Champion News

CHAMPION—November 2, 2009

        The constant flow of convivial visitors through Champion is part of what makes the place such an ideal spot in the world.  One has hardly as to go out into it.  The world comes to Champion!  Manuel and Sue Hutchison have been on a ramble that took them through sixteen states before they arrived at Champion.  They took a reluctant leave of the seat of so many family ties and happy memories with the promise to return soon.

        An email came to the Champion News mailbox from Cathie Reilly out in Kentucky with the good news that her daughter, Stephanie, had been crowned homecoming queen of her high school.  Cathie sent pictures of Stephanie in her lovely royal blue evening gown flanked by two handsome Bulldog football players # 57 and # 23.  This remarkably beautiful young woman also enjoyed the distinction as the fortunate winner in the auction for the famous and exotic couture armadillo handbag that had been part of The Barbara Krider Collection, which was magnanimously donated by the Fashionista on the occasion of the Denlow School Reunion.  Reilly messaged to Geri and the General that owing to its pricelessness and irreplaceability, the handbag had not been part of the homecoming ensemble.  Nevertheless, Stephanie was stunning and the whole Bulldog Organization was thrilled with their selection.

        For a few days a number of Champions found themselves as old as Harley.  His birthday on the 27^th, however, once again has him in the circumstance to be venerated by younger Champions.  There are so many.  Over in Champion-South Grandfather Weltanschauung will have his birthday celebration on the 8^th of November and will finally be old enough to know better.  At last, he has bought into the whole idea of Looking on the Bright Side and has cast aside his life long negativity.  Now when someone mentions the anniversary of his birth, he no longer says, “Just two more years to Medicare!”  Now he says, “I’m happy to have made it this far!”  What an improvement!  The long-suffering Grandmother Weltanscauung is for once speechless at the prospect of a life without grumbling pessimism.  Breaths are being held as he demonstrates his new leaf with generosity and humor.  Champion!

        A rare trip out into the world has found a couple of old Champions distributing their agricultural largess of pumpkins, potatoes, and pickles among children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and old friends in Southern climes.  Halloween is the birthday of one Chilean Renaissance man—an Alpha guy who hosted a dinner party that will go down in history as one of the great ones—until he does it again.  The menu at Chez Fortune featured perfect beef tenderloin, green beans almandine, a sweet potato l’orange, and on and on.  Friend Cathy added her culinary skill and the mix made for the complete satiation of all the fortunate attendees.  Many Felicitates were expressed and the hostess, one Rebecca Quetzalcoatl remarked, “Less barking, more wagging,” as an admonition to complain less in life and revel more.  That is a Champion sentiment.

        The Skyline VFD Ladies’ Auxiliary will meet at Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion on Tuesday, November 10^th.  The Auxiliary and any interested parties will gather at seven in the evening to discuss a variety of issues and begin preliminary plans for the next fund raiser.  The fire department is a critical part of the community and the opportunity to support the firefighters is one not to be missed.  Rumors of the possibility of a walking trail through the picnic grounds are exciting and will be investigated for veracity and the opportunity to participate.  Stay tuned.

        Dr. Amanda Zappler, prominent audiologist and professor at the University of Texas in Austin, reports that hearing issues connected with traumatic brain injury and the contingent psychological issues are going to be the significant issues for American Veterans for the far reaching future.  Those young people will return to their home country to face the rest of their long lives with difficulties that they could not have anticipated.  Love and Gratitude is only the start of what they will need.

        Fortnight Bridge was hosted by Brushy Knob on Halloween night in place of the absent Champion player who was represented by an accomplished player from Seven Springs.  This player together with the regulars from Norwood, Vera Cruz and Champion-South had just returned from a three day bridge extravaganza marked by strikingly good hands and high quality play.  They were hot.  They were so hot that a bid of seven no-trump was bid and made!  It is a rare, exceptional event that thrills any bridge player just to contemplate.

        A prominent Champion is struggling with the failure of her fall turnips.  The seed germinated but failed to thrive.  It may be that the seed was old and used all its strength just to come up out of the ground and had no reserves to build turnips.  Perhaps unusual weather or competing organisms have had an effect.  Some conversation with Linda over at the Plant Place in Norwood might answer her questions.  It could be that Lem and Ned will stop by to consult with her as they are such turnip lovers.  Ned could recite the tale of Stingy Jack, the Irishman, who had the Devil trapped in an apple tree and tricked him into a promise not to allow him into Hell.  St. Peter would not allow him into Heaven either, so he wandered in the darkness until the Devil tossed him a coal from the fires down below.  He kept it in a hollowed out turnip.  When the Irish came to America they found pumpkins easier to carve than turnips, hence the Jack O Lantern.  That is just the sort of information those two might share.

        Sing, “Show me the way to go home, I’m tired and I want to go to bed” or any other homesick song out on the porch at Henson’s Store.  Share any information about Lem and Ned at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Look in on www.championnews.us for updates on neighborhood events or just to feel that good optimism when you are in Champion and Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 26, 2009

        Champion enjoyed a perfect autumn day for Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride on Saturday.  It was a perfect day all around the County for horse activities.  The Saddle Club in Ava had a ride over a specially developed course.  There was a big auction in Ava that included all kinds of farm and horse equipment and horses.  Russell Wood decided to move his trail ride up a week on the calendar.  Anyone with a horse and the desire to enjoy an autumn day had lots of choices.  The six riders that made the Champion ride set out North up over a steep little hill.  They crossed Clever Creek and turned east.  One was heard to ask another if he remembered the year the creek was up so high they made a young man riding a little mule to cross it first before the rest of them would go through it.  The reasoning behind that was not clear, but they had no such trouble this time as the creek was up only a little.  As they wound through the country on the way to Drury they happened to find Russell Upshaw visiting the old family home-place.  On down the trail they found Robert Upshaw at his family home place so the ride was punctuated with some good socializing.  Wilma Hutchison was waiting for them at Drury and orchestrated another great photograph of the group.  She has photos of every one of these rides with the names of all the riders every year.  One of the photos taken on Saturday will be chosen to be the new Number Five in the series of Ten Champion Picture Post Cards.  They are available at Henson’s Store in Downtown Champion.  It is on the North Side of the Square.
        Wilma was recovering from injuries to her knees sustained in a recent fall.  Her enthusiasm was not flagging, however, and she has much entertaining information to share that she has gleaned from Bud and others through the years.  She writes things down on old envelopes and in notebooks when she catches Bud reminiscing.  One crumpled envelope had notes about how John Proctor owned the chestnut stallion known as “Old Fox.”  Proctor lived between Denlow and Champion close to Fox Creek and farmed 240 acres there.  He was known as a hardworking man, well respected in the area.  After he and his wife passed away, their son, Feldie, and his family moved to the farm and kept Old Fox as a stud horse.  A number of family members in the Champion and Denlow area bred their horses to Old Fox.  They sold him to Everett Irby in 1944.  Irby lived at Wheelis Creek.  Bud and a lot of other people were there at Champion to see Old Fox loaded into a truck with stock racks.  Some man standing in the crowd said, “He’s a good one!”  There are pictures of Old Fox in the public areas of the Fox Trotters Association in Ava where he is well regarded as one of the most influential sires of this easy riding versatile breed of horses.  Fox trotters were developed in the Ozarks and are known for their stamina, soundness and gentle disposition.  The trail ride wound up back at Champion on schedule with all riders having had a pleasant outing.  Accompanying Bud were Hershel Letsinger, Bob Herd, Jackie Coonts, Dale Lawson and Nancy Burns.

        Wilma said that Esther Wrinkles usually comes to Drury to visit with the trail riders and have lunch, but she was not there this time.  Her son, Larry, and daughter-in-law, Theresa, had taken Esther up to Licking, Missouri to the home of Patricia Smith.  Patricia hosted a party for the 87^th birthday of Ms. Erla Wrinkles, Esther’s sister-in-law.  Three of Erla’s six children celebrated with their Mother—Patricia Smith, Helen Ice, and Billy Wrinkles.  It was a nice gathering Esther said.  Esther also spoke of the passing of Thelma Mallernee.  She was a lifelong resident of the area with ties throughout the community.  She was married to Roy Mallernee for 67 years.  Her services were held Friday and she was buried at Denlow.

        Young Kyle Barker is about to become a big brother!  A great gathering of interested parties had a party for his Mom, Deborah, on Saturday.  This kind of party is called a “shower” and everybody had a good time…sisters, aunts, grandmothers, cousins, girlfriends, and in-laws.  There were games, presents and good food.  It couldn’t have been better.  It seems that a number of Champions have October birthdays!  How Jolly!  One got a card that said, “Laugh so hard that you go into silent laugh mode and you come dangerously close to falling out of your chair, but you don’t.”  Another suggested that a way to look younger than your age is to lie outrageously about how old you are…”I’m 102 this year.”  Protracted celebrations are acceptable in Champion and Champions extend their best wishes to each other during these special days, especially to the young and lovely Mrs. Krider!

        It happens in Champion and elsewhere that the lives of remarkable people are celebrated posthumously.  Sometime after the solemn somber service when survivors have made mild with sweet tears the soil to receive again what remains when the soul has flown, sometime later when the hard edge of separation has been smoothed and softened by time, the laughter returns.  The laughter returned with the music and with the deep connections of old friends and the implausible ones made of only mutual acquaintance, with stories of remembrance in a great feast of friendship celebrating the fullness of a ripe remarkable life, one savored with passion and delight–the life of Claude DeBogan.  He was there.

        The U.S. military is increasingly interested in understanding and more efficiently treating blast-induced brain injuries, as between 10-20% of the soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan return with concussions from explosive blasts.  Some say the percentage is much higher.  No one returning from combat returns unchanged.  Every one of them needs to be met with the Love and Gratitude they have due them.

        A couple of Champion women are experimenting with ultrasonic rodent repellers.  It will be a welcome trick for them if the mice are uncomfortable in their kitchens!  These Champions will be busy this week getting some mums planted out in the yard for next spring.  Linda over at the Plant Place in Norwood has some nice ones as well as a number of perennials that will be reminders that autumn and winter will again give way to spring and glorious summer.  Just now little goblins and pirates and Tinkerbells are getting ready to extort candy from their neighbors on the threat of a trick.  Maybe Halloween will be a rainy, gloomy night with whistling wind and unexpected spooks around every corner.  “Look, he’s crawling up my wall, black and hairy, very small.  Now he’s up above my head, hanging by a little thread. Boris the Spider!  Creepy crawly, creepy creepy crawly crawly!” Written by John Entwistle of The Who, it is a favorite for this season.  Sing a spooky song out on the porch at Henson’s Store in downtown Champion.  Report any unexplained muddy barefooted footprints across your own porch to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  It could be Lem and Ned!  Get a look at that new Number Five in the series of Champion Picture Post Cards at www.championnews.us.  It is a doosie and right across the front of it—“Champion! Looking on the Bright Side!”

CHAMPION—October 19, 2009

        In Champion the pumpkins finally got their frost on Sunday morning.  The mulberry trees let go of their big green leaves as soon as the sun hit them and they floated down into a deep carpet.  The woods have taken on the character of an old master’s landscape and Champions are again awed by the beauty of their own place in the sunshine.  Some are quite awed at the possibility of the broadband internet coming their way.  It cannot be too soon.

        A pleasant phone visit with Champion Esther Wrinkles was full of good news about the Thursday Night Music over at Plumber’s Junction.  The Backyard Bluegrass had a packed house and about raised the roof!  Johnny Unger’s sister took some photos, which Esther hopes she will email to the Champion mailbox.  D.J. put down his banjo and picked up his fiddle to play the Orange Blossom Special for Esther…she’s talking about making him another cake!

        Champion’s most avid eagle watcher shared a copy of the eagle picture that she received last week from her cousin in Texas.  It is a photo of a painting done on a slice of agate by prominent artist Marie Nash of Madisonville, Texas.  The eagle is a stately fellow.  His portrait came with a pleasant note from the Champion neighbor under the cover of a postage stamp bearing the likeness of Gary Cooper.  Now there was a handsome fellow.  The Solidarity Movement in Poland adopted his image as Will Kane in the movie, High Noon, in the struggle to gain free elections and to oust the Soviet backed communist government.  Leck Walenza was the hero there.  He was an electrician in the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk and eventually became the President of Poland.  Back in the U.S., Sergeant York would not authorize the movie of his life unless Gary Cooper played the part.  With roles like Lou Gehrig and John Doe, Cooper fit the mold for a Champion kind of guy, though his life was not without controversy.

        Controversial things show up in a book by Barbara Ehrenreich called Bright-Sided:  How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America.  She has written sixteen previous books, including the bestsellers Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch.  She said that she interviewed a lot of motivational speakers whose message to their corporate clients in sales meetings is:  you can have whatever you want, so long as you focus your thoughts on it and as long as you really, really, really want it.  The writer says, “..that’s nuts.  That’s not how we make change in the world.  We make change by planning, by thinking and by coming together.”  Her alternative to positive thinking is not negative thinking or despair, “it’s checking out what’s really there and finding out how to change it.”  Bright Siders around these parts feel that they do have their eyes open and there are reasons to be optimistic.  Not too much wants changing in Champion, though Champions support the writer’s efforts in corporate America and other distant places.

        Timber!  Three Champion women took falls this week.  One stepped off her porch in her slick little shoes onto a slick rock in the rain and made a splat that frightened the poor UPS man coming up the drive.  She has a scab on her knee now and some stretched muscles that want the heating pad.  Another Champion up in Marshfield, on her way to baby-sit, took a misstep and bloodied her nose on her granddaughter’s front steps.  She is feeling better, but it was not the fun kind of day she had planned.  Champion’s Norwood friend tripped and took a dive into a wall that blacked both her eyes.  When her Champion friend saw her on Wednesday, the colors had changed to that interesting combination of purple, yellow and green.  By the time for the regular bridge game on Saturday she was back to her normal lovely self.  Some say these kinds of things come in threes, so enough is enough.

        On Saturday the regular Fortnight Bridge group met with Charlene Dupre sitting in for the Vera Cruze player.  The Champion player left home with $2.30 and returned the winner with $3.10.  Bridge is good brain exercise particularly with a mix of good friends and pineapple upside down cake.  Players from Champion-East and Champion joined sisters at the Plant Place and Gift Corner up in Norwood for a rousing game last Wednesday.  There were quite a number of unfulfilled contracts and Champion-East, who rarely plays, was victorious.  They enjoyed pizza and lots of talk about gardening and the expected frost.  There are still a few good planting days left in the Hunter’s Moon.  The 25^th – 27^th, 30^th , 31^st are all good days for planting things like leafy greens.  Some say that this is the best time to plant spinach–that it will winter over and be good for early spring.  Before the ground freezes is a good time to set out all kinds of perennials and to plant daffodils.  Linda’s got a good deal on some evergreens these days and the mums are just lovely.  An old Clever Creek Champion says “Thanks!” to Harley for the hay.  Now he has his potato patch ready for next year.  Champion!

        First Lt. Tyler E. Parten, a native of Arkansas, died Thursday in Konar province in a firefight where insurgents used rocket-propelled grenades and rifles.  He is one of the 267 Fort Carson soldiers to die in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Richard Love is the postmaster in the little town of Fountain near the fort.  He says that he sees the toll on the faces of the wives that the soldiers leave behind.  The place stays braced for tragedy and expressions of Love and Gratitude are freely spoken.

        Rain caused the tour of the grand avenue to be postponed until Barbara is back in the neighborhood.  Champions always hope that is soon.  She has been off on a basket-weaving holiday, but Champions know that she is thinking about just how many signs and just where to place them on the now famous Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive.  The air is crisp and bright with good memories and melodies fill Champion hearts.  There is sweetness in a sad song that makes a person feel better somehow.  “Poor little Sadie is down from the mountain, the orphanage took her away.  Her Mama ran off with a revival preacher.  Her Daddy forgot how to pray.  They scrubbed on her knees and her elbows.  They cut off her long tangled hair.  They turned loose of her old dappled pony and loaded her into the car.”  Well, it goes on and on.  She grew up and turned out ok, but it was not easy.  Sadie sounds like a Champion kind of gal, one that might just step up on the porch at Henson’s Store to let loose with a song.  The Champion Picture Post Card business is in full swing whipping up nostalgia and positive thinking.  Get a look at the scenic gems at www.championnews.us or in person at the Emporium in Downtown Champion.  Send news of Lem and Ned to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.

Do not worry about undermining America, Champion!  Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 12, 2009

        Champions are edified by encouragement.  They never weary in well doing and are pleased to be able to be of service to others.  Looking on the Bright Side is more than a motto in Champion.  It is a way of life.

        Keith Yeager led a meeting at the Church of Christ in Champion from Friday through the Sunday afternoon service.  He and his wife, Sue, and their granddaughter made the trip to Champion from their home in Springtown, Texas, which is just a little Northwest of Fort Worth.  They had not been to Champion for thirteen years and while things are very much the same at the little church, there are some notable changes.  Missing from the congregation are Troy Powell and Lonnie Krider.  Though their absence is continually felt, the positive influence they exerted on the community by good example is one of the reasons Champion is still such a pleasant place.  Yeager taught on a variety of subjects with a focus on the responsibility of Christians to uplift and encourage each other as well as others.  The churches of Springfield, Marshfield, Peoria, IL and Murfreesboro, TN were well represented at the meeting and the little building was filled to capacity.  Acapella singing lifted the rafters and the spirits of everyone.  The Yeagers were heard to remark about how much they enjoyed being out in the country amid such sweet fellowship.  It reminded some of that old song about an “all day singing and dinner on the grounds.”  And what a dinner!  Champion!

        Saturday found Bob Berry leading a party of tourist through the tranquil environs of Champion.  Mary Goolsby has finally seen what all the fuss is about.  Her camera was working overtime as she tried to capture the place (not on film—on digits—no that is fingers).  Well, Champion just cannot be captured.  A person has to stroll around to soak it in and Champions hope to see Bob and Mary strolling through the place often.  They are long-time, big-time supporters of the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department and as such are Champions.

        Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride will be starting and finishing in Champion on Saturday the 24^th of October.  He has been doing this for about twelve years now.  Thirty five to fifty people on horses, mules, wagons and buggies take out of Champion at ten in the morning.  They get over to Drury for lunch around noon and then back to Champion at 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon.  Those that don’t know their way to Champion generally meet up across from the Fox Trotters in Ava about nine in the morning and caravan over to Champion.  People come from Springfield and all over to participate and all are welcome.  The trail goes close by the historic spot where Shelt Alsup was killed by the sheriff.  This story his told in the books Early Settlers of Douglas County and in The Search for Booger County.  Bud’s ancestors bought a big farm North of Champion on Clever Creek back in 1894.  He has a prominent Champion double cousin living just up WW from the city limits sign.  Everyone is welcome to come out to see the spectacle of the horses and riders, wagons and buggies.  Everyone has a good time.  A photograph will be chosen of this year’s group to be the new Champion Picture Post Card, replacing the 2009 picture.  It will be available at Henson’s Store on Tuesday the 27^th of October.

        There are more than forty families in Springfield who will see one of their family members deployed to Afghanistan in late October.  They are among the 300 Missouri National Guard Soldiers who have been training in Camp Clark, Nevada with the 203rd Engineer Battalion.  Their job in Afghanistan will be clearing the roadways of improvised explosive devices.  The job of their families back home will be to carry on with daily life, doing all the things that have to be done, with the added load of concern for the well-being of their loved ones far away.  The soldiers are also worried about their families back home, which must make their work harder for them there.  The Love and Gratitude of the Nation, the communities, the neighbors, friends and strangers must be expressed in some tangible way to provide comfort and encouragement to those serving and those left behind.  A dinner invitation, a phone call, a hug or handshake will go a long way.

        One of Foster and Kalyssa’s favorite uncles is about to have a birthday.  They are all such good singers, perhaps they will share a song with him on his special day.  Kalyssa does a bang up job with “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and Foster’s Granddad taught him the one about “Sadie’s Got Her New Dress On.”  When complimented on his own beautiful voice, the uncle just said that his wife makes him sound good.  They sure sound good together and Champions always enjoy a chance to hear the two of them sing.

        The specter of frost is still looming and some Champions are still scrambling to get everything done.  One tells a story about the mysterious Lem and Ned.  “They came walking up the hill one fall, one with a toe sack and the other one a syrup bucket.  ‘Hidy, Missus.  Lem and me was jest wonderin iffin you wouldn’t mind to have some kindlin’.  We got this sack of pine knots here and we was jest wonderin iffin you wouldn’t care for us to split you up some stove wood and pull all them pig weeds outa your turnip patch.  Now, don’t worry none about us.  We got our dinner bucket and we’d be much obliged to get our pay in turnips iffin you got a few to spare.’”  It turns out that Champions with turnips generally always have some to spare and so the deal was struck.  Now some Champions are keeping an eye on the lane to see if a couple of lanky, rusty ankled old barefoot hillbilly boys are passing by.  There is plenty to do and a few turnips worth of help couldn’t hurt.

        Harley’s voice sure adds some punch to the acapella consonance of Champion.  Barbara likes for him to lead, “Look on The Brighter Side.”  “…Shadows will pass away.  Trust in the Lord to guide you.  He’ll keep you every day and will drive away your sorrows…”  This is not the Monty Python song written by Eric Idle.  That one says, “…When your chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble, give a whistle, and this will help things turn out for the best.  And always look on the bright side of life…”  Either of those is a good tune to accompany an excursion up and down the now famous Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive.  Barbara, whose idea it was, is making her survey to determine the number and placement of the signs.  Champions who have yet to traverse its entire length are taking advantage of Barbara’s sojourn in the country to accompany her on her perlustration of the scenic avenue.

        Any Bright Side songs are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO. 65717 or at Champion News.  Those are also good places to send any more information about Lem and Ned.  Are they really doppelgangers of Junior and the General?  Look for the complete set of 10 picture post cards, now available individually or in gift packs at Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square in Historic Downtown Champion.  Get a good look at the place on-line at www.championnews.us.  Go over in person for a real treat–to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—October 5, 2009

        Champion is situated at the bottom of a long hill and a short one at the end of the pavement on a nice flat beside a creek.  It is a beautiful and quaint place with a similitude that smacks of heaven.  Moreover, Champion has wonderful neighbors, so if Champions must leave home, they do not have far to go to find fellowship and enjoyment.

        Neighbors, Betty and Dale Thomas, hosted their eighth annual Pioneer Descendants Gathering over at Yates on the weekend.  Dale is a descendent of the original settlers Tom Brown and John Burden.  During the course of the day on Saturday three thousand people enjoyed exhibits and demonstrations depicting life from the 1860’s to the 1960’s.  Betty’s hand quilted Wagon Wheel quilt was won by Mary Record of Mountain Grove.  Esther Wrinkles was impressed by the quality of the molasses this year.  Ray and Norma Stillings of over West of Ava make it every year.  Esther said that they really did a good job of skimming and though they were dark, they were very tasty.  (It is curious that molasses is often spoken of in the plural—‘those molasses.’)  Lula Lakey Dyer enjoyed them too.  She is one of those local Lakeys and looks forward to getting back in the neighborhood whenever she can.  Old Grandfather Weltanschauung was seen ambling about with his Rich brother and Lovely Linda.  They were enjoying the exhibits and demonstrations and visiting with old friends about harvesting green beans from the same plants from June to October!  It was a good gardening season for many this year.  The gathering was a good place to share those successes and to see again those seldom seen friends.

        Champion’s Skyline neighbor and Ladies’ Auxiliary President, Betty Dye, celebrated a birthday on the seventh of October.  She has done a great job with the Auxiliary, keeping things organized and efficient and fun.  She is a self-described magnet for mice and has some very entertaining stories about encounters with those critters.  Over the course years they have strolled over the foot of her bed, run up her pants legs, jumped up on her knee, walked on the bottom side of her book shelves, sat on her shoulder to watch Wheel of Fortune, and shared space with her toes on a sticky trap.  With all this interaction, one might think she likes them.  She does not.  Neither does Kalyssa’s Grammie.  Her fear of mice is legendary as is her sister Kaye’s fear of snakes.  Not much teasing is done regarding these phobias.  It is not safe.  They celebrated a special birthday together on Sunday.  Now they are as old as Harley!  They are older now than some of their Champion friends, who will, for a while, treat them with the deference due to elders.  There is a good rumor that Harley and Barbara will be home for a visit soon.  There will be a meeting at the little church, hopefully with much singing so that Harley’s fine voice can fill the space and drift out to enchant the Champion wildlife.

        There is some exciting talk about the possibility of a walking trail that might be in the planning stages.  It could be built around and through the Skyline Fire Department Picnic Grounds and the Skyline School.  A number of neighbors would like to participate in the work, as the possibility of having such a trail available is very enticing.  Some safe surface over which to walk off those pounds or get that heart to pumping could be a good thing for the community.

        A nice note came from a long time Champion concerning an item in the Mansfield Mirror a couple of weeks ago.  The article concerned the ancient dugout canoe found buried in the banks of Bryant Creek.  She had sent it to Carol Fitzmaurice, who use to live here and now is in Atlanta.  By return mail Ms. Fitzmaurice sent a clipping that she had saved from the Douglas County Herald’s 1983 article about the canoe.  So the old boat is still floating if just in the imaginations of Champions past and present and mail crossings of mysterious things keep the world an interesting place.

        News arrived that Art Nunn passed away on Sunday.  He was in the Veteran’s Hospital in Poplar Bluff and had been ill for a long time.  He leaves close family here.  All those survivors of U.S. Military Veterans know that the community of Veterans share a special Love and Gratitude for each other, no matter which war they fought or when or where they served.  It is something they have coming to them from the whole Nation.

        If gardeners have been organized enough to get their seed ordered, the sixth and seventh will be good days to get that fancy garlic in the ground for next year.  Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the tenth through the twelfth will still be good for root crops.  They are having a nice end of the season sale over there.  Charlene has been making some very cute scarecrows.  She loaned a book to a Champion bridge player.  The Fun Way To Serious Bridge was written by Harry Lampert.  He has a comical way to reinforce the basic rules and strategies.  At this week’s Fortnight Bridge a player from Champion-South sat in for the Norwood Player who had a special game going on over in the Seven Springs community.  On the occasions when Champion and Champion—South partnered they managed to trump each other’s trick and to regale the group with grandchildren stories.  The Vera Cruz host and the Brushy Knob player were polite in their listening, though it must surely get old when Grandmothers vie for cutest decendant.  The game went on for six rubbers with four slams made that were not bid.  The Vera Cruz player won the $1.00 for high score and the Champion-South sit-in walked off with twenty nickels.  The whole thing was punctuated nicely with an apple crisp and ice cream.  The Seven Springs game results have not yet been reported, but that is reported to be a very fun loving bunch over there, so no doubt it was a pleasant evening.

        A delightful pair of chanteuses happened through Champion during the week.  Singer/ songwriters, Ginger Doss and Becka Kelso, on tour, made a stop with the family of their musical friend, Sam Moses.  They harvested the wild grapes, ate vegetarian Street Walker’s Pasta, and made beautiful music.  Their voices blend together in that way that causes the listener to hold his breath.  Sam’s folks were pleased to have some live music in the house again and there were many sweet stories told about Sam.  He is still off in Scotland and his last e-mail said, “I hope you are having as much fun as I am.”  Ginger left her new CD, This Cocoon.  The moon was getting full during their stay and her title track says, “..your full moon eyes in a midnight sky made a light of it.”  One of Becka’s songs on her new CD, Mud Blossom, says, “..But I smile when I think of the things that you say/ I just want to call you so I can say, ‘Hey, I love you when you’re gone.’”  With luck, Champion will be a regular stop on their future tours.  They Started out in Texas and will go to Florida, via St. Louis, Indianapolis, Nashville, Atlanta, etc., ending the tour in late December.

        Look for pictures of the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering under “Pioneers” at www.championnews.us.  Drop a note to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or an email to Champion News, with any interesting information, especially if you know anything about the mysterious Lem and Ned.  Spill those beans on the porch at Henson’s Store in the bucolic similitude of pastoral paradise.  The picture postcard business is thriving there, as the place is so picturesque.  Up and down Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive the view is fine.  It’s Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 28, 2009

        Champion is the kind of place that sets the standard for the rest of the country.  The seasons tend to change conspicuously on the designated calendar date and this year is no exception.  Nature lovers and gardeners have patiently endured the change as a spectacularly mild and lovely summer has given way to glorious autumnal weather.  Being not a slothful lot and advantaging themselves of perseverance, Champions are yet bringing in sheaves.  Harvest baskets overflow and the bounty of corn, goose beans, grapes and peppers changes hands.  Sweet potatoes will be out of the ground soon and frost will be on Champion pumpkins.  The first whiff of wood smoke will soon be spiraling out of Champion chimneys.

        Ms. Eva Powell happened to be over in Fair Grove last weekend and said that she had seen Champion’s favorite trinket maker there.  Really, they were only called ‘trinkets’ because his neighbor, Louise, said that he calls them that.  Ms Powell said he had all kinds of beautiful hand made wooden items like lazy Susans and she just couldn’t remember what all, except the things were made of oak and walnut and cedar and all polished and pretty.  Champions will find him down at the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering on the weekend spinning potatoes and feeding the masses.  He is a busy fellow, what one might call ‘diversified.’

        Betty and Dale Thomas were out at the Champion Reunion on the Labor Day week-end.  Betty said that this year they have built a big pavilion down on their place at Yates where they have the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering.  She said the pavilion will hold three hundred people and that it is in front of the stage so that folks can sit closer to the music in the shade.  They will still have to bring their lawn chairs, but that it should be more comfortable this year.  Friends who seldom see each other will be having sweet reunions and enjoying the various demonstrations and that sense of community that is fostered at this wonderful annual event.  It looks like Harley and Barbara will miss it this year, as they will come straggling into town the following week.  Champions will be mighty glad to see them whenever they come.

        Norwood’s Farmers Day was a good success this year.  The parade stretched out for blocks and blocks and the street was lined with people vying for a view.  The town was packed with people and reports were that a lot of good fun was had.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place says that October’s is the Hunter’s Moon and that above ground crops can be planted on the second and the third and root crops on the sixth and seventh.  The 6^th and 7^th and 10-12 will all be good days to prune to encourage growth.  The 13 and 14^th will be excellent days to harvest crops, so if those sweet potatoes can stay in the ground until then, it is thought that they will keep better through the winter.  Take a good look at Linda’s Almanac in the link section at www.championnews.us.

        The Fortnight Bridge group has had some interesting games lately.  Truthfully, they all are.  The game hosted by the Champion player on the fifth of the month was fraught with unbid slams.  The play was good, but the bidding proved weak in that the contracts were underbid.  Brushy Knob hosted on the 19^th and the Champion player started out well.  The bidding was good, the play was flawless, and then something happened.  Mistaking the thought for the deed, Champion neglected to draw the last trump and from then on floundered, but not enough to win the low money.  Had it not been for a luscious banana cream pie and good friends it could have been disastrous.  Vera Cruz was the winner of that game and Norwood pocketed the nickels.  More exciting bridge news came from the Fourth Thursday Bridge Club that meets in Mansfield monthly.  Not only was this a card game but it was a “card party” for one of the groups founding members, Betty Swain.  She is celebrating her 90^th birthday!  Four tables worth of players surprised her with a basket of beautiful birthday cards and congratulatory remarks to make her smile.  Betty had known there was to be a pizza party to celebrate the new tables the club has purchased, but the card party was one of the best birthday surprises she has ever had.  She said that she learned to play bridge in Duarte, California in about 1957.  She had a five-year-old child and one 8 years old when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and San Joaquin Valley Fever.  She spent 8 months in the City of Hope in Duarte getting well enough to have lung surgery.  She said there was nothing to do during that time so she learned to play bridge.  It was the most difficult time in her life but she survived it with her health and with a life long love of bridge.  The Mansfield club has been playing for about ten years now and shows no sign of slowing down, nor does Betty.  She was off to Springfield Monday to enjoy tea with friends and is planning a trip out west to visit her son for ten days.  She will be back in time for the next game.

        Thursday evening found Champions with visiting cousins over at Plumber’s Junction in the exurbs of Champion-East, i.e., Vanzant.  Many of the regular musicians were on hand, entertaining an appreciative crowd.  Regulars include Sue Murphy on the mandolin, Norris Woods on banjo, Jerry (Somebody) Wagner–fiddler-yodeler, Robert Upshaw–guitar, Frank Mings–mandolin, Ruth Collins–guitar, Johnny and Beau Combs–guitars and Joanne Combs–vocals.  Other Thursdays find some of these and other musicians from around the area filling the place with a fine mix of old time country music, bluegrass and fun.  It generally kicks off around 6 or so in the evening and goes on till closing time—about nine or so.  These are a diverse and interesting bunch of folks.  Sue grew up in Thornfield and went to high school in Kingsville for four years with Murphy from Almartha.  He said they went on their senior trip and married that fall.  It is obvious that he is her biggest fan.  Johnny and Beau Combs are cousins and fairly new to the area.  Joanne, Beau’s wife, said that they will be playing October 10^th at a church wide fellowship out on a ranch somewhere in the area.  She said that it will be announced in the paper.  Eddie Berry of Blanche (Junior) was notably absent on Thursday, but the General was there signing autographs.  Someone else remarked that they do look an awful lot like grown up versions of Lem and Ned.

        Many Viet Nam era veterans had a hard time when they came home from their military service.  The Nation had been in conflict over whether or not the war should have been fought and the returning soldiers felt the strife.  Champions are always mindful of the U.S. Service Personnel who put themselves in harm’s way at the behest of their Nation.  When they come home they need to be met with Love and Gratitude and with support and understanding.  They are Champions.

        If Bill Anderson, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Dionne Warwick, Brenda Lee and Charlie Daniels, Firewater, The Seekers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the Kingston Trio all got together they could sing “This Little Light of Mine I’m gonna let it shine, ev’ry day…On Monday, give me the gift of love, on Tuesday peace came from above..”  It seems that there are a number of different versions but they are all similarly motivated.  Motivate over to Henson’s Store on the North Side of the Square in beautiful Downtown Champion.  Look up and down the broad expanse of Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive and let your little light shine.  You’ll be in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION–September 21, 2009

        Champion is a bright spot in the world.  There is no denying it.  The West Plains Wagon Club got wet every day of their trip until Thursday.  On Thursday as they came to Champion, the sun came out.  Eleven wagons’ worth of teamsters and passengers and 21 horseback riders will be pleased to say that Champion was the Bright Spot of their week long ride from West Plains to Mansfield.  Clifton Luna has headed up this ride since the late 1980’s.  He is 84 and shows no signs of slowing down.  There were quite a few children on this trip.  The youngest was Breanna Webster, two years old, traveling with her Grandparents Nancy and Marvin Webster of Bloomfield, MO.  Granddad, Don Breauchy of Vanzant enjoyed the company of his 10-year-old grandson, Jeffrey Bingham.  Gary Carter’s grandsons, Trent and Trevor, were also out of school for a couple of days getting life experience and education in the saddle.  There were several new to this ride this year and sadly, some missing who have made it every year.  Don Crawford of Salem, Arkansas, passed away this year.  He had made this ride every time.  He also headed up a ‘no-shuttle’ ride in the spring and the fall every year.  That ride was generally about 100 miles and participants had to bring all their own food, feed, and gear for the trip as they had no support on the trail.  Several different folks remarked on his absence on Thursday.  A number of Champions were on hand to enjoy the spectacle of the wagon train.  Upshaws came from as far away as Mountain Grove and Vanzant, and Wisemans came from Marshfield.  Foster and Kalyssa enjoyed some time in the saddle though their feet are still a long way from the stirrups.  One of the muleskinners was heard to say how much they all appreciate having the spectators come out to see them when they come to Champion.  “It is a real highlight for us,” he said.

        A real highlight falls on the last day of summer most years.  That is Louise Hutchison’s birthday.  She shares it with Zoey Louise of Austin, TX.  One of them is six years old and the other is 74.  Champions wish them both a wonderful birthday and another great year.  Some Champions are off to Tennessee to see those Tennessee grandsons Dillon and Dakota.  They are just about grown now so they have to be looked at often to keep their faces familiar.

        “Junior and the General bear a striking resemblance to a couple of old time Champions, Lem and Ned.  Lem and Ned might easily have matured into replicas of Junior and the General if they had stayed around Champion, or if they had lived.” This mysterious note came anonymously over the Internet.

        Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 25^th through the 27^th will be good days to clear fencerows and to work in the woodlot.  Those are also good days to prune for the discouragement of growth.  Those sound like good days to clean up the vegetable garden to get ready for some fall planting of spinach.  A Champion was talking about a variety of greens that is a cross between Mustard and Spinach.  It sounds hearty and tasty!  The wet year has some tomatoes, squash, green beans and cucumber vines still producing.  A Teeter Creek Friend once grew cucumbers for a big pickle factory.  She was out in Montana on a wheat farm.  The rows were a quarter of a mile long, so three rows of cucumbers was quite a few cucumbers.  She said that the smaller the cucumbers were the more she was paid per bushel.  She did not say how much that was, but she did indicate that it was some while back.

        Esther and Raymond Howard were in the neighborhood on Sunday.  They brighten up even a bright spot.  Esther was talking about the Fair Grove Heritage Reunion and craft show.  It always happens on the last full weekend in September.  Fair Grove is Northeast of Springfield and West of Marshfield.  There will be a number of Champions in attendance.  Esther will exhibit some of her paintings there and other Champions will be peddling various homemade trinkets.

        “Wake Me Up When September Ends” is a song written by Billie Joe Armstrong, of the band Green Day, as a memorial to his late father.  It has a storyline about a soldier being killed, but the lyric is open ended enough so that whether you know all that or not, the tune can still conjure the feeling of summer fading away.  The opening lyric sets a downbeat tone:  “Summer has come and passed/ The innocent can never last/ Wake me up when September ends.”  The soldiers are losing their summer in Afghanistan and Iraq too.  The weather there is just a little warmer, about ten degrees warmer than here these days.  They will have a short autumn and winter will come soon and heavy.  The U.S. soldiers serving there are not summer soldiers or sunshine patriots, but they are there doing what their Nation asks of them.  They are all Champions who have the Love and Gratitude of their Nation due them while they are there and also when they come home.

        The Wagon Train has come and gone again.  Time passes sweetly in Champion.  The seasons roll around.  Children grow and things change.  In Champion though, there is a sense of timeless nostalgia and that old home feeling of things being just the way they are supposed to be.  Step up on the porch at Henson’s Store for some of that feeling.  It is on the North side of the Square.  Look in on www.championnews.us if you are too far away to make the ride.  Drop a note to Champion News or to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 if you know what ever became of Lem and Ned or if you have an autumn poem to share—something like “Get your spirit fortified! Get down to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!”