She said that Leon and Peggy Harris had come over for supper on Friday night and they had had a good visit.  She was surprised to get a call from the other side of the big pond and says she will be interested in looking at the pictures.  Meanwhile, new friends are enjoying pictures of another wonderfully beautiful place in the world—Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 8, 2012

                Champions are pleased for their neighbors, those Pioneers, that they endured the inclement weather as pioneers have surely done always.  Betty Thomas said that it was a little slow Saturday due to the disagreeable weather, but that quite a few people came out anyway.  Sunday morning the sun was right in their eyes as they were having their church service.  They could have turned around, but they just enjoyed the feel of it on their faces.  T.J. Stout held their church meeting for them and Betty said it was a good service.  The KY3 News people were out on Saturday and said that this is the biggest event that happens in Douglas County.  The Gathering was featured on the 10 o’clock news Saturday night.  They will most likely have some pictures from this year on their website or their face-book page.  The wonderful Buffalo Bill Quilt went to a guy named Cloine Smith from Lee Summit.  He won the quilt in 2005 too.  It must be that he buys a lot of tickets.  Anyway, he was very pleased with it and Betty already has the top together for next year’s quilt.  It is called Morning Run and has horses running across it and a fence for the border.  It will be another of her hand-quilted masterpieces.  Kalyssa and Foster Wiseman and cousin, Taegan Krider (Peanut), had a great time on the wagon rides Sunday afternoon.  They had to go around a second time just because it was so much fun.   The Southwest Missouri Equine Driving Association once again provided the wagon rides down along the creek for the visitors.  They do this every year and Betty says they are a faithful bunch.  She and Dale belong to the association and the group meets the second Friday of every month at Shoney’s in Springfield.  By all accounts the music was just wonderful.  That pavilion really makes a great place to enjoy the music.  Someone will have to go down past the Edge of the World to see how the Thomases use the pavilion the other 363 days of the year.  This year there were visitors from Washington, South Carolina, Tennessee, California, Maryland, Indiana, Florida and who knows from where else?  There were some new demonstrators this year, as well as the Stillings with their molasses, and the apple butter and lye soap people.  All in all, it was another successful event that really demonstrates the way people in this area overcame the challenges of their day and progressed.  Hard work and imagination—those are Champion qualities!

                A pleasant chat with Esther Wrinkles finds her in good spirits.  Her fall was on the22nd of July and the doctors say that she is making very good progress in her recovery considering the length of time since her injury.  Her Champion friends wish her the best.   Pete Proctor writes about the 88,232 soldiers still missing—the Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action—POW/MIA.   Pete’s son, Bryan, will end his career in the service at the end of October and will then be home on the first of November.  Pete will be glad to have his son home, and the Nation will be glad for the return of any of its lost soldiers at any time.  79,000 of those missing are from World War II.  7,500 are still missing in Korea, and 1,600 in Vietnam.  The Cold War still claims 126 Americans and there are 6 missing in Iraq and 1 in Afghanistan.  Champions all.

                    There is no more tender love song than “My luve’s like a red, red rose.”   The melody may not be familiar to all these days.  Someone wrote in as another fan of Scotland’s Robert Burns saying that since Burns died in 1796, it goes without saying that in his day songs without words would quite likely be easily forgotten.  It may be that more people read music in those days.   Certainly all music was live.  Poverty, hunger and never-ceasing toil was his lot in life, but Burns could laugh, and his good humor shows through to readers today who cannot imagine how difficult his life must have been.  He died a poor farmer at age 37 years, leaving an enormous legacy of poetry and music.   He is described as a multifaceted genius and is considered to be the first poet of common humanity. 

                   The Farmer’s Day Celebration in Norwood was great this year.  It is always one of Eva Powell’s favorite activities.  She particularly enjoys the children’s parade.  The frost will eventually get here to stay, but for the moment, it may be that some things will live on for a while in spite of Sunday night’s nip.    Linda’s mums over at the Plant Place in Norwood are just gorgeous!  For half the price of anything comparable in Springfield, Linda keeps the area beautiful.  She makes the cuttings from her mums herself every year and nurtures them until they are ready to brighten the sidewalks and front porches of flower lovers all around the region.  It is a joy to support local business owned and operated by real people who are good neighbors.  Champions have good neighbors.  Linda will continue to help them and avid gardeners will continue to plant and reap all year long whether just with catalogues by the fire or out in the very soil.  It is a healthy lifestyle to grow as much as one can eat.  That is to say, to grow as much of what one eats as one can.

               “You talk funny,” is the opinion of more than one person in Champion.  Regional speech, geographic dialects, and all forms of the English language are the main tools available to communicate with each other whether Champion or outlander.  None is particularly better than another—just different.    A person can hear any number of different styles of speech down at the Recreation Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  A seasoned listener out on the porch could probably tell the difference in speech between folks from over at Almartha and those from Drury.  Cowboy Jack might be spinning a yarn about almost anything.   Any of that bunch from Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride could be retelling the story of the Near Drowning or any other exciting event that happen out on the trail.  They will be leaving Champion about ten in the morning on Wednesday the 17^th and will get back when they do, perhaps with new stories to tell.   The General’s many friends are glad to know that the veil is being lifted from his eyes.  He will be in fine fettle when next in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 1, 2012

                 Champions are suddenly much taken by the poet, Robert Burns. He was also a gifted musician and he dedicated himself to rescuing from oblivion and neglect hundreds of songs without words—or with fragmentary or unsuitable words, “Auld Lang Syne” among them. He knew that song without words often dies. Among other things he says, “Then catch the moments as they fly, and use them as you ought, man. Believe me, happiness is shy, and comes not ay when sought, man!” Champions take the sentiment to heart and relish the view of some strutting crows in a rain of golden walnut leaves against a grassy background with the dogwoods beyond making the beginnings of their spectacular autumnal show.  Dogwoods seem to be beautiful at every time of the year. Ah! Champion!

                 To those celebrating a birthday on the first of October…one says, “Remember, in any situation, even a difficult one, if you act like you are having a good time, pretty soon you will forget that you are acting and you will really be having a good time. It is a trick.” Another good thing to remember around birthday time is, “If you do not get what you want, just think of all the other things that you did not get that you did not want.” Or “Just think of all the other things that you did not want that, happily, you did not get.” Jana Brixey, among others, celebrates her day on the first of October. Jenna and Jacob are just at the age when they begin to realize that everybody has a birthday—even their Mom! Lydia Harden also has her birthday on October 1^st. She is in preschool and most likely likes it as much as Jennna. They are Champion girls! Skyline VFD Auxiliary President, Betty Dye, celebrates on the 7^th of the month. She stays busy in doing good works, many of them for the Fire Department and has proven to be a good leader of the organization. Champion Steve Connor and his lovely wife, Darlene, both celebrate in October—he on the 11^th and she on the 28^th. Their neighbor over on the Fox Creek Farm will have a birthday on the 14^th of October. He is Peanut’s father and she is a real country girl. She would like to have another Fox Creek Rodeo to celebrate. www.the-dairy-maid.com is a good place to look in on Peanut and her folks. Her mother, and the author of that wonderful blog, celebrates on the 24^th of the month. Olivia Prock will be ten years old on the sixteenth of October. She is a fourth grader at Skyline. Local acclaimed artist, Donna Moscaly and Tennessee’s Marty Watts both celebrate on the 20^th of the month. Marty will be 40! The 21^st of October is remembered always as the birthday of Anna Henson. She and her husband, Edgar, ran the Champion Store for decades. It is still Henson’s Grocery and Gas and it is still very much in the spirit of the original. It is not called the “Recreation of the Historic Emporium” for nothing! There are some great stories about Anna. It is thought that she was the conservative of the pair and her sparing ways helped to keep the business a going concern. Her sense of humor was sharp and she on more than one occasion offered a good-natured ‘snicker’ and a smiling chuckle to a fellow birthday celebrant who would ask for one (snicker) out of the candy case. That Champion plans her birthday this year (her 66^th) to be out in the Highlands of Scotland viewing the meteor shower that is the tail of Haley’s Comet. Such an adventure! On the 26^th of October Harley Krider, once again, becomes the senior spokesman for non-resident out of state Champions. His friends and neighbors in these parts are disappointed to learn that he and the lovely Barbara will not, after all, be here for the Pioneer Descendants Gathering. They have a scheduling conflict. Skyline third grader Cheyenne Hall will be nine on Halloween! Everybody will be celebrating in the most fanciful and interesting ways. Felipe Heston, another Halloween birthday, hosts elegant dinner parties on his day. He used to like to go to a nice restaurant on 6^th Street in Austin and take a table by the window. He made a sign to hold up to the Halloween revelers walking by: “It’s my birthday! Show me your (smile).”

               Champions, out on a lark to rendezvous with family, found themselves in the place called Fair Grove recently. There was a festival, market day celebration going on and among the many vendors was Champions’ favorite tinkerer and trinket maker. He is said to have some spectacular hand crafted merchandise for sale, the likes of which some Champion husbands wish their wives had not seen.

                A pleasant phone visit with Esther Wrinkles reveals that she is making some good progress. She says that it is easy enough to get in and out of the car and she very much enjoyed the beautiful weather Sunday for church services and for a pizza party in Mountain Grove for Teresa’s nephew. She is most conscientious about her exercises and, no doubt, her discipline together with her natural athleticism will help her to speed along her recovery. She was a basketball player in her youth—a forward—and loved those match games. She said she is sending thank-you notes for the many flowers and gifts she received and that she is still getting a card in the mail pretty often. She loves to go to the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering over in Yates, but does not know if she will make it if the weather is unfavorable. Here is hoping for another beautiful week-end for this outstanding community event. Dale and Betty Thomas have been hosting this meeting for eleven years and it will be a splendid chance for young newcomers to the area to get acquainted with some of their neighbors and some of the history of the place. The music is fine out under a large pavilion and the food is good. The many interesting demonstrations and the period crafts and merchandise available make for a memorable occasion. Champion has some exciting neighbors!

               Recently a survey was sent out by the US Postal Service to postal customers in the 65717 zip code. There is still time to return the survey to let the Postal Service know that the chrural delivery is of paramount importance to people back in the remote hills and hollers. There will be a meeting at the Norwood Post Office at 4:00 PM on October 22nd to share the results of the survey, answer questions and to look for input from the patrons. Everyone who can attend is encouraged to do so.

                 The last day of September was designated as Gold Star Mother’s Day to acknowledge every American mother who has lost a son or daughter in service to the United States. It is a title no one wants. More than 2000 have now been killed in Afghanistan. Burns writes, “My soger laddie, I lang hae lo’ed weel. Now nearer my heart I tender thee still: To Country thou’rt loyal, to friendship thou‘rt steady. My blessin gae wi’ thee, my soger laddie.”

                 Come sing some lovely ditty out on the porch at Henson’s G & G over on the North Side of the Square in this picturesque and Historic Downtown sprawled comfortably out on the wide banks of Old Fox Creek. There is no requirement for it to be a sentimental song—just something heart-felt and appropriate to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION–September 24, 2012

          Champions are delighted that Esther Wrinkles has made her way out of the Autumn Oaks Short Term Rehabilitation care facility.  She spent a couple of months there getting over a broken hip and will be enjoying the hospitality of her son and daughter-in-law for a while until she can get all the way back home.   She still gets her mail at her home address and she reported that she has received more than 100 cards and that they were all thoughtful and much appreciated as were all the flowers, plants, pizzas, tomatoes and watermelon.  She had visitors every day of her stay there so things might seem a little quiet for her for a while.  It is a good thing the phones work.   She was happy to get to go to church on Sunday and to enjoy the fourth Sunday dinner there at Fieldstone.  Everyone was glad to see a favorite Champion.

David Hutchison of Mt. Grove is headed off to a family reunion in California soon and he will be glad to have a copy of the pictures that Lainie Sutherland sent in to the Champion News.  Anyone interested in them can request an email copy at Champion at getgoin.net.  Soon they will show up at www.championnews.us  under the title, “Old Champion Pictures.”    

Pete Proctor sent a note to inform Champions about the POW/MIA Day observations that were made by the VFW post on Friday.  There was a flag observance at 9:00 AM on the Mountain Grove Square.   The Patriot Riders formed a flag line for the ceremony.  They then went to the Town & Country Bank at 9:30 to raise the Flag there and to present them with a POW/MIA Flag.  It is such a service to the community to have an organization dedicated to the acknowledgement of those who have served the Nation in the US Military and those who are serving currently.  Champions join Pete and the VFW and the American Legion and the Veterans Administration and all those who would extend their Love and Gratitude to those who put themselves in harm’s way for the rest of the population. 

More good community service comes from The Skyline R-2 School Foundation.  Behind the scenes at the wonderful little rural school, the foundation is doing some good things to help the children in unseen and important ways.  The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is gaining some new members and new members of the foundation are bringing in some great ideas and wonderful enthusiasm and energy.   How much energy does a 5 year old have?  London King will be five years old on the 24^th and is a kindergartener at Skyline.  Dustin Johnson will have his ninth birthday on the 26^th of September and Newt Souder will be eleven on the 30^th of the month.  Dustin is in the third grade and Newt is in the fifth.  Champions remember their own school days fondly and hope these kids are appreciating their good old golden rule days.

          The big lightning storm that came through Thursday night was pretty exciting and lit the sky up bright as day intermittently while a good solid inch of rain came own in a deluge .  Lots of big booms kept livestock excited and several were reported to have been injured, not necessarily from the lightning strikes, but from their own panic.  Cowboy Jack had one of his horses to get tangled up in some fencing and get hurt.  Another report was of a horse seen loose up on C Highway that had sustained some cuts.  Terri Ryan frequently has unwanted horses visiting her yard, so maybe the storm will have scared them back across their own fence.  The rain was welcome.

The intrepid travelers have returned and are still speaking.  Family history has it that three sisters, related to some of this same bunch, went on a tour of the British Isles together a few years ago and came home not speaking.  No information was gleaned about how long ago it was that the trip was made, or the nature of the dispute, but it is reasonable to believe that they have, by now, resumed their harmonious communication.  This daring group of six, Elizabeth, Kaye, Faye, Bernice, Richard and Wayne, cut a wide loop through North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee on a week-long odyssey that ended back in Champion late Saturday.  There were bear sightings and photos of many enormous and some small elegant elk browsing in highland meadows.  Steep and winding mountain roads took them weaving through tunnels and along the edges of precipitous cliff faces in heavy rain that lasted for two solid days and nights.  Still the rain did not dampen the fervor of the vacationers.  They were determined to have a good time and they did.  Not all the traveling weather was bad and there were few complaints.  Champions!

The Champion Fall All City Yard Sale was a splendid success.  Having been rained out the week before, it was imagined that attendance would be a little down.  The weather was so lovely, however, that people out on sightseeing expeditions through the glorious green countryside just happened through the Square and found some excellent buys.  There were some unusual items for sale and some good trades made.  It will be interesting to see how this community market day evolves over the years to come.  The Pioneer Descendants Gathering has been an event for eleven years now and shows no signs of slowing down.  It happens on the first week-end in October every year, this year it is October 6^th and 7^th.   It is a public event with free admission.   The many who travel out to the Edge of the World every year find themselves enjoying exhibits and demonstrations of all kinds of skills from flint knapping to shingle making.  There are wagon rides along Bryant Creek and plenty to eat and vendors with interesting period merchandise.  It is definitely a great family oriented gathering with live music by local bands.  Dale and Betty Thomas have done a splendid job of it. 

Deer are on the move and it is to be noted that they can be seen crossing the road at any time of the day or night.  One Champion on her way home late Saturday night counted six live armadillos in the road.  It was her idea to run one over with her little car, but she thought better of it when the beast took off into the brush.  They can be so destructive to the garden; it might almost be worth a realignment job at the mechanic to get rid of one of them.  There are too many to take that approach.  Someone reported that there were fire ants coming into the area in hay imported from Texas.  Anyone discovering them should take immediate drastic steps to be sure they do not get a foothold in these parts.  The hope will be that it will be too wet in this area for them to feel welcome.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood informs that the 28^th will be a favorable time to plant above the ground crops.  The 29^th and 30^th will be good for root crops and for transplanting.  All those days will be good for vine crops it says. It is hard to know in advance what will have time to make.  Some people expect that there will again not be much of a winter and others think a hard frost is in order soon and then a warm October.  

In addition to being POW/MIA observation day and the birthday of Louise, Zoey Louise and Betty E., and the wedding anniversary of Roger and Tanna, the 21^st of September is counted as “The International Day of Peace” by countries all around the world. “All We Are Saying, Is Give Peace a Chance!” is the name of a great sing-along song.  In Europe, and in other places far flung, there were parades and great gatherings to support the notion of Peace and to recognize the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict.  Conflict resolution takes place out on the porch of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion every day of the week.  It is a pretty, peaceful place where you are encouraged to “leave your troubles on the doorstep.  Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street!”  Champion!—Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION—September 17, 2012

          When the forecast proved to be more than right on Saturday, Champions just stepped back and said that had they only known that advertising the Champion Fall All City Yard Sale would cause it to rain steadily, gently, all day long, why, they would have been doing it all summer—certainly all through June and July!  The softly falling droplets–larger than mist– fell one after another  until it finally added up to something.  The philosophy of Zoey Louise, “You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit,” is the standard in Champion.  Nobody could possibly complain about the rain.  The rescheduled yard sale will doubtlessly be more successful than the scheduled one would have been and the general notion that things most often work out for the best will be proved out once again.  Hopefully the Stillings over west of Ava, had a roof under which to work for their annual Molasses Making on Saturday, or perhaps they too will reschedule.  Molasses makers will be the first to say, ”You’ve got to go with the flow.”  The weather did not dampen Patty Squirell’s surprise birthday party Saturday.  Friends are pleased that the images of all those smiles were shared on ‘the’ face book!

          Zoey has her birthday on Friday, September 21^st.  She shares that day with Louise Hutchison and with Betty Elliot and with her second cousin, Penelope.  That day is also the tenth wedding anniversary of Tanna and Roger Wiseman as well as being Ember Day and the very eve of Autumn.  Louise and Betty are Skyline VFD Auxiliary members and good friends.  They will enjoy some time together on their birthday Friday.  On Saturday afternoon Zoey will go over to Penelope’s house for a party with a chocolate fountain.  Foster and Kalyssa’s folks might get a babysitter and go out for a romantic dinner.  They cannot rely on either of their grandmothers for babysitting or on their grandfather or Aunt Kaye, Uncle Robert or Cousin Elizabeth.   Those folks are all off on a lark together, visiting old family stomping grounds in North Carolina, Tennessee, and other places and accumulating a new bunch of adventures to relate.  Look for some of those adventures to show up in print one of these days.

          The West Plains Wagon Club made its pilgrimage through Champion on Thursday as it has at this time annually for more than twenty years.   Thirteen wagons and twenty five outriders came jangling, creaking and squeaking into the Champion Square where they were met by a large group of spectators.   The weather could not have been more lovely.  The travelers had camped out on Don Carter’s place over in Vanzant the night before.  Carter bought his place a number of years ago and learned at that time that the wagon train has long used it for the Wednesday night campsite of this ride.  He has been pleased to keep the tradition going.  He made his way to Champion in advance of the train so that he could meet his boy, Eli Epps, who had hitched a ride from home to Champion just for the adventure.  Wagon master Clifton Luna had company in his wagon when he pulled into Champion.  Richard Miller had joined him sometime Thursday morning after he got up off the ground.  A dog had spooked his horse and it threw him off in the ditch.  Miller has been making this trip with Mr. Luna for twelve years and is an experienced rider.  A couple of years ago this same horse threw him twice on the same trip.  Apart from having the wind knocked out of him, Miller was no worse for the wear and was pleased to ride in the lead wagon with his old friend.  Mr. Luna’s granddaughter, Cassie, did not fare so well over her spill.  She had some significant abrasions and was walking with quite a little hitch in her get along, but she walked her little appaloosa into the square after it had been startled into bucking by a dog.   She left the Square in a wagon with her little horse tied to the back of another one.  The accident could have been much worse, so she was grateful, if sore, and will have a story to tell her grandchildren.  Mr. Luna also had a grandson and a cousin on this train.   His grandson joined the train as an out-rider.   Cousin, Bonnie Luna, is from Gainesville and has been ‘wagoning’ for three years, but this was her first time on this particular ride.  She accompanied Jerry Arnold who has been through Champion before. 

            Champions were glad to see Jerry and Diane Wilbanks making the trip.  The Wilbanks, together with Ralph and Shirley Martin and Coy Stone, also on this ride with the West Plains Wagon Club, had just returned from a week long trip in Kentucky.  Diane said that it was an amazing ride with just spectacular scenery.  She has brought home some blue and green stones that will grace the arch in her fireplace, as they do some repair work there, and serve as mementoes of a great experience.  Their young neighbors, Sarah and Jeff Lemanski, with their little daughter, Haddie, came out to see the wagons and the animals too.  They are new to the area and Miss Haddie will soon be receiving books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, because she is in the Skyline School District.  Another newcomer about Haddie’s age, Nicholas George, will also be enjoying the DPIL.  He was out appreciating the sites with his Mom, Salina, and the young ones became acquainted as did their folks with each other and a number of their near and like-minded neighbors.  Champion!   

              Jim and Judy Cantrell have been making this train for about sixteen years.  Mansfield is home for them so the end of the trail on Friday found them at their house.  Others like Ken Felts and Randall Barnet had a long way to go.  They are from over near Viola, Arkansas, probably members of the Gee and Haw Club.  Ken had traveled 28 miles in his wagon just to get to the starting place for this ride.  Randall is from Pocahontas and this is his fifth year on this train.  It was a disappointment all around that Nancy and Marvin Webster, of Bloomfield, MO, were not able to make this ride this year.   Marvin has had some serious health issues that are improving, to the delight of his many friends, so Champions will look forward to seeing them next year.  

             Esther Wrinkles has always enjoyed watching the wagon train go by, and her many friends will stop in to visit with her at the Autumn Oaks Care Center to report on it to her.  Linda Cark and her folks, Joanne and Wayne Anderson, along with her Aunt Fern Bishop were some of the first spectators to arrive in advance of the wagon train.   Joyce Coonts was there waiting for her Cowboy Jack who came cantering into the Square with his usual panache.  Lee Ray, from over Almartha way, parked his shiny black and chrome motorcycle well out of the way.  Louin and Valery Clayton came to see the spectacle from Squires and they had a friend with them whose name was not recorded, but who very much enjoyed the sights.  Steve and Darlene Connor came down the hill to look things over as did Betty Elliot and any number of other locals who just happened to be in the neighborhood.  Royce and Joe Henson came all the way from Springfield.  They love Champion and make it back home as often as they can.  That new load of gravel on the hill going up county road 243 was well placed and made the exit from Champion easier than it could have been.  Champions have the East End County Shed boys to thank for that.   All this excitement is just an example of what can happen in Champion on any Saturday of the month.  The forecast is for a nice day next Saturday.  “Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street” in Historic Downtown Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 10, 2012

          Champions are set for another busy fall season and some are tiring of the constant comments about the swift passage of time.  “You’ll miss it by talking about it so much.”  That sentiment also speaks to people who are so busy taking pictures with their fancy cameras that they do not really see what is in front of them.  If they were to lose those cameras or lose the photos, they might lose the whole experience.  One of the main things that Champions do is enjoy the beauty of their surroundings in the wonderful here and now.  It would take a tenth degree curmudgeon to find fault with these lovely days.

Here comes the wagon train!  The West Plains Wagon Club is on its way again, having left West Plains Monday with the objective of lunching in Champion on Thursday.   Tanna Wiseman will be celebrating her birthday that day and may be in town with Foster and Kalyssa to enjoy the curious spectacle of seeing all the wagons roll into the Square with all the beautiful animals and the fascinating rigs.  There are covered wagons and buggies of various sorts and every year brings something new and interesting.   Clifton Luna has been ramrodding this outfit since the 1980’s and it is a highlight of the season for Champion to have the welcome visitors.  The train will complete its journey in Mansfield on Friday.  Champions are particularly looking forward to seeing Jerry and Diane Wilbanks.  They have been ‘wagoning’ for close to a decade now and made their first trip through Champion in 2010 with this wagon train.  They liked the area so much that they have moved here from Potterville.  They have a nice place over on Bryant Creek now and from time to time they hitch up their buggy and roll over to Champion just for the fun of the trip.    

          Lainie Sutherland has sent six photographs of Champions and some ‘Denlowites’ and random Sutherland portraits to the Champion News.  They will soon be available on-line for everyone to enjoy.  Anyone who would like to share photos of old times in Champion is welcome to e-mail them to Champion at getgoin.net  or to mail them, via the illustrious US Postal Service, to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  The first picture has twenty young people and an adult woman standing beside a rock bluff.  While in town for the 30^th Champion School Reunion last week, various Hensons went out exploring, searching for ‘the bluff’ under which those people had their picture taken.  It is not known if they actually found the location, though it was clear they were having a good time looking.  Eva Henson Phillips wrote from Bella Vista, Arkansas to say how much she and her family had enjoyed the reunion and that it was so nice to be able to use the store’s facilities to bring the festivities in out of the rain.  “Royce, Jo, Tom, Valli, Alex, Evan, Victor, Victoria, Vaughn and Whit all enjoyed their walk from Cold Springs to Champion.  That was quite a crew walking the old ‘trail’ once more.”   Royce called it “The Walk of Ages.”

          Miss Emerson Rose and brother, Eli Ogelsby, were happy to be visiting with their Grandmother in Champion during the past week while their Dad was busy with the recent horseshow.  On Saturday night he won the Grand Championship prize for training five year old horses.  Articles and pictures will be showing up in the papers all around the area with more complete and accurate information about the event.  It made for a late bed time Saturday night, but everyone was excited and had a wonderful time.  Little niece, Taegan Krider, loves to see the horses canter.  She loves all her cousins too, and is happy when they come to visit.  “Peanut” is quite a farm girl and there are some great pictures of her being such at www.the-dairy-maid.com a link to which can be found at www.championnews.us.   Little children growing up in the country, knowing all about farm life is a real National Treasure.  The little rural schools, like Skyline R-2, are just what the Country needs.  The Skyline R-2 School Foundation had a meeting on September 5^th to set priorities for the school year ahead.  It is good news to know that there are currently 31 children in the school district benefiting from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program that the Foundation sponsors.  These youngsters, from birth to age five years, receive a new, age appropriate, book in the mail every month.  The love of reading and the love of learning are life skills that support success no matter what course people choose in life.  It makes them Champions!

          The fall garden wants to be planted.  The next good days for planting above the ground crops will be the 16^th through the 20^th, according to Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood.   Linda is still busy dealing with all the produce from her summer garden and, while friends do not like to see her tired and overworked, they do not feel altogether sorry for her having to deal with such abundance.   Fortunately, she can work a few bridge games into her busy schedule, and that gives her some time off her feet.  At the regular Fortnight Bridge Club game on Saturday, she took second place behind the Vera Cruz player, who was celebrating her birthday.  The host, Champion, came in third and the low money went to Brushy Knob.   Wilma Pointer, who attended the Champion School Reunion this year, remarked that she would like to learn to play bridge.  She lives in Mountain Grove where there are a number of great bridge players who often meet at the Senior Center there.  Wilma will find it to be an intriguing game that she will never tire of playing. 

          Music on the Square this Saturday may include the All-General, All-Star Accordion Ensemble with its great repertory of patriotic songs.  The General will have all know that it is important to support the Troops and the Vets!  The music may just be one old guy with a French harp up on the porch of the Historic Emporium playing  “Listen to the Mockingbird” or some hillbilly jug band singing, “Who Poured the Whiskey in the Well?  There’s just one thing for shore, that water’s ninety proof or more!”  Come on down to the Square in Historic Downtown Champion to enjoy the Fall Market Day Celebration spread out on the wide grassy banks of Old Fox Creek.   It is a picturesque, lush green utopia.  It’s just where the pavement ends and where the fun begins.  Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!