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CHAMPION—October 18, 2010

        “Wherever railroads and highways penetrate, wherever newspapers and movies and radios are introduced, the people gradually lose their distinctive local traits and assume the drab color which characterizes conventional Americans elsewhere.”  So wrote Vance Randolph in the introduction to his book Ozark Magic and Folklore.  Even if satellite television and the high speed internet connection are added to the list of outside influences, Champion stays the same in all the ways that matter and if Mr. Randolph were around he would be able to see that the magic of Champion is indisputable and immutable.  Still, Champions are all about steady progress.  Anyone curious about incremental accomplishment should take a picture Monday morning and one at the close of business on Friday.

        Bud Hutchison’s Fall trail ride is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20^th.  If it is like last year, the riders that make the Champion ride meet up at the Fox Trotters in Ava about nine in the morning and trailer on over to Champion by ten o’clock or so.  From Champion they set out North up over a steep little hill, then they will cross Clever Creek and turn east.  They will wind through the country on the way to Drury, passing by the Upshaw’s old family home-place.  Wilma Hutchison will most likely be waiting for them at Drury and will orchestrate another great photograph of the group.  She has photos of every one of these rides with the names of all the riders every year.  (Esther Wrinkles likes to meet up with them there too to give them the once over.)  There were several conflicts last year that reduced the number of riders, but it will be no holds barred this time and there is likely to be a crowd.  They will take an alternate path back to Champion and be welcomed there again by Champions who are, for some reason, too busy to get on their own high horses and have this kind of wholesome fun.  Nobody is saying that Champions are not wholesome.  Some of them do not have horses.  Some of them are busy. 

        Esther went over to Ben Davis with Mr. and Mrs. John Unger on Friday night to hear Wayne Fussel of Shreveport, La. speak.  She had conserved her energy in order to do that, as she is a fan of Mr. Fussel.  For that reason she did not attend the Big Jam Session at Plumbers on Thursday.  It was reported to have been a real doosie with details to be revealed once the General has been located and is considered to be cogent once more.

        All the pertinent business was handled in another well-organized meeting of the Skyline VFD Ladies’ Auxiliary.  President Betty Dye kept things moving along and all the bases were covered in short order.  Those bases included determining a date for the Chili Supper and arranging to secure the entertainments.  Louise Hutchison hosted the meeting attended by Betty Dye, Esther Wrinkles, Sharon Sikes, Wilda Moses, Karen Griswold, and Susie Griswold.  The October Mascot Monkey of the Month is in its Halloween costume.  Zorro!  Is that one ‘r’ or two?  His mug is up on a wanted poster up here and there including on the World Wide Web at www.championnews.us.

        Word from Linda over at the Plant Place in Norwood is that the 28^th and 29^th of the month will be good for doing about anything in the garden.  The signs are right–the weather may be a different story.  “Doing the garden, digging the weeds, who could ask for more?  Will you still need me?  Will you still feed me when I’m 64?”  Several Champions are suddenly becoming 64.  The lad who wrote that song was very young, early twenties, when he wrote it.  Now he is passed that age and doing well.  It is like George Orwell writing “1984” back in 1949.  Champion is fraught with disambiguation.  Happy Birthday to everyone who thought it would be different now and to everyone who thought it would be the same.

        Betty Thomas was kind of surprised to have learned that the Descendant’s Gathering was reported to have taken place in Champion.  “You are certainly welcome to share it,” she says, “We’ll just spread it out to encompass Champion.”  With four thousand in attendance on Saturday alone at the Gathering, Champions think the traffic might be too much for the already congested Square.  Betty has already begun the planning for next year’s gathering.  She has the fabric all ready to begin the quilt that will commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War.  She said that Bonnie Reed of West Plains had won the quilt at this years Gathering.  It was a beautiful piece called “Moonlight Over Montana.”  Bonnie’s husband is the flint knapper, Don Reed, who demonstrated his skill so deftly at the Gathering.

        Betty and Dale Thomas went to the East Dogwood school reunion on Saturday which was held at Evans and made a good report.  Dale is an alumnus.   She said that there were 35 or 36 people who had gone to school at the New and Old East Dogwood Schools in attendance.  “There was plenty to eat and it was all good,” she said.  No one could quite remember how many years they have been having the reunion.  Marilou Elliot used to organize it and then, a number of years ago, Viola Walker Paine took it over and has been doing a good job with it.  Some of those attending were Wilburn and Louise Hutchison, Jackie Coonts, Albert Elliot, Fred and Joanne Follis, Ray and Alice Brown, Bill Cooley, Darrell Cooley, Joanne Shelton Davis, Corrine Coonts Bell and Dale Bell, Tony Evans, Lavelle Brentlinger and Bud Clinkenbeard.  Mark and Gretchen Boisse also attended the reunion.  They have built the lovely straw bale house that sits on the property where the New East Dogwood School held its classes.  It was probably the Old East Dogwood School where Esther Wrinkles remembers with such fondness the ciphering matches.

        This last summer a guy named John Natchison held his twenty-third annual “Stand Down” event for homeless veterans.  It was held in Southern California, but it is reckoned that there are homeless veterans in every part of every state.  Natchison reported that there are 9,000 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans living on the streets currently.  Two million have already served in those countries and already a quarter of a million Veterans of those conflicts have requested medical help for psychological issues.  Veterans of these current conflicts represent 20% of the homeless veterans, double the National Average.   Much of the difficulty has to do with repeated deployments and the lack of preparedness for reentering civilian life.  They come home with skills (bomb defusing) that are not particularly marketable in an already stressed economy.  While there does not seem to be a cure all for the problems, Champions all are encouraged to reach out with a helping hand that expresses the Love and Gratitude to Our Veterans.

        Anyone looking for some beautiful smiles only had to get a load of those miners rescued in Chili.  “Smile through your fear and sorrow,” the song says.  “How glad I am not to have lost you!” the people seemed to be saying.  Gratitude is a beautiful Champion emotion.  Express it in many or few words to Champion News or in song down at the Loafing Shed next to the Temporary Annex of the Historic Emporium in Downtown Champion.  Loiter to your hearts content while not in any way impeding progress.  It is Champion, after all—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 11, 2010

            Champions are not able to resist the wisdom and spirit of patience that permeates one of the most picturesque places on the planet.  It so often happens that things seem to stay just the same day after day and then suddenly, “Bam!” Change.  That is exactly what happened during the past week as the foliage went from summer to fall overnight.  Now the hillsides have taken on the aspect of an old oil painting.  When the rains have come at last (remember Champions are patient) and washed away the dust, perhaps the scenery will resemble one of the famous Van Gough paintings of autumn landscapes as the colors brighten.  While construction seems at a standstill on the replica of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square, patient Champions will be rewarded soon with an incremental leap of accomplishment.  Champion!

            Neighbors over in VanZant had another delightful Thursday evening jam session at the Junction.  Guitars, mandolins, banjoes and that sweet fiddle backed up some fine singing voices and a big crowd was well entertained.  Esther Wrinkles was sorry not to make it out.  She is a great music lover.  She has had some nice company from Texas as Barbara Mathers and her friend were visiting with Lois Thompson in Mountain Grove.  They all came out to see Esther and Lonnie and Verla Mears also came down from Springfield that day.  Barbara and Lonnie are cousins.  Esther went with Larry and Theresa Wrinkles to Ava to church on Sunday where they had lunch with Esther’s sister, Irene Dooms.  Esther is a ‘gad-about’ and Champions are always glad to see her coming.  More Upshaws may be at Plumbers this week as Susie Upshaw of Idaho will be visiting with family in Mountain Grove.  She is bringing her three daughters Darcy, Liane, and Londa with her and it is expected that much fun and reminiscing will be going on.   

            Great niece, Jillian Hall, and nephew Glen Masters, both of Austin, TX will have birthdays on the 14^th of October.  Taegan Rae Krider’s dad will have his birthday that day as well and her mother’s birthday will be on the 24^th.  Among the many October birthdays are John Lennon and Harley Krider.  The late Mr. Lennon would have been 70 years old, and while Harley is not quite that old he will still be much older than most Champions.  Brian Oglesby shares a birthday with his uncle-in-law, Harley, on the 26^th.   Mr. Oglesby may best be known as the father of young Eli and Miss Emmy Rose.  Their grandmother celebrated her special day on the 4^th and gave her sister, Kaye, with whom she shares the day, a lovely bag that she found in Delores Evan’s new store in Mountain Grove.  The store is located on North 95 next to the Fruit Experiment Station and is called Sew and Treasures.  Many people were so aggravated that Wal-Mart ceased to sell fabrics.  Their predatory business practices had eliminated any other fabric store so that someone looking to buy even a spool of quilting thread had to travel off to distant places.  A little business called Sew Crafty was just making a good showing when it was destroyed by fire a few months back. Hopefully, Sew and Treasures will fare better.   In addition to fabrics and all kinds of threads, Ms. Evans offers consignment booths for local craftspeople and antique aficionados.  It is a Champion thing to support local family owned business. 

            Students from Norwood High School are studying gardening through their life science class.  Their instructor, Courtney Davault, says that this is a one semester class in botany that the school is generally able to offer every other year.  This year she has twelve students who are sophomores to seniors and they have planted a fall garden over at the Plant Place.  Linda has donated the space and provided many plants and much good information.  They have all the Cole crops as well as many herbs and gourds.  Students tend their garden on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with watering and weeding.  Ms. Davault says that she and the students and the school are all most grateful to Linda for her generosity of time, space, and materials.  Linda is having a nice sale this week on hostas, mums and her gallon perennials.  It is indeed Champion to support local businesses.  Linda and Charlene are always glad to help the Skyline VFD.  They are good neighbors.

            The Skyline VFD Ladies Auxiliary meeting at Louise Hutchison’s house on Tuesday the 12^th was scheduled to discuss the musical entertainment for the Chili Supper that will be coming up in February.  It is splendid to see those Auxiliary members so well on top of what needs to be done to have a successful fundraiser for the best little fire department in Douglas County!  The Picnic Society has sold another Monkey at Henson’s Store in its monthly silent auction and the new one looks remarkably like the last one except for its Halloween costume.  Friends surprised Auxiliary President Betty Dye for her birthday with a new leather jacket.  She is ready for cool weather so she can wear it.  Champion!

            Some Champions were surprised to learn that they had hosted the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering earlier in the month.  While the pictures in the paper were quite nice and the story most interesting, it is important to say that the wonderful event, while attended by many fine Champions, was indeed held at the Thomas Farm down in the Yates community.  Betty and Dale Thomas put a lot of effort into this event every year and it is an excellent opportunity to meet neighbors and friends and to step back into the pleasant part of the past with all the crafts and demonstrations.  Already Champions are looking forward to next year.

            The Air and Military Museum-Ozarks is at 2305 E. Kearney Street in Springfield, just a few blocks east of Glenstone.  It is a place to go to gain an understanding of what life was like for Veterans of past conflicts and what soldiers of current conflicts may be enduring.  If the burden can be eased by Love and Gratitude, Champions throughout the Nation offer those things heartily.  A helping hand to a Veteran is one well extended.  

            “If you smile through your pain and sorrow Smile and maybe tomorrow You’ll see the sun shining through For you.”  This is the second verse of the song written by Charlie Chaplin.  It was originally used as an instrumental theme in the soundtrack for the 1936 movie Modern Times.  Chaplin composed the music, while John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added the lyrics in 1954.  In the lyrics, the singer is telling the listener to cheer up and that there is always a bright tomorrow, just as long as they smile.  “Smile” has become a popular standard since its original use in Chaplin’s film.  It is a powerful concept.  One Champion gets a birthday card every year that says, “Remember, if you act like you are having a good time, pretty soon you will find that you really are having a good time, “ or words to that effect.  It is an admonition to anyone under stress and anxiousness to eat slowly, breathe deeply and count your blessings.  Enumerate your blessings at Champion at getgoin.net  or in person down in the Loafing Shed next to the Temporary Annex on the West Side of the Square.  It is in Downtown Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 4, 2010

            Champions are just floating on a cloud of satisfaction that the roof on the porch (of the Replica of the Historic Emporium known as Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square in Down Town Champion) is attached to the building at an angle that precisely duplicates the angle of the roof.  The end result is consistent with classic architecture.  The three-way roof has its lovely first and third parts out at the very ends of the encompassing expanse and the whole effect is reminiscent of a ball gown swirled and twirled out to its limits of loveliness.  Perhaps the tin will go on this week and the lines will be defined for those who need to see incremental progress in order to be comfortable with the probability that it will one day be finished, be part of daily life and then magically be old and venerated.  How often does it happen in life that one gets exactly what one wants?  It is Champion!  All around the county people are standing back to gawk at well-built buildings.  One such, over in Vera Cruz, is another example of clean lines, substantial elements and amazing craftsmanship.  Champion is full of talented people….modest too.

            Change in Champion is (1) constant, (2) inevitable, (3) graceful, (4) a moot point.

It is moot in that the important things are unchangeable—the quality of life borne of family, friends and community is pretty much unaffected by any superficial change.  Still it can be startling.  Ten days away from the place finds the seasons about to change with a hard frost pending and some sudden changes in the health and comfort of old friends.  Many Champions are thinking about Esther and Eva and Tanna with the good hope that their various circumstances and situations are resolved quickly with the minimal discomfort and unpleasantness possible.  Champions are constantly reminded that things can change in a heartbeat.  That is why they are such a conscious and present people.  Ten days, however, finds Harley and Barbara having come and gone.  No strategy of avoidance could have been more successful than a simultaneous sojourn.  Next time will be a happy meeting even as this time would have been had it been.  “We’ll have a good time then” is a lyric from a song called “Cats in the Cradle.”  It is interesting in that it deals with the ramifications of putting off the truly important things.   Like a good friend says, “Change is a naturally occurring event, the most you can hope for is to steer it in the right direction.” 

            A good time was had by many, many folks out to the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering.  A steady stream of visitors came around the big open circle.  Pleasant cool temperatures and wood smoke marked the change of season.  Blacksmiths, soap and apple butter makers, sorghum cookers and camp cooks kept the place smelling like the past with all the nostalgia that comes with a selective memory.  There was excellent live music and interesting crafts and demonstrations and displays of all sorts of ancient farm equipment.  The Older Iron Club always has a great display.  If the pictures in the paper are so very small (hiding on some obscure page in miniature) that you can’t get the feeling for how it really was, go on-line to www.championnews.us and check out the Pioneers on the Neighborhood Events Page.  Champions have the most interesting neighbors.  Those charming gentlemen representing the Civil War soldiers and the soldiers of the Spanish American War certainly bring to mind the hardships of those who served back then.  A River Rat with a Purple Heart recently informed the Champion News that there are three new diseases associated with the Agent Orange defoliant that was used so extensively in Viet Nam.  Chances are good that many years from now the continuing effects of the current conflicts will still be becoming apparent.  Those Civil Warriors needed the Love and Gratitude of the Nation then and so do they all now—up through the World Wars, Korea, Viet Nam, Bosnia, and all the other places through Iraq and Afghanistan into the future.  Veterans are Champions.

            Some gardeners are experiencing a surfeit of green beans just now at the end of the season. A hard frost is looming and spotty areas in the Champion area have already experienced the lightest touch of it.  Sweet potatoes want to be dug now and a cover crop of something nice could go in as soon as the summer garden is finished for the season.  Over at the Plant Place in Norwood, Linda has some great suggestions and plenty of bulbs and shrubs to make next Spring pretty.  Hard neck garlic?  Or Soft neck? 

            Word has gone out to Srta. Eulalia Jasmin that she has, at last, won the bid on the Mascot Monkey of the Month for September in the monthly silent auction to help the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department make its big truck payment.  Senorita Jasmin has bid on every monkey since the first one went on the block back in April.  By the time the Skyline Picnic rolled around in August a representative of the Skyline Picnic Society was able to present the Fire Chief with a crisp $100 bill generated by pure monkey fun.   For more real fun ahead, Skyline Ladies Auxiliary President Betty Dye will celebrate her birthday on the 7^th of October.   Auxiliary members, as well as all Champions, wish her a happy day and another good year ahead!  Look for pictures soon of July’s Mascot Monkey of the Month winner, Becky Heston.  She is an avid Champion News reader and a great supporter of the Skyline VFD.  September’s winner may try to find a way to avoid having her picture in the paper…she is reclusive, but interested in Champion in a big way.  The August Monkey has not found its way back from the big rock and roll tour. Perhaps someone who attended the PyroPyro concert at the Lightening Festival will know what is happening with Augusto.

            Some Champions are complaining that their roads are getting too wide.  The County Road people do an excellent job of keeping the roads in good shape for the school buses.  It doesn’t matter how wide the road is if drivers take their half out of the middle at rates of speed appropriate for highway travel.  One of the most pleasant aspects of living in a remote area is the relative tranquility.  Hunting season brings more traffic, but Champions welcome those hunters for the most part because they are generally respectful of the beauty and of the people who are fortunate enough to live here.  For residents it is easy to become caviler about a place so familiar and some have never had the admonition that slow can be better.  It is a life lesson best learned early.  

            Send life lessons to Champion@getgoin.net or to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Charlie Chaplin wrote “Smile though your heart is aching.  Smile even though it’s breaking.  When there are clouds in the sky, you’ll get by.”  Get by Champion—Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 27, 2010

        Champions are always happy to say that there is no place like home.  This is especially true when, for whatever reason, they find themselves out in the big Elsewhere.  Frequent phone calls back Home keep distant Champions informed:  The flooring is down on the new porch on the Replica of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion.  The sill is up to accept the roof and the porch posts are cut off at the appropriate height.  By the time the roof is on the porch, perhaps all the wandering Champions will have clicked their ruby slippers and will be there to see it.  “Home is where the heart is,” they say.  They say “Why did I leave my home on the farm to look for a job in the town?”  It is good fortune that does not currently require a job in the town and it will be better fortune to see the dear old place again.

        Dale and Betty Thomas will be hosting their wonderful Pioneer Descendents Gathering on the week end.  There will be flint knapping, archery demonstrations, blacksmithing, soap making, molasses making, and apple butter.  The horse drawn cycle mower is always a crowd pleaser and the wagon rides down along the Bryant are a chance to get lost in the wonderful past.  Those buckskin people will be there as well as the Civil War reinactors and black-powder folks.  There will be lots of live music and great food to go along with Dale’s wheel-right demonstrations.  Probably the Older Iron Club will have some interesting exhibitions and, of course, Bob Berry will have his beautiful Studebaker in the antique car show.  The whole thing is well worth the trip down past the Edge of the Earth, just past the Yates Cemetery.  New vehicles do not have any trouble in negotiating the road.  It only makes a person wonder how it must have been when those pioneers first got started down there.  Betty will have a quilt to raffle and the work that the two of them do all year to get ready for this wonderful event will be clearly evident.

        Linda’s Almanac is available on the world wide web at www.championnews.us.  It would seem that there is cool weather ahead for a while so some collard greens or spinach could probably still make.  Some gardeners have had good luck this season and some have not.  Every year is different and, of course, that is the way Champions like it.  Some investigating into the relative merits of hard neck garlic and soft neck garlic is a timely endeavor for Champions looking for a good harvest of the ‘stinky rose.’

        It turns out that the world is a very connected place.  Some people in the big towns cannot go anywhere without their phones.  They use them to read books, send e-mail, to text, to look at pictures, to take pictures and video, to listen to music and even every once-in-a-while to talk to each other.  It is easy to forget a time when the neighbors were the people with the only telephone around.  It is easier yet to forget about those pioneers getting on the wagon train and leaving family and friends with the prospect of never seeing them again.  These are different times.  Now, when connections get missed, it is easy to imagine all kinds of things.  Champions in distant places will just figure their Champion friends at home are out in the garden working, or are over at the neighbors having supper or gone to town for groceries.  A couple of missed phone calls is no reason to worry.  Someone said that worry is just a negative prayer.  Champions do not do that.  Parents and spouses and children of the U.S. Military Service people off in the dangerous parts of the world have that anxiety as a constant companion.  Love and Gratitude is due them and their loved ones who are so far away for such a long time.

        Champions do sing, “Show me the way to go home.  I’m tired and I want to go to bed.  I had a little drink about an hour ago and it went right to my head.  Wherever I may roam-over the land or the sea’s bright foam, you can always hear me singing this song-Show me the way to go home.”  This turns out to be the bedtime song of a certain little Champion granddaughter.  She said that when it rains while the sun is shining, there is always a rainbow.  So far she has been proven right.  Step on down to the Loafing Shed on the West Side of the Square in downtown Champion and postulate any worthwhile theory.  Defend it or be proven wrong.  Sing it right out loud and send your favorite bedtime song to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  The Loafing Shed has proven to be a valuable accommodation to Champions while things have been flux.  Soon enough it will be redundant and then it will be a garage!  Change is one of those things that is always very well done in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 20, 2010

        Champions are in the charming situation of living in a place that other people admire.  One of the Champions at the recent School Reunion was heard to say, “I spent twenty years trying to get out of Champion and the next forty trying to get back.”  It seems that Champion is what a lot of people think of as idyllic…charmingly simple in its pastoral scenes.  First time visitors to Champion are captivated.  To them nothing seems ‘different’ because they have no history with the place.  Still, they find it lovely.  It was interesting to see how the wagon train felt about the Champion changes.  Mostly it was just done with smiles and sweet old stories about Ed Henson in the Old Store.  Good inspection of the construction site by many netted approval in that it is entirely sturdy and built with much local lumber, milled with an appreciation for how well the last building made of local materials held up in that spot.  The porch will tie it all together and it looks formidable!

        Champions’ own Harley and Barbara will be in town for a spell…always too short a spell and always welcome.  Before they leave, the porch will be on the Replica of the Historic Emporium and patrons will be looking to vacate the now comfortable Loafing Shed for the more prominent spot on the porch.  “All the word’s a stage!”  Moreover, as the official Reviewing Stand, all Champion Parades will perforce be routed down the Broad Expanse of Lonnie Krider Way from West to East or from East to West.  Either way spectators from the porch will have a perfect view!  Champion.

        Ethel McCallie did not make it over to Champion during her stay in the area.  The Haden Family Reunion in Ava was her destination and it must have held her interest so well that she could not break away.  Champions hope she had a good time and that she will get back this way soon.  Champion’s friend, Darrell Haden, has been much in Champion thoughts lately, with best wishes and fond remembrances.  The approach of Fall brings the Headless Cobbler to mind.

        A Champion friend from Vera Cruz made that trip over to Branson on the 11th to the White River Valley Electric Co-Op gathering and found it to have been a good experience.  She had questions concerning solar power and ways to determine high usage times so that she could arrange certain of her activities during times that are not peak usage hours.  Champion kinds of cooperation are always coming to light!

        Autumn begins on Wednesday, though there may still be some nice summertime weather.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that root crops can be planted on the 27th and 28th.  It might be time to start thinking about putting in some spring bulbs.  There might still be time for some beets and turnips!  Everybody will be looking for Lem and Ned to come clean up the garden when it is finished.  Some old Champions say that this is going to be the year when they don’t just let the garden go for the winter.  Those old people will need some help.  Sometimes talking about gardening is as much fun as doing it.  Now that Linda and Charlene have such a comfortable and warm space it looks like some card games and extrapolated visiting will take place in that bright place with all the lights and windows.  Arlene Cooley is still talking about Charlene’s painted bird house that was her door prize at the Champion School Reunion.

        An e-mail came from Pete Proctor with a link to the story of the POW/MIA Color Ceremony and Missing Man Table.  “The sun was shining bright as the Comrades, Sisters and guests gathered on the Mountain Grove Public Square before 9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 17, 2010 for the POW/MIA Awareness Day Color Ceremony.  There were twelve Comrades of Mountain Grove VFW Post 3770, six Sisters of the Ladies Auxiliary and fifteen guests attending the event.”  There are pictures and much more information at POW/MIA Color Ceremony.  Look for a new Link to the VFW Post 3770 website in the Links Category at www.championnews.us.  Look for any opportunity to express Love and Gratitude to those serving Our Nation in and out of uniform.  They are Champions and they have it coming.

        Champion Elmer Banks had a birthday on Wednesday, the 15th.  He was just so happy to have made it another year he forgot to tell his age!  He really enjoyed the wagon train and meeting some newcomers to the area.  There are a number of people with birthdays coming up.  Louise Hutchison celebrates on the 21st of September as does Miss Zoey Louise and Penelope Zappler, both of Austin, TX.  Champion Rebecca Heston (winning bidder on the July Mascot Monkey of the Month for the benefit of the Skyline VFD Fire Truck fund) will celebrate on the 29th.  Skyline Auxiliary President, Betty Dye, will celebrate on the 7th.  Taegan Rae Krider’s old man will have a birthday on the 14th of October.  He had a good time at the wagon train particularly teasing Jackie Coonts about what a ferociously ugly horse he has.  His point was that Jackie seems to think it is a beautiful horse.  He puts a lot of time in the saddle, so he should know.  Donna Moskaly up on C highway will have a birthday on the 20th and many will remember Ana Henson’s birthday on the 21st.  Ana’s sister-in-law, Ms. Maxine Grote, was in Champion for the School Reunion.  Then Harley Krider will have his birthday on the 26th and will once again be older than his contemporaries.  He is such a sport!  “Quite a golfer,” they say.  One Champion will leave home on the day Harley arrives and will stay away from her favorite place in the world until he is gone again.  It is not at all intentional—just a coincidence and so all the teasing that could have resulted from having heard Hovey and that crowd talk about Champion boyhood days will have gone for naught.  Champions always feel like there is plenty of time for that kind of fun.

        “You can’t jump across a chasm in two leaps.”  That is a Champion Thought.  Think up such a thing as that and send it to Champion Items and Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Sing the second and third verses to the Happy Birthday Song out in the Loafing Shed to anyone who will sit still for it.  When the porch gets into regular use by the public, there may be some rules of decorum to observe.  For now, however, it is Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 12, 2010

          Champions are a helpful and generous people.  One took the opportunity to help the builder unload a few boards the other day and now can strut about saying how he has been ‘helping’ to build the Replica of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Patrons of the Temporary Annex over on the West Side of the Square are pleased with the progress of the Replica and particularly with the perfect placement of the pads for the porch posts.  Soon the porch will be there and it is to be hoped that the steps will be the last to go up as a way to keep out the gawkers.  So far the building has not been too overrun with nonparticipating observers because it has been rather inaccessible to all but the nimble, but once the steps go in it might be a different story.  The superintendent is accustomed to handling all types of delicate situations, so no conflicts are expected and progress should not be overly affected.  There will be explanations about how the new roof will be a “three-way” rather than regular shed roof on account of the relative ceiling height and the like.  It will go on and on—Champion!

Champions are more familiar with the “three-way” being a harness of three mules pulling a wagon like the Webster wagon with Candy, Kate and Joe that came through last year.  Champions are excited that the Wagon Train is due through town this week.  If it runs according to schedule, it ought to be pulling into Champion in the neighborhood of noon on Thursday.  This is The West Plains Wagon Club led by Clifton Luna.  The club makes the annual trip to Mansfield starting out from West Plains on Monday morning.  They travel about twenty miles a day and make camp each evening at their regular spots along the way.  They will arrive in Mansfield on Saturday in time for the Wilder Days Celebration.  Last year there were eleven wagons of various descriptions and the community turned out to give them a good examination.  They seem to enjoy the attention, so it works out well for everyone.  The travelers will have some surprises in store for them when they roll into Champion. 

A week after the Champion School Reunion, Hovey will be pleased to know people are still talking about him.  The various versions of the stories about the mailbox, the still, the hollow log, the boys in trouble and trips into town to see the judge are all remembered differently according to whether the rememberer was an actual participant in the alleged shenanigans or the recipient of some exaggerated hear-say third hand and in the way distant past dredged up now from fading memories tinged with the rosy glow of nostalgia.  So much of history trickles to the surface through these murky channels.  Hovey said that he was interested in responding to Wally Hopper’s note about the history of Denlow and how he would like to have an historic marker there.  Hovey agrees that the place has fallen into significant disrepair.  He is also wondering if there is a marker that actually marks the spot known as Vera Cruz.  Inquires confirm that there is such a spot and it is on the farm of a Mr. John Vineyard.  Do-gooders and busy-bodies will spend some time getting the two of them together so the Champion’s concerns can be relieved.

          The coyotes howled around the intrepid campers and the young folks drifted off to sleep to their music.  Roasted marshmallows and ‘smores’ were evening delights and pancakes on the camp stove in the morning will be long remembered and expected on future outings.   No alligators crept up out of the pond and no bears came down out of the woods to trouble the happy campers and Mom and Dad were right there to be sure of it.  Foster and Kalyssa are already building a set of good childhood memories.  Their little cousin, Taegan was quite entertaining on Sunday showing everybody that at four months old she is just about ready to take off crawling.  She will soon get that knee up under herself and then she will be going where she pleases.  Old folks wonder if they are changing as quickly as the little ones do. 

          The General spread the largess of his attentions around to the Brixey Family Reunion up in Seymour on Saturday and so missed the four Henson siblings at the Champion School Reunion.  More is the pity.  They missed him!  The Brixies must have had advanced warning that he was coming because the numbers were down a little.  The General’s lovely sister seems to be related to everyone in the area some way or another and so it is reckoned that he is too and for that reason has some degree (for want of a better word) of ‘welcome’ at almost any family gathering in these parts. There has been no recent news of the marauding goat of Vanzant.  It has spent time on Esther’s porch, napping and nibbling the flower buds off her Christmas cactus and making sudden lurching exits from her garage.  It takes a lot of seasoning to disguise the taste of goat once it reaches a certain age.   These things are best left in the capable hands of the General himself.  This may be the soirée to which certain Champions are finally invited, though no breaths are being held.  Noses will be, though—goat tacos.  Yum.

As of September 13, 2010 there have been 2,054 United States and Coalition casualties in Afghanistan.  Thirty-three of those have been from Missouri.  One hundred eighty-one of those casualties have been twenty-one years old.  Modern warfare in the Middle Eastern conflicts have resulted in fewer casualties but more wounded soldiers.  As the families of the fallen need compassion so do the returning wounded and their families.  Love and Gratitude can be expressed in many ways.  Champions everywhere seize the opportunity to say, “Thank you.” 

The signs have changed and so that the 15th through the 17^th will be good days to plant above the ground crops.  Some spinach and any kind of leafy greens can go in about this time and will most likely have time to make.  These things can stand some cold weather, and it may happen that they get some before long.  The seasons are going by quickly.  Linda’s Almanac has a lot of good information.  It will soon be time to start bringing in those delicate things that will need protection through the winter.  Linda has some nice fall cabbage and broccoli plants and lots of good advice for novice gardeners and experienced ones.

“Rolling, rolling, rolling!  Keep them wagons rolling.  Though the streams are swollen, Rawhide!  Through all kinds of weather, what if the sky should fall?  As long as we’re together, it doesn’t really matter at all.”  One old Champion tells another that this song is about ‘doggies’ not wagons and the rest of it is part of a song called “Side by Side.”  The song the Champion is looking for is “Wagon Train, Roll along.  Rolling over prairie where there ain’t no grass.  Rolling over mountains where there ain’t no pass.  Sitting on the board, eye in the weather, praying to the Lord we stay together side by side on the wagon train.”  Sing that one out in the loafing shed while you still have the chance.

Get down to the Square on Thursday to see the wagon train or just come anytime to Champion and Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 6, 2010

        The first Champion School Reunion was held in 1984.  They have been going strong ever since.  Attending this year:  Robert and Connie Brown, Ivel Brown, Pete Proctor, Eva Henson Phillips, Tommy and Barbara Sutherland, Jerry and Shauna Smith, Fae Krider, Charles Lambert, Hanna Faith Jensen, Ruby Proctor, Barbara Proctor Cooper, Darrell Cooper, Elsie Curtis, Debbie Massey, Lonnie Curtis, Tom and Arlene Cooley, Robert Graham, Mary Graham, Gary Hutchison and Phyllis Long, Vivian Floyd, Irene Dooms, Verla and Lonnie Mears, Betty Henson, Carolyn and Darrell Hutchison, Jordan Hutchison, Esther Wrinkles, Elva Ragland, Larry and Teresa Wrinkles, Amy Collins, Sheila Collins, Pete Robertson, Maxine Grote, Darrell Cooley, Eric Arnall, Sue Arnall, Leola Bell, Modeen Dooms McGown, Royce Henson, Carol Coats Barnhart, Peggy Hancock Carreras, Randy Henson, Wayne and Fances Sutherland, Laine Sutherland, Greta Cope, Russell, Sue and Dean Upshaw, Leslee Krider, Staci and Dustin Cline, Kenneth and Dawn Henson, Dale and Betty Thomas, Kenneth and Barbara Anderson and Barbara’s daughter Jonna.  There were others who asked not to be named and some who came made only a cameo appearance.

        This was a nice crowd.  It was said that there were more first time attendees here this year than in any other.  There were sixteen teachers at the first reunion.  This year Ms. Leola Bell was the only one.  She grew up over on Highway 14 near Fox Creek and began teaching in Champion when she graduated from high school.  She had a long distinguished career as an elementary and high school teacher, an elementary school principal, and as a special education teacher.  She lives over by Lebanon now and still substitute teaches.  She had good Champion beginnings.

        Among the things over heard at the reunion:  “I spent twenty years trying to get out of Champion and the last forty years trying to get back.”  “Little, Elvie, did you ever find your shoes?  I threw them in the creek and got a good beating for it.  They might be in the Atlantic Ocean by now.”  “It’s so good to see you!”  “Do you remember that dog show they had down here one time?  The dogs were jumping through hoops and turning flips.  They had a horse that could count.  I was in about the first grade.  Now, I thought that was really something.”  The amount of yarn spun on Saturday could knit knickers for half of Douglas County.  S.C. Turnbo could certainly have found things to write about.  A certain Mr. Phillips receiving some well-warranted sympathy over the luck of the draw of his particular bunch of brothers-in-law quickly turned the subject to Turnbo’s “White River Chronicles.”  A good sense of humor is a Champion thing no matter where a person comes from or how they became entwined in the Champion Experience.

        The reunion was just the beginning of a great day for Esther Wrinkles and her family.  She had both her sons and their wives and her sister, Irene Dooms, and her children and a houseful of grandchildren and great grandchildren all for a birthday celebration on Saturday evening.  It seems to be the nature of Champions to celebrate.  The mysterious goat was still plaguing Esther’s porch and garage—eating flowers and keeping the General at bay.  His absence was noted at the reunion together with comments about unreliability.  Fortunately, Hovey was there to run the auction.

        Foster and Kalyssa Wiseman did not attend the reunion this year.  They arrived after the festivities had ended.  At three years of age, Kalyssa did not seem to be bothered by having had her age reported as four in last week’s paper.  She and Jenna Brixie were born on the same day and Jenna celebrated her third birthday.  Some Champions are getting old and forgetful, but those things only become important later on.  Kalyssa was busy getting ready for a big camping trip out in her Grammy’s field on Sunday night.  The family was going to camp out by the pond in a tent.  Nobody was worried about alligators coming out of the pond or bears out of the woods—well, not very worried.  Mom and Dad were going to be there.

        A short e-mail came from David Richardson to the Champion mailbox.  He sent a link to a movie he made at the Skyline VFD Picnic back in August.  It was well done and nice to see from the comfort of an air-conditioned computer room.  Everyone will remember how amazingly hot it was at the picnic this year.

In response to the thank you note, he said that he had a movie of Lonnie Krider and Wayne Anderson the last time they played together at the picnic.  The song is “Once More” and it is just lovely . . .

        Pete Proctor had a good time at the reunion.  He said that on the 17^th of September, he and Joe Kelly will present a program of the POW MIA Missing Man Table.  It will be on the square in Mountain Grove at nine in the morning with the Flag raising ceremony.  He said that there are still over 1700 missing soldiers from foreign conflicts.  Since May there have been six names added to the Viet Nam Memorial Wall as remains of those soldiers have been recovered.  The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3770 in Mountain Grove stays active in supporting Veterans and their families.  The Love and Gratitude they extend comes from all Champions as well.

        The consensus of opinion concerning the Replica of Henson’s Store being built on the original spot on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion is that it is just beautiful.  Many of those returning Champions had a little somber feeling to see such a change, but none could dispute the necessity.  The vibrant living nature of the place has not changed in all these years.  Someone remarked that it would be nice if the obvious changes in some of these old Champions could be like the ones appearing on the square and they could once again be sturdy and graceful.  Champions are optimists but not delusional.  Much praise was lavished on the absent builders.  “They sure enough are doing a bang up job!”  And the like.  Send the like or any length yarn to Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Sing “Once More” or any sweet, sad old song way out yonder in the Loafing Shed.  If you have a lively, uplifting, happy kind of song, just sing it anywhere in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION—August 29, 2010

           In Champion the dusty dry days, one right after another, were made endurable by the reduced temperature and by the promise of rain.  When it arrived, Champions were ready.  Champions are always delighted to see how quickly things recover and green up again after even a modest shower.  As dust on the back of the truck turned to rivulets of mud, Champions did not complain. 

          An email comes from someone on the General’s staff: “A stray goat has been terrorizing some of the Vanzant residents.  The lady that lives at the intersection of Highways 95 and W was extremely frightened when she came home from church one evening and the goat came running out of her garage.  Evidently, the goat has set up housekeeping there as it has been seen there numerous times.  There is talk by the local vigilante committee that a community cookout is being planned for the near future.”  The note arrives somewhat after a three-freezer ice cream social that made the General’s yard look like a used-car lot.  Esther (Wrinkles) is reported to have counted 48 head of socializers.  The event was held ‘the other night’ and was as spontaneous as it was exclusive.  Of course the very nature of exclusivity is that some are excluded.  The Vigilante Goat Roast will have to include additional goats or a smaller guest list.  Champions do not wait by the mailbox for an engraved invitation.  It is enough to know that their neighbors are having fun. 

          “Jenna Brixey had her 3rd Birthday party on Saturday.  Her guests were dad and mom James and Jana Brixey, Grandpa Dean Brixey and friend Venetta, Grandpa and Grandma Gary and Nyalin Barnes, and aunt and uncle Rick and Jodi Klingensmith and cousins Maddax and Tyler Klingensmith.”  This bit of news comes from an email sent by Nylan Barnes.  Kalyssa Wiseman celebrated her 4^th birthday on Sunday.  She enjoyed the company of aunts and uncles from Tennessee and Seymour as well as her parents, brother Foster and her Champion Grammy.  Intervals between birthdays shorten in direct proportion to the number of birthdays one has had.  This observation by an old Champion is not new.

          Becky Heston writes to inform, “This is a great article, but since you are going to publish it I wanted to edit one item: S: (n) plumb line, perpendicular (a cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth’s center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point)  I know that you are clever enough to explain away the missing “b” – possibly just as a way to tie in the Granddaughter or just because one can grow and enjoy “plums” in Champion (can one?) and as such, there is no need to add the “b.”  But since “b” is the first initial of the abbreviation of my given name, I am compelled to lobby for its inclusion!  Hope all is well in Champion – and hope we get to personally experience it one of these days.”  It turns out that Ms. Heston was the winning bidder on the Skyline VFD Mascot Monkey of the Month.   Champions will be looking forward to seeing the two of them together in a photo soon together with some good biographical information.  Having recently returned from a sojourn to Italy, it will be interesting to hear how the cuisine compares to the great fare on Fortune Drive.  Most likely she will not get an invitation to the Vigilante Goat Roast either, but her sophisticated palate may well have evolved far past goat n’ groates.  Champion hosts will be on the spot for feeding fancy foodies, but will be glad to give it a whirl!

          August’s Skyline VFD Mascot Monkey of the Month has been on tour with the punk rock band “Fire!” and no word has come concerning its final disposition.  The group is opening for “Pyro-Pyro” at the Lightening Festival in Nebraska on the 31^st, so it should be a cool gig.  “How You Like Me Now?” is the big feature tune for the Monkey.  The September Monkey will show up forthwith at Henson’s Store, currently located in the Temporary Annex on the West side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Construction there is going ‘swimmingly’ as Monday morning found carpenters dodging drops of much needed moisture.  No complaints could be heard concerning the rain and only compliments concerning the wonderful west wall.  It must have taken several nice trees to make all those beautiful boards.  Champion trees, no doubt! 

          Ms. Ethel Mccallie writes a lovely letter: “I envy you Champions and me over here in Oklahoma!”  She writes that the Haden Family Reunion is always the same day as the Champion School Reunion and this year that will be Saturday, September 4^th.  She says that she will be attending the Haden gathering and hopes that she can get a ride over to Champion during her stay.  She sends fond regards to her contemporary friend, Esther Wrinkles, and hopes that Esther enjoyed her 93^rd birthday as much as she did her own.  Ms. Mccallie is a fan of all the old songs and asks if anyone knows one called “Angels Climbing The Golden Stairs,” which was written about the dream that Joseph had.  Research has been futile so far, but some Champion probably knows it.  The Champion School Reunion will be an event to remember and the spirit of the place will be well represented with nostalgia and optimism.

          Linda’s Almanac for September is up on the www.championnews.us website.  It is to be found in the Champion Connections category.  Saturday and Sunday will both be good days to plant root crops, but Labor Day will not be good for planting.  “Destroy weeds,” the almanac says.  It seems that someone is always suggesting that weeding be done.

           Not everyone has a computer in Champion, but for those who do, a visit to The Washington Post’s Faces of the Fallen is a worthwhile visit.  These are the photos of the U.S. service members who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  It is a sobering experience to see so many young and ‘middle aged’ faces looking back.  They have the Love and Gratitude of the Nation.  Their survivors need that too as do all those living Veterans who have served through the years.   

           Wash the car or just leave the windows rolled down; take a roof off a building; hang some white laundry on the line.  Any of these things can cause a rain cloud to appear.  Champions are ready for more than a drizzle. Glen Yarbrough sang, “Baby, the rain must fall.  Baby, the wind must blow.  Wherever my heart leads me, Baby, I must go.”  Go on down to the Loafing Shed in Downtown Champion and sing your favorite rain song.  Send it in the mail to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.  A new shipment of Champion Picture Postcards should be on the shelves in the Historic Emporium in time for the Champion School Reunion.  It just costs twenty-eight cents to mail a postcard, but for those out in the dreary parts of the world it is a true treasure to see Champion and a Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 23, 2010

           Champions are as much subject to the laws of the universe as are any other people. “Plum” is the nickname of one favorite Champion granddaughter and also happens to be a carpentry term meaning a line, which is exactly vertical, or perpendicular to a level horizontal line.  “Level” is another nice Champion grandchild and the spirit of his name goes to the definition that there is no part higher than another; having an even surface; being in a plane parallel to the plane of the horizon.  It is said to be horizontal at a given point if it is locally perpendicular to the gradient of the gravity field.  Now considering the topography of the environs around Champion, being at the bottom of several different hills and the churchyard being the only flat place for miles, ‘level’ might be hard to find.  Fields in these parts are most generally kind of up and down, gravity notwithstanding.  There have been devices invented for just such a situation (sometime before February 2, 1661 by some guy named Thevenot) and Champion carpenters have them and have put them to excellent use.  To put the icing on the cake, that shiny slick galvanized roof went on just before the short hard rain on Friday and so all is well.  The even surface of Champion prevails and is highly decorated by its new structure. 

           An unhappy individual forced to live elsewhere and to eat sour grapes assailed the Champion mailbox a year or so ago.  His complaint was that Champion’s Bright Side is abbreviated as “BS” and his inquiry was whom did Champion think it was fooling pretending to be such a metropolis, since it is only a wide spot beside a road at the end of the pavement.  This note caused stir and offers to sell the malcontent a couple of dry acres over in Chigger Flats that had just been logged off—such a bargain.  While there has been no reply it does occur to some Champions that the Bright Side is not the only BS around.  There is a business in Mountain Grove called Mountain Grove BS and a patron there the other day overheard some discussion of the ‘specialness’ of Champion builders.  And so they are.

           “Did you hear about Alvin Barnhart’s watermelons?” one Champion asked another.  He gave a couple of them to the silent auction over at the Skyline VFD picnic last week.  One of them weighed 62 pounds and the other just 60 pounds!  A report from one of the purchasers was that it was delicious.  They are long watermelons about a foot in diameter and very sweet and luscious.  “The rind is kind of thick but it is tasty too.”  So Alvin and Beverly have once again given the Skyline Fire Department something quite wonderful.  Ruth Hamilton picked a big bunch of okra that sold well in the auction.  It was big, but tender.

           Eli and Emmy Rose celebrated their Mother’s birthday on Sunday.  Eli is excited about starting school and Emmy has more to say these days.  There were many phone calls and reports of lots of new puppies and quail.  Their cousin, Kalyssa, will have her third birthday on August 31^st.  She spent Sunday night with her Grammy all by herself for the first time.  Foster started to school on Monday and so all the little Krider grandchildren are growing up.  Teagan will be four months old on the 30^th.  Cousin, Madelyn Ward, will start to kindergarten this year.  Those Brixie children up north of Champion are growing up and so it is with all the Champion children.  It represents the passage of time and seems more pronounced, as Champions get older, especially when the intervals between visits are long.  This is another of those universal laws.  Bonnie Parker’s beau wrote a note to Henry Ford to praise him on the quality of his V8 automobile saying that they were his favorites when he could get away with one.  He signed it “Clyde Champion Barrow.”  Perhaps someone will use Champion as a middle name soon to better exemplify the appellation.  “No, no, Hon. These is the Ozarks.  The Appellations is back east.” 

          A regular reader of the Champion column who lives in Iowa happened to be at the Skyline Picnic this year.  She said that as often as not she has a hard time following just what is going on in the Champion News, but she reads it anyway and sometimes figures it out.  Champion!  An email from a real Championista says, “I’ve heard that this year is the hottest on record since the 1880s.  I’ve given it some thought and decided a perfect outdoor environment for me is 67 in the daytime and 72 at night.  Know of any place on earth like that?”  Reply with an answer to that question to Champion News or to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.

           It is to be noted that Pete Proctor is now officially retired.  He had a long career with Town and Country and is, these days, doing just what he pleases.  A lot of what pleases him is his work with the VFW Post 3770 over in Mountain Grove.  Pete is always pleased to remind us of the importance of supporting our Veterans of the Armed Services.  In addition to the Love and Gratitude of the Nation they have served, the Veterans returning from current conflicts will have requirements for understanding, opportunity and support from the community.  Champion.

          Gardeners will be glad that the Plant Place and Gift Corner over in Norwood will be opening up again soon.  Pop in there for an Almanac for September or copy one from the www.championnews.us website.  The 26^th and 27^th will be good days to plant root crops as will the first of September.  Time flies!  One Champion writes, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.”

          The Loafing Shed over on the west side of the square in Downtown Champion has been getting some good use as regular Champions, visitors and kibitizers all have the chance to see history in the making.  The Champion School Reunion will prove to be an eye opener to many who rarely get back.  “Nothing to do, Nelly darling?  Nothing to do you say?  Let’s take a trip on memory’s ship back to the bygone days.  Sail to the old village schoolhouse.  Anchor outside the school door.  Look in and see there’s you and there’s me—a couple of kids once more.”  Sing your favorite school days song those good old golden rule songs.  That’s Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 16, 2010

          There was a mighty rush of wind in Champion as Champions heaved a collective sigh at the breaking of the brutal heat wave that has held the country in its grip for what seems to have been a long, long time.  Uncomplaining Champions have gone on about their businesses with their regular good humor and enthusiasm, though some are moving a little more slowly.  It is important to be cautious in extreme weather.  Champions know that heat exhaustion is every bit as dangerous as hypothermia.  Hot or not Champion is a very cool place.

          The Skyline VFD Picnic for 2010 was one of the hottest on record.  Still the staunch supporters—long time loyal friends of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department came out in numbers.  Those firefighters and auxiliary people who do all the hard work that makes the picnic happen were rewarded by a good turn out and the community seems grateful to have this wonderful tradition to count on year after year.  Not everyone can volunteer to fight fires—drive the big trucks and drag those big hoses—but the chance to participate in a meaningful way in such a solid community organization is one of the reasons people choose to live here.  Increasingly the population of the area is of retirement age.  Those pies that get baked for the Picnic kitchen, the cakes made for the cakewalk, and those quilt tickets purchased, and bingo games played all add up to some significant participation in the fire department.  It is a privilege to serve and it is clear to see that the Skyline VFD Association Membership takes pride in doing so.

          Marilee Richards was the lucky winner of the quilt at the Skyline VFD Picnic this year.  Esther Wrinkles made the queen size quilt; a pattern called Stripes and Scraps, and sold the winning ticket as well.  Ms. Wrinkles said that she had stepped into the First Savings and Loan to get some copies of the tickets made, which they are pleased to do in support of the Skyline VFD.  Ms. Richards made the copies of the tickets and bought the very first ones that Esther sold this year.  She will receive the quilt later this week and will have plenty of reason to be happy.  Such a beautiful quilt will likely keep Ms. Richards participating in the Skyline Picnic for years to come.

          Brenda Paul was the winner of the $100.00’s worth of free electricity donated to the Skyline VFD by Jeff Pardeck of the White River Valley Electric Co-Op.  The annual gift by White River Electric is one of the mainstays of the Skyline Picnic.  Bernard and Brenda Paul moved to the area about a year ago from Oklahoma.  She said that this was certainly a good welcoming to the community and she is looking forward to becoming acquainted with the area and with the people.  She was pleased to hear about the Chili Supper that comes up toward the end of February every year.

          Buzz Woods won the drawing for the Nikon 3 x 9 x 40-rifle scope that was donated by Out Back Gun and Rod of Norwood.  The Out Back outfit has long been a big supporter of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department.  So has Buzz Woods.  The 2010 Skyline Picnic was a win-win situation.

          Will Rogers said to get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.  Standing in the center of the square in Downtown Champion looking up through the trusses and purlings at the bright Champion blue sky, it is easy to imagine being in a great shipyard long ago where the magnificent wooden sailing vessels were built from the ribs out. Light alternating with the long row of identical members plays intricate geometrical games on the eye.   If the builders of this elegant structure are shy about having their horn blown, they should have kept the thing under a bushel.  It’s just too pretty not to be admired profusely.  Moreover it is inspiring building in the most unlikely spots.  One old girl is thinking about building a building out of old pianos.  Newcomer, Joyce Donaldson, is having a little Victorian cottage built down by her pond. Linda and Charlene have been having extensive renovations done to the pavilion over at the Plant Place and Gift Corner in Norwood.  This was not so much a renovation as a continuation of a long-term plan.  It sometimes takes years to get things just right and it is lovely to see a good plan coming together.  They will be open for business again on the first of September and Linda’s Almanac will be available then.  It is nice to see local businesses thriving.  As things continue to cool down it will be timely to plant some lettuce for the fall and maybe some spinach. 

          Pete Proctor was at the Skyline Picnic standing in with Commander Donnie Bunch of American Legion Post 30 from Mountain Grove as they presented the Colors on both evenings.  Pete is a member of the America Legion and is a Commander of the VFW Post 3770.  Picnic master of ceremonies Ray Bradley does an excellent job of leading “The Star Spangled Banner” and has no trouble with the high notes in “the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!”  During the ceremony Pete asked Veterans of the various conflicts past and present to stand to be recognized.  He wants local Veterans to know that they are welcome to attend the VFW meetings the second Saturday morning of each month.  Ed Hawley is the Service Officer for the 18^th District and Pete will have Veterans know that there are benefits available and Ed Hawley is the man to see to get things moving if they need help.  The Love and Gratitude of the Nation they have served is the least they are due.

          The Champion School Reunion is coming up the 4^th of September.  There are some excellent photographs of  previous reunions on the www.championnews.us website.  It is a nice place to go to reminisce.  Some will be surprised and pleased to see the changes that have taken place since last year.  Others will be saddend by what they see as a loss of history.  The history is still there and so is the place.  It is living yet—living history and Champions are proud to be part of it. Will Rogers said not to use up too much of today with yesterday, but Champions have a good sense of balance.  Share some Champion history that would otherwise be lost were it not for you.  Tell it out loud right there in the Loafing Shed next to the Temporary Emporium of Henson’s Store on the West Side of the Square in Historic Downtown Champion.  Send it in an anonymous note to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Published in 1912, this song was already old when Champion was young: “We were sailing along on Moonlight Bay.  We could hear the voices ringing.  They seemed to say, ‘You have stolen my heart now don’t go ‘way’ as we sang love’s old sweet song on Moonlight Bay.”  Sail on into the Square and stand in the sunshine to gaze through the fanciful framework of the town’s newest structure—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!