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CHAMPION—July 6, 2915

        The theme of this year’s Fourth of July parade was “Sunrise on Freedom!”  The General was hale and hearty having ridden the rapids of Old Fox Creek to disembark at Champion where he hauled out one of his standard speeches, this one heavily drawing on the words of General George Washington:  “Champions are pleased to be Americans and to sit in safety under their own vines and fig trees where none make them afraid.  Here paths are scattered with light and in all their several vocations Champions are useful and accustomed to happiness.  It would be inconsistent with the frankness of their character if these Champions were not to avow that they are pleased with life in this lovely place and grateful.”  Attendance at the pre-dawn affair was scant due to creeks out of their banks, and by the time the paths were scattered with light, the whole thing was over and the tidy throng left not a shred of bunting behind.  Deep creeks also kept some away from the Old Tree Huggers Jamboree and more is the pity for lost chances to hob nob with old friends.  Those who missed this chance will look for other chances soon.  The creek bank was surely awash with deep filial feelings, but that can happen anywhere.  “Huzza!”

Emma Potter and her Grandmother Smith make memories together wading the sparkling creek.

        Hoovey Henson was in town on Friday enjoying the sites of Champion.  (What did he think of the Bee Tree?)  He and Dawn were in the neighborhood for the 4th of July alumni program at Mountain Grove High School.  There will be some good reports, no doubt.  After the big event they planned to go up to Pilot Nob to walk three miles of the Trail of Tears.  Dawn posted a picture along their walk on the Hildebrand Route.  After their walk they planned to go through Springfield to see Royce and Jo and then down to Bella Vista to see Harold and Eva and then on to Little Rock to see their granddaughter Avery Rodin who is nine years old competing in a national martial arts tournament.  Avery is adding to her collection of trophies.  She must be a Champion.  There were good reports of the parade, the programs and the victuals at the alumni gathering as old friends and family assembled for the summer-time joy of it.

        Harley and Barbara Krider looked like they were having a good time at the 50th Anniversary party thrown for them by their children.  Pictures on the internet show them smiling and feeding each other cake.  Fifty years is a long time but it must seem to have passed by quickly for them.  The swift passage of time is a regular topic of conversation.  Miles Potter just arrived seventeen months ago and he is already a big boy.  He and his brother, Weston, and sister, Emma, spent the holiday visiting with maternal grandparents Smith.  They toured the local creeks on Sunday afternoon.  The Old Fox was too swift for swimming, but Clever Creek had subsided sufficiently for some splendid wading. Wes said the creek used to run more than it does now.  He grew up fishing in it.  He also said that there was a swinging bridge about 200 yards down the creek from the slab.  Those bridges were made by people in the community years ago who were anxious for their children to get to school safely when the creeks were up.  He also said that there were a couple of places along that part of the creek where deposits of lead had been found.  News articles from seventy-five and a hundred years ago mention discoveries of “jack” along Cold Springs Road, “jack” meaning lead.

Weston Potter makes a big splash in Clever Creek.

        The Dalai Lama had his birthday on July 6th.  His was eighty years old.  They say “To hear the Dalai Lama laugh, it is easy to forget the cascade of disasters endured by the Tibetan Buddhists’ movement over the course of his life.”  Fellow Nobel Peace Laureates got together with him in California to kick off a three day birthday celebration.  He is well regarded around the world for his good attitude.  He shares the day with another person with a good perspective, Virginia Canada, who resides in Cocoa, Florida.  She has blood ties to the Upshaws and has been privy to the on-line presence of The General as he recounts the saga of the great Vera Cruz flood of 1876.  It happened in late June of that year and thirteen persons perished.  Ava was already the county seat, but there was still a lot of activity around Vera Cruz.  A big sawmill operation washed away in the flood, many thousands of feet of sawed lumber and many logs ready to be sawed all washed away.  The General is a reliable source of local history.  Champion friend Walter Darrell Haden, native of Smallett, was also born on July 6th.  He passed away in October last year.  As politics get more hilarious nationwide, “All the Late News from the Courthouse” is more appropriate than ever.  Janet Burns has her birthday on the 6th.  She is in love again with an old beau from long ago—so sweet.  Kyra Curtis was in the 8th grade at Skyline last year.  She also has her birthday on July 6th.  Lyla Brown will be in the second grade.  Her birthday is July 7th and she will be 7.  It is a special day for her to be 7 on 7-7!  Kruz Kuntz, whose mother went to Skyline, was one year old on the 7th.  He is a tough little guy with some serious health problems and a big loving family on his side.  Tiffany Thornhill was also an 8th grader last year.  Her birthday is the 8th.  Acknowledgement is a nice birthday gift.  Share birthdays and anniversaries at champion@championnews.us or at The Champion News, Rt 72, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.

17 month old Miles Potter looks over his Dad’s shoulder, studying the creek.

        The Skyline VFD Auxiliary will meet again on Wednesday at 6:30 at Henson’s Grocery and Gas.  The subject of the meeting will be the upcoming Picnic.  Members will be delighted to see the extraordinary quilt that will be the centerpiece of the fund raiser this year.  Tickets are already on sale and Linda Keys of the Downtown Pawn Shop bought some of the first tickets sold.  She spent $6.00 for 7 tickets for her lucky sister, Marjorie Carter, who won the garden bench and fire pit at the chili supper in March.  Sami McCleary is in charge of the silent auction again this year and she does an amazing job with it.  Anyone with something good to share can contact her at (417) 543-4947.  The White River Valley Electric Cooperative has made a generous donation to the fire department.  Jeff Pardec of White River encourages all the fire department membership to participate in the “Round-Up” program.  If everyone will round the electric bill up to the next dollar, the overage will get used for any number of worthwhile community projects.  The Skyline VFD has benefited significantly from the program in the past.  The picnic will be August 7th and 8th.  That is just a month away!  Meanwhile the summer social season is well underway and Champions will say, “See you around.”

        Tom Petty says “You belong among the wildflowers.  You belong in a boat out at sea.  You belong with your love on your arm.  You belong somewhere you feel free.”  This time of the year one of the prominent wildflowers along the lovely Champion paths scattered with light is Queen Anne’s lace.  The flowers have a flat topped white umbrella shape, sometimes with a solitary purple flower in the center.  Each flower cluster is made up of numerous tiny white flowers.  The flower cluster starts out curled up and opens to allow pollination.  The cluster then rolls itself shut again, like a reverse umbrella when it goes to seed at the end of the season.  Then it changes its name from Queen Anne’s Lace to Beggar’s Lice.  The seeds stick to everything.  It is considered to be quite a nutritious food with first year roots cooked in soups and stews like sweet carrots and the flowers French fried in fritters.  There are many edible wild plants in the area and chances are that someone sitting out on the wide veranda at the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square will know all about some of them.  Get your information from a reliable source.  Come down to the banks of Old Fox Creek and indulge your curiosity.  Champion– Looking on the Bright Side!