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CHAMPION—November 18, 2013

        The full moon in November is one of the sights that make the Ozarks in general, and Champion in particular, one of the loveliest places available to visit by land or sea.  The moon comes up over a hill through the forest fringe of leafless trees while on the other side of the valley Venus gleams brilliantly.  Hunters are hunkered down around camp fires, their Coleman lantern shining like beacons through the brush.  Some of them will wake up stiff and sore in the morning and be glad to head down to the Historic Emporium for some coffee and a good warm up around the stove.  They are some of Champion’s favorite visitors, wearing orange and driving slowly.  They infuse the area with their currency and soak up some of the beauty of a placid rural reality.  Then they drive off with the deer that would be eating the spring planting.  Good luck!

        Foster had some good luck and shot his first deer on Saturday—a nice size doe.  Among those who congratulated him online were Lucy Foster Miller, Dailey Upshaw, Sheila Marso Crewse, Beka Morrison, Bernice Wiseman, Kaye Johnson, Marlene Frazo, Anna Johnson, Wilma Ash, Ron Wiseman, Wilma Darlington, Gordon Watts (who said ‘Tell him I read about it in the paper all the way in Tennessee.”), Christy Berry, Jill Mallory Cline, Teahna Oglesby, and Larry A. Powell II.  Of course there were numerous actual handshakes and pats on the back in Champion.  His Mother said she was proud of him, but it makes her a little sad to see how fast he is growing up.  His cousin, Drayson Cline, is soon to be three months old and Champions can easily remember when Foster was just that size.  Time is fleet.

        Neighbors over in Illinois had some hard luck as tornadoes tore through the Midwest on Sunday.  On Monday morning the news reported six fatalities in the area and a great number of injuries, plus the loss of many homes and businesses.  Their Champion family and friends were glad to hear that Harley and Barbara Krider and their family were all safe there in Peoria.  Hopefully, they will still be able to make the trip down to spend some time in their Champion home for Thanksgiving.  They will have stories to tell and, like everyone here, plenty of reason to be grateful.

        This week’s birthday celebrations start out with Elva Ragland’s on the 19^th.  She is a live wire.  She grew up around here, went to school in Champion married a rail road man and moved off to California for a long time.  She has been home for a number of years now and her Champion friends are glad.  The 20^th was the birthday of David Lynn Hicks.  He was born in 1956 and just passed away on November 10^th this year.  He was a musician with the sweet kind of music making smile that so many of those people carry with them.  The 23^rd is shared between Leland Trujillo, a kindergarten student in Skyline, and a happy Grandmother in Champion South.  Her grandchildren are Seamus, Elizabeth, Zachary and Ethan.  The woman sets the standard for how grandmothers are supposed to be.  Waylin Moon is in the seventh grade at Skyline.  His birthday is the 24^th.  Levi Hicks, fourth grader, celebrates on the 25^th.  Faith Crawford, in the first grade, and teacher Lannie Hinote both enjoy the day before Thanksgiving as their birthday this year.  It is the 26^th.  Sometimes the whole Nation celebrates with them when their birthday is on Thursday.  Uncle Al the Lonesome Plowboy sometimes had pumpkin pie instead of cake.  His was the 27^th.  Ally Smith, second grade and Billy Strong in pre-kindergarten have the 29^th.  Kindergarten student Lane Watkins and third grader, John Rhodes both have the 30^th as their special personal day.  Let the joyful acknowledgments of having been being born commence!

        The famous American historian Professor Joyce Appleby said that America had four times more newspapers in the early 1900’s than any other nation.  She indicates that Americans are curious and interested in being well informed.  The internet and World Wide Web have changed the dynamic of information gathering and dissemination.  Whatever a person’s bias or inclinations are, he or she can find material on the internet to support it and back it up, truth, not necessarily withstanding.  It is easy to see how misinformation can slip-slide slimily off the internet and right into the printed word which some are happy to wad up and stick in the wood stove to get the kindling going.  Some people still rely on the daily or weekly press for a guideline concerning what is important.  “If you can speak about what you care about to a person you disagree with without denigrating or insulting them, then you may actually be heard and you might even change their mind.”  That is a quote off the internet said by some anonymous person.  The futility and despair that many seem to be feeling is causing them to be unable to distinguish between appearance and reality.  Certainly civility is being lost.  Steven Wright said to borrow money from pessimists, because they do not expect it back.  “If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain,” he said.  Also, “To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.”  Champions get their news from many sources.  Some of those sources come bow-legging into the store and stand around the stove to share their outpourings of knowledge.  Others sit at the liar’s table which is round and has no corner into which one might get backed.  “What’s new?”

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 21^st and 22^nd will be good days to apply organic fertilizer.  The 23^rd through the 27^th will be good for destroying weeds.  It is nice to have a guide, but gardeners mostly just do what comes next when they can get around to it.  The Almanac has moved on the website at www.championnews.us to the very top of the page on the right hand side.  It is handy and helpful.  Find a copy of it on the bulletin board in Henson’s Downtown G & G on the North Side of the Square.  Drop a note to Champion Items, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion @ championnews.us with your research into truth, organic fertilizer, or why musicians are often such pleasant people.  “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings…”  That will be easy to do in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—November 11, 2013

        “In the Garden of Delight” was written by Lily Hardy Hammond in 1916.  It looks like it will be a very interesting read.  It is thought that this book is where the phrase ‘Pay it forward’ may have been coined.  It is certainly a Champion notion.  It is an old concept that goes back to Athens in 317 BC when it appeared in a play by Menander.  Two thousand, one hundred and one years later on April 25, 1784, Ben Franklin described the idea in a letter saying, “It is a trick to do a deal of good with a little money.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote about it in an essay in 1841.  Now it is showing up in The Champion News as Pete Proctor reports a lovely incident.  He and Phyllis were in West Plains enjoying dinner the other day as a celebration of their first wedding anniversary when a man and his wife and daughter approached them and thanked Pete for serving our Country.  The waitress stopped by later to tell Pete and Phyllis that their bill had been paid by the family who had just left the restaurant.  Pete was touched.  It is the kind of experience that Champions hope for all the Veterans and for all those serving currently at the behest of the Nation.  They pay it forward in ways that cannot be imagined by to those who have them to thank for peace and freedom at home.  Champion Veterans!

        What a treat it was to have Raymond and Esther Howard in Champion again.  They visited with friends on Sunday and posed for a picture under the big walnut tree over by the church.  Raymond is getting ready for his birthday next week.  Thursday the 14^th is the day and he will be 91 years old.

Raymond and Esther Howard of Marshfield made a Sunday visit to Champion to attend church and to visit with longtime friends.

Paul Morgan will be 83 on the 13^th.  Foster and Kalyssa’s Granddad, Wayne Wiseman, had his birthday last Thursday.  He was 80.  Raymond teases Wayne saying he is a week older because his birthday is first.  Those guys have known each other for a long time.  Raymond was pleased to see several big reds while he was visiting.  He and Lonnie Krider used to hunt squirrels together.  The conversations they had about it were certainly lively enough, it is a sure thing they enjoyed the hunt.  It would be a fairly sure bet that if Howard is there, fun is afoot.  It must have been fun for young Richard Heffern to get an early first birthday present in the form of a little brother.  For a few days from the 8^th to the 15^th he and Robert are the same age and then Richard jumps forward for a year.  Cake and ice cream for a week!  Future ccustodians of democracy currently attending Skyline School will have birthday celebrations this week.  First grader J.D. Borders celebrates on the 9^th.  Sherman Hall who is a sixth grader will have a great birthday this year.  It is a special one–11/12/13!  Raven Hull is in the second grade with a birthday on Saturday the 16^th.  More ice cream, please.

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 21^st, 22^nd and 30^th will be ideal days to prune in order to encourage growth.  Those will also be good days to apply organic fertilizer. By the time some old Champions get to that wonderful pile of old horse manure that is waiting for them over in Coonts holler it is liable to be frozen hard.  The days just slip away.  It seems that there is always something to do in the garden.  Linda’s Dad, Chuck Barns, had his birthday on November 11, 1916.   He passed away in 2002.  He was a good story teller and a pretty interesting bridge player.  He had an exciting life doing heavy construction and living all over the world.  His garden experience included raising artichokes in Tasmania.

        Kaye Johnston and Fae Krider visited with Ruby Proctor in the Cabool Nursing Home the other day.  Ruby moved there after a short stay in the hospital in Springfield. She was reported to be doing well and was in the sitting room when the sisters arrived.  Pete indicated that she had a good week and she gave him a big smile when he visited.  Ruby has one of those smiles that makes a person feel good without a word being said.  Her Champion friends all wish her well.  She, like many, is probably thinking about and missing her old friend Esther Wrinkles who passed away back in January.  They grew up together in Champion and were baptized on the same day in Old Fox Creek when Ruby was seventeen.  Browse through the Champion Snapshots section of the website www.championnews.us to see pictures of Ruby and Esther together.  They are the very image of a lifelong Champion friendship.  While out on that site look at The Dairymaid in Champion Connections to see Taegan (Peanut)’s trip to Tennessee. She had a good time and it looks as if she enjoys traveling.  The Dairymaid does a great job of documenting the family.  It is good to see photos of those cousins on their own turf, though they are always welcome in Champion.  Technology used in this positive way can keep families close and informed about each other.  Out in the big world technology often isolates people making them ‘alone together’, as everyone stares at a screen or device of some kind with no interaction among them.  It is not that way in Champion.

        “We’ll not soon recover from the eventual earthly loss of people like you.  Lord, delay that day.” This inscription on the back of a family photograph on loan from the Royce Henson family is a poignant thought.  It brings to mind the notion that today is the day where living takes place.  Champions do a good job of living in the present.  They reference history for comparisons between past and present to conclude that some things are better today and some are not so much.  The scientist and humorist, Steven Wright, says that a conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.  He also says that experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.  Comparisons, conclusions and life experiences are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at champion @ championnews.us.  Bring them with you to discuss around the old stove in middle of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  Sing, “We’ll meet again, don’t know where don’t know when, but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—November 4, 2013

        Some would say that the autumn colors have ‘peaked’ in Champion and in the area overall.  There is more uniform brown as the various oaks russet together.  Then right between an old cedar and a fresh pine dazzles out something brilliant apricot gold and there are the dogwoods, glorious in every season. It all changes second to second with fluctuations of the light.  It is difficult to keep an eye on the road for looking at the forest.  Bud Hutchison and a bunch of his friends were horsing around on old Ivy Lane on Saturday.  They have the right idea about how to enjoy this extraordinary part of the world.  They are right out in it quiet, slow and easy.  The horses seem willing to accommodate motorized traffic but they probably like the road all to themselves.  Anyway a person gets to Champion is a good one.

        Royce Henson’s birthday caravan came rolling into town mid-morning on Saturday and toured the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  There were twenty some odd of them who gathered in the old Champion School house for stories of the bygone days, for a look at some great family photos that Jo had sent in advance, and for some new family photos.  Royce said that as a kid in school he would never have imagined that the old building would ever have electric lights and gas heat.  Everything was lit with or run on kerosene in those days and the school house was heated by a big wood stove.  In the days before insulation, the children probably dressed warmly and they almost certainly burned a lot of wood in that stove to keep the two rooms comfortable.  Eva Henson Phillips and her husband Harold Phillips came up from Bella Vista, Arkansas to help her brother celebrate his 80^th trip around the sun.  Eva has her own set of memories of the school.  The caravan rolled out in time to make its luncheon reservation at Rockbridge and reports are that the day was a great success.  Champion!

        Skyline School Counselor Joy Beeler had a birthday November 3^rd.  She shares the day with Kellie Perryman, second grader.  That is also the birthday of young William Litchfield.  He was eight on Sunday.  Another second grader, Hailey Hall had her day on Monday the 4^th.  Miss Emerson Rose Oglesby has her special day on the 5^th.  Then her truly great aunt Sharon Upshaw will celebrate on the 6^th.  The General will not miss this one.  Linda and Charlene over at The Plant Place in Norwood will help their sister, Kathy, celebrate on the 6^th.  They will probably play cards.  Mason Solomon who is a kindergarten student at Skyline has his birthday on the 7^th.  Woodworker extraordinaire, Bob Underhill from Champion South was born in 1946 and so finally is as old as some of his friends.  Not everyone likes to have his picture taken or to have his birthday celebrated.  Those folks get celebrated on the sly by people who love them.  It shows up in a smile or a hug.  For those who do very much like birthdays, Rock On!

        The Eastern Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department had a great chili supper Saturday night.  The food was very good.  Backyard Bluegrass was up to their usual standard of great.  A critic would say, “Wonderful fiddle, banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass and wonderful harmonies!”  Sherry Lynch’s husband got up and did his version of the “Hillbilly Auctioneer” which was quite a crowd pleaser.  The next thing you know he was up there doing the job.  He makes it a lot of fun and is very clever about eliciting that next bid.  The business community together with the fire department membership and friends donated some great items that went up on the block.  These little rural fire departments are what keep country people safe!  It is good to see the community come out to support them.

        The General is in a quandary.  At the chili supper the other night he was invited to attend a poetry reading –a night of poetry and quiet jazz with some chilled white wine and brie-casual attire and an incitement to participate.  At this his heart fairly leapt!  At last! The General has spent many a mile solitarily in his truck reciting Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s, “The Arrow and the Song.”  Many are familiar with the opening line, “I shot an arrow in the air…”  Crude parodies aside, the sweet sentiment is not likely to be elocuted by himself as the salon is to be held on Super Bowl Sunday.  It must be a chore to be a Renaissance man.  Go to the website at www.championnews.us to read a copy of the poem.  It expresses well the Champion ideal.

        Many Champions have their archery farm tags.  At the price of bullets these days bagging the turkey or the deer with an arrow seems somehow more economical.  That may not be the case.  The Skyline School has a good archery program and a great place to practice.  Mountain Grove students have had a successful archery program, but budget cuts are causing the school to consider doing away with it.  Some parents are getting together to have a benefit to help preserve the program on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Saddle Club Building at the Fairgrounds.  They will get started at 8 in the morning.   It looks like there will be something for everyone with a bake sale, chili, and a large multi-family yard sale.  The proceeds will support the archery program that serves kids who might not be football players, who might even be girls who do not play basketball.  It is good to see every child get a chance to participate in sports.  Softball was the big school sport in Champion as many an old timer will tell you.  Some of them will be shooting their arrow of good wishes that way.

        At any given moment Champions know people who are ailing.  Ruby Proctor is reported to not be doing well these days.  Russell Upshaw is improving.  Toby Mastin is hanging in there.  Richard and Kaye have had a bug and many others may be suffering in ways that may not be apparent.  When people we love are unwell or hurting, it is in our hearts that our thoughts and prayers would wrap around them, comfort and support them and make them and all those who love them feel better.  It is a Champion effort.

        As the swallows return to Capistrano, so do the turkey vultures to Champion.  They have been around, but this time of the year it seems they are legion in their coming and going.  A prominent Champion was entering the Emporium the other day just as another such was trying to leave.  Each had a hand on the door knob with the door in between.  They got to pulling and pushing until the door was about to bend, “Betty!” says he, “There’s a big wind about to bend your door!”  It turns out the wind was on both sides.  Send your own such charming antidotes or buzzard stories to champion @ championnew.us or to Champion Items, Rt. 72, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Come down to the bottom of several hills where country roads meet on the wild and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek to one of the world’s truly beautiful places and enjoy the sites.  Champion! Looking on the Bright Side!

Dear Wilda,

This is a poem my Father, (Blake Haden) wrote when we were in Reedley, California in January, 1930.

We’d left Ava, MO in October, 1929, after selling our farm at the insistence of my Aunt Allie Huffman.  She was Dad’s only sister.  She had six other brothers, but my Dad was her favorite.

He,(my Dad) was a carpenter and a good one too and Aunt Allie said her other brothers were working my Dad to death, he was working for them daily from sun up to sun down for $.75 a day and it made Aunt Allie very angry at them for treating Daddy like that and she told them so.  And on this occasion, she’d just returned from California and came to see my Dad and says, “Blake, I want you to sell this ‘torn down’ farm and go to California with me.  You can make more there in one day than you can here in a month doing what you’re doing now.  So Daddy sold our farm, and bought a new 1929 Model A Ford Coach, paid $628.00 for it–full price then.  Can you imagine that?

But the car salesman (Harry Martin) at that time, says to my Dad, “Now Blake you tell me you have four young children at home and you’re going to where you’ve never been and you aren’t sure whether you’ll get work soon after you arrive there, so I suggest that you pay me $400.00 and keep the $228.00 for food, etc. in case you don’t get a job right away.  But in case that does or doesn’t happen, I’m going to give you the title to the car anyway, so’s you’ll not have any trouble as you cross the state lines of Missouri and Kansas, and etc.”  (Because) At that time it was a Federal Crime to cross a state line in a mortgaged car.  So Daddy did as the salesman asked him to and after arriving in California, Daddy didn’t find a job, as he looked and hunted everywhere, so he had to use the $228.00 for food, rent, and gas for the car.  And after a few weeks, ad detective came and took the car and put Daddy in jail, till my Grandpa and uncles, raised enough money to pay the $228.99 which took ten days.  And it just literally broke my heart to see my Daddy in jail.  So that’s when he wrote this poem that I’m sending you.  I’m telling you all of this sos’s you’ll know why Daddy was in jail.  I was so thrilled and happy when he got out.

Tell Mrs. Henson, Hello for me and Thank you so much again. 

Please write again,

Sincerely, Ethel

The following poem was written in January 1930 by Blake Haden when we were in Reedley, California, to his parents, Rezin and Frances Haden.

Dearest Parents,

This poem was recopied by his daughter
Ethel Haden McCallie, April 30^th, 2001

CHAMPION—October 28, 2013

        Champion is a truly enlightened place in a part of the world that paradoxically prides itself on being the least progressive area in the Nation.  Actually, the quote was, ‘the most willfully unprogressive.’  A person can get into trouble misquoting.  Phyllis Winn wrote to ask that John Buchan get the credit for his wonderful quote: “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable and a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” The charm of Champion is that there are very few outhouses to be turned over on Halloween.  Indoor plumbing is progressive.  It has been some while since any occupied outhouses were turned over or unoccupied ones moved backwards 3 feet, or blown up with dynamite.  Those kinds of Halloween pranks might have been more common back during the day when people had outhouses.&bnsp; Pranks are probably pulled on line now.  Boo!

        As to pranks, a Champion named Mr. Smith had an uncle who once put a cat in a mailbox.  When the mailman opened the box sometime later, the excited cat made a nasty tear through the car.   This uncle was frequently in trouble for being a trickster.  The mailman was Homer Akers.  He had a reputation himself of being a reckless driver.  If the chickens happened to be out in the road when Homer came by often as not they could just be dressed out and fried for supper.  There are many interesting stories about this mailman.  His son, Bill, married Myrtle Brixey.  She grew up in North Champion and her Dad was Alfred Brixey.  Champion’s current favorite mailperson (Hello, Karen!)  brought a nice letter from Myrtle Brixey Akers the other day.  She included an interesting article from The Ozark Headliner written by Paul Johns in his column Ozark Moments.  The article was about the history of that “Every time I go to town, the boys keep kickin’ my dawg around” song.  It is the one that says, “Makes no difference ifin he’s a hound, you gotta quit kicking my dawg around.”  She said that she could remember her Dad singing that song and playing it on the harmonica.  She said that she is 91 years old so “that was long ago.”  indeed.  Her Dad had moved to this part of the country from over by the Kansas line back in the early thirties.  One of his great grandsons says that he was what would be called a ‘truck farmer’ today.  He cut sprouts and planted his tomatoes in new ground every year.  He had a flatbed truck full of bee hives one time and the guy at the filling station said, “Take the gas and go!”  He kept the bees near the spring and had the first running water inside his house in this whole area.  He built a stone house near the spring and had a ram that brought the water up beyond the house and then down through the faucet!  Imagine!  He was a fiddle player up until the arthritis got bad.  He passed away in 1957.

        Karen brought a letter from Ethel McCallie from over in Nowata, Oklahoma.  It has the story of how her Dad, Blake Haden, wound up in jail in Reedley, California in 1930.  It was a misunderstanding and he was in there for ten days.  Out of it came a poem which concludes, “Pray that I will walk the pathway, in the strait and narrow way./Shunning all the snares, and pitfalls scattered all along the way./Oh! My soul now feels so happy, All my sins are washed away./Pray that I will do His bidding, till my body turns to clay.”  Read Ethel’s latest letter and get the full story and the poem in full at www.championnews.us.  Find Ethel McCalie in the Oklahoma Friends section of Champion Friends.  Look at the post of October 21^st to see pictures of Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride.  Featured there are pictures of J.C. Owsley’s big horse, Baby, and Domino the appaloosa as well as a certain Champion cowboy.

        Birthday cards and notes came pouring into Champion this last week.  It turns out that there are a lot of people who are now 67 years old!  Champions called Harley Krider up in Elmwood, IL on Sunday to wish him a happy birthday.  He is older.  He and Barbara will be home for Thanksgiving and their neighbors will be glad to see them.  Connie Landsdown celebrates her birthday on October 30^th.  Wilburn and Louise will enjoy seeing their charming daughter having a good time.  She has a gorgeous smile and a wonderful laugh.  Some of her friends are planning to ….‘oops!’ The thirtieth is also the birthday of Royce Henson.  He and his family have a big celebration planned for Saturday the 2^nd of November.  The entourage will tour the old Champion School and then head down to Rockbridge for lunch.  It sounds like it is going to be a nice day.  They will certainly enjoy the glorious fall foliage as a backdrop for a stunning day.  Family celebrating is a Champion concept!  Cheyenne Hall has her birthday on Halloween.  She is in the fourth grade at Skyline School.  Sixth grader Keith Lamborn also celebrates that day as does superintendent Jeanne Curtis.  Maybe on Thursday 85 students and a dozen or so preschoolers will say, “Happy birthday, Ms. Curtis!”   Mr. Quick Draw Felipe Heston has his own Halloween-birthday traditions and his Champion friends wish him the very best!  It will be jack-o-lantern pie for birthday delight.  Somebody will surely take a jack-o-lantern pie to the Thursday Bluegrass Jam at the Vanzant community building.  If not Thursday, then perhaps on Saturday when the Eastern Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department will have its fifth annual chili supper and auction benefit dinner.  Dinner starts at 5:30 and at 6:30 the auction gets under way.  It all happens there at the community building in Vanzant. There are likely to be some interesting items on the block again this year.  Some creative friends of the Skyline VFD are looking forward to the chance to support their neighboring fire department.  It is called ‘mutual aid’ and it is a good thing.  Friends will be looking for Russell Upshaw at these events hoping to hear he is feeling better.

        Some old Champions are putting their garden to bed for the winter and are thinking about what a sorry squash crop they had this year with the squash bugs killing the plants before they had made very much at all.  One answer to their question about how to prepare for next year’s squash patch is to clean the future patch down to the bare ground and keep it that way through the winter with no mulch on it, nothing under which a squash bug could hide.  Then there are some ideas about killing all the first ones you see early in the spring as a way to control all the summer’s generations of them.  Any ideas about preparing a good squash patch for next year would be welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at champion @ championnews.us.  A consultation with Linda over at The Plant Place in Norwood will likely yield some good information.  A person would like to talk with Alfred Brixey about it, but there is only so much ‘new ground’ to be had.

        Join Lee Ray from Almartha on almost any morning (Wednesdays mostly) down at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  He’ll be sitting around the stove with Elmer Banks and Butch Linder talking about resurrecting dead flies and any number of other things.  It is a storyteller’s paradise.  Sometimes the fun spills out on to the veranda where if a person knew just where to look he could see the spot where Geoff Metroplos built an outhouse for the convenience of visitors to the community.  It washed away in the flood of 2002.  Alas!  Progress in Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION—October 21, 2013

        Bud Hutchison had a wonderful day for his fall trail ride out of Champion on Wednesday the 16^th.  Those accompanying him on the trail were Ronnie, Heather and Travis Thompson, Dale Lawson, Gene Dunn, Frances Fowler, Roy and Donna Brown, Randy Emory, Charlie Curtis, Don Hamby, Larry Cain, J.C. Owsley, and James Thompson.  Jack Coonts joined the group at Drury and rode to Champion with them.  Wilma Hutchison was there to meet the bunch at Drury and it is reported that she orchestrated some good photographs.  She is good at this kind of organization and her many Fox Trotter friends are looking forward to her pictures in the local newspapers.  A number of the regulars on this ride were off on a big national ride this time but they will be traveling with Bud on other roads.  The country is full of people on horses enjoying the glorious autumn in an up close and personal way.  Locals are ever vigilant to the possibility of horseback riders around any bend in the road.  The broad veranda at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium was the site of much good post ride visiting.  Anecdotes of panthers, mountain lions, turtles, foxes, hares, eagles and bears abounded together with the regular horse tales.  It is wonderful to live in a part of the country where wildlife is abundant and people are observant.  Those readers enjoying the Champion News on-line (www.championnews.us) can see some good photos of J.C. Owsley and his big black and white horse and the beautiful Appaloosa Domino owned by Don Hamby.  Of course there is also a great picture of Cowboy Jack and of the bunch of them up on the porch.

        Ethel McCallie is a Champion friend living over in Nowata, Oklahoma.  A good conversation with her the other day revealed that she is hobbling around a bit after having suffered a broken hip back in September.  She says she is walking just not as well as before.  Ethel had her 96^th birthday in August.  She and Esther Wrinkles were born the same year and were becoming acquainted in recent years.  The two had more than a birth year in common.  Their friendly personalities and years of life experience made them both good story tellers and continual gatherers of friends.  Esther grew up here in Champion and the place is full of memories of her.  Ethel was a Haden and grew up over around Smallett.  She married young and moved away, but her home is this part of the world and she comes back as often as she can.  Ethel says that no two of her children live in the same state though that does not seem to impact their closeness.  She is busy these days writing her biography and she has some real stories to tell.  Hopes are that she will share some with her distant friends together with a poem that her father wrote when she was a girl.  She said that it was read at one of the recent Haden family reunions and was well received.  She spoke of her cousin Darrell Haden over in Tennessee and of how fond the whole family is of him.  He retired a few years ago from the English Department at the University of Tennessee and was the first individual to write to this particular rendering of the Champion Items back in 2006.  He had positive constructive things to say and his encouragement is still encouraging.  It is great to hear a positive word now and again.  Ethel is very good at acknowledging the good in the present and that makes her a Champion!

        Royce Henson grew up in Champion.  He is a frequent visitor here though he lives in Springfield.  He is about to have his 80^th birthday and as part of his celebration the family plans to make a ramble through the neighborhood on their way down to Rockbridge to have lunch on Saturday, November 2^nd.  His Birthday is on October 30^th.  t is lovely to see a family rally around for a birthday celebration.  There is a story that Lonnie Krider said that he should have shot Marty Watts the first time he came up the driveway.  It is too late now.  Marty is a big part of the family with in-laws and lots of nieces and nephews in the area.  His birthday is October 20^th.  He shares the day with Skyline third grader Cyanna Davis.  The 21^st is remembered as Anna Henson’s birthday.  She has been gone for a long time now, but old friends and family remember her for being friendly and having a very good memory for figures.  She had a great sense of humor to go along with her business acumen.  It is an honor to share her birthday.  Skyline bus driver Beth Caudill has her birthday on October 22^nd.  She shares the day with sixth grader Talia Mancia and prekindergarten student Haylee Surface.  Donna Moskaly also shares that day with her son.  Donna is a wonderful artist.  See some of her prizewinning work at Henson’s Grocery and Gas.  Joe Moskaly just had his birthday back on the 15^th.  He is a handy guy.  The other day he was over at Wilburn and Louise Hutchison’s house helping Connie put up some plastic on the windows as part of a winterizing scheme.  Louise might like to have a more transparent protection on her big picture window, but for the moment she will be happy for the warmth provided by the opaque covering.  Wilburn and Louise have settled back into their wonderful place again and it is good to have them home.  Connie has made it all possible and her family and friends will celebrate her and her birthday on the 30th.  What a beautiful daughter!  Breauna Krider, another real beauty, will have her birthday on the 24^th.  Taegan will be singing that song to her Mommy.  Cousins and friends will be gifting her with coffee-cups that can be carried off to the barn and never returned!  On the 26^th Harley Krider will be sharing his birthday with his nephew-in-law Brian Oglesby.  Eli and Emerson Rose will be singing to their Dad.  Harley will soon be the oldest one in his crowd again and there might be some satisfaction in that.  Hopes are that he and charming Barbara will make it back home for Thanksgiving.  It will be a good chance to spend some time with his sister Vivian Floyd.  She has had some health issues lately and her Champion friends and family are all wishing her the best!

        Billy Currington is a singer songwriter who sings, “A bad day of fishin’ beats a good day of anything else.”  Phyllis Winn shares a quote:  “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable and a perpetual series of occasions for hope.” Fishing is a quiet and personal activity.  Neuroscientists are saying that young people are so ‘plugged in’ to their smart phones and video games these days that they are not being taught how to be alone.  It is said that if a child does not learn how to be alone he will always be lonely.  Of course, a person can enjoy solitude while cutting firewood or working in the garden.  Drop a note to Champion Items, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion @ championnews.us with your best ideas about being quiet or occasions for hope.  Come down to the warmth of the community hearth in the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square where you can engage in an old fashioned conversation.  Sing your favorite fishing song (out on the veranda, please) while observing one of the world’s truly beautiful places.  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 14, 2013

        Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride is slated to take out of Champion on Wednesday the 16^th.  The weather sounds like it is going to be ideal for the ride.  The bunch will be made up of Foxtrotters and others equestrians who will rendezvous at Champion in the morning and then mosey over to Drury on the back roads.  They’ll make it back to Champion in the early afternoon and will be tired but satisfied for the adventure.  Happy trails!   They will have been dazzled by the autumn colors.  The sumac, poison ivy, and trumpet vines are all going to purples and reds; the persimmons are turning yellow; sassafras will be brilliant red and the beauty of the dogwood tree in every season is yet to be adequately described.  Fall elicits a special showing from the lovely State Tree.  The summer rains and recent mild temperatures are working together to make this a spectacular year for color.  Champions watch it happen and are jubilant!

        The Skyline VFD Auxiliary got together on Wednesday evening in the community room at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Downtown Champion.  President Betty Dye oversaw the meeting with Betty Henson, Betty Elliot, Lisa Shepherd, Fae Krider, Sharon Sikes, and Wilda Moses in attendance.  Chris Daily was detained by other obligations and was missed. Karen Griswold was helping her firefighter husband, Bill, as he struggles with health issues that a have all their friends, family and firefighting fellows thinking about them with good thoughts.  Pat Moser, a Skyline VFD fan from over in Brushy Knob, who exhibited enthusiasm for the organization at the summer picnic, did not get the notice of the meeting in time to attend.  She will be on the regular mailing list henceforth. Louise Hutchison did not make the meeting this time either.  She and Wilburn have just returned home from a lengthy stay in town.  The internet is a-buzz with ‘welcome homes’ to them, happy birthday wishes, and general well wishes from friends, family, and their happy Champion neighbors.  Louise has put a lot of time and energy into the Auxiliary over the years.  It is good to have the neighborhood complete again.   Back to the meeting:  regular business was addressed and then the focus turned to the chili supper.  It is figured that March 8^th will be a good day for it, March ^15th as a bad weather day.  Details of the music, the quilt and the food were discussed and good progress made toward another event that will be the cure for cabin fever come March.  Planning ahead is a good thing.

        A nice note from Pete Proctor lets Ruby’s friends know that she is doing well in her new situation.  She is in the Country Living Assisted Living facility north of the Fruit Experiment Station on Highway 95 in Mountain Grove.  Her phone number there is 417-926-1955 extension 118.   Her mailing address is Ruby Proctor Room 18, P.O. Box 649, Mountain Grove, MO 65711 if her friends wish to send a note.  Look in the Champion Snapshots section of www.championnews.us to see a picture of Ruby and her family when they were on a ramble through Champion back in 2011.  The Mountain Grove lot was joined by contingents from Cincinnati, Davenport and Bluegrass, Iowa.  The steps of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion make an excellent stage for family photos.  This particular photo shows how Ruby’s sweet smile has been handed down and passed around to her whole family.  It’s a joy to see Ruby smile—a genuine Champion!

        Columbus Day came to be a celebrated in the 1930’s when the Knights of Columbus requested that President Roosevelt declare a National Holiday as a way to set forth a positive male role model for the Catholic Church.   Of course, Columbus was a religious guy.  He was also wildly curious as were all his stalwart companions on those early expeditions.  In a time when printing presses were a brand new technology, more than 20 books were published by the adventurers of those famed voyages in the immediate years after their return. There are surely some interesting reads to be had there, keeping in mind that circumstances were probably significantly more dreadful and dark than rosy history paints.  It was the 1490’s.  October 12^th was the day designated for school children to remember.  Champions remember it and all kinds of important historical information and continue to be wildly curious. Janet Chapin has her birthday on the 12^th of October.  She seemed to have a good time if one believes everything one reads on the internet!  “What a birthday! My Mizzou team beat Georgia. My Cardinals won their second game against the Dodgers. I beat Sandy in 10 straight games of Scrabble. We had a great hike and later, a challenging but beautiful bike ride on the Ouachita Vista Trail.”  Sandy’s birthday was back on September 24^th.  It is reckoned that he had a good time too.  Certainly he did if he spent it with Janet.  They are accomplished gardeners and, like Linda up at The Plant Place in Norwood, they are happy to share the knowledge they have accumulated with their successful gardens in the Ozarks over many years.  They live way over yonder, but they are Champions!

        The bluegrass jam session at the Vanzant Community building is a lovely way to spend a Thursday evening.  The pot luck starts about six with an ample spread and before long the music gets started and goes on and on.  Sherry Bennett seemed surprised the other evening when a nice looking young fellow wearing a t-shirt that identified him as a sniper and as a 2013 Veteran of Afghanistan, picked and sang one out of her repertory: “Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlights.”  He did a good job of it and Sherry seemed to enjoy it as much as the rest of the crowd.  Sherry also enjoyed the Older Iron Club show over in Cabool over the weekend.  She posted some really excellent pictures of the tractor parade, the quilt show and many of the other exhibits.  It looked like the weather was perfect for the occasion and that there was good attendance.  Champions certainly have interesting neighbors!

        The evening news is where they begin with, “Good evening!” and then proceed to tell you why it is not.  It is difficult to evaluate the message if you do not know the bias of the messenger.  When the news from every source seems so ominous and worrisome, it does a body good to remember the good things about the Nation.  Some of those things are freedom, liberty, equality, respect for the individual, respect for the law and for an independent judiciary, admiration for ambition, innovation and expanded thinking.  Drop a note to Champion Items, Rt. 72, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion at championnews.us with your ideas about what is good about the Nation.  Come down to one of the worlds’ truly beautiful places and sing, “America! America! God shed His grace on thee!”  You will be in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 7, 2013

        Folks touring around on the internet can wind up making mistakes.  For example, Pete was busy saying “Happy birthday!” to Cathie Alsup Reilly on Sept 27^th and someone mistook it for Pete’s birthday, which is really in February the day before his Mother’s.  So happy birthday, Cathy!  Your name will go on the official Champion birthday list.  The good news about Ruby Proctor (Pete’s Mom) is that she has moved to the new Assisted Living place up north of walmart in Mountain Grove.  Reports are that she likes it fine and has help with her chores and plenty of good quality visiting.  Steve Connor of Champion West has his celebration a week before his lovely wife.  His is on the 11^th and Darlene’s on the 18^th.  Meanwhile, Taegan will get to sing that birthday song to her Dad on the 14^th.  Taegan is a good singer and big time pre-kindergarten student at Skyline school.  She really likes it.  Skyline School third grader Draven Koepke has his birthday on the 9^th of October and Olivia Prock has hers on the 16^th.  She is in the 5^th grade this year.  It looks like school has gotten off to a good start.  The children are busy with lots of homework and interesting activities that keep parents busy as well.  Remembering the old school days is a way to keep young.  There are many ways to keep young.  Play music, play cards, play the dickens just for the fun of it.

        Just for the fun of it lots of people came out for the Pioneer Descendants Gathering over at Yates.  It was reported in the White River Current Times that it was going to be on Friday and Saturday rather than Saturday and Sunday and the published phone number was wrong.  A guy came down from Lebanon on his motorcycle Friday looking for the event and some other folks came down from Fordland.  They were good natured about the mix up and hopefully made the trip back on Sunday.  Rain came down off and on all day Saturday and Betty Thomas said that the crowd came and went anyway, but about half the number of the regular event.  In the midst of it all a tree that the White River people had been asked to cut down a number of years ago decided to fall across the power line so the musicians were out of amplification for a couple of hours and the kitchen was slowed down a little as well.  Betty reported seeing a ‘spark’ when prompted by the phone mail menu and so the White River men were out within the hour.  They came with two trucks and three men and got things going again in fairly short order in spite of not having phone service to coordinate with each other.  Sunday was a better day—a little cool, but Betty said the crowd was huge.  Roy Byerly won the hand-made quilt.  It was called ‘Morning Run’ and had silhouettes of horses running across it.  Mr. and Mrs. Byerly live up in Rogersville, but have ‘Iron Mountain’ out on 14 Highway that was her family (the Walkers) home place.  They volunteer a lot of their time and energy to the Pioneer Gathering, so it was a special treat to see Roy win the quilt.

        The Older Iron Club will have its annual show in Cabool on Friday and Saturday, the 11^th and 12^th.  It is always an interesting exposition.  The group was well represented at the Pioneer Gathering and was instrumental in extricating several trucks with trailers and a big RV out of the mud.  Those big old tractors were put to work.  Nobody got stuck in the public parking area, but out in the exhibition area and the camping area for the horse and wagon people there was a considerable amount of mud.  Dale Thomas used his tractor too and it was another adventure to go down in the history books.  Dale might also remember this as the year of the yellow jacket.  A few weeks ago he disturbed a nest of them and in running away from them through the woods he got tangled up in some hundred year old barbed wire and cut his leg badly enough that he had to go to the doctor.  He wound up with a tetanus shot (a good thing) and is about over it now, though he may have some scars.  They will not last as long as the good memories made at this wonderful event.  Betty said that Sunday’s crowd was one of the biggest they have ever had with people from all over—Indiana, Arkansas, Texas, Illinois and many other places.  Mark and Gretchen who live in the straw bale house at the location of the New East Dogwood School were there this year demonstrating and playing children’s pioneer games.  That was a new feature this year that was very well received.

        Mistakes get made.  The Current Times people have been kind enough to advertise events for the Skyline VFD in the past and have mistakenly called it Skyline Urbana.  It probably did not cause any major loss of attendance, but people like their information to be correct.  Betty said that it was not the first time the information about their event was not accurate.  Not cutting the old tree down in time caused a significant impact on the Pioneer Gathering, but it did not last too long.  Jeffrey Goss called to say that their organization was a little slow in getting their advertising out and there was a scheduling conflict with one of the main speakers and so the Christian Agricultural Stewardship Conference had a low turnout this year.  Their event was on September 27^th at the Vanzant Community Building.  Craig Wiles spoke on saving energy and alternative power sources.  He also warned of a scam where some people from Waynesville are selling a device that is supposed to make energy out of nothing for free.  Several people brought samples of corn.  Mary Kay Isaksson of Brush Knob brought blue popcorn and Lyle Miller who lives northwest of the Mount Zion area brought some very large ears of Greenfield 114 corn.  There was discussion of genetic engineering of grains and the concerns of some over Monsanto.  The literature concerning winter gardening was popular and there are slated to be some late winter events sponsored by the group.  Mr. Goss can be reached at 417-885-7787 for more information and he has said that he will get advanced notice out early for the next proceedings.

        Mistakes get made and Champions get over them.  A distant reader of www.championnews.us chimes in to say that it was not anyone by name of “Augustus McCall” from Lonesome Dove who said, “There’s no excuse for rude behavior.”  The reader informs that the two famous ex-Texas Rangers in the books and screen plays by Larry McMurtry were Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae and Captain Woodrow F. Call.  The critic would have readers of the Champion News to know that the actual quote was delivered thusly by Captain Call, “I hate rude behavior in a man.  I won’t tolerate it.”  This was by way of an explanation for some rather violent behavior on his on part.  Another great Texan says that we never really grow up; we only learn how to act in public.  Phyllis is right.  Her favorite song is Deep Water by Bob Wills.  “Where will it lead me and where will it end.  I can’t help but wish I only knew.  I’m windin’ up in deep water, so deep in love with you.”  If she is lucky she will wind up in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 30, 2013

        It happens sometimes that an old friend introduces one to another of his old friends and the two strangers suddenly become acquainted as if they have known each other for years.  There is immediate trust and appreciation for the good taste of their comrade who is willing to share friends with each other.  They often find that they have much in common apart from their mutual acquaintance and new vibrant relationships emerge.  Bringing kindred spirits and good people together is a Champion practice well implemented.

        Good news is that Pete Proctor has had a birthday.  No telling how old he is, but everyone who knows him knows him knows him to be young at heart.  That is probably on account of having such a sweet mother.  Word is that Ruby has taken a fall and hopes are that she was not seriously injured and that she is much recovered.  The details have been sketchy but it was reported that there were no broken bones and that she was feeling better.  All her Champion friends are most interested in her because she is so well regarded as part of that generation of Champions that made the place what it is today.  She will tell you that Champion is where her heart is and her Champion friends all wish her well.  Graeme Laird, a fine singer-songwriter in Edinburgh, Scotland, celebrated his 42nd orbit of the sun on the 26th.  He wrote, “Now’s the end of the beginning.  The days are passing faster than the sun.”  Other birthdays being celebrated belong to Jana Brixey who marks hers on the first of October.  She shares the day with the shy cousin of her husband, most frequently referred to as “a prominent Champion.”  The very next day Wild Turkey Hunting Season opens.  It is presumed that the kind of wild turkeys being hunted will be of the avian variety and not the distilled kind, though there likely will be some of that floating around.  Conservation officials say the number of adult turkeys should be plentiful thanks to good reproduction over the past couple of years.  That is good news for hunters who are looking for turkeys with meatier bodies.  Back in the late forties Sylvia Henson was writing the Champion Items and remarked that the Upshaw family had increased by two on October 4th.  The twin girls had a number of big brothers to spoil and tease them and Morton and Mable must have had their hands full with such a boisterous household.  Linda Kaye comes back home to visit often and Karen Fae keeps the home fires burning and the welcome mat out for all the family.  Between them they have ten grandchildren so there is always fun and excitement going on.  Skyline Auxiliary President Betty Dye celebrates her special day on October 7th.  She may decorate her own cake, a skill at which she excels.  She has many talents and keeps the auxiliary humming along in a productive and supportive way.  Betty will let an interested party know that the Skyline Auxiliary is not just for ladies, but for anyone who wishes to support the wonderful little fire department that allows home owners to have insurance and the protection provided by the able volunteer fire fighters.  Champions all!

        Sherry Bennett has posted some excellent pictures of the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering on the Facebook.   They were made in 2011 on a bright sunshiny day.  David Richardson also posted a fine video of the 2011 gathering.   Bob Berry’s gorgeous red Studebaker was prominent and it makes friends lonesome for the sight of Bob and Mary.  Hopefully they will be here again this year.  With recent rain and promise of cooler temperatures, the weather ought to be perfect on the 5th and 6th.  A note from Cathy Mallernee to champion @ championnews.us asks “Can you tell me were (The Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering) is located and give me directions please?”  She also says, “Thank you.”  Cathy, if you are in Ava, go East on Highway 14 for 18 miles to County Road 341. If you are in Mountain Grove, go South on 95 Highway to Gentryville and turn right on Highway 14 to get to County Road 341.  From there go South for four miles following the signs to the Edge of the World.  The road is well marked and the parking is good when you get down there.  They always provide golf carts from the parking area to the event grounds for anyone who might need some help getting around.  Bring your lawn chairs to rest under the big pavilion where lots of live music will be going on.  There are acres of interesting exhibits and demonstrations and the chance to bump into folks that you may seldom see.  There is plenty of good food.  The event is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.  There is no admission and it is a wholesome family affair that will draw you back year after year.  Have fun!

        The last of the tomatoes are coming in and some of the greens planted last summer are making.  Pretty soon there will be hardly anything to do in the garden.  Go up to The Plant Place in Norwood to find a few things to put in this fall and to visit with Linda about how to bed your garden down for the winter.  Then go enjoy some music.  There are reports on the internet of another superb night at the Vanzant Music Jam with lots of tasty food, nice folks and music, music, music.  It happens every Thursday Night.  Ruth Collins says that she appreciates such a fine group of pickers and listeners.  Gospel songs, bluegrass and country music make her happy and her smile is a light for the room.  She wrote a note to Sherry thanking her for lugging that big old bass around and said “It adds so much to the music.”  It does.  Sherry provides a solid beat that makes it all just right.

        When a friend, a family member, or a rank stranger knocks on a door in Champion unexpectedly, he is met graciously.  The house may not be clean.  A person may have plans and be busy.  The caller may just pop in for a moment or may arrive with expectations of a lengthy stay just figuring that he is loved and welcome.  Whether or not accommodations are easily available or the visit is appropriate or fitting, Champions are most likely to extend the courtesy to invite the guest in, or at least to stand on the porch and visit for a spell in the case of the stranger, particularly if he is rank.  Champions do not need lead-time, advanced notice or an R.S.V.P. to be polite.  It is just natural.  They say that hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.  Augustus McCall of “Lonesome Dove” fame said, “There’s no excuse for rude behavior.”  It certainly does not fly in Champion and the rest of the world could well take a lesson therefrom.  It could just be that a surprise is anathema to some and the rebuffed should endeavor to not take it personally.  A traveler to other parts of the big world might well say, “Come on down through the beautiful hills to the end of the pavement, where country roads meet by the wild wooly banks of Old Fox Creek, where generous spirits prevail  and where ‘Welcome!’ is the byword– to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!”

The good news in Champion comes in the form of wonderful weather, though some are beginning to feel a little chilly in the mornings.  Those folks who are responsible for cleaning the flues and getting the kindling boxes full figure that they should have had it all done already. There are so many distractions this time of the year it is hard to focus on what is important until the toes hit the cold floor one morning.  The woods will be full of the sound of chain saws as the slackers start gathering wood that should have been in the shed already.   There will soon enough be frost on pumpkins whether or not residents are ready.  Champions are ready.

Betty and Dale Thomas are getting ready for their 12^th annual Pioneer Descendants Gathering down at the Edge of the World.  This year it will happen on October 5^th and 6^th.  There will be lots of live music provided by local bands.   They have constructed a marvelous huge pavilion where people can sit in their lawn chairs and listen to music the whole day long.  The many demonstrations of the 1860 to 1960 era, the wonderful food and wagon rides down along the creek make this a popular annual event.  It is promoted by the many descendants of Tom Brown and John Burden.  Royce Henson and Jo, of Springfield, are most likely going to come out for the festivities.  It will be nice to visit with Royce to find out how his wagon ride went.  He caught the wagon train in Champion on Thursday, the 12^th and rode down to Cold Springs with them.  That is the reverse of the walk he likes to take to get to the Champion School Reunion every year.   He is an intrepid traveler and a true Champion.   It will be good news to Royce and to others who attended the Champion School Reunion that things are back to rights in the old school building after the dramatic flood of August 8^th.  The floor and the carpet have been thoroughly and professionally dried and reattached.  The pews are back in place and all is well.  Young Drayson Cline, now a month old, enjoyed some singing there Sunday and did some of his own.  He comes down to see his Grandmother often and the whole community enjoys getting to spend some time with him.  He is already a Champion.
Skyline School fourth grader Dustin Johnson will have his birthday on September 26^th which is Thursday.  Maybe his folks will give him a treat and get him started off right with a trip to Vanzant to the bluegrass jam that happens every Thursday there.  He could share his birthday cake at the pot luck and then settle in for some good music.   Ms. Nicki, the preschool aide at Skyline will celebrate on the 27^th.   Friday is always a good day for a party.   A regular follower of The Champion News who lives in Texas sometimes and in Belize other times, Becky Heston, shares her birthday with Judge Dale Johnson of Mason, Texas on the 29^th.  They are longtime friends of each other and of Champion as well, Judge Johnson by his nature and Ms. Heston by experience, having toured the place a few years back.  Newt Souder is in the 6^th grade and will have his birthday on September 30^th.   A birthday on a Monday is a splendid way to start any week, Newt.  “Tuesday’s child is full of grace” according to a traditional British rhyme and so Lydia Harden will enjoy her day with her kindergarten class at Skyline.  Birthdays seem more exciting to five year olds than to people in their late middle age, middle age being considered between age 55 and 70.    A prominent Champion, who graciously likes to go unnoticed, will celebrate quietly that day and will open his birthday cards in private.  He always remembers that if a person acts like he is having a good time, pretty soon he will forget that he is acting and he will really be having a good time. People reading The Champion News in other parts of the country are often looking for names of people they know.  It turns out that some people do not like having their name in the paper.  Some do not mind.  Some rather like it.  The often vague references to individuals or affectionate diminutives referring to one or the other will not confuse distant readers.  You probably know who they are—those Champions.  Send your guesses of who might be who to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to the new email address Champion@championnews.us.  Wander through the website at www.championnews.us for clues while you are resting up from working in the garden.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 28^th and 29^th will be good days to plant turnips!                     Those pleasant, helpful, friendly, hardworking, productive, efficient and good looking gentlemen of the East End County Road Shed over in Drury have been steadily working improvements on the much damaged roadways in the area.   August’s floods wreaked havoc on low water crossings and some road beds that had never before been under water.  The Clever Creek crossing has a new extension of concrete covering an area that has washed out repeatedly over the years.  New slabs and repairs to old ones up and down the road make it a safe and beautiful drive, ride or walk.   It is the very definition of infrastructure.   Thanks, fellows!

Gary Allan is a singer songwriter who says, “Every storm runs out of rain just like every dark night turns into day.  Every heartache will fade away just like every storm runs out of rain.”  As things get back to normal in Champion it is hard not to think of the many people in Colorado who have lost homes, and roads, and whole communities , as well as lives, to the disaster of floods that followed fires.  Every part of the country is subject to some kind of weather calamity, though the catastrophes may not happen often.  In Douglas County, it is reported that there has been a tornado to strike in every month of the year.  It just goes to show that danger is ever present no matter where one might live.  Since the whole round world seems to be fraught with peril to some degree, it only makes good sense to live at the end of the pavement, at the bottom of several hills where country roads meet.  A person can stop in at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square for necessities, niceties, news and neighboring.  Hum that tune, “Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong,” while you are out on the spacious veranda enjoying the tranquility of one of the world’s beautiful places—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!