Champion News

 

On Monday evening dancers were cutting a rug in McClurg. Tom has shared some great videos of the music with tunes like “Sally Gooden” and “Sourwood Mountain” and other old standards. When he is not eating watermelon, he is making a good archive of the local good stuff. Old folks who seldom get out after dark are grateful that he takes the time to share the evening on-line with them. Thanks.

Young Watson and his brother Grayson had their first introduction to The Champion Store on July 2nd. Their grandparents, Regina and Terry Hopper, figure it is an important part of their education. They live up in Norwood but have old Champion connections and like to visit the ancient stomping grounds. Charlene Dooms and Wilma Hamby were on a similar venture that day. They had driven up Cold Springs Road past the place where Goldie Dooms, Charlene’s mother, had lived and then up past Wilma’s folks’ place, Ruth and Orville Hicks. Orville’s old barn is still standing but just barely. Wilma says her brother Punk is living out in Oregon in a good situation and appears happy and is still singing. He was part of the legendary trio of yore when he and Harley Krider and Larry Wrinkles lifted their voices in sweet harmonies to charm even Champion birds. Champion seems to linger in the hearts and good memories of people with any amount history here.

Beverly Coffman Emery

The General plied the ladies and his Prominent cousin with his legendary homemade peanut butter ice cream. The cousin had his plans to get to town for baler parts delayed by the ice cream and the reminiscing with Charlene and Wilma. Young Fox Creek Farmers got in on the unusual frozen concoction and much enjoyed it. After building fences since early morning, they were ready for a break and a treat. They had stories to tell about their trip to Leadville, Colorado.

Few attended the old Tree Huggers Jamboree down at the Millpond this year, but it was nevertheless a sweet reunion with bratwurst, banana pudding, reminiscing and speculation about the future. Reshaped by recent flooding, the beautiful place still had room for multiple family and friends gatherings. Eloise Curry is new to the neighborhood. Her family moved here from Oklahoma City a few weeks ago. She is getting ready to have her second birthday and her big brother Eli will help her celebrate. They had a good time playing in the water and making new friends. Down by the rippling water an old friend shared a phrase she had learned from another old friend: YOLO! It needs to be said emphatically. It means You Only Live Once!

The excitement of the 4th of July celebrations has been tempered significantly by tragic events across the whole country. The terrible fireworks incidents, gun violence, democracy’s peril, and the catastrophic events in central Texas have given everyone pause. We know the incredible power of water and are grateful for our own first responders who have rescued vulnerable campers there at Veracruz in recent weeks. We will hope for the safety of all those working in recovery efforts everywhere.

On a day that was already sad for so many reasons, friends have learned of the passing of Beverly Coffman Emery. She had a hand in all the good works around her community and did it all with grace and courage and with the wonderful smile and laughter that will stay with us. Her kindness, her style and flair for fun and her great gift for spreading it around will always be remembered. The Vanzant Picnic will not be the same without her. It is happening this Friday and Saturday evenings. Her place for years has been at the table selling raffle tickets, greeting everyone, signing them up for the free drawings and getting the party started. She would want us to have extra fun for her. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side

 

A Champion Wednesday had Paul and Sherry McIntosh celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on the Bright Side. They were in the company of a bright-eyed grandson who knows “Itsy, Bitsy Spider” but was not ready to sing it. Maybe his grandmother, who is a talented singer from a family of singers, can persuade him. She is one of four sisters whose past harmonies together are legendary. June is a good month for anniversaries. Cowgirl Blaine of the Wolf Pen Hollow Cow Farm helped her folks celebrate their 12th year wedding anniversary on the 28th. They celebrated with funny music like when Earnest T. Bass serenaded Charlene Darling.

Kaitlyn McConnell was on her way to read to kids at the Ava Library Wednesday and stopped in to visit her Champion friends. She gets all over the Ozarks so she probably knows what makes Bentonville, Arkansas such an attractive place that it could possibly lure a lifelong Champion away. Kaitlyn gets over to McClurg pretty often, lured by the music and the community it creates. Thirty-six musicians and aficionados came Monday. They were grateful not to have suffered any damage from the weekend storms. It was good to see Gordon McCann there playing along on “Fort Smith.” Alvie Dooms was seen in the crowd enjoying Emily Garoutte-Boldman playing lead fiddle on “Peacock Rag.” Another lively tune was “I Don’t Love Nobody,” but clearly Tom’s video shows everyone there was loving being there. Thanks, Tom.

Sarah Harden has her birthday on July 1st and Erica Sudderth has hers on July 2nd. They are important parts of our Skyline School staff. Virginia Canada with Denlow connections is from Moline, Illinois. Her birthday is on the 5th. The 6th of July is a big day for Janet Burns down in Arkansas, for Robert Brown who was 79 in 2019, for Champion grandson Kruz Kutz, for Hunter Hall who is now ready for the 9th grade, and for the Dali Lama. It is also the day we remember Walter Darrel Haden born July 6, 1931. He left us with some good stories about this part of the world and “All the Late News from the Courthouse.” Skyline student Landon Simon will party on July 9th. And Sonny Reed and Lily Trujillo will both celebrate on July 10th. Find happiness on your birthdays enjoying the love of your friends and families.

Black-eyed Susans, butterfly milkweed, Queen Anne’s Lace and other vibrant roadside attractions make any local excursion worth it provided the torrential rainfall will allow. We remember to turn the lights on any time the windshield wipers are on. During those few days between deluges haymakers were busy getting it done. On Wednesday in the air-conditioned meeting room local farmers engaged in much grumbling about broken equipment—waiting and waiting for repairs, waiting for parts. An ignoramus who does not know a tedder from a teeter totter asked why they do not have all that equipment worked on in the wintertime. Everything was running like a sewing machine by the end of the season when they put the equipment away. Those hundreds of bales strewn out over the fields is a beautiful sight all over the country. Farmers feed the nation. Thanks.

As we are gearing up to celebrate Independence Day, we learn that the only Nations in history to capture the American flag in battle were the Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in the Battle of Little Bighorn, June 25-26, 1876. History is rich with good lessons for the future.

Other random information gleaned this week includes the word “swims” upside-down is still “swims” and July 2nd at noon marks the exact halfway point of the year–182 days on either side. We have every expectation that the second half of the year will be better in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Wednesday found cowgirl mutton buster Blaine Denlow out on the wide veranda painting rocks and having good conversations with Deward’s granddaughter. Two of The General’s fair daughters, Loretta and Elva, joined two cousins, Staci and Tanna, there while two Champion grandson, Carson and Drayson, from Tennessee waited and waited (and waited) to go to the creek. They all agreed it was a beautiful day. Clever Creek had a good amount of water in it to satisfy the need to splash and the significant erosion on the north side of the slab had been addressed for a second time. It will eventually need a substantial repair but considering the miles and miles of rough roads they have to maintain, the road guys are doing a good job. It will get a good fix one of these days including the deep pothole in the middle of it.

The next day was Juneteenth, a National Holiday, commemorating the end of slavery. Tyler Clark enjoyed his birthday on the 20th, which was also the day 25,000 people gathered at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, where people have been making astronomical observations since 2500 BC. They watched the sunrise peeking through the stones and greeted it with drumming and chanting, cheering and dancing.

June 21st is known as National Indigenous Peoples’ Day here. The Prince of Wales in England turned 43 on Saturday, June 21. We wonder if he has any sense of irony since his ancestors were the first to annihilate and depopulate our indigenous peoples to take the land. It was not his fault. He seems like a nice guy. We have heard that the French were not interested in colonizing along the east coast because there were too many people there already.

Anyway, as a Favorite Champion often says, the birthdays of Champion Linda Krider Watts in Tennessee and Felix the Farmer’s Aunt Sierra way out in Oregon fell on that day (the 21st) while bombs fell far away to the surprise and concern of most of the world. We wonder what Prince William and other world leaders think of that and what the real ramifications will be. Senator Elisabeth Warren and much appreciated local educator and historian Cinita Brown have birthdays on the 22nd. Skyline 8th grader Kash Hurt celebrates on the 24th. Sherry Bennett sings “There’s five pounds of possum in my headlights tonight.” Sherry is a local treasure found at every good work in the area sharing her beautiful voice and her good heart. She shares her birthday on the 25th with Eric Blair, born in 1903. He is known as George Orwell, and many people wish his work had remained fiction. Esther Wrinkles is well remembered in Champion where she was born and raised. She wrote items for The Douglas County Herald for over fifty years. Her birthday was on June 28th. We also remember Champion Eva Powell on the 29th. She taught a good lesson about dogs chasing cars. She said to slow way down so the dogs lose interest.

Fifty people had something to say about Tom (TJ) Peters sliding off the Glade Top Trail Monday afternoon. They mostly expressed concern for him and for his car and relief that it was not a catastrophic incident. He was going ten miles an hour around a curve when loose gravel gave way and sent him sliding down off the road. Tom was not hurt and somehow his car was winched back up. It has some damage, but not as bad as it could have been had it not been for all the beautiful trees that stopped its descent. Tom survived and was still ready to host the McClurg Jam where Festus played a lovely rendition of “Leather Britches.”

If you are an American, your family is here because they were either Native American, slave, refugee or immigrant. Some of us are a combination of those things and all of us are fortunate. Democracy is the notion of Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Phone lines and internet connections were full blown wonderful for the old guys who could not see their sons and daughters in person. Those who were able to cook dinner for their fathers or have them do the cooking or just sit with the old man on the porch for a while on Sunday afternoon can count themselves lucky, knowing that it will not always be possible. Many of us have only memories of our dear fathers to keep us company. He taught valuable life lessons and provided the support and encouragement we needed to become the adults we are today. Many of us wish we had taken the opportunity while we had him with us to ask the questions we ponder now. What was his life like as a child? How did he feel about his own father and what might he have liked to have known about him? Ask while you can. Happy Father’s Day. We can celebrate him every day all year.

Helen Batten said attendance at the Skyline Second Saturday Swap Meet was down a little this time due to the Tri County Fair. (Champions Jenna and Jacob Brixey had a good showing of their beautiful Jerseys there.) The next Swap Meet will be on July 12th with all the eggs and animals, baked goods and crafts and with the enjoyment of getting together with seldom seen friends, a nice part of this good community.

Haymakers had a few days to get the rake and bailer working before the rain hit again on Sunday, hard and heavy. It came with lots of wind and thunder for a while amounting to another couple of inches that was not needed. One local farmer said hay making was not as much fun as making other things, but he was glad to get what little he was able to get done. It is to our credit that in these ‘interesting’ times we are able to find things about which to be glad. We are not necessarily glad about more rain in the forecast. Oh well.

Saturday was exciting all over the country. Twenty-five or so individuals enjoyed hanging out on the corner of Highway 5 and Springfield Road in Ava with signs stating their various points of view on a variety of subjects. Horns honked in approval and solidarity while others voiced different opinions, respectfully for the most part. Freedom of speech is one of the many things for which to be grateful here in our beautiful country.

Saturday found Tom Peters at the Oldfield Opera enjoying some great tunes there. He had been part of Kaitlyn McConnell’s “Ozarks Alive” group that got to tour Topaz Mill that morning. Kaitlyn gets around and shines a light on the many interesting places in the Ozarks and brings pies while she is at it. On Monday evening Tom said there were eleven musicians among the crowd of thirty-six at the McClurg Jam. A mystery elf appeared on a video as a substitute dancer for Andy and Jane Elder who generally cut the rug when they hear “That’s Earl.” One might ask Mike O’Brien who that might have been. Other toe tapping tunes included “Rachel” with Cameron Wells on the banjo and “Cherokee Shuffle.” Tom’s hosting and sharing the weekly jam is a real gift to the community at large.

Kinfolks from the north had nothing but lovely things to say about the beauty of Champion’s countryside. What fun it is to see city children get the opportunity to pick ticks while being mesmerized by hummingbirds. “Tadpoles are growing legs!” they shout, “and there are so many of them!” Frogs lizards, baby deer, squirrels, centipedes and dirt daubers provide great entertainment for boys about to be nine years old. Gardeners welcome willing weeders and everyone enjoys other people’s cooking. Consider one of the good rules to follow: “When it is good, say so.” We say so in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

The Heart of the Ozarks Bluegrass Association started the weekend on Thursday! The Vanzant Jam took a pause to join the fun. The HOBA show schedule included a favorite bunch, Stringed Union. 5-South, The Armer Sisters, The Wild River Band, Heartland Express, Route 3, Borderline Bluegrass and Lindley Creek together with any number of local musicians jammed day and night all the way to late night Saturday. Cheyenne McIntosh and Estella Genise Eldringhoff were there to record the presentation of the Colors by the local Veterans’ Honor Guard to begin the festival. The HOBA folks kindly posted videos of wonderful performances and jam camp life. Tim Tamburino of the Midwest Bluegrass Directory shared an hour and twenty-two minutes that let us feel like we were there. Thanks to all you incredible musicians and technologically savvy individuals for sharing this lovely Spring Bluegrass Festival.

Meanwhile, Lynnette Cantrell of the group TLC tells us about a Summer Acoustic Jam happening on the Mountain Grove Square Monday nights from 6:00 to 8:00. She says bring your instruments and a chair. Music is good for us. Tom Peters over at McClurg, posted a video on Monday of Andy (Crazy Legs) Elder clogging to “Jack Danielson’s Reel” and of dancers enjoying “Polly’s Waltz.” Friends were happy to see Alvie Dooms in the audience in the photo Tom shared about the unusual circumstance of having two dobroes at the jam. Music is good for us.

Last month’s Second Saturday Skyline Swap Meet met all expectations. Chickens, ducks, beautiful bunny rabbits, crafts, popcorn, eggs and gorgeous garden plants were just part of what vendors had to offer. Hopes are that the rain expected for this Saturday will hold off and that the word will get out. Word is out about demonstrations in West Plains and Ava on the 14th. The 15th will be an opportunity to demonstrate our love and appreciation for all our fathers. They set good examples, provided sustenance, encouragement, and affection. Good guys. If you are lucky enough to still have one, give him a hug. Happy Father’s Day.

Back before the internet and television, in 1923, Will Rogers said, “We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.” In 1929 he said, “No man is great if he thinks he is.” In 1931, he said, “Ten men in the country could buy the world and ten million can’t buy enough to eat.” In 1935 he said, “Remember, to writhe to your Congressman. Even if he can’t read, write to him.” He had a lot of interesting things to say about politics and government. He was an interesting fellow, born in 1879 over in Oologah, Indian Territory. After graduating from military school, he got in the livestock business in Argentina. He transported pack animals across the South Atlantic from Buenos Aires to South Africa for use in the Boer War (1899-1902). He worked in Wild West shows and became a star in the Ziegfield Follies in 1917 where he began to spear with humor the efforts of the powerful to trample the rights of the common man. What might he say about the world today while twirling his lariat and chewing on a blade of straw?

Harsh weather happening all over the place has us worried for our neighbors and grateful for our own good fortune as we can easily look around to find many in much more dire circumstances. There are roughly three hundred miles of dirt/gravel roads in Douglas County and roughly is the word. The hard-working gentlemen out on the road graders are doing the best they can to keep up with the washed-out roads, undermined concrete slabs and seriously damaged bridges. Under ideal circumstances these are challenging jobs, but with months of extra rain, altogether unnecessary hail and rampant winds, we will just be glad to be able to get out to go anywhere. So, thank you guys for doing what you can.

While we are thanking folks, the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department has been doing some good things too. Just last week they joined with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Missouri Conservation in responding to campers submerged in flood waters at Veracruz. Everyone was safely rescued. We consider all those stalwart first responders to be genuine Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

We are dismayed. May is over. It seemed to have gone by fast with well over twice the usual rainfall for the month and lots more hail than necessary. Farmers and hay makers might be having difficulties with the unsettled, uncertain weather. In the few dry days between deluges, they are working hard to get things done. With rain and thunderstorms predicted for the week ahead, we will wish them luck and thank them for all the work they do to keep us fed. Calvin Chambers says he is ready for the rain. His hay is rolled.

Felix the Farmer will be celebrating his grandfather’s birthday on June 2nd. June the 3rd is a special day for Maxine Bruce over in Brushy Knob, and for Theresa Howard who lives in New Vienna, Ohio and has ties to Champion. Banjo player extraordinaire David Medlock shares his birthday on the 6th with Ozarks Alive, Kaitlyn McConnell. Ava Hurt will be a sixth-grade student at Skyline when school starts again. Her birthday is on June 8th. Fourth grade teacher Sydney Fox has a birthday on June 9th, a day she shares with Champion Amy Powell. Frank Martin of West Plains’ Daily Quill fame lives over in Peace Valley. His birthday is June 10th. Blaine Denlow’s old grandpa has a birthday on the 11th. Fiddler David Scrivner celebrates on the 13th. He is a regular and a mainstay at McClurg’s great jam. Marideth Sisco, Ozarks’ storyteller folklorist, another former journalist at the West Plains’ Daily Quill, will be celebrated on the 15th. Birthdays give us the opportunity to express our love and appreciation for our friends and family. We can do that at any time, any day of the week, but happy birthday to all you Champions.

The Muddy Creek Corral and Music Hall opened up in Sparta in May. They have live music, Karaoke, trivia, bingo, all kinds of food and drinks and, wouldn’t you know it? Tom Peters has been there already. He shared videos of the Lonesome Express playing “San Antonio Rose,” “Time Changes Everything,” “Wichita Lineman,” and other tunes on Saturday. Sometime during the week, he had been at the Old Field Opera to hear “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played beautifully on guitar, fiddle, banjo & bass. Monday night and the McClurg bunch were singing “On My Way to Boston,” and Ruby Adams was waltzing with Stephen Assenmacher. On the first jam in June forty-six came out on the beautiful evening. Facebookers say thanks again to Tom for sharing the fun.

What joy it is to sit still and quiet in the garden on a sunny early summer Saturday with birds’ sweet soothing songs and the stillness that gives us rest. Being torn between an obligation to be informed as a citizen and trying not to worry about things over which we have no control is the very definition of stress. Stress relief can come in the form of prayer, meditation, exercise, alcohol, food, music and many other things, especially gardening. The growing season is still young so there will be time yet for reaping what we sow, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Genealogy, a hot topic in Champion, had The General and The Prominent Champion at odds. They are kin several times ‘removed,’ but both were still there on Wednesday. Idaho sojourners, Darcy (Upshaw) and Ron Cecil, bunking temporarily at The Chateau in downtown Vanzant, figure significantly into the family. They are in town to visit family and to attend the Denlow School Reunion. Big rains and power outages altered the gathering but by no means cancelled it. The pavilion, turned kitchen and dining hall, saw thirty-five alumni, descendants, family and friends enjoying good food, each other, and sweet memories. They came from all around Missouri, from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kansas and Idaho with reports of folks back home and remembrances of these beautiful hills and hollows in the days of their youth. Logistics interfered with an auction, but not with the laughter. Surely the weather will be better next year for the big 40th Denlow-Fairview School Reunion to be held in the same sweet spot.

Worldly possessions can pose a burden on heirs uninterested in the old folks’ stuff. We may spend the first half of our lives accumulating things and the last little portion trying to get rid of them. People who have lost everything in house fires lament most the loss of family photos. Names and dates written on the back keep them from being mysteries to heirs if they survive to be passed along. Darcy Cecil works for a big auction outfit in Boise, Idaho. She has stories. Among many other things, an Upshaw anvil will go on the block over in Mt. Grove on Saturday the 14th, part of the Vernon and Elgin Upshaw estate.

Somewhere on the White River Electric Co-Op line, a tree fell across the line and the creek was so high thereabouts the linemen were unable to get to it until the water receded. The power was just out from eight in the morning until five or so in the evening. During that time with no lights, telephones, television, or internet, while filling the oil lamps in anticipation of a long dark night, thoughts came of the many across the world without these luxuries because they have been disrupted by natural catastrophes or war or lack of development. A small inconvenience that many live with continually sparks a little compassion.

The month is called May because it may rain, it may be 70 degrees or 30 degrees, it may snow, there may be hail and tornadoes. By the time this is in ink, perhaps the rain will have stopped, and neighbors will compare tallies as things may begin to dry up. It is said that one can recover from dehydration, but not from drowning. Water is a powerful force. Highways 95 and 76 were strewn with debris following Friday’s big hailstorm that cut a narrow path through the area. Downtown Champion was spared, but farmers and gardeners north and east were pummeled. A dairy farmer said his hay field looked like a brush hog had been over it. Gardeners up on Cold Springs Road had potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and beans broken and beaten down. It is early in the season so there will be time to replant some things. The almanacs indicate that the 28th and 29th will be good for planting crops that have their yield above ground. The thought that everything will recover and will be ok again is one that gardeners and concerned citizens cling to when it seems that reason itself has tripped over a turnip and perished.

Tom was pleased to report 36 at the McClurg Jam Monday, with 10 percent of them in his own blood line. Some of the uplifting, toe tapping tunes included “Kennedy Rag” and “Last Train Home.” Alvie Dooms was seen in the audience enjoying Jimmy Rogers’ “Hobo’s Lament,” sung by Dawn Larson. Music is such a gift, like medicine. It inspires, encourages, uplifts, comforts and consoles in all its many forms.

Help! We are in a palindrome! That is when the date reads the same backwards and forwards as in 5-25-25. We had to look that word up. Other interesting things to look up are “Hanlon’s Razor” (Hanlon’s razor, also known as Hanlon’s principle, is a rule of thumb that encourages people to consider the most likely explanations for actions, favoring incompetence, ignorance, or mistakes over malice. It essentially states: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”), and the term “Cockwomble” (according to the Urban Dictionary, ‘Cockwomble’ is derogatory British slang for a person, usually male, who is prone to making outrageously stupid statements and/or inappropriate behavior while having a very high opinion of their own wisdom and importance). Looking up the history of Memorial Day and its beginning as Decoration Day we find the 1868 quote of Union Army Maj. Gen. John A. Logan: “Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of free and undivided republic.” We remember in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!