Champion News

CHAMPION—October 6, 2025.
            “In your heart you know he’s right.” The Prominent Champion remembered Barry Goldwater’s slogan during the Wednesday chat around the cold wood stove. There was something too about Fritz Mondale, “Fritz and grits give me…something.” The General lamented having lost his “I Like Ike” button. At Sen. Hubert Humphrey’s funeral, President Jimmy Carter quoted Mahatma Gandi as he listed the seven deadly sins. “Wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice and politics without principle.” Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher who passed away in 65AD said, “Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.” Politics seem to play second fiddle to sports these days. The Kansas City Chiefs have won a game, and the NFL season is well underway. The major league baseball playoffs are happening to determine who will be in the Worlds Series. Basketball, soccer and rugby can keep our attention diverted nicely, though as citizens it behooves us to be informed—awakened to what is going on in the country.
           Before long, the musicians retired to the wide veranda about the time Fox Creek farmers showed up talking about planting rye, turnips, and radishes with GPS operated tractors. Then came Lorrie with an adorable puppy she had rescued from a dumpster in Mt. Grove. She is looking for a home for the little girl dog, thought to be six or seven weeks old, tiny, maybe some Chiwawa mixed with a Beagle, a friendly little critter. Joanne Metroplos, visiting from Seattle, sat a spell on the porch. It is nice to see friends with Champion connections touching base from time to time.
            Bob and Mary left the Vanzant Jam early on Thursday, headed to Tulsa on a lark, where Bob won another ‘best of show’ prize with the 1963 Lark at the 50th Annual Zone Meet by the OK Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club. It was a joy at the jam to see little Willow Rose who will have her first birthday on November 28. She likes music. Her papa is a fiddler. The jam needs more fiddlers. Banjo picker Carol Green, also at the jam, will celebrate her birthday on October 6th. Betty Dye and Vickie Trippie will enjoy the Full Hunter’s Supermoon on their birthdays, October 7th. Teresa Tost and Skyline first grader Preslee Trujillo share the 8th for their big day. Champion granddaughter Madelyn Ward has October 10th to party and Steve Conner shares his birthday with kindergartner Chloe Porcello on the 11th. October 12th is for Janet Chapin, and we remember our friend Cathy Baldwin on her birthday October 13th. She and Chuck were swept away in the election day flood last year.
            We figure that the absence of something bad is the same thing as something good. Often enough we hear what is wrong, aggravating, and what needs fixing. We always have the chance to say right out loud when things are good, when someone smiled, when the sunrise was glorious, when the road was not so rough and rocky. It is still rough and rocky, Johnny and Bobby, but it is much, much better, and we appreciate the work that goes into maintaining these beautiful country lanes. Jane Goodall said, “Live in joy, even though you know the facts.” Someone else said, “I cannot do all the good the world needs. But the world needs all the good I can do.”
            The Skyline R-2 PTO hosted a splendid potluck dinner during the Fall Carnival on Friday. And what a carnival! The bounce house and all the interesting, innovative games, including “Pick Fred’s Nose,” made for a lot of fun for the kids. Grownups had a chance to enjoy other people’s cooking and to visit during the festivities. Community support for our great little school was on full display.
            Another chance to support community comes up on Saturday, the 11th, at the Skyline School. Two of the Fimon children, Landon and Dusty, suffered serious burns in a recent accident. A benefit for the Fimon Family starts at 4:00 with dinner, an auction at 5:00 and then live music by Cheyenne McIntosh and the New Grass Attack. Chris Degase will be the auctioneer, taking bids on the many donations of everything from dog food to a five-day four-night cruise. The chance to be of help when help is needed is one for Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION-September 29, 2025

          It was a red-letter day for our great Skyline R2 School on Wednesday when they boasted 100% attendance. Every single student from prekindergarten to the eighth grade were the beneficiaries of a staff dedicated to providing the education and encouragement they need to take over the running of the farms, businesses, banks, schools, hospitals, and government when their time comes. Talk around the cold old wood stove that day had to do with ‘kids today.’ The old song goes, “Why can’t they be like we were, perfect in every way? Kids! What’s the matter with kids today?” On Old Champion’s grandfather, born in the late 1880, dying in the early 1970’s, said that he was born before there were cars and he lived to see a man on the moon. Things are still changing just that fast. Old folks, as always, stay bewildered about the young in an era moving faster than they can comprehend. When we see some youngster who meets our expectations, let’s give him or her a big thumbs up, and for the others let’s give them encouragement and the benefit of the doubt. Skyline’s Fall Carnival on October 3rd will be a chance to support our precious little rural school whether we have kids there or not. Food at 5:00. Games and prizes start at 6:00.
            The musical story told at Tom’s house by twelve musicians among the thirty-six guests started with Bennett’s Reel with David Scrivner on lead fiddle. Then it was Hell Again the Barn Door when My Little Lady rode the Single Foot Horse to catch the Last Train Home, the Cincinnati Hornpipe, singing Star of Bethlehem. Such a beautiful evening at McClurg had Kaitlyn taking us on a stroll online out on the beautiful fall evening with the quarter moon shining down. We are grateful that Tom has kept the McClurg Jam alive and that Kaitlyn takes us all through this beautiful part of the world.
            Recent rains, as welcome and wonderful as they were, were not enough to mitigate our persistent drought. Fire danger persists. Hopefully that goat (Fred?), displaced by the catastrophic fires of last March, will be ready to assist our steadfast volunteers again when the need arises. Hopes are that the need will not arise, but the ample spring rains produced lush foliage that has been desiccated by summer’s heat, a recipe for combustibility. We aspire to be as fire aware as we are “Bear Aware” this time of the year. While we are at it, let us applaud and support those folks who leave their beds, their jobs, and their dinner tables to protect our lives and property.
            The little bit of rain and slightly cooler temperatures have some Old Champions out finally getting their turnips planted. They are also going through their heating systems, getting ready for cold weather, cleaning the flu and dusting the space heaters. The rapid passage of time has us moving from season to season before we know it.
           Calvin Chambers and his cowboy buddies took off on September 23rd, “on the road again,” they said. They are roaming around Brice Canyon Valley, Utah on their beautiful mounts, filling the internet with breathtaking scenes of the majestic mountains. Hopefully they will be back in time to saddle up for Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride, headed up by Andrew Hardin, on October 8th. Riders who have been doing this for long time welcome new folks on the ride to hear the old stories and enjoy being part of new ones in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 22, 2025
            Champion was the third spot in an epic music tour by the Schlichting couple, Steve and Sharon, from up around Osceola. They are farmers talking about how many bushels to the acre of corn they got this year and how much they enjoyed the Music at McClurg on Monday and at Roy’s Store in Dora on Tuesday. They sat out on the wide veranda and hummed along to “Wildwood Flower” and “An Old Spinning Wheel.” They have been camping on this adventure enjoying the beauty of this part of the country. Steve had a beautiful mandolin, electric, made by a skilled luthier from a chunk of walnut tree grown on his old home place. He expects that his talented granddaughter will inherit it and put it to good use. He and Sharon made their final stop Thursday evening in Vanzant, then on home to that granddaughter. Meanwhile there were lots of good stories about chicken plucking, hog scalding and coon hunting.
          On Friday the Skyline preschoolers and kindergarten students had the chance to explore the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department’s patrol car. Deputy Harley gave them a tour. Maybe he will come to the Skyline R2 Fall Carnival on October 3rd. The dinner will start at 5:00 and then the games and prizes will commence. The bounce house might be off limits for deputies.
Skyline seventh grader Myson Loveless shares his birthday on October 1st with a Prominent Champion who always gets a postcard in the mail that says, “Remember, if you act like you are having a good time, pretty soon you will forget you are acting, and you will really be having a good time.” Jana Barnes-Brixey is a Champion dairy farmer and teaches school up in Norwood she and high school senior Lydia Harden also celebrate on October 1st. That is also the day we remember Pete Mullins. He and Bonnie were regulars at the Denlow School Reunion in the old days. Ben Stewart, who lives on Fox Creek Road, will be 2 years old on October 2nd. Champion grandson William Tucker Clark was born October 2, 2015. Mahatma Gandhi was born October 2, 1869. He was a lawyer famous for leading the Indian Independence Movement. His nonviolent methods resulted in India gaining independence from British rule, though it was not easy. Unfortunately, our forefathers had to fight for our independence. Skyline sixth grader, Evan Homer, shares his birthday on the 3rd with Champion Gary Clark. The Upshaw twins were born on October 4th. We remember well and miss Fae Upshaw Krider and wish Kaye Upshaw Johnston a good and happy day in the company of her big loving family. Skyline’s head cook, Rhonda Nava will celebrate her birthday on October 5th. Happy birthday to all of you from your Champion friends, families and neighbors.
         Tom Peters said there were three generations of jig dancers at McClurg on Monday evening. The “Shepherd’s Wife Waltz” had some up waltzing and “Leather Britches” had some toes tapping. “The eighth of January” and “Seamus O’Brien” kept the evening lively. Up in Minneapolis, Willie Nelson and his boys, Billy Strings, Jessie Welles, and many others put on the 40th edition of Farm Aid. Music helps in many ways. The internet has been full of the Hootin and Hollerin Festival over in Gainesville including Bob Berry’s “People’s Choice Award” for Mary’s beautiful Studebaker Lark. The Starvy Creek bluegrass festival has been going on with all its great music. Next week the internet will be full of the Heart of the Ozarks Bluegrass Association shindig in West Plains. This is an exciting time of the year. ‘Er long Andrew Harden will be heading up Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride in Champion—October 8th. Saddle up and join a long standing tradition.
           Some Old Champions woke up Friday morning with as much as half an inch of rain. They were delighted to be awakened in the wee hours of Sunday morning by thunder and lightning and a few more tenths in their rain gauges. By Monday morning the measurement was up to two and a half beautiful inches. Cool damp days ahead have them relaxed and optimistic. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 15, 2025
Our Champion hummingbirds are headed south on their way to Mexico and Costa Rica.  It seems the males all leave first, then the females and adolescence.  Every day there are fewer around the feeders, but it is suggested that we leave feeders up through at least mid-October or later to support any late migrating stragglers that might pass through.  We will miss them, but we will have lots of other birds for entertainment, together with the armadillos, ground hogs, squirrels, racoons, skunks, deer, possums, chipmunks, rabbits, bobcats, bears and mountain lions.
Jackson Johnson is a second-grade student at Skyline who shares his birthday on September 17^th with Patrick Mahomes of the KC Chiefs.  Bailey Kilgore, also a second grader, shares his day on the 18^th with Champion Donald Krider up in Illinois.  Archer Johnson is in prekindergarten.  He and Jack Perry over on Fox Creek Road celebrate on September 20^th.  Kindergarten student Estelene Bellefeuille will have her party on the 21^st, which is also the day we remember Champion Louise Hutchison.  Sandy Ray Chapin wrote “Searching for Booger County.”  His birthday is September 24^th.  The 25^th is for Shelby Squirrel and for prekindergarten student Elainea Stewart, who will be old enough to ride the school bus.  Cathy Alsup Reilly over in Kentucky has deep Denlow connections. She is married to one of the famous Kentucky twin chefs who work their magic as a team.  She shares her birthday on the 27^th with Alicia Borders who is an aide at our Skyline School. We remember Lucille Gayman on the 29^th.  The 30^th is the big day for seventh grader Melanie Hall and kindergarten student Jaxon McIntosh.  Your Champion friends and neighbors wish you all happy birthdays.  Have some fun.
Lake Wolf Pen has turned into a dust bowl. Desperately dry conditions are making things hard on our farmers and the persistent fire danger has us all hoping for some repeated episodes of gentle rain soon.  Fans will be optimistic that the KC Chiefs will fare better in their next game.  We stay positive, cheerful, and hopeful.  On Monday, friends who were fewer than five miles north enjoyed an inch of rain.  Ronnie, the Postmaster in Norwood, said they were getting a good rain midday.  Neighbors less than two miles south had significant sprinkles while dust blew under cloudy thunder rumbling skies on Cold Springs Road.  That is what we get for living out here in the beautiful hills and hollers.

The “Lost Indian” said, “Johnny, Don’t Come Home Drunk.”  “Dance Around Molly” while “Waiting for a Train.”   We saw on the internet that Alvie Dooms was in attendance, as he often is, at the McClurg Jam.  It is most encouraging to see him there and to see how many young folks regularly show up to play.  It may be that some of them are students of David Scrivner who is a mainstay of that illustrious jam.  It also happens, according to host Tom Peters, that David won second place after Charlie Walden the Midwest Invitational Fiddle Contest that was held on September 14^th.   They are busy celebrating the old traditions and inspiring the next generation.  They are fiddle Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

“What’s that? What’s that?” cried the Wolf Pen cow farmer.  “It’s a woad grater!” replied his clever young daughter.  Sure enough, Bobby Emery guided the big machine up and down Cold Springs Road on Wednesday doing the best he could to make it better.  They are hard workers.  With much more than half of Douglas County’s 800 miles of gravel roads out on this end, it is a big job, and we are grateful for what little they can get done.  Give them a wave and a thumbs up when you see them out working, and some chocolate chip cookies if you catch them.

Ely Young is a seventh grader in our great Skyline R2 School.  He shares his birthday on September 8th with such notables as Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933), with Vermont’s loveable Senator Bernie Sanders, and with the charming Carol Tharp of Veracruz.  The 13th of September is the big day for native Champion Tanna Krider Wiseman, and the 14th is for Skyline third grader Ellie Strong and for a welcome Champion nephew, a newcomer to the Bright Side.

J.c. Owsley has visited Champion on a number of occasions.  He recently said that he never earned much money during his years as a teacher, but getting a lovely card with warm wishes from one of his school kids many years later is priceless.  This one came from a journalism student at Warsaw when he was teaching there in 1965.  He is dealing with serious health problems now  that have his students, friends, and family all wishing him well.  He shared some wisdom from his friend, John Swisher, who said, “It doesn’t matter how many times anyone says it, ‘woke’ doesn’t mean anything other than loving your neighbor, being empathetic to others seeking wholeness in your community, speaking truth about past, present and future, and broadening the table so that all people have a seat.  It is to name the truth of the past so that the future can be one of reconciliation and hope.”  J.C. has been planting turnips, taking care of his cows, spending some time in the saddle and being a voice of reason in these tumultuous times.

It is easy to spot country people in town with their dust and dirt coated rigs.  Maybe they will be splattered with mud one of these days if the hope for half an inch of rain every third day comes to fruition.  While it is late for prime gardening season, any amount of moisture will help reduce the fire danger.  Already the Sumac is bright red in spots along the roadways.  A neighbor, Ruth Hicks, quoted a poem, “When the goldenrod is yellow; The corn is turning brown; The trees in apple orchards With fruit are bending down.” (The internet told us the poem was written by Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885).  It captures a lot of September’s nature.  Look for the whole thing at “September”.  It takes some looking to see Orville’s old barn as vegetation and decay is taking hold.  Like the old Coffman place up on 76, you would miss it if you were not looking for it.

We looked up to see Kaitlyn McConnell at the Vanzant Jam Thursday.  She was just there for a little while, on her way somewhere from somewhere.  She had been at the Fruit Station in Mt. Grove that morning for a bag of apples and to share some of the great history of that place.  She gets around.  We are excited to know that her book “The Ozarks Pie Project Diary” is at the printers and will be available at The Great Ozarks Pie Potluck on October 11th in Mt. Vernon.  Chances are good that it will be available at the Historic Emporium in Downtown Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Thirty-seven names appeared on the sign-in sheet at the Champion Reunion on Saturday and a dozen or more unsigned, plus four of the McConnell family brought the total up substantially. There was plenty of good food to go around and lots of good conversation. Newcomers mixed with old timers sharing stories of where they came from and where they live now and some of the rich history of Champion. A couple of the few remaining Champion School alumni had stories to tell rich with nostalgia. While harkening back to the old days we appreciate these days and the Champion community that extends far beyond its geographic boundaries, whatever they are.

School seems to be off to a great start. Parents who have both children in school for the first time were out on the wide veranda on Wednesday experiencing the precursor to the ‘empty nest syndrome.’ In twenty or thirty years they will really understand what that means. The swift passage of time is often referenced, particularly by some who have seen a lot of it go by. Other subjects had to do with the savagery of racoons in the hen house. One reported that a racoon with two bullet holes in it already was still taking the heads off the chickens even as it was dying. Racoons seem to be some of the few animals, humans included, who kill for the fun of it. Stray dogs can be a nuisance too, but Clyde, the fifty pound eight-month-old Basset hound, will probably not cause much trouble. He has trouble staying out of the way of his own ears and is described as ‘getting more stupid’ every day, but loveable.

Earlier, inside the store, there was talk about the problem of black vultures which are known for damaging property and, more seriously, attacking and preying on newborn or sick livestock. Permits to kill them come through the Conservation Department but might be applied for after the fact. All kinds of pleasant conversations go on around the cold old wood stove, often with some joking and chiding. Occasionally a misinformed bloviating local might need to hear the quote by the author Nathan Rustein who wrote numerous books about life, spirituality, racism, education, and the oneness of humanity. He said, “Prejudice is an emotional commitment to ignorance.” We laugh and say, “My prejudices are better than your prejudices.” We have plenty of reasons to laugh in Champion.

Monday morning had upwards of forty stalwart citizens meeting on the corner of Highway 5 and Springfield Avenue with their clever signs sharing their sentiments with passersby on a variety of issues including healthcare, democracy, the value of unions, calls for civility. They say fact is objective information. An opinion is a personal belief. Ignorance is a lack of facts. And stupidity is a rejection of facts in favor of opinions. George Orwell said, “However much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing.” It is generally thought that the purpose of government is to secure the wellbeing of the governed.

Monday evening had forty plus people enjoying the music that fifteen of them made at McClurg. Tom Peters reported that Lila Robinson played the beautiful “Shepherd’s Wife Waltz.” Other tunes he shared were David Scrivner’s “Five Miles from town,” and an “Un-named Tune in C” with Emily Garoutte-Boldman on lead fiddle. Dot Cohm played “Clinch Mountain Backstep” on the banjo and on his banjo Gordon Gosh played “Shine on Me.” Other videos Tom shared were “A and E Waltz “and “Dark-Haired Girl.” We are grateful to all the musicians and purveyors of music for the beauty, solace, and fun they share. Our glorious hymns in church and our extraordinary solo performances alone in the car on the way to town lift our spirits. Champions–Looking on the Bright Side!

Tuesday evening’s rain had Champions reporting a half to two and a half inches on Wednesday, though one of those rain gauges may have been watered along with some nearby foliage.  Still, they were happy for every drop and grateful for the prospect of cooler temperatures.  Other talk around the table had to do with catastrophic farm accidents over the years with balers and brush-hogs.  Take care, dear farmers.  We need you.

Birthdays to celebrate on September 1st include those of Betty Thomas, who lived down on the Edge of the World at Yates.  She and her husband Dale hosted the Pioneer Descendants’ Gathering there on their farm on Bryant Creek for many years.  Larry Wrinkles, son of Esther and Clifford Wrinkles, grew up in Champion was part of an acclaimed gospel trio back in his school days in Champion.  Wilma Hutchison married Bud Hutchison in 1959.  She made sure all the riders had their horses lined up properly for their photograph at all of Bud’s Champion Trail Rides.  September 2nd is for Skyline third grader Luke Hall and the day we remember smiling banjo player Wayne Anderson.  He was part of a group that entertained at the Skyline Picnic back in 2007.  Find a video of that performance in the Music category at www.championnews.us.  Serenity Merryman is a seventh grader at Skyline sharing a birthday with Champion granddaughter Phoebe Ward.  Skyline prekindergarten student Brickton Housley celebrates on the 4th.  That was the birthday of Vernon Upshaw and is the birthday of his nephew Dailey and of Vanzant’s Patricia Harrison.  Skyline fourth grader Brayden D. Ellingsworth will party on September 5th.  Your Champion friends wish you all beautiful, happy birthdays.

Our friend Tom Peters said that on Friday evening there was another nice jam session at Beaver Creek Campground in Brownbranch, just down the hill from McClurg.  Monday had forty folks including twelve musicians at McClurg, which is designated as one of the twenty-five most secluded towns in southwest Missouri.  We look forward to securing a copy of his book “Ozark Jubilee Encyclopedia.”  We are also excited that our friend Kaitlyn McConnell’s pie recipe book may have gone to print.  We will need several copies in Champion.  We look forward to what she  has to say about her recent visit to Washington D.C. where there was a big Ozarks musical moment going on with the duo called Creek Rocks.  Music is good for us.  Plato viewed music as a “moral law” that could instill virtues and attune the soul to goodness.  It certainly enriches our lives.

President Grover Cleveland signed the law in 1894 that made Labor Day a federal holiday, recognizing American workers’ contributions to the Nation’s prosperity and well-being.  We have labor unions to thank for fair wages, good hours, and safe working conditions, among many other beneficial things like overtime, sick time, and holiday pay.   The holiday gives friends and kinfolks the chance to visit and they are most dearly welcome but are cautioned to be cautious with their city cars on our country roads.  Go slow and save your suspension system, your axels, tires, tail pipes and check books.  The pavement is beautiful.  Take that option if you can on the Saturday of the holiday weekend to enjoy the early noontime pot-luck luncheon Reunion of Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!