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CHAMPION–May 18, 2015

A Champion Fog

        School is out!  It is hard to imagine a year going by so quickly.  Bridge playing friends arrived at the school parking lot early for their rendezvous on Saturday evening and took the time to take an unguided tour of the greenhouse that has been a great learning tool for the Skyline R-II School students this year.  There are neat rows of lettuce and spinach in custom made planters inside the structure and outside an attractive collection of plantings in several beds.  Visitors will hope for a student guided tour next time.  The greenhouse is a modern efficient design that looks like it will serve the school well for years to come.  Heidi Strong will be in the 4th grade when school starts again.  Her birthday is on May 22nd.  She shares the day with Teresa Wrinkles who makes Esther’s pies still, spends quality time in school herself and routinely steps up to every need in the community.  Dale Thomas has his birthday on the 28th.  He is getting ready already for the Pioneer Descendants Gathering in October over on the Edge of the World.  Betty will be sure he has a good birthday.  Joey Kennedy will be a big second grader at Skyline next year.  His birthday is on the 29th.  Summer will fly by and soon he will be back in class.  He and all the fortunate students at this great little school will know that what B.B. King said was true:  “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.”

        A Champion friend from over around Brushy Knob shares a story.  This is “A story about Mr. P., a beautiful male peacock who entered our lives a couple of days before Thanksgiving-2014.  It was a great day when Mr. P. showed up here looking thin and ragged tail.  He seemed lost and no one seemed to know where he came from, as we contacted country neighbors.  He gradually came to trust us and came closer so he could eat some cat food and cracked corn.  He took up residence and roosted in a tree right in front of the house.  The cats grew to accept him as the dog Victor did.  He wintered here and became a big part of our lives.  Sometimes he’d stay on the deck and almost be covered with snow.  As spring came on he became restless.  He started spreading his tail and dancing for us and vocalizing a lot!  In fact he called off and on all day and night.  By this time he had become such a part of our lives.  He ate his cat food out of my hand and we had long talks.  One of our talks I asked him if he could be a little calmer at night and not talk so much after the tv went off.  This had worked a couple of times before but this night he didn’t call all night.  I even woke up a couple times and thought boy my talk really worked.  Well, the next morning, May 8th, I got up and he didn’t come to eat when I called him.  I know he was lonesome for his own kind!  So on May 8th he walked out of our lives just like he walked into it in November…  Nicholas and I were honored to have him with us during the long winter.  He was such a blessing!  I hope he finds his way back home to his own kind.  Good-bye Mr. P.  We love you and miss you!”

        The Denlow School Reunion takes place the Saturday of Memorial Day week end, the 23rd.  Alumni, family and friends gather for an ample pot-luck lunch at about noon and then hours are spent visiting and enjoying music and fun out in the pavilion.  This year promises to be extra special as Proctors will swarm in from every direction.  They will have their family reunion there the next day.  The General will likely officiate in some capacity and so it is a given that amusement and at least some hilarity will ensue.  Quite a number of Champions are old enough to be getting invitations to their 50th high school reunion.  Some older folks got those invitations last year.  Meeting fellow students from all those years ago can be an eye opening experience.  Some are unrecognizable; some have changed their names several times; some have matured and some have not.  Attendees are reminded as they go by the mirror that everyone is better looking with a smiling face.  How pleasant it can be to renew those old acquaintances and to harken back to hearty, optimistic youth.  At the time of it most were not aware of their youth.  They were looking forward to the future from which the fortunate can now look back.  Smile if you can.  The exciting week of palindrome dates will be over on the 19th.  5-18-15 backwards is 5-18-15.

        Coal oil, soot, sugar, turpentine and sulfur were listed as some of the medicines that were responsible for many people in this part of the world having survived their childhood.  The subject came up as part of the general conversations at the Wednesday Confab in the Meeting Room of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium.  The mean age of the participants is such that health and its decline are often the subjects of discussion.  Reference was made to Little Jimmy Dickens and his song, ‘Country Boy,’ where he says, “Ma doctored me from youngun’ hood with Epson Salts and Iodine, made my diapers out of old feed sacks, my ‘spenders out of plowline.“  Little Jimmy Dickens had been part of the Grand Old Opry since 1948 and made his last performance there just after his 94th birthday back in December.  He passed away in January.  Elmer Banks said that he saw Dickens there the last time he attended the Opry.  Back to the health issues, which are many, Elmer asked one of his friends at the table, “You know how you can get to feeling better, don’t you?”  There followed some questioning looks, some reflection and a few seconds of silence before he answered the question he had asked, “Why, take you a shot of morphine!” The laughter hung in the air, but nobody asked just where a feller might find such as that hereabouts.

        The wonderful rain is having an excellent effect on the garden. Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 21st and 22nd will be most favorable for planting corn, cotton, okra, beans, peppers, eggplant and other aboveground crops.  The next good time for planting will be the 28th through the 31st.  Just now it is too wet to mow or to plow, but those weeds are almost willing to jump out of the ground with just a little pulling.  Solitary time in the garden is a good time for serious thinking.  Certainly, as Ray Charles said, “The world is in an uproar. Danger’s all around.”  Violent weather all around the Nation, and violent conditions and political upheaval all around the world has many millions of people in dire circumstances.  An abundance of appreciation for being spared these woes mixed with compassion for those unable to avoid them can keep a head full of serious thought.  One thought is that the small amount of welfare fraud perpetrated by a few is so egregious to some that they are willing to deny any assistance to the many who desperately need it.  Share your serious thought, your peacock stories, your gardening tips, and music at champion@championnews.us.  Take a gander at the archives at www.championnews.us and see Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—May 11, 2015

        Mother’s Day in Champion was sublime.  It was written 5-10-15.  Young people showed up.  They called.  They Skyped.  They acknowledged the dear lady with enthusiasm and flowers and with the humility that accompanies genuine gratitude.  Emotion ran high all day, sweet and sentimental.  The internet was overladen with nostalgic photographs of mother and child in years gone way by.  Recognition, if only annually, is a Champion notion and it made the old girls smile.

Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Ride.
Sixteen riders left the square and sixteen returned, tired and happy with stories to tell.

        Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Ride was an excellent adventure for sixteen horsemen and women.  They took out of town just after ten in the morning—just after Wilma had them all lined up for another great picture.  Look for it in the papers sometime soon.  They ambled back into Champion around two in the afternoon, tuckered out but glad for the ride through the beautiful countryside in great weather, glad for the companionship, and glad for ice cream at the end of the trail.  They relaxed on the spacious veranda and looked out over the Colossus of Champion.

Betty Henson Appreciation Day had the Square busy most of the day on Saturday. The card says, “Dear Betty, Thank you for all the things you do. You are THE Champion!”

        The Betty Henson Appreciation Day in Champion on Saturday was long in the planning, but short on the advertising.  Having an event be a secret for surprise purposes and well known at the same time turns out to be a trick.  Regular customers and visitors to Henson’s Grocery and Gas, (a.k.a. Henson’s Downtown G&G, the Recreation of the Historic Emporium and The Champion Store) frequently enough say to each other, if not to Ms. Henson herself, that they are glad to have such an amenity in the area and are amazed at how much the hardest working woman in Champion gets done.  Friends and neighbors and customers were in and out all day, happy to have the chance to say, “Thanks for all you do!”  Those who missed out on the occasion, which featured lots of good visiting and free hot-dogs grilled on the spot, will still be able to express their appreciation with their patronage.  When she says, “Thank you,” while handing them their change, they can say, “No, thank you.  Thank you for keeping this wonderful place alive and thriving!”  Champion!

        Bonnie Brixey Mullins had her birthday on the 9th of May.  She is planning a trip to Denlow for the Denlow School Reunion in a couple of weeks.  It is always the Saturday before Memorial Day.  This year that will be 23rd of May since Memorial Day is on the 25th.  Her friends and family will be happy to see her.  The Proctors will have their reunion that Sunday and the whole week end looks like it is going to be full of the good stuff.  Good stuff will be happening for a bibliophile, Elizabeth Heffern, who celebrates her birthday on May 15th.  Her Champion granddad says she is a great lover of books.  She was born in 2007.  Time is slipping away.  Linda Cooley shares Elizabeth’s birthday, but in an earlier year.  The sixteenth is shared by Skyline VFD Auxiliary worker, Friend of the Library, and grandmother to many, Karen Griswold, and by the father of Alexandra Jean and Zoey Louise, Champion granddaughters.  He is a busy man, but took time out to call his Mom on Sunday.  His grandmother, Exer Hector Masters, who would be 102 this year, and his cousin Rachel Cohen, still quite a young woman and a dynamic one at that, share their birthday on the 18th.  The seventeenth will be the big day for Meikel Klein.  He is a kindergarten student at Skyline School.  It is still acceptable to be excited about a birthday when a person is of kindergarten age—or any age.

        On Friday the 15th, the Douglas County Health Department will be at the Skyline School doing cholesterol checks for the community.  The service is free of charge.  A person wishing to have the test done will need to arrive at the school in the morning fasting since midnight.

        Loiterers who watched Bud’s bunch clippity-clop out of town included The General, who says he has not been on a horse in many years.  He drives a truck that looks quite a bit like a truck that a well-regarded farrier drives and like one of a youngish rascal in the area.  The trucks are similar enough that The General gets accused of being places where he ought not to be.  That is the story he tells anyway.  Busy days in the garden kept some home on Wednesday.  Weeds are responding with gusto to the rain and mild weather.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood informs that the 16th and 17th will be good days for planting root crops and good days for transplanting.  Gardeners will try to get ahead of the weeds to join in next Wednesday’s Champion Confab that often enough includes politics.  It is easy enough for some to construct a narrative that is supported by facts that are cherry-picked out of the wide range of media.  People believe what they want to believe regardless of reality, present or past.  Revisionism is the practice of rewriting history books to present a preferred version of what happened.  In his work, ‘Isms’, Nouveau Champion Alan Von Altendorf references Winston Churchill who said, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”  It did turn out that way.  The glory of victory easily overshadowed some of the darker aspects of the gentleman.  Participate in the process or quit your bellyaching.  Making an effort to be informed and exercising the hard won voting franchise is the best hope for writing a good narrative or one that suits you.

        Johnny Gimble passed away over the week end at age 88.  He was one of the most famous and influential fiddlers to ever pick up a bow.  He fiddled with everyone from Bob Wills to George Strait, including Marty Robins and Willie Nelson.  More sad news comes with tales of twisters and terrible weather around the country in every direction.  Champions acknowledge their own good fortune and hope for relief for those suffering elsewhere.  Marty Robbins sang, “After the storm comes the sunshine.  The clouds are gone and the world is tame.  Into each life there will be showers, but don’t the world look brighter, after the rain?”  Frog, crickets and whippoorwills join in with old-folk’s tinnitus to make soothing evening music in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—May the 4th be with you, 2015

Spring Greens…Champion-style

        By the time Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Ride bunch leaves out of Champion on Wednesday morning and gets back in the afternoon, the regular Wednesday Confab in the Meeting Room of the Historic Emporium will have assembled and dispersed after politely addressing history, current events, current events related to history, philosophy, agriculture and speculation on a wide range of subjects.  The creak of saddle leather and aroma of horse liniment will herald the return of the adventurers.  J.C. Owsley is planning to make the trip.  Maybe he will be on that big borrowed white mule, Dot.  His Champion friends are looking forward to the chance to visit for a spell out on the spacious veranda overlooking the monumental stump.  Bud’s trail rides have been going on for a long time now.  Perhaps this year someone will ask the questions about when they got started doing this and how long they figure they will be able to keep it up.  No one will ask why.

        You do not have to have had one to be one—that is to say, a good mother.  Friday evening the appreciative children of an underappreciated child, now seventy, threw a lavish surprise party for their mother.  Friends from all around the Ozarks gathered to celebrate the goodhearted, lovely woman who proves that difficult beginnings do not necessarily mandate an unhappy life.  She was truly surprised and satisfied to sit at the table with a number of her children who acknowledge her as having nurtured and supported them unselfishly as they made their way into adulthood.  It is said of mothers that they are only as happy as their least happy child.  This is one of those excellent illustrations of children taking to heart the examples of the good every day behavior and attitude of the one who brought them into the world.  Happy Birthday!  Dovey Dooms was honored on the anniversary of her birth at the McClurg Jam.  It started off with fiddles then voices joined in for that song punctuated with smiles and laughter.  First grader, Gracie Nava, will have her birthday on the 7th.  She will probably have as much fun as the McClurg folks.  Skyline librarian Mrs. Sleep celebrates her birthday on the 8th.  Her Skyline friends all send her their best wishes as she has been experiencing some poor health lately.  Kindergarten student, Conner Jonas, has his birthday on the 12th.  Kindergarten students are the perfect age for fun.  Linda Heffern, of Waldo mostly and Champion sometimes, always celebrates her birthday on May 6th.  Two of Champion Linda Cooley’s grandchildren have birthdays on the 7th and 12th.  She knows who they are.  Grandmothers are like that.

        Mother’s Day is May 10th.  A Champion writes to her daughter-in-law, “As your children are becoming adolescents, they have been with you for a quarter of your lifetime.  Soon it will be half your life time and then most of it.  I hope they always bring you joy.  Happy Mother’s Day.”  Some Champion mothers barely remember their lives before they had children and now that the children are gone from home it is all new.  Champions who have lost their mothers, many years ago or just recently, can call to memory a sweet moment or a harsh one that came with a lesson.  They were not all perfect—just people doing what they had been taught and doing the best they could under the circumstances.  Mothers look back too, to the time when there was so much to be done and the little ones were under foot.  How precious it would be to go back and let that laundry sit in the tub or the dishes in the sink, just to sit in the floor and play with the baby, maybe have a rousing game of peek-a-boo.  The past cannot be changed, but the revisited memories can be selected carefully.  Mothers and children can ponder what Mark Twain said: “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”

        It is fitting that the day of recognition of mothers should come in spring when new life is burgeoning all around.  New beginnings smack of optimism.  Gardens are being worked up and, optimistically, some down in low lying areas are acting like there will be no late frosts.  Gardening is gambling and with good planning, hard work and luck it sometimes pays off.  According to the Census Bureau twenty-five percent of Americans grow some of their own produce.  Farming has changed over the years and now most of the cost of the food in the clean bright supermarkets has to do with distribution and transportation.  Farmers do not realize much profit and a person wonders why they would go to the trouble while being grateful that they still do.  Regulation and deregulation and political gobbledy-gook plays its part in food prices.  Deceitful word games like “The Right to Farm” gives immunity from prosecution for factory farms that pollute the environment.  Then, of course, there is the “Right to Work” bill which creates a difficult environment for private sector unions and makes it easier to utilize cheap foreign labor instead of having good paying jobs at home.  Pension fund managers sought and got permission from Congress to make cuts in pensions if they are unable to balance the $4.00 outgoing of retirement benefits for every $1.00 coming in.  California Congressman George Miller, a Democrat, and Representative John Kline of Minnesota, a Republican, drafted the proposal.  Kline pushed to get it into the omnibus budget bill that Congress must pass to keep the government running —something that has never been done before.  Then Congress says it has to cut pensions to save them.  Politics!  Esther Wrinkles was on the election board.  She encouraged participation in the political process.  She kept herself informed and was able to debate any issue with great civility.  A Champion!

        Esther’s coconut cream pie has come to the rescue again.  Though she has been gone for some while now, her daughter-in-law honors Esther in this unique way—following her recipe.  The pie was a big hit at the benefit auction for River Stillwood on Saturday evening.  River’s planned adventures have been spoiled but the unplanned ones seem to be gratifying as friends and neighbors step up to help out after the Good Friday tornado did its damage.  There were lots of baked goods and good natured competition for them as the community did what good communities do.

        Come down to the wide, wild and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek for a chance to rest up from your hard farm labors.  The atmosphere on the Square is sublime this time of the year and the convivial store-keeper will greet you with a smile.  If you can yodel like Jimmy Rogers, the way Jerry Sanders does, stand out on the veranda and sing, “Mother the Queen of My Heart.”  If you want to include the old man and you can sing like Lefty Frizzell, you might try “The Mom and Dad Waltz.”  “In my heart joy tears start ‘cause I’m happy and I pray every day for mom and pappy and each night.  I’d walk for miles, cry or smile for my mama and daddy.  I want them to know I love them so.”  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—April 27, 2015

Dogwood and Devastation

        Even with the relentless winds on Saturday some Champions were grateful not to have to be wearing their coats to mow their yards.  Picking ticks out of one’s long handles just does not seem fair.  Fair weather will come in waves intermingled with cool snaps, storms and gentle rains.  If the lilacs can stay on the bushes in this kind of wind, who is willing to complain.  Standing solitarily here and there amid the ravaged aftermath of some particularly brutal logging are a few spindly dogwoods blooming to beat the band.  It is heartbreaking on the one hand to see the devastation and heartwarming on the other to know that those little trees, freed from competition, may reach their full potential.  Change is constant in Champion.

        This is an exciting time of the year for school children.  Teacher Terri Ryan was excited about the cinnamon rolls that would be waiting for her when she arrived at school on Friday.  There had been a ‘Muffins with Moms’ day and there are many interesting days ahead as the school year winds down.  Silvana Sherrill in the second grade has her birthday on the first day of May—May Day.  That is a special birthday.  She shares it with Mrs. Ryan, the cinnamon roll lover, and with bus driver Beth Caudill.  They all share the auspicious day with a special double cousin who lives in the Magic Rio Grande Valley.  Silvana’s mother, Nathaly J. Sherrill, had her birthday on the 19th of April.  She is the owner operator of The Finishing Touch Nail Studio in Ava who will get double business when this very special cousin comes to town again.  Madison Shearer is in the 6th grade.  She shares her birthday on the second of May with (Brenda) Lee Mastin, a good friend who lived west of Ava for some while and now lives in Springfield.  Her granddaughter is the famous Olivia Trig Mastin of Mill Pond crawdad fame.  Madison will be the age of young ladies who are in the sixth grade and (Brenda) Lee will be seventy!  They share their birthday with Nellie Hector Miller, an Arkansawyer, returned to her Texas roots, who will be 100, i.e. one hundred years old.  She was the fourth of four sisters followed by three brothers, cotton farmers in Texas.  Nellie did not spend much time in the field, but kept house and helped her ailing Mother in the kitchen.  These days she goes to exercise class twice a week and teaches Sunday school to ladies 80 years and older.  She admonishes them to keep their eyes open in class, lest they be mistaken for dead.  Aunt Nellie has a sense of humor.

        In 1864, President Lincoln wrote in a letter to Colonel William F. Elkins, “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country.  Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”  He was a far thinking individual who today has admirers across the whole spectrum of political belief—far left to far right and all in between.  There is definitely some trembling going on.  Beliefs are strong and rarely change.  The road to Damascus does not pass through Champion.  A person could get there from here but it would take some doing.  Mr. Hubble was a far thinking man too.  He was born in Marshfield, just a few miles from Champion.  His discoveries and insight are allowing us to see far beyond the limits of our eyes into the amazing and expanding universe in which we are but a speck.  It is good to get a perspective about our relative insignificance, but good also to see that each of us is as significant as any other.  Our participation in the political process is our only tool to preserve the Republic.  Apathy does not fly.  Register and vote.

        Pete Proctor had the honor to sit right down front at the dedication of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial at the College of the Ozarks on Wednesday.  There were hundreds in attendance, veterans, friends and family members as well as students of the College and local school children.  A large group of Patriot Riders and members of the Rolling Thunder had already assembled in Branson preparing to gather, 35,000 strong in Washington D.C. for Memorial Day.  Pete said the dedication was very impressive with a presentation of colors, a 21-gun salute, and Taps.  Little children opened the ceremony laying roses at the base of the statue that depicts three soldiers in combat uniform poised for action.  The statue is flanked by two granite walls that contain the names of all 1410 Missouri Veterans.  Each of the 1410 casualties was represented by a red rose.  Pete reminds us that there are still 1,700 missing soldiers of that conflict.  They have just discovered remains of a young soldier from Centralia, Missouri and his name will be added to the memorial.  Jerry Davis, President of the College of the Ozarks said the project was long overdue.  They have been working on it for four years.  Pete said he shook a lot of hands and that there was a lot of emotion being expressed, “Welcome home.  Thank you for your service.”  He says it is something that everyone ought to get to see.  Take the first exit off of 65 just past Branson.  It is easy to find.

        Saturday found Pete mowing the Denlow cemetery.  He and Robert Upshaw keep the cemetery and the parking area around the church and pavilion in good shape.  They do it just as their fathers did.  It was not unusual to see Cletis Upshaw there in years past just sitting on a bench or out in his truck.  Many Champions would like to go back to spend another hour listening to Cletis.  He knew every nook and cranny in these parts and what happened in each one going way back.  The General posted a note on the internet, “The Denlow School Reunion for 2015 will be Saturday, 23 May (Memorial Day weekend) at the Denlow Church and Cemetery.  This year and future reunions East Fairview and Denlow School will be held samueltam, simitameous, simlar, ah, ah, at the same time.  Hey, we could have a spelling bee:  Fairview vs Denlow students.  I will disqualify myself from the competition as I attended both schools.”  On Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend Proctors will gather at Denlow from all across the country for their reunion.  The family will be reminiscing all over the place.  For example, that beautiful log house just east of Denlow on 76 Highway was built by Andrew Proctor.  He was born in 1869.  The house was last occupied by Dess Coffman.  It has fallen into disrepair, but even as its bones are starting to show, the house shows itself to have been well constructed.  Imagination fills in where history is absent and a person can easily imagine what life might have been like living there in the early part of the last century.  If these hills could talk, or if we had paid better attention to Cletis, less history would be absent.

        The spring social season is well underway.  Bud Hutchison and his bunch will head up the Spring Trail Ride in Champion on the morning of May 6th. They will take off going East or North and go ambling around the way they do.  They will have adventures and stories to tell when they wind up back at their starting point a few hours later.  No word is out yet about whether Cowboy Jack will join the group.  If he does, the outfit will be having more fun. Wilma will come and organize a good photograph and another epic escapade will go down in the books.

        These are busy days getting the garden ready, gathering with family, planning the spring and summer events.  River’s yard sale has been postponed until the good weather on the week end.  A trip for manure might be possible with a few dry days ahead. There is spring cleaning to do and regular obligations that require attention. Meanwhile, many thousands around the world are in dire straits.  The huge earthquake in Nepal has affected much of the population of four countries.  The erupting volcano in Chile has covered large areas of several neighboring nations in ash.  Our own west coast is in severe drought and the east coast is experiencing tornadoes for the first time.  With prayers for those suffering and gratitude for our safety Champions are Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—April 20, 2015

        At this time of the year Champions are loath to leave home for any reason.  Why go elsewhere?  Still, a person venturing out of the country and into the town will find the familiar sights along their roads changing dramatically hour by hour with white explosions of dogwood and pink smudges of redbuds and the forests filling in with all the tender new greens and rich dusty golds of pollen laden oaks.  Houses are disappearing in the woods again and soon summer’s green curtain will obscure winter’s view.  The only constant is change.

        Among the stories being told at the Wednesday gab-fest at the Historic Emporium in Downtown Champion was one about the delivery of a new used riding mower.  It arrived on a trailer and the fellow who unloaded it took his seat to back it off.  It started right up and made a rapid trip backwards before arrangements had been made to accommodate the height of the trailer—about two feet.  The upshot of the quick trip was that the gentleman wound up flat of his back with the lawnmower on top of him and his wife and sister-in-law were thrown into a sudden scramble to get the thing off him.  He seemed no worse for the wear and, as of Sunday, still had no serious repercussions from the incident.  The lawnmower smoked a little when it was restarted but also seems to be working just fine.  This was an example of some excitement that had a good outcome.  A soft spoken man in a good looking black cowboy hat happened to mention that a stray bullet will do as much damage as one aimed right at you.  Elmer had complimentary things to say about the reporting of the story of his little black hen taking a vacation in Champion a couple of weeks ago.  He was reminded of another traveling chicken story.  A few years ago his friend, J.T. Shelton, came over to his house early one morning with his dogs to do some hunting.  About sun-up they heard a rooster crow.  Elmer did not have chickens at that time so it was a mystery.  It turned out to be one of J.T.’s little roosters which had been roosting up on the axel of his truck.  J.T. crawled under it and grabbed the little bird. He put it in a dog crate to take him home.  What made the story so interesting was that Fox Creek was running pretty high at the time and the little rooster had managed to hold on to the axel while completely submerged.

        It seems that J.T. has adventures with birds—avian adventures.  The funniest one really started out as a cow stampede when the dairy farmer from up the hill came down to check on the calves penned up by J.T.’s barn and found the fence broken down in several places and the calves scattered up in the cedar breaks.  It was just after a hard frost and the tin roofs, the wires and the ground were all white and slick.  The great flock of buzzards that roosts downstream from Champion had made a predawn flight and were all congregated in J.T.’s yard.  He said the ground was just black with them, hundreds of them.  When he turned the yard light on it startled the “committee” which took flight in every direction.  Their grunts and hisses added to the terrible screech of their talons on the slick tin barn roof as they tried to lite, (“It was the awfulest sound I ever heard,” said J.T.) and the terrified calves broke out and ran wildly to the hills.  When Harley Krider up in Peoria read about it in The Champion News (October, 2006), he called and asked, “Were those my calves?”

        Two new members were added to the Skyline School Board in the April 7th election.  They are Josh Strong and Steve Moody.  Mr. Strong has a child in school and Mr. Moody has a vested interest, as does the entire community, in having a well-educated population.  His banking experience might be helpful as the board works to spread the meager budget around to cover all the necessary bases.  They join Dana Lambert, who has been serving well on the school board for a long time together with Roy Roworth, James Brixey, Tim Scrivner, and Leslee Krider.  Skyline Students enjoying birthdays soon are Haley Wilson, a sixth grader with a birthday on the 23rd.  Shelby Wilson is in the first grade and has her birthday on the 24th.  Prekindergarten students, Eli Johnson and Teagan Krider, celebrate on the 28th and 30th respectively.  It is a great little school.  The nurse from the Douglas County Health department will be there from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. on the first Tuesday of the month to do blood pressure checks and other health screening free to the community.  Angela Souder is the DCH nurse who comes to Henson’s Grocery and Gas on the last Tuesday of the month.  She will be in Champion on the 28th from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.  She is having a positive impact on some prominent locals who are now making it a point to balance some of their unhealthy eating habits with some healthier choices, like milk with their chips and candy bars instead of a soda.  Little by little–change is the only constant.

        Ms. Ethel McCallie from over in Nowata, Oklahoma called for a nice visit Sunday evening.  She had read the reports of the Good Friday tornado over in Vanzant and was just checking in to be sure her friends had made it through the storm.  She was most sympathetic to River Stillwood, whom she much admires.  She said that she knows what it is like to lose everything.  Twice while she was a child her family home burned and they lost everything they had.  She is glad that River lives in a community where people come out to help when there is a need.  Ethel says she is very frightened of tornadoes and a few years ago she heard on the television that one was four miles out, headed straight for Nowata.  She prayed that it would turn its course out over some open land and that no one would be hurt.  She said her friend outside of town stood in the front door and watched the twister turn and move right across the field in front of their house.  Ethel will have her 98th birthday in August.  She has made it through many storms of life and still has positive outlook and a good sense of humor.  She is healing up from another fracture but hopes to make it back to Champion this summer.  Her friends will be waiting.

Judie Pennington

        Some gardeners are enjoying fresh salads from their little patches and will be getting their peas in the ground soon.  Judie Pennington, who lives over in neighboring black bear territory has been pacing the floor since her birthday back in February (or was it March?) waiting for mushroom season.  It is finally here and she has had some good luck in her hunts with her visiting daughter and friends joining in the fun.  It is always a joy to see friends getting just what they want.  A satisfied smile enhances even an already beautiful face.  “Just let a smile be your umbrella on a rainy, rainy day and if your sweetie cries, just tell her that a smile will always pay.  Whenever skies are gray don’t you worry or fret.  A smile will bring the sunshine and you’ll never get wet.”  Judie knows a little sunshine after the rain is the receipt for her favorite dish.

        The fine Ozarks Watch Magazine was delivered to Champion on Wednesday morning by one of its authors.  It comes out twice a year and this time includes some interesting articles about the various country stores in the Ozarks.  “The Champion Store” is featured prominently.  The magazine is available for perusal in the reading room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium.  The article seems to say that the store is in a back-water, off the beaten path, a little difficult to find.  Au contraire!  It is right where the pavement ends at the junction of several country lanes, at the bottom of several green hills on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek.  It is due North across the Square from the monolithic stump that towers over the old school where the bees are buzzing in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—April 13, 2015

        It is a joy to see a hummingbird at the feeder again as hour by hour spring is more pronounced in Champion.  Monday morning’s hard little rain was just what the garden needed.  The mushrooms will be encouraged to continue popping up out in the woods and daily life will carry on at its most tranquil pace.  The Champion Stump over on the South side of the Square is such an eye catcher that new neighbors to the north have sought to emulate it.  The monolith has been copied with some success, but the new ones will likely be pared down to fence post height.  A little farther up the road that particular kind of logging that leaves a twisted, tortured landscape behind, full of split and damaged saplings, has been going on for a while.  The only constant is change.

        Vanzant neighbors came out in force on Sunday to help River Stillwood get started on recovering from the Good Friday tornado.  She said, ”Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came out today…You were awesome, accomplished an incredible amount and were a joy to work with.  The place looks so much better because of you.  My heart swells with gratitude…”

        The news that Lannie Hinote will be leaving Skyline School is a surprise.  She has been an inspiring presence there for a long time and will be sorely missed.  The good thing is that she will have to learn how to salmon fish.  That will be no chore for a woman who loves fishing the way she does.  She will be moving to the Western Yukon Valley in Alaska where she will teach in a place called Mountain Village.  She will be posting pictures of the Northern Lights and selfies with her salmon and, thanks to the internet, her many friends here will be able to keep up with her adventures.  All her Champion friends will be wishing her good luck and great success.

        Meanwhile, back at Skyline, Mr. Roworth, Mr. Scrivner, Mr. Krider, and Mr. Brixey have been joined by Mr. Strong and Mr. Moody on the School Board.  It is their task to take a pitiful little amount of money and spread it around to all the places where money is required to keep the wonderful little rural school going.  Someone said recently, “If we disparage education, label informed people as ‘elitist’, and regularly question proven history and science, we can get millions of Americans to vote against their own well-being.”  The Student News Daily says, “We all want the same things in life.  We want freedom; we want the chance for prosperity; we want as few people suffering as possible; we want healthy children; we want to have crime-free streets.  The argument is how to achieve them.”  These youngsters at Skyline are doing their part now to become the educated, informed voters who will be able to engage in that argument in a productive way.  A US citizen must be seventeen and a half years of age to register to vote and 18 years of age to vote and a resident of Missouri to vote here.  Champions vote!

        Ethel Leach agreed to act as an informant for The Champion News covering last week’s Wednesday Confab in the Meeting Room of the Historic Emporium, though she said, “Things just go in one ear and out the other.”  She has been doing her chores on the farm and hanging out with Bob and otherwise occupied so her report is running a little late.  According to other sources, there were some notable absences which may result in a check mark by their name on the roster if it happens again.  The Skyline VFD Auxiliary met at Henson’s Grocery and Gas on Wednesday evening.  The meeting was well attended and a variety of issues were discussed including the recent chili supper and possible changes and improvements for the event next year.  Equipment for the volunteer firefighters is always the major focus of the Auxiliary.  Currently they are looking into a specialized kind of glove that will allow the firefighters to work more safely and efficiently.  Another meeting is being scheduled for June 10th when the Skyline VFD Picnic will be the subject of discussion.  Like the school, this little rural fire department is a key element in a vital community.

        Ms. Ayn Trope and Eulalia Jasmin both wrote in this week with humorous comments about how anyone could possibly use G. Gordon Liddy as a source for a definition of liberalism or any other thing.  (He said a liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.)  “Fifty two months in the big house as the chief executive of the White House Plumbers Unit, convicted of burglary and conspiracy, does not make him a credible source for anything except how to get caught doing underhanded things to damage the political process.”  Ayn is not big on tact, which Winston Churchill said was “the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”  Ayn writes to champion@championnew.us and Ms. Jasmin writes to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Share your thoughts on tact or any other subject at either of these addresses.

Olivia Trig Mastin with her big crawdad.

Dylan Watts with his big fish.

        Olivia Trigg Mastin is turning ten years old.  She is a regular summertime visitor to the Mill Pond down at Veracruz.  She comes with her Grandmother every year to the Fourth of July festivities there.  Last year she caught a Champion sized crawdad and she is well on her way to being the fisherman that Lannie Hinote is.  “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable and a perpetual series of occasions for hope.  “John Buchanan’s quote was shared by the late Phyllis Winn, who would not say that we are naive for being hopeful.  Dylan Watts changed the picture on his facebook profile to one of himself with a fish that looks longer than his arm and bigger around, though it looks like it would take some considerable strength to hold it up.  Dylan has just celebrated his 16th birthday and now is a legal driver.  His uncle Dustin says his driver’s license picture looks like a mug shot, but the picture of him holding the license shows a nice smile on his mug.  There are pictures of him with his banjo and a bunch of musical cousins and a picture of him in his suit looking very mature as he is getting ready to compete in a national speech contest.  He has a lot going on for someone who is just sixteen.  It seems that he is destined to be an entertainer having started out at the tender age of three on stage with has granddad at the Skyline Picnic singing “I’ll Fly Away.”

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 15th and 16th will be good days to plant root crops, to transplant, to prune to encourage growth and to apply organic fertilizer.  The 18th is good to prune to discourage growth and the 19th and the 20th will be good days for planting above ground crops.  It is hard to remember that the tenth of May is the approximate date of last frost in this area.  It is easy to get too many things out too early.  Sing, “Wait till the sun shines, Nellie!” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—April 6, 2015

The Krider family in Downtown Champion. Krider siblings in front, left to right, Harley, Vivian Krider Floyd, and Donald. Fae Krider to the left behind Harley, then Barbara Krider and Rita Krider.

        An eventful week in Champion started off in the regular way and then Harley and Barbara came home to look after their place.  With some help Harley finally finished up a project that he had started last year when he replaced a water line.  Over the course of the summer the landscaping will look as if nothing ever happened.  The only evidence of all the hard work will be in the free flowing water and the archives of The Champion News.  Then came Wednesday and the great confab in the Meeting Room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  In attendance were a number of regular participants:  Mr. and Mrs. Leach, Mr. and Mrs. Partell, various shy members of the family Stone and some who know that when they open their mouths they are obligated to say something more beautiful than silence.  What made this confab so great was the presence of Harley and Barbara Krider,  Donald and Rita Krider, Fae Upshaw Krider, and her brother Robert (The General) Upshaw, and the Krider brother’s sister, Vivian Krider Floyd and her son Larry Floyd and his wife, Gayla, and their little dog, Cloe.

Larry and Gayla Floyd and little dog, Cleo, visit with cousin Leslee Krider and Breauna. Taegan Krider is in
the back enjoying cousins Foster and Kalyssa Wiseman. It was a beautiful day for Champion gatherings.

It was a significant confab with laughter and knee slapping and reminiscing in spades. The next day was Thursday. It may be time for a new paragraph.

        A sultry and warm sunny Thursday found people working in the garden and others getting the lawn mower tuned up and ready.  Ron Hurst had everybody’s attention on the six o’clock news with dire predictions of dangerous weather.  He was on, off and on, all evening until just after midnight (about 12:20) when he said, “We see some rotation in Central Douglas County.  If you are two miles north of Champion, south of Cold Springs and east of Brushy Knob, south west of Denlow and due west of Vanzant you need to be in your storm shelter now.”  One of Champion’s favorite Ms. Powells lost the roof of her well house and soon thereafter an EF-1 tornado took the little building that had, at one time, been the Temporary Annex of the Historic Emporium in Downtown Champion and subsequently became a storage building for the Vanzant Country Store.  In its new location in Vanzant it was blown apart by the storm together with fifty beautiful old trees there on River Stillwood’s place.  She says the roof of her old house is a sieve and some windows were broken.  She lost a number of animals as well.  It looks as if her Grand Adventure of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail will have to be put on hold while she rebuilds.  She says it will be an adventure of another kind.  She will have help from good neighbors and the good wishes of her Champion friends.  Many big trees on the Black Gate Farm were broken or uprooted.  There was damage to the red barn that had survived when the Vanzant Post Office burned down years ago across Highway 95 from Esther’s house.  Esther’s friend and neighbor, Corrine Rogers, lost some trees and had a little damage to the underpinning of her house but otherwise her grandson Billy says they came through it fine.  Up W Highway, the perfect little log cabin that The General, who slept soundly through the storm, thinks was built by James Souder eighty to a hundred years ago is gone now.  Fortunately there are some good photographs of it, but it brings to mind the fragile nature of a number of delicate historic buildings in the area that are in decline.  The Vanzant Community Building is standing still (and chances are good that the regular Thursday night pot luck and bluegrass Jam will happen there on the 9th).  In three minutes on the ground this tornado brought significant damage, but luckily no injuries and no loss of life apart from livestock, which is indeed a loss.  There are messes to clean up and lots of firewood downed already for next winter, but there is hardly anyone who is not grateful for having been spared.  Good Friday was full of Revelation (Wow!), Resolution (We’ll be better prepared next time.) and Relief (Whew!)  It seems time for another new paragraph.

        Saturday morning between 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. the total lunar eclipse reached its maximum bloody redness just as the whole thing slipped down behind the hill.  Probably Deward Henson’s granddaughter could see it well, but the folks living in Ezra’s old place missed it by that much.  Wilburn and Louise Hutchison also have an excellent vantage point and probably James and Jana Brixey do as well up on The High Road.  Maybe some of them saw the magic of the eclipse and will share their visions.  Saturday warmed up and was a glorious day—a day fit for the Champion Easter Parade.  Barbara Krider has won “Best Dressed,” hands down, in previous years when her haute couture armadillo handbags dazzled judges.  “Stunning” was the appellation.  This time the procession was elegant and reflective as the pageant made a clockwise circuit of the Square.   Posing with solemnity perched on a huge dismembered limb lying at the foot of the Colossal Stump (Vivian said, “first base,”) Barbara’s gaze was serene, and her little blue shoes were absolutely the cutest little things the judges had ever seen.  They were Mary Janes, for goodness sake, with little white straps and a round little heel and toe in the prettiest sky blue imaginable.  Once again Barbara’s style knocks it out of the park.  The Easter Bunny slept in on Sunday after all of Saturday’s excitement.  He was resting up to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of The General and his amazing, uncomplaining, understanding, and kindly indulgent Missus.  Talk about a Champion!

        Birthday greetings go to Forrest Johnson on April 2nd.  He is a great musician, a gardener and adventurer hopefully coming back to Champion soon in good company.  Bud Hutchison has his birthday the 8th.  He’ll be trail riding through again in early May.  Dillon Watts celebrates on the 12th.  He is a natural entertainer like his Granddad.  He looks like his Grandad and would make the man proud.   Bob Berry celebrates on the 14th.  His friends hope he is taking his Studebaker and the fair Mary out for a spin.  Skyline Archer Morgan Whitacre also celebrates on the 14th.  She shares the day with second grader Coby Wallace.  Wyatt Lakey is a kindergarten student at Skyline.  His birthday will always be easy to remember.  Tax day—April 15.  He shares it with Vivian Krider Floyd, with Vivian’s nephew-in-law Dustin Cline, father of Drayson and Carson, and with Mr. George G. Jones , a gentleman of note.  The next day, the 16th, is given over to Olivia Trig Mastin who caught the biggest crawdad on record down at the Millpond last 4th of July.  Happy birthday all!

A photogenic deer enjoys some tender spring grass in Champion.

        Just a month ago there was still a great deal of snow on the ground.  Now Old Champions are being noisy on their lawn mowers trying to get ahead of the verdant growth likely caused by the beautiful snow.  In the last few days the internet is full of pictures of morel mushrooms.  Time is moving quickly.  Senator Sanders reminds us that is better show up than to give up.  Neil deGrass Tyson, the astrophysicists, tells us that we cannot blame politicians for the wretched condition in which we find our Nation and the world.  He contends that the electorate is to blame.  Help keep it a democracy by participating.  Vote every chance you get.  It has never been more important.  A friend admonishes to “Walk in Balance” and that is excellent advice in these tumultuous times.  A song for Spring lifts the spirits.  “And there was music, And there were wonderful roses, They tell me, In sweet fragrant meadows of dawn, and dew” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—March 30, 2015

        After a few warm days a little cold snap seems mighty cold.  In a couple of months people will be complaining about the heat and so it goes.  The only constant is change.  Walnuts are some of the last trees to leaf out, so the mystery of the colossal stump will linger.  It may be sprouted out before the brush is cleaned up.  Meanwhile, the bees seem to be doing well and everyone is pleased about that.  George Bailey would say something to the effect, “What service does the honey bee!  Wild or domestic, bees do most of the pollinating (living and dying) around here, Mr. Potter.  Well, is it too much to ask that they do their pollinating (living and dying) in a poison free environment?”  That conversation did not occur, but the question is a valid one.  Honeybees, wild and domestic, are losing ground with various agricultural chemicals and insecticides across the nation.  Champions are grateful for the ‘wild bunch’ living in the enormous stump on the South side of the Square.  It is a gift to live in a part of the world that enjoys wild pollinators, bear, and eagles, as well as the annoying ticks and chiggers, without which this country would surely be overrun with tourists.

Clever Creek

        Elmer’s little black hen toured Champion last week.  She had found a nice spot to lay her eggs in his Kubota RTV and happened to be engaged in that activity when Elmer made his trip over to Henson’s Downtown G & G.  When they arrived the hen got out and took a stroll around the Square.  Elmer gave the two eggs to the storekeeper.  The little chicken is not accustomed to being around people so as more joined in the round-up effort, she became more elusive.  After a while they gave up and the banty spent the day exploring and grazing, scratching around the periphery of the Square.  She found water and generally made herself at home until Elmer came back the next day.  She must have been ready to go because she resumed her place in the Kubota when Elmer went in the store.  Frances raised the hen and was likely glad to see her back in her own yard.  Frances and Elmer have been enjoying the Thursday night pot-luck bluegrass jam over at the Vanzant Community Building.  Supper is served at six and then the music starts.  Elmer said the previous week there had been about fifty people there in addition to the musicians.  He was most impressed by a couple from Canada who have joined the musician’s circle.  Now that the weather has moderated, perhaps the music lovers will come out for the fun.  Laine Sutherland has been doing a good job of keeping the internet full of references to the 32nd Annual Fiddlers Convention at the North Arkansas College in Harrison.  She posts some nice tunes featuring Alvie Dooms, Bill Conley, John White, James Ruth, JR Johnston, and Rachel Reynolds Luster.  There was a great piece by Tim Daniels on a 5 string fiddle, Kathleen Gustafson on mandolin and Dave Gustafson on guitar.  The song was Have You Met Miss Jones?  Without a single word being sung, the music makes a person very much want to meet Miss Jones.

        A Champion friend from over in Jordan, MO is spending a few days up in Old Jeff (Jefferson City) doing what he can to help expand Medicaid in Missouri.  As it is, the ‘gap’ insures that if a person of modest means (a family of 3 making over $3,600.00 per year) has a serious accident or illness, he can expect that his medical treatment will bring him to bankruptcy and possibly homelessness.  In this generally low income area with an aging population, it might be surprising who all would genuinely benefit by the expansion of Medicaid.  The benefits would not only improve the quality of life for folks in marginal financial circumstances but could help restore some of the small hospitals and provide jobs for people in the health care industry.  It will bring two billion tax dollars back into the State.  Folks down in Arkansas have had good luck with it, and while Missouri is not generally the first in line to follow Arkansas’ lead, in this instance it might well be prudent.

A pastoral scene near downtown Champion.

        Fourth grade student Jhonn Rhodes has his birthday on April 1st.  That probably has made for some interesting birthday parties over the years and will for years to come.  Happy Birthday, Jhonn!  Lannie Hinote reported that the Skyline archers had a wonderful showing for their school at the State Archery Tournament that was held at the Tan-Tar-A Resort at the Lake of the Ozarks.  They competed with 86 other schools and 1,400 archers.  Morgan Whitacre, Levi Hicks, Gavin Sartor, and Dylan Ford competed for Skyline and local high school archers were Tristen Shearer and Lukas Brown.  This excellent archery program is a feather in the cap of this wonderful little rural school.  The Douglas County Health Department will be at Skyline on Tuesday, April 7th.  They do blood pressure checks and a variety of other health screenings free for the community from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.  It is a good example of the school supporting the community and the community supporting the school.  Champion!

        It is a lucky individual who gets a chance to correct her mistakes.  Last week the favorite meteorologist of the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department was misnamed as Amy Dyer.  The lady’s name is Abby Dyer.  Apologies are extended to Ms. Dyer herself, to the whole Skyline VFD and to certain firefighters in particular.  If she reads The Champion News, she knows what a fan club she has in central Douglas County.  Esther Wrinkles used to write the items from Champion and later from Vanzant.  She wrote for the better part of fifty years and once in a conversation with her it was said that sometimes making a mistake is a way to revisit a subject in a future article.  Her friends miss Esther and wonder what she would have to say about the tallest stump in town.  Notes from Hunter Creek also had some corrections this week, but mostly it was full of good information about morel mushrooms and neighborhood snakes.  Everyone will soon be on the lookout for May apples and the bragging will begin.  The Cowboy will probably find the first and the most, but he only shares with certain people.  The whole idea of exclusivity is that some, by the very definition of the word, are excluded.  There is no use in having your feelings hurt about it.  Just go find your own mushrooms and figure that if you brag about it too much someone will dog your heels until they find your patch and then you will be sorry.  Bon appetite!

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place says that the third will be a good day for planting above ground crops and the fourth through the seventh will be good for root crops.  These will also be good days to transplant.  Linda is open for business now with her pretty broccoli and other cole crops and lettuce.  It is the plan of a number of old folks to get a lot accomplished in the garden without wearing themselves out completely.  Send your garden plans and maps to your mushroom patches to champion@championnews.us or to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Find the almanac on the bulletin board in the meeting room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium, up at The Plant Place in Norwood and at www.championnews.us.  The www stands for wide, wild and wooly in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—March 23, 2015

Champion Drifts

        A few warm, sunny days in a row has lifted the spirits of many an old Champion and some of them are stiff and sore from overexertion after being comfortable around the fire all winter.  Others have farm chores that they get out and do every morning, up and out of the house by seven.  They are feeding cattle, checking fences, looking after their agrarian responsibilities, day in and day out, no matter what the weather.  In addition to wholesome food, they provide an excellent example for good living and they are probably not stiff and sore and surely not sunburned.

Gordon Reynolds and his friend Sam

Artist, Morag Edward

        Elizabeth Mastrangelo Brown was 23 in 2013.  She is a little older now, having had her birthday on the 16th.  The poet, Billy Collins was born on March 22, 1941.  He said, “A sentence starts out like a lone traveler heading into a blizzard at midnight, tilting into the wind, one arm shielding his face, the tails of his thin coat flapping behind him.”  The 23rd belongs to the local Maytag repair man, to Elva Upshaw Brott, still a smiling bride, and to Judie Pennington who says, “Two nights in a row of 55 degrees, and some sun and Wow! Mushrooms!  Generally around tax time.” Because her friend does not really know if Judie’s birthday is in February or March, she gets celebrated twice every year. A lovely gentleman in Edinburgh, Mr. Gordon Reynolds, also celebrates on the 23rd.  He is an excellent musician and the go-to guy if you are looking for real bluegrass music in that fair city.  Troy Powell had a wonderful smile and a great appreciation of bluegrass and gospel music.  He was born on March 26, 1926, and passed away on his birthday in 2001.  Jasmine Baker is in the third grade at Skyline School.  Her birthday is the 27th.  She shares the day with school bus driver, Mr. Ted.  Joseph Fulk is a kindergarten student who celebrates the 28th, and seventh grader, Gavin Sartor, celebrates the 29th.  Ewan McGregor and Christopher Walken, movie actors, Cesar Chaves, Al Gore, and Barney Frank, political activists, Rene Descartes, philosopher, and composer, Joseph Haydn, all share their birthday with Edinburgh’s charming artist, Morag Edward, on March 31st.  That is quite a pool of talent across many disciplines.

        Among the many subjects covered in the Wednesday Champion Chat was the number of grease rack bridges in the area.  Mr. Ray says they are also called stringers and steel ‘railins.’  Bob Leach drove a big truck (maybe he said a feed truck) over a high grease rack bridge across the Gasconade.  Ray had an adventure across one closer to the water and one of the Mr. Stones said there is a bridge made of white oak logs across a branch around here somewhere.  It might be a savings of materials to have an open place down the middle of the bridge, but it might pose an engineering problem, and certainly a pedestrian might be challenged.  A newcomer to the discussion heard a regular say that he had been going someplace down in Arkansas for twenty-three years running.  Later on, the newcomer asked, “What were they running.  Was it horses or was it dogs? “  By the time he spends a few hours around those tables, the new Champion will know that ‘running,’ in this instance, means ‘consecutive years.’  He will be hearing all manner of things at the table as well as in the great outdoors in his new neighborhood.  Sound echoes and amplifies through the hills and hollers.  A conversation, clear as a bell, might drift into the back yard clothes line from down the road, across a horse pasture, and on the other side of a hill.  That chainsaw running might sound like the front yard trees are being harvested when “Timber!” is being shouted on the other side of the mountain.  The wonders of this beautiful part of the world include starry nights with no light pollution and a welcoming community.  Champion!

        One of Elmore Leonard’s fictional characters is an eloquent speaker by the name of Boyd Crowder.  During a period of religious fervor, he cautioned against “a gift that blinds the eyes of the wise and diverts the words of the righteous.”  It is unclear if this is scriptural or just poetic.  Boyd might discuss Acts 23:5 where Paul says not to speak evil of the ruler of thy people or Romans 5 where tribulation works patience and patience, experience and experience, hope.  “Those who control their passions do so because their passions are weak enough to be controlled.”  That is according to William Blake.  Fredrick Douglas said,” It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”  “You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.”  Ken Kesey said that and Retired Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson (U.S. Army Retired) says to politicians who want US ground troops deployed:  “Let’s draft your kids.”  There is a lot of money to be made in war.  It has been suggested that Mr. Cheney and Haliburton (Brown and Root) could well afford to look after all the Veterans and their families of all the wars since the bombing of Bagdad back in 2003.  Back then Brent Scowcroft wrote that “Possibly the most dire consequences would be the effect in the region… there would be an explosion of outrage against us… the results could well destabilize Arab regimes”, and, “could even swell the ranks of the terrorists.”  The millions of people who protested that war around the world (three million in Rome, a million in Australia, a million in New York City, and Washington D.C., etc.) can now say, “We told you so.”  That does not, as they say, “feed the bulldog.”  Ray Charles sang, “The world is in an uproar.  Danger’s all around.”  A Champion sings, “If you were a dainty dish of sweet cream butter and I was a fancy filigreed silver butter knife, I’d smear you all over these hills, just like the daffodils.”

        According to Linda’s Almanac from up at The Plant Place in Norwood, the 27th and 28th will be the best days to plant above ground crops.  Ron, the weatherman and the lovely Amy Dyer, say a cold front will be moving in about that time.  Champions will just take what comes and make the best of it.  People living in low lying areas with early crops in already will have to devise ways to cover them against a hard frost.  The almanac is up on the bulletin board by the back door in the meeting room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Come add your wisdom to the conversation and share your garden lore.  Pete Seeger says, “Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.  Please bless these seeds I sow, ‘til the rain comes tumbling down” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—March 16, 2015

        “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”  Charles Dickens said those and several pounds of other interesting words.  These fit Champion well just now as sighs of relief add to the breezes and winter’s woes are being replaced by greening things and daffodils.  There may be more winter ahead even after Spring officially arrives, still the collective feeling is one of reprieve.  Passersby on a Wednesday morning trip to Ava saw Wayne and Joann Anderson sitting out on the back porch of the old house, the morning porch, watching the fog burn off the countryside stretched out there before them.  It was a peaceful scene that might have been captured in a painting or at least on film, but the prospect of disturbing such sweet reverie to preserve it seemed counterintuitive.  It looked like a private moment.

Sisters, Linda Keys and Marjorie Carter, enjoy the sunny side of the street on the garden bench that Marjorie won in the drawing at the Skyline VFD Auxiliary Chili Supper on Saturday, March 7th. Included in the prize was the 42 inch cast stone fire pit. Ms. Carter has owned and operated Downtown Pawn on the square in Mountain Grove for twenty years and has been a regular benefactor of the various rural fire departments in the area. She says this is the first thing she has ever won and that she and her family will really enjoy it in her back yard this summer. The Skyline Auxiliary is appreciative of her support over the years and is pleased that her generosity has come back to her.

        Marjorie Carter at Downtown Pawn in Mt. Grove was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had won the drawing for the ornate garden bench and the cast stone fire pit at the Skyline VFD Auxiliary Chili Supper last Saturday.  It was delivered to her Wednesday afternoon and she and her sister, Linda Keys, took a moment to have their picture taken on the sunny sidewalk.  Ms. Carter has been a loyal supporter of the Skyline VFD for years and it is nice to see her generosity coming back to her.  She was not present for the win, but she won anyway.  Champion!

        Tim and Jean Scrivner were at the chili supper.  Tim contributed another of his remarkable bird feeders to the silent auction.  Jean said that her brother, Charlie Burlile, up in Boston has had some adventures during the long, cold winter.  The forecast ahead for them this week is highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s.  They will have snow on the ground for a while yet.  Around here, the mud has begun to settle in most places and hardly anyone is complaining.  Soon it will be time for Cowboy Jack’s annual dampening.  A voice piped up from the round table last Wednesday to say he almost drowned a good horse the last time.  The round table is where the prevaricators sit.  They cannot be backed into a corner that way.  Fortunately Almartha’s bard was out on the porch (supposedly helping to load the heavy fire pit into the truck, but mostly just creating confusion)  when he finally let his misogynism all the way out with a snide remark about women drivers.  One of the ways these radicals go about instigating trouble is to push and push until the forbearance of the maligned wears thin and she retorts, “Aw, shut up.”  Then he chuckles and grins real big, “You’ve been wanting to say that for a long time, haven’t you?”  He won.  His sister seems to be trouncing him regularly at Scrabble, so he goes off to the next county to cause trouble.  His friends are still glad to see him coming, Bob and Ethel among them.  They reported having seen quite a few deer the other day, a couple of big bunches.  They are still enjoying the eagles up at the headwaters of Fox Creek.  The other day Bob said if he lived closer he would come to Champion every day.

        J.C. Owsley is a great fan of Champion.  He posted some pictures recently of some still standing, but abandoned looking buildings and said, “This is a community in my home area that I remember from childhood as resembling Champion.  Jordan is situated on the banks of Starks Creek instead of Fox.  The store and post office closed over sixty years ago.  The people went away, and the community died.  I love The Champion News because it brings back memories from long ago in my own world.  This area of Hickory County is the setting of a book titled ‘The Walking Preacher of the Ozarks.’  Reading the news from Champion is a highlight of my week.  Thank you.”  It is good to know that www.championnews.us reaches everywhere the internet goes, even to Texas.  Rebecca Heston writes from there in response to Eulalia Jasmin’s OP ED piece last week.  She says, “I do believe Ms. Jasmin has offered some of the best advice I have heard in a very long time.  In today’s age, many laugh at manners and at that which is expected in polite society.  But I think it would help us to remember that polite society is that which brought us away from the tribalism that permeated the societies of our ancestry and allowed us to live communally in cities and villages.  I appreciate the reminder as well as the tips on how to survive those who persist in sharing more than we’d like to hear.  Thanks for sharing her thoughts.”  We do seem to be bombarded with too much partisan information—too much political bullying.  It might be time to turn off the TV and computer and go out for a walk, and as our Hunter Creek friend says, “Now get up and go enjoy the beautiful outdoors!”

        Sunday the 15th was Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.  It is lovely to be remembered.  That day is one Carol and Chris Tharp remember—their 40th wedding anniversary.  Mrs. Helen Batten had her birthday on the 16th.  She is the first smiling face people see when they go to through the door of the Skyline School.  In addition to being St. Patrick’s Day, the 17th is another wedding anniversary—forty-six years for Linda and Bob Hetherington over in Norwood.  Linda has her Cole crops ready up at The Plant Place.  Her almanac says that the 18th and 19th will be good days for planting root crops.  Where it is not too wet to plow, some Champions are getting ready to get their potatoes in the ground.  Myla Sarginson is in the third grade at Skyline.  She has her birthday on the 18th.  She has to get up a little earlier to get to school these days, but young people adapt quickly to change.  When told the reason for daylight savings time the Old Indian said, “Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”  Spring Break is happening for many schools around the country.  It happens that South Padre Island has been experiencing 50 degree drizzle and high winds for several days and all those high rise condominiums on the beach are full of college students who would like to be playing out on the sunny sand.  They should have just stayed home or gone to visit the old folks.  “Hey, Grandad, can I give you a hand with that?”  “Grannie, I would be pleased to wash some windows for you if that is what you need doing.”

        Bluebirds and robins and geese flying north all tell us Spring is near.  Come down to the wide, wild and wooly banks of Old Fox Creek and share your ideas about what makes you know it is Spring.  Remember that song from “State Fair?”  “I’m as busy as a spider spinning daydreams; I’m as giddy as a baby on a swing.  I haven’t seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on the wing.  But I feel so gay, in a melancholy way, that it might as well be spring.  It might as well be spring” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!