Champion News

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!

Friday’s exciting weather had Champions grateful that it was not worse here and sorry for those suffering catastrophe and loss. We start a new week being ‘weather aware.’ By the time this is in ink we will know all about Monday’s storms. We hope for the best for everyone.

Birthdays to celebrate include Skyline kindergarten students Levi Johnstone born on May 21st. The 22nd is for coconut cream pie maker Teresa Wrinkles. Her pies are as famous now as those of her Mother-in-law, Esther Wrinkles who, like Teresa, raised copious amounts of money for good causes all around the area. Fifth grader Keller Boehs out on Fox Creek also enjoys the 22nd. Second grade Skyliner Jennings Harley celebrates on May 24th and Chase Cauthron’s mother Mandy enjoys that day as well. We celebrate Lena Bell Wagner on the 25th. She routinely trounces her brother in their Wednesday Scrabble. Skyline counselor Leslie Top shares the 26th with John Webber, who is a frequenter of the Junction Coffee Clatch. We remember Ed Henson, born May 27, 1903. He might ask a newcomer if the whippoorwills hollered ‘after dark’ up at their house. Champion Paula Mudd also has the 27th for her big day and the next day is for her great granddaughter Brylee Clark. Third grader Presleigh Miller enjoys that day too. Wheelwright Dale Thomas was born May 28, 1939. He and Betty started the great Pioneer Descendants Gathering down in Yates. Jesse Mae Miller’s birthday is also May 28th. She always enjoyed the Denlow School Reunion. The 39th annual reunion will happen there on Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. Alumni of the Denlow and Fairview Schools, their families, descendants and friends from Arkansas, Kentucky and various parts of Missouri will gather for lunch in the basement of the church. Ed Williams will prepare his specialties of fried chicken and fish and other things. Attendees will bring side dishes and desserts. After lunch everyone will repair to the pavilion for visiting and fun. The auction that supports the event is always a hilarious affair and the spirit of community is everlasting.

Tom Peters says 21 intrepid souls made it to McClurg on Monday’s stormy night playing “Angels Band” and “Sugar Tree Stump” among others.

Memorial Day, formerly Decoration Day, is the holiday set aside for honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the Armed Forces. These days approximately 0.4% of the American population is serving in the active-duty armed forces. About 6% of U.S. adults are veterans. We honor those who have died keeping us safe and we appreciate all those who have signed up to do that past and present. While we are at it, we pay homage with flowers to other dear ones at rest in cemeteries across the country. We remember Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

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The ten who mounted up for Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride in Champion on May 14th were expecting a warm, sunny 85-degree ride. Instead, they enjoyed a cool, cloudy day with no mishaps, no bad dogs or bears and ending with ice cream, Bob Wheeler’s treat. Pictured here in no particular order are trail boss Andrew Harden, Bob Wheeler, Dana Harden and Jeannie Kapraun, of Ava, Karen Brown and Juniper Wiltse of Norwood, Terre Redan from Ozark, Jennifer Wolf of Pontiac, Deb Grace-Sims from Edgar Springs, and Don Hamby from Dora. Several of them had ridden with Bud over the years, the others enjoyed their stories and made their own memories in Champion.

Some of the chats around the meeting room table in the Historic Emporium on Wednesday concerned the price of horseflesh and the preponderance of ticks. It seems that some palominos and bays are selling for more than a person could spend on a good used car. Then the talk shifted to the price of cars and trucks back in the 1960s and 70s. They were not at all prohibitively expensive and they were beautiful, maybe not as beautiful as some of those from the 50’s, but very nice. The Prominent Champion allowed as how he was flourishing during the Nixon administration. (1969-1974). The price of pigs was up and there was plenty of good paying work to be had. Someone said, “What we wouldn’t give to have Nixon back again!” It may be lamentable that the transgressions of the Nixonians came to light. The new bunch does not seem to care if their transgressions come to light since they are doing them in broad daylight and apparently there are no longer any consequences. Back to more pleasant subjects: the preponderance of ticks. Tick season in the Ozarks is approaching its peak with Lone Star ticks being particularly prevalent. Be careful.

The late Champion Bonnie Brixey Mullens was born on May 9, 1934, in Coldspring. She always enjoyed the Denlow School Reunion. She and many others will be remembered there on the 24th. This will be the 39th year for the gathering. The first year had an attendance of 300. In recent years the crowd has been much smaller with fewer alumni remaining from the Denlow and Fairview Schools. Still, those few, some of their descendants, family members and friends gather to remember the ‘good old days,’ to reconnect with each other and to carry forward the notion of community.

Mothers’ Day had all the preciousness required to acknowledge that each of us has a Mother. No one gets here without one. Give the old lady some credit and appreciation all year long. Some of the best Motherly advice ever given a child: “Act like you have good sense.”

Mothers’ Day on the 11th was also the birthday of Skyline first grader Wesley Boyd. We remember Candi Bartch on May 14th, a nurse and an aspiring fiddle player. Some of her favorite tunes were “Old Indiana” and “This World is Not My Home.” On the 16th we celebrate a young Champion, Hazel Wiltse. She will be four years old. She lives in downtown champion and frequently enjoys playing in Clever Creek. That is also the birthday of newcomer Karen Griswold and old-timer Alvie Dooms. Musician and noted luthier, Alvie has been being seen at the McClurg jam in some of Tom Peters’ videos on Facebook. This week Tom shared “Arkansas Two-Step,” “Doc Brown’s Dream,” “Fever River,” and “Brown County Breakdown.” There was a nice video of Randy Brummet on the banjo and one of the theme song from The Ozark Jubilee. Music is good medicine.

Gardening is good medicine too. Some old Champions with waning stamina long for a couple of rusty ankled old boys to come ambling up the road looking for work. There is plenty to be had. The best gardening days according to the almanacs are marked on the calendars, but weather and fortitude often determine when things get done.

Look for reports on Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride next week. The riders will be crossing Clever Creek on Wednesday. Some local trail rides go through dense woods along river bottoms and up steep, rocky hills. This one is ‘just a road ride.’ The only perils may be yard dogs but much of the joy will be in connecting to the past along the old roads full of memories. Some of these riders rode with Bud. Others have just heard the old stories and are making their own memories along the old roads that end on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek with ice cream in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Skyline School Bus #4 students enjoy a Champion treat.

Wednesday a trio of the Champion Cowboy’s double cousins came ambling into the square looking for him but settling for the Prominent Champion who they mistook for his older brother. Corrine and Nadine from Hartville and Seymour, driven by Pam, daughter and niece, from Mountain Grove engaged in recollecting those glory schooldays when their East Dogwood baseball team soundly trounced the Champions right there in the sand lot now affectionately called the ‘square.’ They tarried a while, then went on about their outing.

Meanwhile, the Porch Pickers picked away practicing preferred pieces. More pleasant weather may well entice some real musicians to join in. Joann Lawrence has suggested that she may soon and will have a fiddle with her in the event some itinerant fiddler may appear. At the McClurg Jam there was “Peace in the Valley” as the “Lost Indian” and “Old Melinda” enjoyed the “Shannon Waltz” then had some “Squirrel Heads and Gravy” singing the “Milk Cow Blues.” We have Tom to thank for sharing another Monday evening with the rest of us.

Mayday! The first day of May featured our Skyline R2 School’s awards program in the afternoon and the kindergarten and eight grade graduation ceremony in the evening. Staff members are to be commended for creating such a special time for students and their loved ones. The last day of school had all the students on Angela McKay’s Skyline Bus #4 posing for a group picture (with ice cream) on the steps of The Champion Store—a great start to a great summer. Skyline’s summer school will be well underway before this gets to ink.

The last week of school was staff appreciation week. The Facebook post said, “Our teachers/special education coordinator/aides work hard every day to not only educate their students, but to make each one feel valued. Our superintendent always makes time to balance administrative duties with listening to students and staff. Our counselor is an important resource for our students. Our librarian is generous with her time that she gives to our students. Our office staff keeps things running smoothly. Our cook staff provides tasty meals for everyone, including the student favorite, biscuits and gravy. Our maintenance/custodial staff are always working to keep our school safe and clean. Our bus drivers have the tremendous task of safely getting our students to and from school. We truly have a fantastic group of people at our school!”

May the fourth be with you! The Star Wars’ reference for good luck precedes the Cinco de Mayo celebration of the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Around that time important battles were being fought around these parts, among them Wilson’s Creek in 1861, and the Battle of Clark’s Mill 1862. These days the general atmosphere around the country seems sort of contentious again, but Champions hope for sanity and civility and humor. They say not to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes. Then they say not to worry about him, because he’s a mile away and you’re wearing his shoes.

The General informs us that “The 39th annual Denlow school reunion combined with the umpteenth bi-annual/annual Fairview school reunion will be on 24 May 2025 at the Denlow church and cemetery. Ed Williams will prepare his specialties (including fresh/recent road kills). Attendees are requested to bring a side dish or dessert. Coffee, water, and soft drinks will be provided. There will be an auction if any family heirlooms, treasures, or pet rocks, useful/unuseful items are donated for this event. I would like for all former students and/or their descendants to attend.”

Good things coming up sooner include the Second Saturday Skyline Swap Meet on Saturday the 10th. By order of Woodrow Wilson in 1909, the second Sunday in May became a holiday in honor of “that tender, gentle army, the mothers of America.” Wednesday the 14th will have equestrians from near and far enjoying ice cream on the wide veranda as part of the fun of Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride out of and then back into Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!