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CHAMPION—September 21, 2015

The West Plains Wagon Club and the Gee Haw Wagon Club pause the wagon train in Champion for lunch and for
admirers to get a closer look. Locals visiting the wagon train are Royce Henson talking with Vernon Crow under
the Champion Bee Tree. Joyce Coonts is taking Cowboy Jack’s picture with wagon-master Coy Stone.

        The West Plains Wagon Club and the Gee Haw bunch from Viola, Arkansas pulled into town a little earlier in the day than it has in years past.  The eight wagons had set out from West Plains on Monday and made it to Champion about eleven o’clock Thursday morning.  Drivers and passengers all reported beautiful weather and a pleasant uneventful trip.  Clifton Luna has sold his wagons and mules but is still active with the club and enjoyed riding with them for a day on this trip.  At somewhere around the age of 90, Mr. Luna says this is the first time in his life that he has not owned a horse or a mule.  By the time they are home again, this train will have traveled 387 miles in 18 days.  They camped up north of Champion on Thursday and from there were headed to Mansfield, Marshfield, and Diggins, then over to the Glade Top Trail for a couple of days and on to Gainesville and beyond.  The 21st century part of their outfit is a GPS device that gives them their travel speed, elevation, temperature, a map and other things pertinent to the trip.  Cowboy Jack and Joyce Coonts and a few others came out to see the train and visit with the wagon folks.  Royce and Jody Henson traveled from Springfield for the occasion.  Royce rode with Coy Stone in the lead wagon from Champion to Cold Springs—the ‘walk of ages’ in reverse.  Maybe that is the secret to being young at heart.  These travelers are certainly a pleasant, optimistic group of people.  It is a bright spot on Champion’s calendar to have them stop through every year.

        The Starvy Creek Bluegrass Festival in Conway, Missouri was well attended by Champions this year.  Sherry Bennet posted pictures on the internet which depicted a number of favorite area musicians having a good time.  The Upshaw-Krider/Johnston sisters celebrated an early birthday there and enjoyed the show for three nights in a row.  They are probably still patting their feet and grinning.  Their birthday is not until October 4th so they will be celebrating for some while.  Sandy (Grandfather of Atticus) Chapin has a birthday on the 24th of September.  Skyline first grade student, Tristian Jeffrey, celebrates on the 25th.  Sixth grader, Dustin Johnson, parties on the 26th, the same day that Edinburgh’s Graeme Laird will have had his 44th trip around the sun.  The 29th belongs to the lovely Texan, Rebecca Heston, a great supporter of The Champion News.  Someone will celebrate on the 30th, incognito by choice.  Another shy Champion, a prominent one, shares the first of October with preschool teacher, Jana Brixey, and second grader, Lydia Harden.  Third grade student, Malachi Fulk, will have his special day on the 4th with Fae and Kaye.  Penelope Zappler had her birthday on the 21st, but somehow did not get mentioned in The Champion News.  She is a reliable regular summer visitor to Champion and a much loved one.  Have a Champion happy day everyone.

        Beautiful weather looks like it is with us for a while.  Will anyone complain?  The next few weeks will be some of the loveliest of the year and Champions are braced to enjoy every bit of it.  The Pioneer Descendants Gathering will be right in the middle of it with all its excitement.  Molasses and apple-butter, Dutch-oven cooking, and ‘curly taters’ will be some of the fascinating smells and tastes of the gathering.  Dale and Betty Thomas host this event every year to remember ancestors Tom Brown and John Burden, early settlers to this part of the world.  Live music will be provided all day by talented local bands and you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs to sit out under the spacious pavilion to enjoy the show.  There will be much to see and do.  It is going to be fun.  Along about this time of the year Bud Hutchison has a trail ride heading up in Champion and that gang out of Crystal Lake are liable to come ambling through the country any time.  It is a pleasant place in the world when a person can look up to see a string of well mounted riders going by, tipping their hats and smiling.  Wilma says that Bud had a lot work to do getting the mess cleaned up from the storm damage to their barn, but it is all done.  A good carpenter and friend helped to get it all fixed back just right.  She or Bud will have the date of the fall ride posted in Champion before long.

        The parts of local gardens that are doing well are doing very well just now, though a little rain would be timely and beneficial.  Some have stopped picking beans altogether and will just let them dry on the vine.  If beans and potatoes make a complete protein, it is sure Champions will be eating well this winter.  Fall gardening is such a pleasure after the heat of the summer.  It is nice to be out there daydreaming about next year.  Linda will be having a half-price sale all during October as she is taking The Plant Place out of business.  There will be some great bargains.  It has been lovely to have Linda’s expertise all these years to help our thumbs be green.  She was the big winner at the Fortnight Bridge Club game on Saturday.  Perhaps in retirement she will have more time for bridge.

        Macy Loveless is a 12 year old girl in Mountain Grove who is battling leukemia for the second time.  Her friends at school, her family and many in the area are keeping her in their best thoughts with hopes that she will beat it again.  She has a good attitude, a good support system and the good wishes of Champions all over.  Find “Team Macy” on Facebook for a way to help, or just google Macy Loveless and that will get you to a spot where you can make a donation to help with the extraordinary financial costs.

        It was reported that there was a good crowd at the Historic Emporium last Wednesday.  There were a few gaps in attendance, but a fine time happened anyway.  Next Wednesday the absentees will tell what they had to do instead.  Fairly often someone will bring an oddity to show, an interesting tool or device or sometimes an antique firearm.  One never knows.  From time to time politics figure into the conversations.  Politics (from the Greek, “of, for, or relating to citizens”) is the practice and theory of influencing other people and a study or practice of the distribution of power and resources.  That is lofty stuff, but well within the prevue of an informed citizenry.  Frank Zappa said that government is the entertainment arm of the military industrial complex.  Representative Jason Smith’s political image as a humble, salt-of-the-earth fiscal conservative might be up for a modification as the news that the many campaign and government trips and exotic vacations with his close friend, Aaron Schock, are being scrutinized by federal investigators looking into alleged spending abuses.  Meanwhile, some of the poorest people in the world, the Greeks, are being the most generous to the tide of refugees fleeing the tumult in the Middle East, which some may say is the result of meddling by the oil hungry western nations.  Come down to where country roads meet the pavement at the bottom of several hills on the wide, wild, wooly, welcoming banks of Old Fox Creek and share your views on local and planetary politics.  Or better yet, sing.  “Oh, it’s a long, long while/ From May to December/ But the days grow short/ When you reach September….Oh, the days dwindle down/ To a precious few/ …and these few precious days/ I’ll spend with you” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 14, 2015

Eddie Irby This is the young man whose injury sparked all this wonderful response. He says he feels lucky for it not to have been worse, lucky that the medical profession is so advanced, and lucky to have so many friends in such a great community.

        Another Monday has arrived and the universal exclamation about the Swift Passage of Time is amplified by the realization that the Wagon Train is rolling into town again!  How boundless will be Champion joy to see old friends again with their squeaking leather and jangling harness and innovated rigs sporting 19th and 21st century technologies side by side.  Welcome!  Royce and Jody Henson will come over from Springfield and other friends will come from surrounding communities to enjoy the spectacle.  The wagons generally pull into the Square just shy of noon.  The travelers take a rest and have lunch before starting out again, during which time they welcome the public to come out and see the beautiful draft animals and the interesting outfits they pull.  There will be outriders too, running interference and enjoying the trail.  This will all happen Thursday the 17th.  Come out to Champion for the fun of it.

The Vanzant Community Building was filled to capacity…

        The Champion School Reunion is still on the minds of many who attended.  Eva Lois Henson Phillips dropped a note to say how much she had enjoyed seeing all the former students.  She said that Royce and Kenneth have involved all the family in their ‘walk of ages,’ and that she was impressed that they made it the whole four miles.  It was warm.  She said that she and Bobbie Heard used to walk from her house down to Cold Springs every day during the summer.  It made her sad to see the old store there history now.  She will have to retreat to her memory (and perhaps beyond) to have Clever Creek flowing year round with clear, cold spring water.  The springs are still flowing but subtle shifts in the geology have the creek mostly underground now except during wet seasons when it can be a raging torrent.

        It was about the time of the school reunion when a neighbor up Tar Button Road had another close encounter with the Brushy Knob Bear.  She had just come down stairs to make her morning coffee and was drawing the water when she raised the shade to look out on the day.  There, not forty feet away, was 250 pounds of ursine grandeur strolling through her yard.  She lives in an area that is sparsely populated and bear sightings in her yard and neighborhood in recent years have her watchful when she is out of doors.  Some of those ‘Walkers of Ages’ (Royce and Hovie) arrived in Champion talking about the Brushy Knob Bear.  They were wary on their way and may have retreated into their boyhoods again as they wandered the old familiar road so mysteriously overgrown this year with dark places so still and quiet in the oppressive heat.  Boo!  They did not see the bear but not for want of looking.

…with an overflow crowd outside.

        Diana Windsor said, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”  Brenda Coffman Massey said, “…we live in a very loving community.  I would not want to live anywhere else.  I thank you all with all my heart.”  She was talking about the benefit that she orchestrated Saturday night for Eddie Irby.  Tom Hicks and Debbie Stone prepared the superb dinner and the auction was conducted by J.D. Shannon with help by Billy Emory, Steve Moody and Dennis Lynch.  It was a ‘hoot’ or maybe a ‘cluck.’  One of the first items up for bid was a pretty Plymouth Rock hen in a little cage.  Somewhere between J.D.’s skill and the generosity of the bidders it was, “Sold! $450.00!”  The crowd went wild.  Cinnamon rolls, pocket knives, peppers to pickle and turkey calls, pies and cakes, and much more went on the block.  It was a capacity house at the Vanzant Community Building with onlookers bunched around the doorways.  Eddie sat out on the porch and visited with many of the folks who had come to wish him well.  He said that he was lucky that the injury was not worse (though it was pretty bad), and lucky that the medical profession is so advanced to have repaired him in this remarkable way (still ongoing), and lucky to have the support of such a great community—or words to that effect.  He says that he reads The Champion News when he gets a paper.  His mailing address is HC 73 Box 177, Drury, MO 65638 if someone wants to send him a paper, a book, or a note.  Brenda said, “Just say thanks to everyone from Eddie and his family.”  Diana Windsor was known the world over as Princess Diana and was admired for her compassion and philanthropy.  Brenda Massey Coffman is known here and admired for her good heart and good energy…our own Princess B!

        Dale and Betty Thomas were at Eddie’s benefit.  They show up in all the good places and soon their place will be the one where everyone is showing up.  The 14th annual Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering will be October 3rd and 4th.  It is a very family friendly event with exhibits and demonstrations of the 1860 to 1960 era.  There will be music, good food and plenty to see and do.  From Mt. Grove take 95 south to Gentryville and go right on Highway 14 to County Road 341.  Go south on the county road 4 miles, following signs to the Edge of the World.  From Ava go 18 miles East on Highway 14 to County Road 341.  However you get there it will be well worth the experience.

This is the hen that brought $475.00 for the cause!

        Zoey Louise & Louise Hutchison will have their birthdays next Monday on the 21st of September.  “Every little breeze seems to whisper Louise.  Birds in the trees twitter Louise.  Each little rose tells me it knows I love you.”  Dean Martin croons it so sweetly.  Both these charming ladies are much loved, but probably only one knows about Dean Martin.

        Grandparent’s Day was a big success at Skyline.  Teacher Terri Ryan made a post on the internet thanking everyone for participating and for helping Mrs. Vivod and Mrs. Casper make the day so enjoyable.  Margaret Mead, the great American cultural anthropologist said, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”  That is the aim of this wonderful little rural school.  Good citizens are being fashioned there who will be running the world before long.  Robespierre said, “The secret of freedom lies in educating the people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.”

        The cool weather this week has had people thinking about putting the garden to bed for the winter.  Some manure and mulch will have things ready for Spring again.  Linda has The Plant Place open now every Tuesday through Saturday.  She has some terrific perennial plants for sale—mums, hostas, day lilies, and the like.  She will soon have her last big sale as she will be closing the business this fall.  Good for her to get to retire at last, but sad for the area to lose another family owned business.  Linda’s Almanac is on the bulletin board at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Downtown Champion, on the counter at The Plant Place in Norwood and on line at www.championnews.us.  It looks like leafy vegetables can be planted all week.

        Bring your garden savvy down to the Historic Emporium where you can sit out on the wide veranda and brag about your harvest.  Discuss political views there with the maximum amount of courtesy and tolerance.  Consider that the cost of everything that can be sold is dependent on political decisions and that political ignorance makes the bad politician possible…the corrupted flunky of big corporations.  The office of Karry Davis, Douglas County Clerk, is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 4:30.  Go there to register to vote.  Participate.  The broad banks of Old Fox Creek will always be open for Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 7, 2015

Champion School Reunion 2015 Seated left to right: Wayne Sutherland, Vivian Krider Floyd, Irene Keller Dooms, Royce Henson, Ethel Luellen Anderson, Elsie Hick Curtis.  Standing left to right: Jerry Smith, Benton Hutchison, Frances Cooley Sutherland, Kenneth Henson, J.R. Johnston, Doug Hutchison, Eva Lois Henson Phillips, Wes Lambert, Modeen Dooms McGowan, Alvie Dooms, Elvie Hancock Ragland and Darrell Hutchison.

        Grover Cleveland established Labor Day in 1887, to honor the American labor movement for its contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the country.  The eight hour day, forty hour work-week, over-time, and other benefits that are easy to take for granted were hard won by organized labor.  The family gatherings, friendly get-togethers, feasts and fun of the holiday come with some acknowledgement of the struggles of the past and recognition that there are still struggles going on.  Champions find Gratitude easy to come by.

In the shadow of the Bee Tree

        It may not have been the official hottest day of the year, but Saturday just before Labor Day was an absolute scorcher.  The Champion School Reunion might have benefited from a little more shade, but the chance to get together far outweighed the discomfort.  The Henson clan made their walk of ages in stages and a couple of them accepted short rides from friends and passersby just up over the steep hills and dips that make up some of the chosen path.  Pete Proctor made the whole Cold Springs to Champion trek along with Valley Mills, Vaughn Henson, and others of the clan.  Hovie and Royce strolled into the Square together, arriving in time for dinner on the grounds.  They were met there by fellow alumni, friends and family—all told, somewhere in the neighborhood of fifty warm, friendly people.  Eighteen of them actually attended the Champion School.  They posed for pictures and smiled on cue, talking about the swift passage of time and sweet mutual memories.

        The Veracruz’s bridge doyenne, Carol Tharp celebrates her birthday on September 8th along with Bernie Sanders, who has been married to Jane O’Meara Sanders for 35 years.  Skyler Perryman is a prekindergarten student at Skyline School with a birthday on September 9.  Lexus Ledbetter is in the second grade there and has a birthday on September 10th.  Tanna Krider Wiseman went to Skyline School a while back.  She is Foster and Kalyssa’s Mother and they will be celebrating her on the 13th.  Breann Davis is an 8th grader and enjoys her birthday on September 14th.  The 14th is also the birthday of Konrad Zappler (Sophia and Penelope’s Dad) and Frances Sutherland (Laine’s Mother) who will have her 83rd birthday that day.  Elmer Banks will be partying on the 15th.  That will be a Tuesday.  If the bunch at the Historic Emporium find out about it on Wednesday, they will still wish Elmer a Happy Birthday—late or early.  He is a guy who knows how to have fun.

        Betty and Dale Thomas always attend the Champion School Reunion.  They are busy getting ready for the Pioneer Descendants Gathering.  It is the 14th year for this great event.  It will be on October 3rd and 4th.  Betty had a picture of the hand quilted quilt for this year’s raffle.  It is called “The Elk Gathering” and is another example of her fine work.  Newcomers to this beautiful part of the world are in for a treat.  They will get to go back in local time to get a real feel for the place they now call home.  The West Plains Wagon Club and the Gee Haw bunch from Arkansas will be meandering through town on Thursday the 17th of September.  They are an intrepid bunch of travelers.  It is a hundred mile trip from West Plains to Mansfield.  They start out on Monday and generally arrive in Champion a little before noon on Thursday.  They hang around for a couple of hours to enjoy lunch, the sites and to give the community a chance to see their outfits and their beautiful mules and horses.  They will spend the night up north of Champion and will reach their destination on Friday.  Royce and Jody Henson will come down from Springfield and Foxtrotters from Ava and the area will come out for a good look see.  Go to www.championnews.us for some pictures of the wagon train in previous years.  Champion School reunions are also well represented there.  Like the school reunion this year, the wagon train folks might be hard pressed for shade but a week from now the weather could be mild and lovely.  Rain or shine the wagons will once again roll through Champion—living history.

        An accident happens to everyone from time to time.  Eddie Irby had a bad one and his neighbors are getting together to hold a benefit auction for him.  It will be Saturday, September 12th at 5:30 at the Vanzant Community Center.  Brenda Coffman Massey (417-250-0255) and Debbie Stone (417-543-4928) are organizing it.  There will be a dinner of pulled pork, hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, desserts and drinks and the auction will start at 7:00 p.m.  Music will be provided by Whetstone.  David Richardson and his bunch are to be seen at every worthwhile event in the area–what good citizens and fine musicians.  It looks like it is going to be another episode of good community—people stepping up to help their neighbors.  Bring a pie, something good for the auction and your compassion—it can happen to anyone–see you there!

        Last week a note came from Kenneth Henson (Hovie) with a story to share about when the Vice President of the United States came to Mountain Grove to dedicate the band stand on the square.  It was August 12, 1915, and Vice President and Mrs. Marshall were in Springfield on a sight-seeing tour.  While the Vice President was off buying rail tickets to come to Mountain Grove, his wife boarded the wrong train—one headed for St. Louis.  The train had not gone far when she realized her error and it was stopped to let her off.  She walked back three blocks to rejoin her husband on their mission.  Hovie found it notable that a hundred years ago the Vice President was buying his own train tickets and that his wife was walking unescorted by Secret Service in a strange city.  Much has changed in the hundred years.  Others find it most notable that a hundred years ago a person could go to Norwood and get on a train to go anywhere in the country.  Today public transportation in this huge nation is much less readily available than it was way back then.  If change is the only constant, maybe some things will eventually change back and be more accommodating.

        Aldous Huxley said, “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”  Thomas Jefferson warned about corporate rule:  “I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of their country.”  With luck, Citizens United will be overturned soon.  It is another one of those things that sound good, like “The Right to Work,” the tenets of which are completely contrary to those that have provided us with Labor Day today.  “Citizens United” says that corporations are people and therefore are able to purchase any politician who puts himself up for sale.  Maximilien Robespierre said, “The secret of freedom lies in educating the people, whereas the secret of tyranny is keeping them ignorant.”  As far as west is from east, that is how far apart people’s notions are about how the country ought to be governed.  Somewhere in the middle is tolerance.  Register to vote at your County Court House and express your views on the wide veranda of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 31, 2015

Orville’s old barn disappearing into the vegetation with a new patch of sky
showing through the roof—the only constant is change.

        The full Green Corn Moon showed itself magnificently on Saturday night all over Champion.  Scattered clouds only added to the drama as the big golden orb broke out and dazzled the Square and all roads leading to it from every direction.  The wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek were awash in the glow and big trees on the edge of quiet fields and the Behemoth Bee Tree on the South side of the Square shot long moon shadows out into clear still spaces.  Revelers leaving Champion past midnight were shown rare sites, winding through narrow lanes with the big moon appearing first in this direction and then in that, tangled in the trees as coyotes gathered to provide night music with the frogs and cicadas.

        The Champion School Reunion will have the Square full again on Saturday.  Former students and their families and friends will gather again to renew old acquaintances and to relive a period in their lives that hindsight has told them was precious.  There will be surprises for some who have not yet seen the changes in first base.  ‘Change is the only constant’ is something that is often said to soften the shock.  Take a tour of previous Champion School Reunions on the website at www.championnews.us.  While you are out there enjoying the pictures, listen to some music.  You’ll find Lonnie Krider and Wayne Anderson and Wayne’s family singing “Once More.”

        Wayne Anderson’s birthday was September 2nd, not the 30th of August as was reported numerous times in The Champion News.  He had such a beautiful send-off last Monday.  His life was full of the love of family, friends and music.  To be in the company of hundreds of others who were touched by his kindness, good humor and generosity of spirit was an honor—many said it was the sweetest one of these they had ever attended.

        A small Wednesday gathering at the Historic Emporium indicated that some frequent idlers were home working or otherwise meeting obligations in some responsible manner.  The Cowboy was there early in the day but did not linger.  The next meeting will likely reveal the adventures, excuses, and reports of activities important enough to keep them away from a favorite pastime.  Jacob Coon has been down at Champion recently.  Friends saw him there with his Dad last week.  An update on his health posted on-line by his aunt-the-nurse says that he is starting to school this week.  He will still have to be careful for a while:  he must refrain from contact sports and rough activity, but otherwise he is good to go again.  Jacob’s friends are all glad to hear of it and hope for him that next summer is a lot more fun than this one has been.  He will probably enjoy the new paved walking path that winds along the edge of the woods down to the picnic grounds and back up around the green house.  Four times around makes a mile and the grant from the Douglas County Health Department made it happen for the Skyline School.  The DCHD has been a good ally for the school.  They joined with the Skyline R2 School Foundation in replacing the water fountains in the school with much needed modern versions.  They also provide blood pressure and other health screenings at the school each month.  They are at Champion on the last Tuesday of each month doing that as well.  Their website, www.dchd.org has a wealth of useful information on everything from how to avoid tick bites to the latest recall of foods contaminated by shards of glass and Listeria.  DCHD—Champion neighbors!

        Betty Thomas, Larry Wrinkles and Wilma Hutchison all share September 1st as their birthday.  They probably all know each other and know who among them might be the oldest and the youngest.  Once people are old enough to vote, they are considered to be adult and age no longer matters.  Some of these folks have been casting ballots for some while now.  The 2nd was to have been Wayne’s 79th.  The third belongs to Phoebe Ward.  She is the Mother of Richard and Kaye’s beautiful granddaughters, Madelyn and Shelby.  Vernon Upshaw and Dailey Upshaw share the 4th of September for their birthday.  Dailey and Dean can be found most every Thursday evening at the Vanzant Community Building.  They enjoy the pot-luck dinner at 6 and then sit back for splendid entertainment as the musicians take turns singing and playing the music they like best.  Maybe that Happy Birthday song will come up this time.

        Linda will have The Plant Place open for business up in Norwood on September 8th.  Her mums and other fall plants will be ready to make your home place beautiful for your own enjoyment or to present a lovely view for any passing wagon train.  Linda was the big winner in the Fortnight Bridge Club Marathon on Saturday night.  Fourteen hours of bridge–17 rubbers–gave her a score of 16,870, followed by Veracruz with 13,870, and Brushy Knob with 13,420.  Champion had the pleasure of hosting the event and had a wonderful time in spite of an extraordinary string of poor hands.  She won the low money with a score of 5,960, so will not complain.  It amounted to $3.50.

        J.C. Owsley had some flattering things to say when he changed his profile picture on Facebook:  “I stole this picture from www.championnews.us.  If you need a delightful read about life and people in a Missouri Ozarks community, I recommend it to all my friends who read and have some time to do so.  This weekly column does much more than report who had Sunday dinner with whom.”  Kind words like these are not the only reason J.C. is welcome in Champion.  He comes for Bud Hutchison’s trail rides and hopes are that he will make the fall ride sometime early in October.  Stay tuned for exact dates.  Meanwhile, Jerry Wilbanks posts on The Champion News facebook page:  “September 14-18:  The West Plains Wagon Club and the Gee and Haw Wagon Club will host their yearly wagon ride from West Plains to Mansfield.  Plans are to be at Champion on the 17th of September at noon.  Hope to see everyone there.”  This grand adventure will be different this year as many of the roads over which the wagons roll have been washed and rutted in new ways by the unusual rains and the lush growth of weeds and shrubs may make the lanes seem more narrow.  Orville Hick’s old barn is about to disappear into the vegetation and there is a new patch of sky showing through the roof.  The only constant is change.  Change has been big for Lannie Hinote up in Mountain Village, Alaska.  She has eaten her first beluga whale recently.  She said, “I am not a fan….it was tough and didn’t have much flavor….Will try it again if fixed another way….This was raw.”  The ‘Notes from Hunter Creek’ was full of Alaska adventure, but it is fairly well figured the fish of the day was salmon and most likely cooked.

        In 2012, Noam Chomsky said, “The general population doesn’t know what’s happening, and it doesn’t even know that it doesn’t know.”  Aristotle said, “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”  Guess who said, “Love thy neighbor.”  Champions say, “Look on the Bright Side!”

CHAMPION—August 24, 2015

The best spot to watch the garden grow…

        There is nothing wrong with staying at home.  Minding one’s own business and attending to the necessities of the household and grounds are laudable exercises.  Still, a chance adventure off the place during this remarkable August is an adventure.  Whenever in August has it been so green…so cool?  Rain totals keep adding up and there are extra cuttings of hay and beautiful lawns that need frequent mowing.  A trip to town is like driving through storybook land—Narnia—with a picturesque view around every bend.  Though there seem to be extra mosquitoes (very small and vigorous mosquitoes), fewer walnuts and varying degrees of garden success, Champions find no reason for complaint.

        Every part of the country has its charm.  For example, Iowa has any number of things about which it can be proud.  There is the world’s largest frying pan in Brandon, Iowa, the largest wooden nickel in Johnson County, and the world’s largest garden gnome in the Rieman Garden in Ames.  It stands 15 feet tall and is made of concrete.  It is very near the butterfly garden which is said to be one of the best such gardens in the world.  It sounds like a nice place.  Nice people come out of Iowa.  A couple of the Ewoldt brothers came down from Iowa and visited in Champion for a few days recently.  They come every year to enjoy family ties while being inscrutable and enigmatic.  Pleasant Iowa folks are always welcome.

Wayne Anderson

        Take a quarter mile stroll on the new walking path that has just been measured, paved and landscaped at the Skyline School.  Walk around it four times and you will have gone a mile.  It is open for the use of anyone in the community and will get plenty of activity from the school population.  It comes in a grant from the Douglas County Health Department—another gift to the community.  The 23rd of August was the second birthday of Drayson Cline.  He shared it with his great grandfather, Charlie Cline.  Drayson has a little brother, Carson, who will always be his chum.  It is very sweet.  Skyline third grader, Dana Harden, has her ninth birthday on the 25th and Rowdy Woods will be ten on the 29th.  Jenna Brixey and Kalyssa Wiseman will both be eight on the 31st.  Exciting things are in store for these children.  The 30th was to have been the 79th birthday of Wayne Anderson.  He and Jo Ann celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in May.  His loss is a big one for the whole community because his life was a meaningful one.  Other Champions who have slipped away from us recently are Velma and Gene Schroeder.  They lived in the community for a long time and participated in it the way good neighbors do.

        The Thursday night bluegrass jam at Vanzant was another beautiful evening.  Songs ranged from ‘Bobbie McGee’ and ‘When You and I Were Young, Maggie’ to ‘Blue Kentucky Girl’ and ‘I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home’.  Jerry Wagner did a lovey rendition of ‘Just Bumming Around’.  Kenneth and Barbara Anderson were there and the many friends who regularly enjoy this gathering carried on in the usual way, all the while feeling an absence.  Elmer Banks sat outside visiting with Murphy and others.  He wanted it known that the County Road people have done a beautiful job on V Highway.  It is mowed from fence to fence and looking gorgeous.

Ready to watch some fireworks. Jo Ann and Wayne…Chris, Amber, Miles, London, and Griffin.

        An OHL friend points out “that in some cases there are arguable points about the direction of this country from both ‘sides’, and probably the best answer would include the best ideas and beefs from both.  It may be that you can attract more flies with a little honey and still open minds.”  He goes on to support the free flow of ideas.  “ A liberal….someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people—their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties—someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a ‘liberal’, then I’m proud to say I’m a ‘Liberal’”, said JFK.  The Heritage Foundation says that conservative public policies are based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.  John Steinbeck said, “All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”  Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.”  An Old Champion says, “What a valuable thing is an enemy!  There is a reason, an excuse and fellowship in knowing you are absolutely right and the enemy is wrong.”  Being unified with a bunch of people who believe the same thing that you believe is comforting and makes the world less frightening.  The inflammatory rhetoric from both ends of the political spectrum is worrisome.  There is anecdotal evidence that “Frightened people do stupid things.”  It seems that both ends are trampling over the middle in an effort to destroy each other.  It is like FDR said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

        After her annual August hiatus, Linda will open The Plant Place again in September.  She will have mums and perennial plants and good garden advice for new gardeners and veterans as well.  This will be her last year in business and while retirement may be good for her, Norwood and the whole area will have lost a great resource.  Her Almanac says the 29th and 30 will be good days for planting root crops, fine for vine crops and good days for transplanting.  There is time to get some turnips in the ground for some good greens and in case Lem and Ned come to help out with the fall chores.  It feels like fall on these cool mornings.  By afternoon the wide veranda on the Historic Emporium will be peopled by philosophers and historians as well as by local tourists just relishing the spectacle of the Behemoth Bee Tree and the tranquility of the Village.  It is nestled on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek where country roads meet the pavement at the bottom of several green hills—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 17, 2015

A quiet sunny summer Sunday in Champion

        Cool, foggy mornings have mists rising from the valley floors and walnut leaves drifting down in golden glides and in sudden breeze-blown twirls.  The quiet beauty of this rural life is astonishing even to people who have never known any other.  It is the Champion way to be where you are.  That ‘be’ should be italicized to emphasize the state of presence.  Neither a clutching desperation for the past nor a fearful, grasping anxiousness for the future serves peace so well as does recognizing the beauty of the moment.  Champion, indeed.

        School is well underway again.  The summer slipped by quickly.  Some nice landscaping, cool new water fountains, the brightly painted gym and a few new faces met the Skyline student body on the first day.  The year ahead will be full of challenges–the memories and lessons that will usher our children into their future.  New arrivals to this part of the country and old retirees with no children or grandchildren in school find the minimal property tax levy attractive here and may not consider that they have an interest in the lovely little school at the crossroads.  However, in a short twenty years these students will be the adults who are in charge of the important things that the old folk need.  An investment in their future now is an investment in our own.  This could be a case for raising property taxes up to the state recommended levels, particularly in light of the fact that State and Federal funding for schools is based on enrolment.  It is a quandary with which the school board wrestles at every meeting.  The school board has the appreciation and support of their friends and neighbors in the community due them for doing the hard work that it takes to keep Skyline R2 School up and running.  Thanks.

        Lannie Hinote gets her mail at PO Box 32412, Mountain Village, AK 99632.  The other day she was on the internet saying, “Hello World.  I am temporarily connected in between storms.  Mountain Village is a beautiful village and the people are so very nice.  Enjoyed moose stew yesterday from a fresh hunt, but have not been fishing yet due to all the rain.  A note to all my past students that are still in school:  Hope you all have a great start of the new school year this week (we don’t start until August 26th) so while you are in class falling asleep, think of me still enjoying the outdoors!”  A later post revealed that she had been to her first Eskimo dance and that she would soon have the technical capability to post pictures and videos.  Her friends down in the lower 48 are missing her and are pleased that she is willing to share her great Alaska adventure.  Good luck, dear Lannie!

        Skyline students with upcoming birthdays are Dana Harden who will be nine years old on the 25th.  Rowdy Woods will be ten on the 29th and Jenna Brixey will be eight on the 31st.  She shares her birthday with Kalyssa Wiseman who will also be eight years old.  Other Champions celebrating in late August are:  Tianna Krider Ogelsby—the 22nd, Drayson Cline—the23rd, Dakota Watts and Daniel Cohen—the 24th, Barbara Krider—the 25th, Rita Krider—the 26th, Wes Smith and Minnie Jo Henson–the 29th, Wayne Anderson—the 30th and then Jenna and Kalyssa on the 31st.  Happy Birthday everybody—all you Champions near and far know how truly special you are!

        Alvie Dooms was sitting front row center at the Summerscape 2015, the concert conducted by Barbara Deegan on Saturday at the Ava Performing Arts Center.  It was a lovely program full of Salieri and Mozart.  Proceeds from the concert performed by 29 professional musicians from symphonies and universities around Missouri and Arkansas go toward The Ozark String Project, a rural string program providing affordable string lessons for local students.  Mr. Dooms has a great granddaughter attending the String Project and being taught by concertmaster Danyal Collins.  He also spends some of his time and considerable talent supporting the project.  It was reported on Thursday evening at the Vanzant Bluegrass Jam that Wayne Anderson has had a heart attack and is in Mercy Hospital at this time.  Banjo music has taken a real hit.  His friends and admirers all wish him well.  Cards can be sent to Wayne Anderson, Mercy Hospital, 1235 East Cherokee, Springfield, MO 65804.

        It was a treat to see Betty and Dale Thomas down at the Historic Emporium on Wednesday.  They are year round busy people.  On this trip they brought the flyer advertising the Pioneer Descendants Gathering which will be October 3rd and 4th this year.  This is the 14th year for this sterling event that features all kinds of exhibits and demonstrations of the 1860 to 1960 era.  Lots of live music and good food and the chance to appreciate the past and to see old friends are all good reasons to venture over to the Edge of the Earth.  It will be interesting to see if Betty and Dale have been experiencing the odd situation that is becoming evident in Champion.  There are almost no black walnuts on any of the big trees in the area.  Someone will ask Harley if he has ever seen anything like this the next time he comes back.  He was at the Emporium Wednesday.  He had been in town a few days to mow his grass and get more hay put up.  He went home to Elmwood to admire Barbara’s new jewelry and to catch up on the chores she has in store for him there.

        Guess which beloved past President of the United States asked, “What are the things that you can’t see that are important?  I would say justice, truth, humility, service, compassion, love.  You can’t see any of those, but they are the guiding lights of life.”  Send your guess to champion@championnews.us or to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Molly Ivins said, “When politicians start talking about large groups of their fellow Americans as ‘enemies,’ it is time for a quiet stir of alertness.  Polarizing people is a good way to win an election, and also a good way to wreck a country.”  The Heritage Foundation describes itself as a research and education institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.  It was founded and supported by billionaires starting with Joseph Coors in the 1970’s all the way to the Koch brothers today.  If these super wealthy people are using their valuable time to think about the well-being of the people who are just living their day-to-day lives out in rural Douglas County, then it is incumbent upon us, if not to be grateful, to at least pay attention and evaluate their ideas and to consider who benefits from the policies they promote.  Ms. Ivins is right.  Polarizing the population is a dangerous thing.  This was brought home neatly in a response to last week’s The Champion News article.  At the end of a long thoughtful statement the writer said, “I find both sides can be intolerant.  A good idea I heard the other day—how about one Day of National Forgetting About My Rights or My Views and Doing Something Nice for Someone or Sitting Down With Someone we Disagree With.”  He goes on to say, “That, to me, is the Old Hippy Way.”  The Old Hippy Way of peace and love is quintessential civility.  Civility is worth the effort.  When the voting is done, we will still be friends and neighbors—fellow Americans.

        “As the soft breezes blow through the meadow I go, past the mill with the moss covered stone.  Up the pathway I climb through the woods and the vines to be with my Colleen Malone.”  The General is learning this song.  He lives over in Vanzant, but he is a Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 10, 2015

The Dedication

        Once again the summer social season has been capped off in a delightful way by the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department Picnic.  All the hard work and preparations that go into making this such a splendid event have paid off again.  Neither the Ozark Empire Fair, the Fair in Ava, nor the Dog Days of summer kept the picnic goers from their good time.  Ray Bradley stepped up on the stage and held it firmly down for the first musical interlude on Friday.  The scheduled band canceled at the last moment giving the audience an unexpected treat.  What a repertory!  Fending off compliments, he said that his wife protests that he knows all the words to hundreds of songs, but cannot remember a three item grocery list.  Later in the evening he led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem at the conclusion of the dedication of the new flagpole.  Pete Proctor and Chaplain Howard Anderson raised the flag for the first time on the flagpole donated by the Mountain Grove American Legion Post 30.  The music, fun and games kept on as people who see each other rarely caught up on their visiting.  The cake walkers, silent auction bidders and bingo afficionados all enjoyed themselves immensely, but at the end of the picnic probably no one was as happy as Sally Prock.  She won the wonderful “Broken Dishes” quilt made by Ruth Hamilton.  It is lovely to see Sally win.  She supports every good cause in the area.  Congratulations Sally and to the Skyline VFD for another fine picnic.

The Pledge

        It was good to see Larry Wrinkles and Harley Krider sitting together chatting on Friday evening.  One thought that if Punk Hicks were to show up they might give the crowd a treat with some of their legendary harmonies.  Vivian Floyd and her friend Albert were down from Rogersville for the occasion.  Stalwart young firefighters stepped up to help change a flat at the picnic.  It is nice to see that generosity and willingness to help in young people.  Any number of kindnesses goes unnoticed.  The Nettleton sisters, Eva, Shirley and Helen, were not in attendance together this year as they have been for many years.  Mrs. Eva Powell is currently receiving her mail at Marshfield Care Center-D-2, 800 South White Oak Street, Marshfield, MO 65706.  She always loved the picnic and is known for remembering birthdays and anniversaries with thoughtful cards.  Hopes are that her mailbox is full as her friends wish her well.

Vivian Floyd and her friend Albert

        Foster and Kalyssa were a big help at the picnic, though Foster skipped out Saturday night to help his dear old Dad celebrate his birthday.  Roger has slipped decidedly into his late forties.  When Foster becomes a teenager, his Dad will be an old man of fifty.  Fifty is starting to seem young to some.  Jaycee Hall is a kindergarten student at Skyline this year.  Her birthday is on August 10th.  Her classmate, Cryslynn Bradshaw, celebrates on the 12th of August.  There is good news that Skyline student, Jacob Coon, is improving steadily and hopes are that he will be healthy and ready for it when school starts up soon.  Teri Ryan reported that great volunteers were on hand on the week end to put some good energy into the school.  Ms. Curtis, her parents, sister, and children constructed a new closet in the gym on Saturday.  The Brixey family put new rocks (gravel) in front of the school and spread more out on the playground.  Ms. Ryan asks if there are others who might have the time and energy to spend helping with improvements to the wonderful little school.  The youngsters growing up in Skyline will likely be many of the residents here in years to come.  They will be running the fire department and will be the farmers and business people who will keep the community alive.  Many will go on to other parts to contribute in other ways, but they will all have this foundation of a solid start to their education.  They will have what it takes to compete in a changing world that is vastly different from the world their parents knew.  An educated population is the hope of the Nation.

        Linda’s Almanac says that the 18th through the 22nd will all be excellent days for planting crops that bear their yield above the ground.  There is plenty of growing season left for greens of all kinds, so let the fall garden be the one that sets off the bragging.  Unusual weather patterns have made parts of some gardens flourish while others parts have suffered blight, mold and a failure to thrive.  The next change of the moon will be good for turnips (in case Lem and Ned come to visit) and beets (a jar of pickled beets brought $6.00 in the silent auction at the picnic) and a good time to plant garlic for next year’s harvest (to keep yourself healthy and your dishes savory).

        The 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb is much in the thoughts of people the world over.  Champion Rich Heffern has written a very revealing piece about the maintenance of nuclear weapons here in the United States.  He ends it by saying, “It seems as though–70 years (this month) after the first nuclear weapons were used in war—that we haven’t outgrown our need for mass-suicide.”  It is a sobering thought.  Some in Congress seem more interested in defeating the administration than in the safety and welfare of the whole world.  While Rupert Murdock’s world view is spewed relentlessly across the land with its fear mongering and bigotry, calm intelligent people work toward a diplomatic solution to the difficult issue.  The trouble is there is just not all that much money to be made with diplomacy.  Where is the profit for Brown and Root, Haliburton and Blackwater?  So much money is made in war that it is hard for some to find a reason not to fight.  Poor people voting against their own interest believing that they will someday not be poor are on the losing side.  War costs.  It costs the lives and futures of young people who are motivated by love of Country.  It cost the education of our children as schools are starved to feed the war machine and it cost the security of the most vulnerable at home.  An informed citizenry at the ballot box is what will make the difference.  Register, dad gum it, and Vote.

        A group of friends sitting over by the bingo parlor on Friday night joined in as the band played “This Old House.”  They were particularly good at the chorus singing, “Ain’t gonna need this house no longer/  Ain’t gonna need this house no more/ Ain’t got time to fix the shingles/ Ain’t got time to fix the floor… ”  The song is poignant and brings to mind the beauty of home—the most venerated of all human notions.  “This old house was home and shelter as we fought the storms of life.”  It rang with laughter and heard many shouts.  That is the way it is, still, in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 3, 2015

Family fun at the Mill Pond

        When the family comes traipsing in by the carload with armloads of groceries and readiness for fun, time gets suspended and memories boil up from the past as new ones flower in the moment.  Some are fortunate to live in the midst of their kinfolks, but others languish solitarily, sometimes for years, until the generations come pouring in from distant parts.  Hearts swell.  Young folks lend their hands to farm chores, weeding ferociously, digging potatoes, and then there is all the fun in the kitchen.  Sweet.

        Pete Proctor called to say that he and the fire chief had been busy digging holes (pick and shovel) and filling them with concrete (12 bags) down at the Skyline VFD Picnic grounds.  Their purpose was to prepare the place for the setting of a flag pole sponsored by the American Legion Post 30.  Eldon Mackey, retired from the U.S. Air Force, is a member of the American Legion and has made flagpoles for the Vanzant Community Building and for the Holt Picnic grounds.  This one will be 20 feet tall with a stone marker at the foot with the date and dedication information.  It will be located at the east end of the stage.  Chaplin Howard Anderson will do the dedication as part of the ceremony surrounding the presentation of the colors.  It will all start with the Star Spangled Banner at about 8 o’clock on Friday evening, August 7th at the Skyline Picnic.  The picnic will start at 6:00 and everyone is welcome to attend.  The music line up will be Backyard Bluegrass, Big Creek, Finley River Boys, Kaylee Downs, Turner Brothers and Whetstone.  Bring lawn chairs for your comfort and pies and cakes to donate for the cake walk and the concession stand.  Picnic food is always wonderful.  Friends and family are glad that Teresa Wrinkles still makes Esther’s coconut cream pie.  Auxiliary members wish someone would join who has the quilt ticket sales ability of their old friend, but this quilt is so lovely the tickets almost sell themselves.  Broken Dishes is the pattern.  Ruth Hamilton did an excellent job of the piecing and Twin Valley Quilting stippled it beautifully.  It will go to some lucky winner on Saturday night of the picnic.

        Her friends and former students will be pleased to know that Lannie Hinote arrived in Anchorage, Alaska safely on Sunday afternoon.  Her new adventure begins. She will be teaching in Mountain Village which is somewhere in the Yukon.  The courage it takes to pull up stakes and start anew elsewhere will serve as an example to all the young people she has influenced over these many years.  Skyline students will miss her, but will be happy to keep in touch.  Terri Ryan has reported that the new water fountains have been installed at the school.  The Skyline School Foundation together with grants from the Douglas County Health Department made this possible and the students will benefit greatly.  She also says that James Brixey has volunteered to remove some of the stumps from around the school.  Over the years a number of big trees have been removed and now all trace of them will be gone.  Terri says it will make the school look so much nicer and will be safer.

        Wednesday at the Emporium was a pleasant experience last week.  Bob and Ethel Leach were back after an absence of a couple of weeks during which time they were engaged in looking for their young bull who has developed an attraction to some neighboring cattle.  Once he discovered that he could get out of his confinement, he has been regularly absent.  He is a nice young bull who sires small calves easy to birth and has some other sterling qualities all of which will benefit the new owner after his trip to the sale barn when they catch him again.  Meanwhile back on the farm, Bob reports having harvested 328 big round bales of hay on 40 acres.  8.1 bales to the acre is a good count.  Last year the field produced 210 bales.  This year May, June, and July rainfall totals up in the headwaters of Fox Creek were 12, 11, and 14 ½ inches respectively.  Almartha reported only 11 inches for July.  Deward’s granddaughter, Jenny, happened in and visited with Ethel.  The two of them share a great grandfather, great for Ethel and great, great for Jenny.  They have stories of the gentleman to share, one James Beldon Henson, however it will take coaxing.  For the time being, it seems that they will just share them with each other.  There is written history.  Perhaps they can be persuaded to part with a few gems.

        Birthdays bring out the best in people.  Children having them are on their best behavior with the notion of a party, a cake or a present in the balance.  Celebrating other people’s birthdays is a way to acknowledge a friend and a loved one.  Keeping a birthday book is an easy activity.  It is a great gift from one generation to the next and encourages consideration of others.  It is a surprise to children sometimes to learn that everyone has a birthday and most everyone thinks they are special days.  Elitta January celebrated her birthday on August 1st.  She has been gone from the community for several years now, but is well remembered by many and loved still.  Seamus Heffern is a big kid now, heading into high school, celebrating on the 2nd.  Caleb Harden is a kindergarten student at Skyline.  His birthday is on August 5th.  Lavon Carter of Ava celebrates on the 6th of the month.  She has a lovely smile, a beautiful daughter, great grandchildren and a son who is a judge.  The Nation’s 44th President will be 54 years old on August 4th.  He was born in 1961.  Francis Scott Key was born on August 1, 1779.  He wrote the Nation’s great song:  “Oh! Say, can you see……?”

        Someone turned an antique manure spreader into a float for the Mountain Grove Alumni parade back early in July.  It had bucket seats and was positioned at the end of the parade.  Pete and some other fellow rode back there through the whole parade.  Eva Powell saw him and waved.  She was there with her sisters in front of Richard’s Brothers.  Someone yelled as the float passed, “We ain’t got a shovel big enough to get you two out.”  Ms. Powell laughed about it.  She has had some health issues and will be in the Marshfield Care Center for a spell.  Her friends send her best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Family fun on the Veranda

        The broad veranda on the Recreation of the Historic Emporium has been the scene of many a family photo.  If you would like your own family photo to be included in The Champion News website, www.championnews.us send it to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion@championnews.us.  Bring the whole bunch down to the wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek to get a good perspective on family and community in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!