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CHAMPION—November 23, 2015

The Bright Side from the east…

Over the river and through the woods, Champions are gathering for feasts of Gratitude.  Blessings are being counted, observations made about the year just passed and the one ahead.  Optimism struggles but still is the main sentiment of the season.  Champion!

Reports from over in Salem, Missouri indicate that Dean Brixey had a great birthday on the 18th. Elva Ragland enjoyed her birthday Thursday.  Her friends at the Vanzant Bluegrass Jam sang that song to her.  It was a big crowd and she beamed her sweet smile.  That was the 19th which is also the birthday of Julie January Ring.  The 23rd is the special day for Grandmother Sue at the bottom of the hill.  Sixth grader, Levi Hicks, celebrates on the 25th and Faith Crawford, a third grader, will share her birthday on the 26th with Lannie Hinote, up in Alaska.  Lannie posted a solid white picture on the internet the other day and said, “On the Yukon River–next week I plan to cross the entire river.  Seven degree weather should assure it is frozen enough.”  She is having fun.  Meanwhile, back at Skyline, first grade student, Billy Strong, has his birthday on the 29th and fifth grader, Jhonn Rhodes celebrates on the 30th along with second grader Lane Watkins.  Thanksgiving will make these celebrations extra special!

Diane Wilbanks has extra turnips which she has magnanimously shared with her Champion friends and the free box of them by the front door of the Historic Emporium is being dipped into by patrons on their way out the door.  It is nice to have a few turnips and very nice not to have too many.  Diane’s favorite way to cook them is to fry them in bacon grease.  When they are just about done, she sprinkles a little brown sugar on them and puts the lid back on for a little while.  Send your favorite turnip recipe to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion@championnews.us.  Lem and Ned are sure to write in and all the recipes will be included on the website at www.championnnews.us.  At the Wednesday get together, before the turnips arrived on Friday, several of the older gents regaled each other with the antics and attitudes of their various grandchildren.  It is a precious sight to see these wizened and grizzled fellows twinkling and smiling over their stories of the dear children, when so often their talk is of guns, hunting, trucks, chain saws, and axel grease.  Wayne Anderson would have been the gent bragging about great grandchildren.  Linda Clark posts from time to time pictures of the triplets on line.  They are adorable and growing fast.  Champion grandsons, Drayson and Carson Cline, were in the neighborhood over the week end.  It is sure that they keep their Mother busy.  They are growing like weeds.  The swift passage of time rears its head again!

This week is given over to gratitude.  Champions are grateful for family and friends and good neighbors.  We are grateful for all the diverse and interesting paths and circumstances that have allowed us all to live in this beautiful part of the world.  There is gratitude for the wood in the shed, the propane in the tank, the canned goods in the pantry, the deer in the freezer and the dinner on the table.  Appreciation of the good fortune that has made it all possible is what the holiday is about now.  The actual events of the first ‘Thanksgiving’ are long lost from memory and trivialized and sanitized by well-meaning purveyors of history who were creating a celebration for the pride of the Nation.  There may be some documents that describe exactly how it all happened, but what is known for sure is that there were people living over on the East coast when some people from elsewhere came.  They came because it was intolerable to stay where they were and there was hope for a better life in the new world.  It was not without difficulty that the newcomers occupied the land and made it their own.  Those people who were living here already have been given reason to regret their hospitality as the tribes have been decimated and even now their scant remaining lands stay under constant threat from politicians, foreign mining interests, pipelines, and dam projects that benefit others.  Little wonder, so many are so fearful of newcomers.  There appears to be a great deal of money to be made in propagating fear, more than just money—power.  Look to see who is trying to scare you before you become afraid.

Champions’ gratitude extends to their personal good fortune, to the measure of health and opportunity that they have been afforded.  This is not an easy place in the world to make one’s way.  Jobs are scarce.  Food is expensive.  “Use it up and wear it out, make do or do without” is an old saying that has been bandied about lately in casual conversations (by the ladies on Wednesday) and on the internet in the form of a photograph of a finely worked sampler.  It rings true.  If any area of the country knows about living close to the bone, it is the Ozarks.  On the nighttime map of the Earth made from satellites, this area is one of the darkest, meaning least populated.  The lights of St. Louis and Kansas City are dazzling and it is easy to find Springfield, but out there to the east and south it gets pretty dark.  Longtime residents will report that there are lots more porchlights than in years past, but the demographic has changed from a concentration of big farming families to a big scattering of retirees.  Our farming families are still here keeping things going the way they have for generations.  Champions say, “Thank a Farmer!”  A couple of years ago Wayne Anderson was feeling bad about asking his son-in-law to help with the wood.  He was reminded of opportunities he had had, as a younger person, to help some old guy and he agreed that it had made him feel good.  It is hard to accept help when you have always been able to do for yourself.  It is hard to admit we are getting old.  Old people are learning that it is a gift to young people to allow them to lend a hand.  Hardly does a person anywhere in the world feel better than when he is helping a neighbor.  The world is in upheaval and many are unexpectedly finding themselves in need of help.  It is beautiful to see who is unafraid to give comfort.  Often it is those with the least who share the most.  It is an honor to live in a state whose governor will not be pressured by fearful people to deny sanctuary to those in distress.  Gratitude is rife in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

The Bright Side from the west…

CHAMPION—November 16, 2015

        The time changed. The seasons changed.  Weather is changing.  Much changes in Champion and much stays sweetly the same.  Melancholy comes with some of these changes, with the dripping and the chill.  The Bright Side sometime sighs in order to acknowledge sadness—loss.  It is a given that the older people get, the more people they will have known who have passed on out of this life.  Grief eventually changes to some form of celebration in the memory of the life shared–culminating in a soft smile.  Parisians in the City of Light will find their peace as will the families of the Russian citizens recently killed, and all those in Beirut and Baghdad taken by terrorists.  Earthquakes in Japan and Mexico have shaken those places and illness takes loved ones in every place.  Recent loss or loss from the near or distant past is still loss.  Rose Kennedy who lost three sons—one to war and two to assassination—said, “It has been said ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree.  The wounds remain.  In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens.  But it is never gone.”  Champions find their own ways to resolve their grief and move on eventually to those soft smiles.

        Angela Souder has moved on—just to another assignment with the Douglas County Health Department.  Her replacement in Champion on the last Tuesday of each month is a lovely lady named Rebecca Turcott.  She will be doing blood pressure screenings at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on the North Side of the Square from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the 24th.  It will be nice to get acquainted with her and to take advantage of this good service to the community.

        Linda is being honored as the Grand Marshall of the Norwood Christmas Parade.  That will occur on Saturday, the 21st.  Look for the details in the paper.  The town is recognizing her many years of operating a prosperous business in Norwood.  Her granddaughter will be visiting from college in Columbia and Linda hopes she will ride the float with her and toss Mardi Gras beads to the crowd.  It will be a fitting way to say goodbye, though Linda is not going anywhere any time soon—except maybe to a bridge game.  She was the big winner at the Fortnight Bridge game on the last odd day of the century.  It was Friday, 11/13/15.  She walked away with the grand prize money and a bonus for having made a ‘slam’ bid by her Champion partner.  Champion wound up in second place, but with two such bonuses which amounted to a cool three bucks.

        Do deer see orange?  It seems odd to wear all that camouflage and then put on an orange vest and hat.  Scientists studying the configuration of the deer’s eyes figure that they are essentially color blind…at least to red and orange.  Those hats and vest are really to protect hunters from each other.  The camaraderie of the deer camp with the feasting and storytelling sets the scene for a successful hunt.  “Sharing the harvest” is quite a wonderful concept that stirs up all kinds of appreciation and gratitude.  Champions will hope for a safe season for all the hunters.  The Notes from Hunter Creek article had some most interesting information last week about deer behavior and hunter behavior.  The parade of early morning sight seers creeping slowly along the country lanes lets residents know that they are living in a beautiful place.  Henson’s Grocery and Gas opens up at 8:30 and is a swell place to get a hot cup of coffee, a little pecan pie or some cheese and crackers.  Hunters get a Champion welcome.

        On Wednesdays various loafers and some hard-working people, who carve out a spot on their Wednesday calendars, congregate in the meeting room at the Historic Emporium for a gab fest and a show and tell.  Sometimes there are exotic fire arms, odd tools or strange steam contraptions that sit on your wood stove.  It is always most interesting.  E.B. came with two beautiful roosters in cages last week.  He intended to give them away to a certain fellow, but the fellow had not shown up.  Ethel and Deward’s granddaughter, Jeannie, stepped out to get a good look at the birds when along came another Champion joining them in their inquisitiveness.  Each of the birds was in a small cage in the back of the little Kabuto machine.  The recent arrival pulled out her camera and snapped a couple of pictures of the bright plumage.  She stepped back to get a picture of her friends with the birds, but each of her friends stepped back at the same instant, and then another step backwards and another.  It was a funny moment.  Some who attend these meetings from time to time hope that the ‘show and tell’ might include some unusual or interesting musical instruments.  Perhaps General Tin Knocker will show up with his cello made from a tin can.  (It takes a washtub to make a bass fiddle.)  There are pictures of him playing his homemade instrument with some musicians at the Skyline Picnic in August of 2009.  Go to www.championnews.us and look in the right hand column under Champion Neighbors to see ‘Generally Speaking’ and there will be the pictures to delight your curiosity.  He makes the coffee at Vanzant on Thursday evenings for the Bluegrass Jam which is probably how that banjo player can pick so fast.  This Thursday will be the 19th and that is Elva Ragland’s birthday.  She frequently comes to the jam, so she will be having an especially good time as her friends wish her a happy day and many more.

        A study has recently shown that emotions can harm your body.  It says anger weakens your liver; grief weakens your lungs; worry weakens your stomach; stress weakens your heart and brain; fear weakens your kidneys.  Love, however, brings in peace and harmony and strengthens your mind and body.  Laughter reduces stress.  Smiles spread happiness.  Spread some of your happiness around down on the wild, wide, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek.  Enjoy the vista of the single sentinel of a Bee Tree over on the South Side of the Square.  Dreary weather, distressing world events, and personal loss may have us all in the mood for the comfort of an old sad song.  One of the sweetest of these is The Mom and Dad Waltz.  “I’d walk for miles, cry or smile for my Mommy and Daddy.  I want them to know I love them so.  In my heart joy tears start because I’m happy” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—November 9, 2015

A Champion Fall

        It is timely to have the dust washed out of rain gauges and a definitive frost that says, at last, the seasons have changed.  Nature alters familiar scenes suddenly sometimes to make them appear new, as if being seen for the first time.  Autumn colors fade fast.  Brilliance, in its scarcity, is all the more visible.  Champion is indeed a colorful place, if mostly bronze, brown and beige now against the evergreens but just for a while.  Stars are showing up in bedroom windows again, and big nests in high trees are becoming noticeable as are many homes, now revealed after their summer seclusion.

        “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.  At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.”  Veterans’ Day is dedicated to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice at the behest of their country.  In America it is officially celebrated on the 11th, but the Love and Gratitude due all those who have served and those who serve still is a year round debt.

        Backyard Bluegrass gleaned hearty applause and multiple Facebook ‘likes’ as a result of their performance at the Eastern Douglas County chili supper and auction on Saturday night.  It was an affair initiated by the Missouri Department of Conservation to honor the fire district for having achieved “Firewise Communities USA” status.  The food was good—heartburn chili at its best and Steve Moody’s pulled pork, plus membership supplied deserts.  Music is a solid tie for the great sense of community that frequently shows up at the Vanzant Community Building—particularly this music.  Esther Wrinkles would have loved it.  She was a big fan of D.J. from the time he was very young and of all things bluegrass.  Myrtle Harris was there Saturday night.  She loves the music and, just as Esther did, claims to have the greatest neighbors in the world.  Congratulations to the firefighters for their accolades and to the people of eastern Douglas county for such essential support for a vital organization.

        Foster and Kalyssa spent Sunday with their grandparents Wayne and Bernice Wiseman.  Wayne just had his 82nd birthday on Saturday.  With those grandchildren around he is sure to have had a great day.  Chuck Barns, Linda’s dad, is remembered on his birthday, November 11th.  Sherman Hall is an eighth grade student at Skyline with a birthday on the 12th.  Madelyn Vivod is a kindergarten student there.  She shares her birthday on the 13th with the dazzling Jill Sterling of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Rich Heffern, a Champion living in Waldo, has his birthday on the 15th and forth grader, Raven Hull, celebrates on the 16th.  Kindergarten student, Caleb Barker, will be partying on the 17th.  He has grandparents who know how to have fun at a kindergarten party.

        Up in Mountain Village, Alaska on the banks of the Yukon River Lannie Hinote is experiencing the aurora borealis and snow over ice that makes the four-wheeler a challenge.  Soon there will be enough show for the snowmobiles to operate and life will be moving along a little faster for her.  What an adventure she is having and how generous she is to share it with us in the lower 48.

Cody Alan Humphries

        The Wednesday meeting at the Historic Emporium was a pleasant one.  Bob was congratulated on his birthday and Ethel, referring to Elmer’s story last week, remarked that there is a colony of white squirrels up around Marionville.  The National Geographic did a piece on them a few years ago.  It seems that they were already in the country when it was first being settled by immigrants before the Civil War.  At the time the article was written, there were about three hundred white squirrels living in the area.  Marionville traffic laws give them the right of way.  They have black eyes and are part of the Eastern gray squirrel family, just white.  There is a colony on the grounds of the Texas Capital and in other places around the country.  National Geographic was recently purchased by Rupert Murdock.  Champions will hope for the best and will look forward to being featured again someday in a new release of “America’s Hidden Corners.”  Meanwhile, some of the discussion included alter egos of country music singers.  Ferlin Husky was known as Tex Terry, Terry Preston and as Simon Crum when he comically impersonated other singers of the day.  Hank Williams Sr. recorded frequently as Luke the Drifter.  Hank Wilson, country singer, was known more widely as rock and roller Leon Russel.  Elmer Banks talked about his grandson, Cody Alan Humphries, who passed away recently over in Tennessee.  He was only twenty-five years old and for the past ten years had been battling a serious illness resulting from a bone marrow transplant.  He was brave and uncomplaining through his struggles.  Elmer said that he learned a great deal about the young man at his memorial.  His short life had been full of service to others in many ways.  A math whiz, he volunteered in the math lab at Volunteer State Community College where he tutored and encouraged numerous other students.  He loved music and is said to have always found the good in people—the kind of person that makes others glad they knew him. He sounds like a real Champion.

        Chris Hays says, “Here is a cardinal rule in American politics, one that we ignore all the time:  Do not elect people to run a government who demonstrate a fundamental contempt for what government does.”  Another guy, John Fugelsang, said, “America—where some Americans love America so much they’ll hate other Americans for not loving America in the exact same way.”  In some places Veterans have a hard time voting because their VA identification is not deemed sufficient.  In some places women are having a hard time voting because the name on their birth certificate does not match the name on their voter registration because they have married and taken their husband’s name.  In both cases, it takes trips to the court house and money to get it straightened out and that is a “poll tax” if ever there was one.  Anyone who conspires to deter any eligible voter from voting is an enemy of democracy.

        Friday will be the last odd day this century.  That is to say, the date will be written 11/13/15.  There will not be another odd day on the calendar until 1/3/2105, but chances are few celebrating Friday will be around for the next one.  Come down to the wide, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek on Friday or any day to exhibit your oddness.  Describe it in pros or poetry at champion@championnews.us or by snail mail to The Champion News, Rt.72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  A very good looking man, an actor, comedian, guitarist, singer, songwriter and wonderfully odd fellow, Ferlin Husky, was born in Flat River, Missouri in 1925.  He wrote, “On the wings of a snow white dove, He sends His pure, sweet love, a sign from above” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—November 2, 2015

”….where leaf strewn country lanes meet the shiny pavement”

        A cold, wet Halloween with dense fog gave way to sunshine and mild temperatures for All Saints Day.  It all seems just right in Champion, particularly with such a glorious win by the Kansas City Royals in the World Series Sunday night.  Local rumors say the team was inspired by General Fast Pitch and it is said that radar picked up the spontaneous fireworks displays in Kansas City.

        Mrs. Beeler is the physical education teacher and counselor at Skyline School.  She has her birthday on November 3rd.  Hailey Hall is a fourth grade student at Skyline who celebrates on the 4th.  Bob Leach also celebrates on the 4th.  That will be a Wednesday, so chances are he will be with Ethel, among his friends around one of the tables at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium in downtown Champion that day.  Emerson Rose Ogelsby has her birthday on the 5th.  She has a Champion grandmother and had her picture taken with the First Ripe Tomato in Champion back in 2010, when she was 2 years old.  Mason Solomon is in the second grade.  His birthday is November 7th.  He shares his day with Sharon Upshaw.  Sharon is known as the most patient woman in Eastern Douglas County—maybe in all of Douglas County.  Old Grandfather Weltanschauung—proud grandfather of Seamus, Lizzie and Zack is dallying yet in his late 60’s as of the 8th.  Third grade student, J.D. Borders will celebrate on the 9th.  Some thought growing old would take longer.  Some are not fond of birthdays because they are shy and do not want attention, or because they do not like to be reminded that they are aging or that they never feel that they are adequately appreciated.  Many, however, are quite fond of their own birthdays and those are the ones celebrated here.  Happy days, you Champion people!

An albino squirrel.

        One of the regulars around the tables on Wednesdays in Champion is a certain gentleman who happened to have recently seen a white ground hog.  It was in a roadway and could easily have been run over, but the gentleman, though no fan of groundhogs, thought better of it and concluded that more people would have the chance to see it if it remained alive.  Actually, he thought that he might never see another one.  It was the first one he had ever seen.  That sparked a story by Elmer Banks.  Elmer and his friend, the late Larry Casey, were out together one day when they saw a snow white squirrel.  Larry said he ought to kill it.  Elmer asked, “Why?” Larry said that when you tell people you saw such a thing they never believe you.  Elmer talked him out of killing it and they went on.  Some while afterwards they were together at Plummers Junction back when the café was still open.  Larry was talking to friends, telling them about having seen this albino squirrel.  When there was doubt about the truth of the story, Larry said, “Ask Elmer.  He saw it too.”  Elmer said, “I didn’t see anything like that.”  Elmer said that Larry was so mad at him that he was not sure he would have a ride home.  The humor of the situation temporarily escaped Larry.  He was a winner of the First Ripe Tomato in Champion Contest back in 2009, and also brought to some in the community the appreciation of the purple hulled pea.

        Lannie Hinote is enjoying her new life in Alaska.  She lives down on the delta of the Yukon River just before it flows into the Bering Sea.  She says it will not be long until the river is completely frozen and they will be able to travel across it.  It looks like she has fallen into a nice bunch of people in her new situation and those people have had a Champion fall in among them.

        Foster is taking mandolin lessons.  He has just had one lesson and already knows two songs.  He is excited to be learning and looks forward to getting together with his banjo playing cousin, Dylan Watts, one of these days.  His great uncle Fast Pitch, a self-taught guitar player, was pleased to hear that Foster has taken up an instrument.  Kalyssa thinks she will be a fiddler.  She has a favorite cousin who plays the fiddle.  There is a family bluegrass band right there!  They may well be featured at the Vanzant Bluegrass Jam one day.  It happens every Thursday at the Vanzant Community Building, with a pot-luck dinner at 6:30 and then the music.  Bring your sweet potato pie and your ax and sit in.  They will let just about anybody play and it is a sweet thing to be welcomed by such a talented and generous group of people.  Norris Woods is one of the anchors of the weekly get-together.  He said that he has been reading The Champion News for years and has never seen his name once.  He must have not read it on January 12, 2015, or March 3, 2014, or August 12, 2013, or May 25, 2013, or February 18, 2013, or March 1, 2010, or September 28, 2009.  There are more references to the smiling banjo man.  Look in the search box below the archives at www.championnews.us and see that it is true.  Those archives go back to 2006.

        Karry Davis, Douglas County Clerk, kindly mailed out new Voter Identification Cards to Champions and to the other residence of Douglas County.  While there is nothing on the ballot to decide this November, important votes will be coming up and participating in the process is the only way to improve it.  An ornery provocateur from the county to the south has said on more than one occasion, “This country has went downhill ever since they gave women the vote.”  Of course, he is only saying that to pick a fight because he is scrappy and fractious by nature.  Women were not ‘given’ the right to vote.  They fought for it—a bloody, brutal, long-lasting fight.  It is a hard won privilege—a right.  Next Wednesday will be Veterans’ Day.  At the same time some politicians are bragging about their concern for the families of Veterans, they are legislating against programs that could go a measure toward meeting the promises made when the brave young people enlisted.  Read, think, and talk to friends and to people you do not know as a way to inform yourself and then cast your precious ballot every chance you get.

        Come enjoy these perfect days out on the spacious veranda at the Restoration of the Historic Emporium nestled snugly at the bottom of several autumn painted hills where leaf strewn country lanes meet the shiny pavement on the broad bonnie banks of Auld Fox Creek under the wise gaze of the Behemoth Bee Tree.  Gaze on the upward path of Lonnie Krider Memorial Avenue and hear the Battle Hymn of the Republic resounding, “His truth goes marching in!” in Champion –Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 26, 2015

        The Hunter’s Moon will be full on October 27th.  In the middle of the night, when the skies clear for a moment, it is there in all its wakefulness shining in the window like a flashlight on sleeping eyes.  At 3:14 in the morning with moonlight in their eyes, what do Champions do?  Daydream, remember, plan…  These days have been perfect except for the lack of rain.  One minimal shower washed off enough of the dust to make the colors pop and Champion is officially in autumnal garb with purple sumac and various maples and dogwoods.  When rain arrives it will be welcome, meanwhile some are scuffling to get a few things done while it is dry.  Unseasonable heat has caused problems.  Last week:  “The orange lady bugs have taken over.”  Mary Schiff said, “They love the white house wrap…and the wasps love them.  We are afraid to open a door right now!”  Laine Sutherland said, “They swarmed my parent’s house yesterday…  It was horrible.  I took the vacuum to them and captured/killed a whole bag full.  It did take me most of the afternoon to suck them up with the hose, but I got the majority of them.  They are Asian Lady Beetles.”  These cooler days have those critters a little less aggressive.  Change is in the air.

        Some thought growing old would take longer.  October 26th is the birthday of Harley Krider who has just made a decade leap—now in his early somethings.  He shares his birthday with Brad Ogelsby, a much younger nephew by marriage.  Prekindergarten student Nicholas Georges will have his birthday on the 28th just like kindergarten student Miley Ludwig.  Another kindergartener, Addison Burns, shares her birthday with a former student of the Champion School, Royce Henson.  Connie Lansdown has that day as her own as well.  Halloween is a fancy day to have a birthday.  Two sixth graders Kimberly Carder and Cheyenne Hall celebrate that day.  So does Ms. Curtis, Skyline School superintendent and Felipe Heston, of the Texas firm Quick Draw.  Enjoy all your days and especially your special day.

        The last Tuesday of each month, The Douglas County Health Department nurse comes to Champion to do free blood pressure screenings and, from time to time, other tests such as lung age tests, blood sugar, and body mass index.  The first Tuesday of each month this service is available at the Skyline School from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.  The Douglas County Health Department has been a real friend to the community with these health screenings and the recent gift of the paved quarter mile walking path that was completed this summer.  It is getting lots of good use already.  Dean Brixey used to talk about such a path years ago.  He thought it would help older folks in the area to be able to safely walk, maybe in the company of others.  It sounded like a good idea that was more in the realm of a daydream at the time, considering the resources in the area.  He has moved away now, but on a visit one of these days he will probably take a stroll around the path.  He stays fairly well informed with two grandchildren in Skyline, a son on the school board and a daughter-in-law on the teaching staff.  Dean actually moved away a couple of times.  First, he moved from the farm to Mountain Grove, and then from there to some farther off town, but still not too far away.  He continues to be a community minded fellow and has been delivering Meals on Wheels to old folks in his new home area.  He moved away twice and has had his truck stolen twice.  The first time it was taken from his driveway in Mountain Grove and was found some while later crashed, trashed and burned out.  This time it was taken from the parking lot of his apartment complex—a new four door Ford truck.  He has been given a little Honda car to use until such time as his truck is found and returned to him or until the insurance company figures it to be a loss and he gets another truck.  The Meals on Wheels will still be delivered by a Champion.

        Halloween has its origins in a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals, superstition and early Catholic traditions.  The pagan rituals involve the slaughter of summer by winter.  It is a most theatrical and lavishly gruesome pageant under torch light with blue painted Pics pounding primitive drums.  Witchy, ghostly, goblins and vampires compose the superstition part and the early Catholic traditions are of All Saints Day.  However or whether it gets celebrated, there are children out on the streets and roads and everyone is cautioned to be vigilant.  The seasons are flying by.  Busy as a bee–Linda’s going-out-of-business sale will be going on all week, ending on the 30th.  There are tremendous bargains to be had and the chance to say good-bye to a wonderful home-grown business that served the community well for a long time.  Change is in the air.  The bees up in the Behemoth bee tree are doing what has to be done by bees to survive the winter.  They are fascinating and free to watch any day over on the South Side of the Square.

        Attendance at the Wednesday Social Club at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium has been brisk in recent weeks.  Not everyone attends every time, but it is always an interesting mix.  Lighthearted banter and political jesting go along with nostalgic reminiscences which brain scientists say are probably only the memories of the last time a person remembered the event.  They say that consciousness is a performance that the brain puts on for you every day and that memory is not always reliable.  When those yarns are being spun, most likely (but not necessarily in all cases) the spinner believes what he is saying wholeheartedly and a good performance never goes unappreciated.  Champions are good at enjoying the moment.  They know that no amount of guilt can solve the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future.  Anxious worry might be the single most unhealthy activity available to people.  Those brain scientists seem to think that we are an evolving story, that we can reshape the neural networks that ‘’are’’ us.  Some old people with experience say that we should remember enough of the unpleasant past that we do not let it happen again while we let the rest of it go in favor of positive thought and action.  Deitrich Bonheffer (1906-1945) said, “Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”  He was talking about silence in the face of evil.  Come engage in some deep philosophical thought (if you believe in it) or just share a pleasant song or memory.  “Grab your coat and get your hat (it’s getting chilly). Leave your worries on the doorstep.  Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 19, 2015

2015 Skyline School Fall Festival More photos…

        Home is where the heart is and to return there after a fortnight’s absence is to walk into the perfect place.  Home–where everything is comfortable and familiar.  “Home,” where some guy said, “if you go there, they’ve got to let you in.”  Home is the most venerated of all human notions.  Champion!

        The Skyline School Fall Festival was a resounding success.  The school parking lot was packed and the school was filled with children, teachers, parents, grandparents and friends—a great evening.  There was royalty—a king and queen, as well as Princess Jaycee Hall and Prince Caleb Barker.  Alyssa Strong was the Queen and it was her grandmother, Lana Hampton, who won the fifty-fifty drawing.  Grandmother Karen Hall won the chili contest.  Her grandchildren are Hailey Hall and Jaycee Hall.  The pie contest was judged by James Brixey, Joshua Strong and Joseph Georges.  There were eight pies entered and each was judged by its appearance and its taste.  It was a difficult choice.  Bridget Hicks won for an apple pie that judges think would be good the year round—an “anytime” pie.  Her prize included a ceramic pie plate and a golden spatula.  She has three sons in school, so the community will probably get to enjoy more of her pies in the years to come.  Jude is a preschool student, Wyatt is in the 5th grade and Levi is a 6th grade student.  The Pumpkin contest was won by Matty Hutsell for an entry called “Matty Spider.”  Go to www.championnews.us to see all the creative entries.  The silent auction had some excellent student art as well as Silver Dollar City tickets and items generously donated by local merchants.  The PTO is already planning ahead for next year.  They will have to go a distance to beat this one.  That is what the Parent Teachers Organization is all about—going the distance to help our children, our greatest resource, get the education they need to have the quality, productive, happy lives we want for them.

        Marty Watts lives way over in Tennessee.  He has a birthday on October 20th, and he is lucky to have birthdays.  Lonnie Krider once said he should have shot Marty the first time he saw him walking up his driveway.  That was just because Marty was there courting Linda.  Now Marty and Linda have grown children.  Cyanna Davis is a sixth grade student at Skyline.  She shares her birthday with Marty.  The 21st was the birthday of Anna Henson (1905-1983), who, with her husband, Edgar Henson (1903-1998), ran the Champion Store for many years.  The Champion News’ correspondent claims the same day as her own and considers herself to be in excellent company.  Mountain Grove’s Randy Abbot, the world’s wonderful Tejana, Cidneye Godkin, and Alfred Nobel are also acknowledged that day.  Alfred Nobel (1801-1872) invented dynamite and made enough money off of it to finance the Nobel Prize every year.  Amazing.  Donna Moskaly is an award winning artist who has been living in Champion for about a decade now shares her birthday with Skyline students, 1st grader Haylee Surface and Talia Mancia, 8th grader.  Ms. Beth is a cook at Skyline and will be celebrating on the 22nd.  Thomas Wyatt is in the 8th grade and will celebrate on Friday the 23rd.  Happy birthday to Breauna Krider (Mother of Taegan and Lux) and Sandy Chapin (grandfather of Atticus) on the 24th and to Roger Miller on the 25th (1936-1992).  He wrote and sang, “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to.  All you got to do is set your mind to it.  Set your mind to it and do it!  Do it!  Do it!”  That is sage advice.

        Champions note that a few garden things have been quite chilled but there has not yet been a frost.  A little fire in the morning is feeling good as some of those heavier clothes come out of the back of the closet.  The foliage seems to be changing from moment to moment and flurries of activity to get ready for the coming cold manifest themselves in a variety of ways.  The garden is giving its last fruit; the woodshed is filling up; various repairs and improvements are suddenly racing with the season for completion.  It is an exciting time of the year.  Linda’s going out of business sale is going well.  There are lots of great bargains to be had and a chance to wish Linda all the best in her ‘retirement.’  Her sale will go on through the end of the month.  Hardworking people rarely stop working at retirement.  It is a given that she will stay busy.  Her Champion friends hope that she will be able to work in a few more bridge games.  Meanwhile, they will enjoy with her the anticipation of a new epoch.

        “Worry pretends to be necessary, but serves no useful purpose.”  That observation was made by Eckhart Tolle.  Another person said that worry is a kind of negative prayer.  It is hard not to worry when there seems to be so much stress and negativity in the world.  Fortunately there are a few places in the this realm where people can gather to discuss their concerns, compare and draw on histories for help with current issues, exchange meaningful views with one another and offer encouragement.  Such a place is found in the meeting room of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Any day is fine, but Wednesdays seem to be prime for a meeting of like minds (as well as polite dissidents).  Enjoy these beautiful autumn days with another of Roger Miller’s refrains:  “Walking in the sunshine, sing a little sunshine song.  Put a smile upon your face as if there’s nothing wrong.  Think about a good time you had a long time ago.  Think about, forget about your worries and your woes.  Walking in the sunshine, sing a little sunshine song” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

THE NEW WORLD OF 1492—October 12, 2015

The New World

        “The Indians are so naive and so free with their possessions that no one who has not witnessed them would believe it. When you ask for something they have, they never say no.  To the contrary, they offer to share with anyone.  They would make fines servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”  Those are words written to Queen Isabella by Christopher Columbus way back when.  The holidays dedicated to Columbus all over the ‘new’ world are celebrated in a variety of ways—some with joyful fervor and some with a new appreciation for the actual history of events.  That kind of history is hard to come by, that is to say, it takes some effort to plow through the centuries of sanitizing and glossing over of the unpleasantness (atrocities and genocide) that allows us to feel good about our past.  In Champion people do not deny that bad things have happened before and they have no fear of working to make things better in the future.  It is the Champion way.

        Folks who happened to be around for Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride were treated to some unusual sights.  The photographs shared on the internet show about a dozen well mounted, good looking equestrians in front of the store together with a couple of two wheeled carts.  One of the carts was hitched to a nice looking horse.  It had big yellow wheels that looked like they could have been made by Dale Thomas over there on the Edge of the World.  It also looked like Cowboy Jack was on the Square checking out the rig.  (His profile is unique.)  The other cart seemed to have bicycle wheels with red fenders and was harnessed up to a little white pony—very cute.  Another photograph showed that little cart bringing up the rear as the bunch moved up the hill to commence the ride.  The pictures were posted by the Douglas County Foxtrotting Horse Breeders Association.  It is a fortunate spot in the world where sights like this can be seen—where technologies from the distant past merge so beautifully into the present day.  Champions are blessed.

Pictured from left to right are: Jack Coonts, standing, holding horse, and Steve Assenmacher, from McClurg, in large cart; Don Hamby, Dora; Ronnie Leroy, Dora; Mary Leroy, Dora; Sean Huffman, Seymour; Bob Wheeler, Ava; Andrew Harden, Ava; Carmen Watchinshe, Rogersville; Gene Dunn, Protem; Howard Price, Ava; Bud Hutchison, Ava; Raymond Johnson, Ava; Cindy Huffman, Seymour and Frank Williams, Smallett, with pony cart.
Bud Hutchison’s 2015 Fall Trail Ride

    Good news comes from the Skyline PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) that The Fall Festival will be held October 16th at the school from 6:00 to 9:00 in the evening.  This a great chance for the community to get to visit the wonderful little school that is serving the children of the area so well.  There will be lots of game booths.  The Brushy Knob Church will have a putt put golf booth and a wheel spin; CTA will have a pumpkin decorating contest and a ball bounce; YEP will have a bounce house and cotton candy; Archery/8th grade will have a cake walk and 50/50 drawing; Kindergarten will have a pumpkin pond and a guessing game of how many candy corns in a container; the first grade will have a lollipop tree and the 4-H will have a ‘make a candle jar’ for people to enjoy.  Additionally, local businesses are providing items for a silent auction and the PTO will have two one-day admission tickets to Silver Dollar City to put on the auction block.  This is one of the great events of the school year.  There will be a chili contest and a pie contest and more excitement than usual for a quiet country neighborhood.  New arrivals to the area and old folks who have grandchildren in distant places will enjoy the chance to be surrounded by all the youthful enthusiasm.  Organizers say that anyone with something good to share can donate it to the silent auction.

        The bees will be glad to know that the Federal appeals court ruled in favor of beekeepers striking down the EPA’s approval of neonicotinoid insecticide, sulfoxaflor, produced by Dow.  The court cited the “precariousness of bee populations: and “flawed and limited data” submitted by Dow on the pesticides’ effects on beleaguered pollinating insects.  The agrichemical industry, as a whole, seems flawed and hopes are that the EPA will start protecting people and the environment instead of the profits of Dow, Monsanto, Syrgenta, Dupont, Bayer and BASF.  A beekeepers visiting in Champion recently was much impressed by the Behemoth Bee Tree on the south side of the Square.  It is a rare occasion to see wild bees in their home environment.  He has asked to be kept informed about the colony and was as delighted by their resilience.  He speculated that the ‘trimming’ of the tree must have been a dicey affair and, like others, would have loved to have witnessed it.

        Bonnie Brixey Mullens and Pete are celebrating 60 years of marriage.  They are two very nice people.  The date was October 7th and Pete had his birthday on the first of October so chances are they have been in party mode for a while.  Friends and family have been steadily wishing them happiness and good luck in the future as do their friends at The Champion News.  Keedien Smith is a preschool student at Skyline with a birthday on the 15th of October—the same day as Joe Moskaly, who is quite a bit older.  Olivia Prock is a seventh grader there celebrating on the 16th.  Darlene Connor and Carson Cline share the 18th as their birthday, though this one is a first for Carson.  Facebook will have us to believe that Atticus’ grandmother celebrates her birthday on October 12th.  Was the year really 1949?  This is the spot where the swift passage of time might be remarked upon again, though it seems like that comes up more and more often.  John Prine had his birthday on the 10th.  He wrote many great songs including “Paradise”, “Dear Abby” and “Grandpa Was a Carpenter.”  “Grandpa was a carpenter.  He built houses, stores and banks.  (He) chain smoked Camel cigarettes and hammered nails in planks.  He was level on the level and shaved even every door and voted for Eisenhower ‘cause Lincoln won the war.”

        In 1938 President Roosevelt said, “Let us not be afraid to help each other—let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.  The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”  A French philosopher who was born in 1694 said, “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.”  It is easy to register to vote and easy to vote in Douglas County.

        J.C. Owsley has been on a big ramble around the country up through New England and Pennsylvania.  Maybe he visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.  When last seen, he was at the World War II Memorial in Washington.  It will be interesting to read his observations.  Another old Champion has been strolling the beach on the Gulf of Mexico at sunset getting sand in her shoes and a sense of renewal with the tide.  Waves lap relentlessly on the shores of the world even when no one is there to see them come and go.  Homecoming will be the high point of the week, seeing loved ones and the beauty of autumn in the Ozarks.  They say the foliage will be magnificent this year because of the wet spring and summer.  Seasons change.  They come and go—one more beautiful than the last in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

RIO BRAVO—October 5, 2015

2015 Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering

        Reports are that beautiful weather, if dry, is the mode in Champion these days.  Mornings want a little fire just to take the chill off though frost is not yet on the pumpkin.  Already colors are changing and soon every traveler through the area will be dazzled.  Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride through town on Wednesday is sure to be/to have been a pleasant trip.  The regular Wednesday confab at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium will have been augmented by saddle tramp stories and the wanderers improved by the regulars—shop keepers, farriers, carpenters, farmers, friends and neighbors.

        A little get-away from time to time (even from the paradise of Champion) can be beneficial.  Those things that we take for granted look more wonderful at home coming.  Lannie Hinote has just taken a nice little weekend trip to Anchorage from her Mountain Village and posted some extraordinary pictures of the Brooks Mountain Range from the air.  She mentioned earlier that she had very much enjoyed the full moon pictures that her friends a posted on the internet.  She said that it was still daylight there when the eclipse occurred and then it was too cloudy to see anything after dark.  It had snowed for three straight days.  “You would think it is winter.”  She said the snowflakes are huge.  Her friends here miss her but are excited for her to be having this great adventure.  It is a gift that she will share it with the folks back home.  Meanwhile, another Champion is off to the beach in South Texas and then on a jaunt to see granddaughters who have been growing at a rapid rate since the old girl saw them last.  They will spend Columbus Day together and Grannie will be satisfied for a while.

Children of all ages having fun

        The Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering is reported to have been another sterling success.  It was cool enough to make some wish they had worn heavier sleeves, and the cooking fires and molasses, lye soap and apple butter making were popular for more than their intrinsic interest.  The Sunday crowd was a little late in coming but they showed up in force.  The music was great as was all the food that came out of the big white tent in the middle of the field.  There were more people camping than in previous years and more wagons and horse drawn farm equipment on display.  Foster and Kalyssa’s mother kindly posted a number of interesting photographs that show lots of children gallivanting around in the midst of having a wonderful time and making memories that will last a life time.  The General said that he saw people there that he had not seen for four or five days.  He said that he had unsuccessfully struggled to avoid a certain self-proclaimed versifier from an unincorporated community southeast of Wasola.  The Pioneer Gathering is an event open to all so they probably could not keep him out.  Friends missed Bob Berry and Mary and hope to see them back this way one day soon.  When Betty and Dale are rested up they will be plied for details about who won the wonderful Elk Gathering quilt, attendance and the like.  Oh, Pioneers!

        William Tucker Clark could have been born on his old grandfather’s birthday if he had waited one day.  William arrived on the 2nd of October.  His old grandpa celebrates on the 3rd.  As of the 4th, twin Upshaw girls are significantly older than some of their friends.  Betty Dye and Vicki Trippie have the 7th as their special day and Skyline 5th grader, Draven Koepke, will party on the 9th—that is a special day known by some as the ‘ninth of ‘Tober.’  Madelyn Ward was born October 10, 2006.  Steve Connor has the 11th as his birthday and who knows how old he might be.  (That is not a question so much as an exclamation.)  Cathy Baldwin, Jill Hall and Leslie Krider all celebrate on the 14th together with William Tucker Clark’s sweet young grandma, Eva.

Oh! Pioneers!

        The Bluegrass Jam happens every Thursday at the Vanzant Community Building.  There is a potluck dinner at six and then the music starts.  Everyone is welcome to attend—to bring your instruments, your talent, and your love of music.  Participate in making it or just sit back and enjoy it.  The General said that there were enough musicians last week that he did not have to play.  There cannot be too many musicians.  The String Project in Ava is a program working toward keeping the area rich in music and musicians.  Bob Holt is still much admired for having propagated the love of the fiddle.  Anyone who has an old fiddle sitting quiet and idle is welcome to donate it to the project.  Contact Barbara Deegan at Ava High School.  They say that every time a fiddle becomes available there is a child ready to learn to play it.  Bob Holt would be proud.  An instrument that is not being played might as well be stove wood–no use having it hang on the wall collecting dust and cobwebs.

        Champions are busy getting the last of the garden in—a few more beans and black eyed peas stored up against the winter.  Up in Norwood Linda is having a half-price sale for the whole month of October on everything at The Plant Place and The Gift Corner.  There are some tremendous bargains to be had and Linda will have more time to play bridge.  Old Champions are getting the firewood in and will be hauling ashes soon.  The seasons are slipping by quickly.  Maybe the cold weather will give people more time to idle at home, to linger in quiet reflection, practice “Coleen Malone,” or to travel down to the city center to socialize and become enlightened.  When asked what surprised him most about humanity the Dalai Lama answered, “Man sacrifices his health in order to make money.  Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.  And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

        Come down to the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek to report what surprises you most about humanity.  Say goodbye to summer out on the wide veranda and figure that the bees in the Behemoth Bee Tree on the South Side of the Square will be just fine in the seasons ahead.  Go to www.championnews.us to see a good example of how a good community really lives.  Get ready to sing, “The autumn leaves drift by my window….” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 28, 2015

Super Moon over Sister City, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland

Totally Eclipsed Harvest Moon

        Moon watching parties were all the rage in Champion and around the world on Sunday night.  Images from Great Britain, from the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, from the Rabbit Ears formation near Sedona, Arizona and from Lannie Hinote up in Mountain Village, Alaska filled the internet and revealed the big luminous orb in its fullness, disappearing a bite at a time only to reemerge in bloody garb which was then sluffed off altogether as the moon moved on its regular course through the dark night sky.  No light pollution interfered with a clear viewing in Champion and the clouds that had lingered over the area for the previous two days seemed to dissipate on cue.  “Wow,” was a standard comment in Champion together with the questions wondering how ancient peoples might have responded to such dramatic celestial events if they had no forewarning.

The Bee Tree

        A bee keeper from Texas has been in town for a few days enjoying the quiet country life and examining the magnificent Champion Bee Tree on the South side of the Square.  His studies have told him that before bees move into a hollow tree they first clean it free of all debris, sawdust, insects and the like.  They then line the entire space with glue or varnish called propolis (named from the Greek pro—before and polis-city) which they manufacture from sap collected from the growing buds of trees and other plants.  As they set up housekeeping they build exactly 4.83 hexagonal wax cells per square inch (maximizing available space) to use for storing honey and raising their family.  There is local speculation about the age of our tree (probably more than 200 years) but no exact date for when the bees took up residence.  They are such good neighbors; they may have been there for a long time before they were noticed 30 or more years ago.  Hopes are that the new growth which sprouted atop the colossal walnut stump (First Base to Champion School alumni) will continue to grow to provide some shade for the colony next summer.  The relatively cool and wet summer this year may have contributed to its survival after the so called ‘pruning.’  Look for regular updates on the Champion Bee Colony at www.championnews.us.

        Helen Batten at the Skyline R2 School reminds readers that the Douglas County Health Department will be at the school from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month to do blood pressure checks.  It was a grant from the DCHD that is responsible for the lovely quarter mile walking trail just south and a little to the west side of the school.  It is a paved trail skirting the edge of the woods, going down toward the fire department picnic grounds and back up around the new greenhouse.  School Superintendent Jeanie Curtis says that all residents in the area are welcome to use the trail.  It is a nice regular surface suitable for older folks to navigate safely.  Four times around will make a mile and enough walking will keep a person healthy.  Ms. Batten also provides The Champion News with birthdays of students and staff at Skyline.  October starts off with Ms. Brixey, prekindergarten teacher and second grade student Lydia Harden celebrating on the 1st.  Malachi Fulk is in the third grade and has his birthday on the 4th.  Former Skyline students, Fae and Kaye, share that day with Malachi and then the 7th is the birthday of Skyline Auxiliary President Betty Dye.  Wishes are for happy days to all of them and to those shy people born on September 30th and October 1st who decline to be recognized.  To them we say, “Remember, if you act like you are having a good time, soon you will forget that you are acting and you will really be having a good time.”  Cathie Alsup Reilly had her birthday on September 27th.  She lives over in Tennessee but is a regular visitor to Denlow where she had a good time exhibiting her hula hoop prowess last Memorial Day.  She indicated in an email that someone had made off with her hula hoop recently, so she might have to borrow one from Ms. Quiet Timber when she is next in town.

        Dale and Betty Thomas will host the Pioneer Descendants’ Gathering on the week end down at Yates on the Edge of the World.  There will be a church service there from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.  The event starts at 10:00 on Saturday and both days will be full of music, all kinds of demonstrations, good food and the chance to see old friends who will come smiling at you across the meadow.  The Champion News is asking Sami McCleary, Tanna Wiseman, Sherry Bennett and everyone who will to post many pictures and observations on Facebook for the benefit of unfortunates who will not be able to attend this year.

        There was good attendance in the meeting room of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion on Wednesday.  The General had just blown into town from Wyoming and spent some time avoiding questions.  Someone said, “I know who robbed the Rockbridge Bank!”  Groucho Marx said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.”  In the 1932 comedy, ‘Horse Feathers,’ he sang, “I don’t know what they have to say/ It makes no difference anyway/ Whatever it is, I’m against it/ No matter what it is or who commenced it/ I’m against it/  Your proposition may be good/ But let’s have one thing understood/ Whatever it is, I’m against it/  And even when you’ve changed it or condensed it/ I’m against it….”  It sounds very appropriate for today’s political situation.  There was a movie with James Stewart called “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” that also is reminiscent of today’s circumstances.  Circumstances with current Mr. Smiths are ambiguous amid federal investigations as to use of tax money for political junkets and lavish vacations.  Come down to the wide, wild, wooly, welcoming banks of Old Fox Creek to express your opinion, speculation, doubts or amazement.  Share those things, your stories, poetry and songs at champion@championnews.us or at The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Get a look at the Behemoth Bee Tree down on the Square or on line at www.championnews.us where the complete and unedited version of these remarks can be found…almost like a visit to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!