November 26, 2007

November 26, 2007

CHAMPION—November 26, 2007

 

        Champion is delighted that Charlee Smith came home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday.  She drives home every week end.  Wes says that they are treating her well over there and she is finding college to be a good experience.  She made it home Friday night and Saturday went deer hunting.  Champions know that she is a pretty remarkable person but when she killed two deer with one shot even some seasoned hunters are jealous.  The bullet went through the neck of one of the young deer and then trough the neck of the other killing them both.  So when a woman visiting Champion on Sunday said, “Hey!  Did you hear about that girl who killed two deer with one shot?” locals figured it must have been Charlee.

        This is the time of the year when Champions get a lot of good mail.  One of the more interesting pieces has come from Champion’s friend, Darrell Haden, from over in Tennessee.  He suggests a song, “The Hound Dog Song,” for the Missouri Song List which was thought to have been originated by a Douglas County man, Frank Reece.  He sent an excerpt of Senator J.E. Curry’s A Reminiscent History of Douglas County in which the Senator said of Mr. Reece:  “He was uneducated and poor, but was a real genius with the fiddle; could play any tune he ever heard, and play it ‘right now.’  At the same time he could carry on a conversation and laugh and talk as well while playing.  He could also sing and play at the same time, and this ‘dog song’ was one of his favorites.”  The song has enjoyed a number of permutations over the years.  The following version was taken from an album recorded by the American Indian artist, Buffy St. Marie in the 1970s.

        “Me and Lem Briggs and Orville Brown, took us a little walk to town.  My old Jim dog, ornery old cuss, he just naturally follered us.  When we got by Ben Johnston’s store, Raggs & Mop came out the door, yelling and screaming and throwing rocks, run my Jim dog under a box.  Now Jim seen his duty then and there and he let into them gentlemen.  He sure messed up that foot of square, with the rags and the meat and the hide and the hair.  Every time I go to town, the boys keep kicking my dog around.  Makes no difference ifn he’s a hound, you gotta quit kicking my dog around.”

        The line in the song about the ‘rags and the meat and the hide and the hair’ brings to mind the condition of the Champion square after the parade on Thanksgivings.  Mail has come about that too.  This one from Robert Upshaw from over in Vanzant.  He says, in part:  “I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Champion Parade Committee.  What an awesome parade!!!  I wouldn’t be surprised that in a few years the Macy’s Parade will also be held at Champion.  I thought Barbara looked stunning in her new camel wool outfit.  Although I did think she was a bit overdressed, but, it was a chilly day.  And that armadillo hat with the racoon tail.  What a Clever Creek idea?  (Pun intended.)
        “As I didn’t want to drive in the congested traffic and get caught by the mobile toll booth, myself and 35 others rented the Vanzant community air shuttle bus blimp so we could view the parade from the air.  We sort of got lost and almost missed the parade.  Our navigator, Esther, had been partying on Thanksgiving Eve and couldn’t focus on the instrument panel.  But once we located Fox Creek all was well.
        “Although it was an outstanding parade, I do have one complaint.  After three years in a row you’d think the parade committee would get a different Grand Marshall.  That beastly porker from Spotted Hog, with all those rings in its nose, has got to be disbanded.”

        Champion is such a hospitable place and known for it’s open door policy with all its neighbors.  With that in mind, the CPC has decided to hold a special meeting to discuss the shameful incident that left the square in such a mess and to allocate responsibility for the veterinary bills.  It has been suggested that at the very least a moratorium should be in place that prohibits the participation of all pigs in future Champion Parades for an undetermined period of time.  That seems quite harsh and it is hoped that when tempers cool and the square is back to normal and some of the hurt feelings are assuaged, perhaps a more moderate approach to the problem can be found.

        Mr. Upshaw goes on to say, “P.S.  I think I located Doug Hutchison’s pet rock that Lonnie Krider misplaced a few years ago.  However, I could not be sure as it was partially covered with leaves and deer droppings.”

        Jon Martin, 33, a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army from Belleveu, Ohio died on Thanksgiving day in Germany as a result of injuries sustained in an IED blast in Iraq.  He is one of 3,876 who have lost their lives there.  To them and to their survivors at home and in the field Love and Gratitude for their sacrifice is their due.

        This will be a busy week end in Skyline.  The Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department will have a live burn class Friday and Saturday relating to auto fires.  Friday will be the classroom work for the firefighters with an instructor from Jeff City.  Saturday they will have an actual auto fire demonstration and ‘practical.’  It should prove to be very interesting.  Observers will be welcome Saturday at a safe distance.

        Saturday will also be an excellent opportunity to do some ‘giving back.’  The area has long been benefited by Skyline School and particularly by eighth grade teacher Lannie Hinote.  A benefit Chili Supper has been organized to assist her with medical expenses.  It will start at the School at six in the evening.  There will be a pie auction that will include a super-sized coconut pie by Vanzant’s own blimp navigator and Pie Champion, Esther Wrinkles.  Esther is a big fan of the Kellys and will be sure to enjoy an evening of their music and several other groups as well.  There will be a silent auction and an opportunity to win a pony and many other surprises.  Mostly there will be a chance to express Love and Gratitude to a special person.  If folks cannot attend but still want to help they can contact Sharon Woods at 683-9074 or Helen at 683-7874.

        Opportunities, surprises, reasons to be Thankful and suggestions for the Missouri Song List are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Examples of scandalous behavior of pigs (especially pictures) in parades can be e-mailed to Champion News.  To survey the detritus of the Champion Thanksgiving Day Parade, just go to Henson’s Store on the square where by that time Champions will once again be able to—‘Look on the bright side!

Facebook

November 19, 2007

November 19, 2007

CHAMPION—November 19, 2007

 

        Champion is delighted that Charlee Smith came home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday.  She drives home every week end.  Wes says that they are treating her well over there and she is finding college to be a good experience.  She made it home Friday night and Saturday went deer hunting.  Champions know that she is a pretty remarkable person but when she killed two deer with one shot even some seasoned hunters are jealous.  The bullet went through the neck of one of the young deer and then trough the neck of the other killing them both.  So when a woman visiting Champion on Sunday said, “Hey!  Did you hear about that girl who killed two deer with one shot?”  Locals figured it must have been Charlee.

        For Champions and others interested in the Thanksgiving story from another perspective, a good place to start is with a very important book, “The Invasion of America,” by Francis Jennings.  It is reported to be an authoritative text on the settlement of New England and the evolution of Indian/White relations in the New England colonies. Today the town of Plymouth Rock has a Thanksgiving ceremony every year in remembrance of the first Thanksgiving.  There are still Wampanoag People living in Massachusetts.  In 1970, they asked one of them to speak at the ceremony to mark the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s arrival.  Here is part of what he said:

        “Today is a time of celebrating for you—a time of looking back to the first days of white people in America.  But it is not a time of celebrating for me.  It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People.  When the Pilgrims arrived, we, the Wampanoag welcomed them with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end.  That before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a tribe.  That we and other Indians living near the settlers would be killed by their guns or dead from diseases that we caught from them.  Let us always remember, the Indian is and was just as human as the white people.

        “Although our way of life is almost gone, we, the Wampanoag, still walk the lands of Massachusetts.  What has happened cannot be changed.  But today we work toward a better America, a more Indian America where people and nature once again are important.”

        Now it is 387 years since the first Thanksgiving ceremony.  The Delaware, Kickapoo and Osage Indians were living around here when the pilgrims hit land.  Champion is one of those places in America where people respect each other and nature.  This is a wonderful place to live.  Having family and friends visit is something for which Champions are always truly Thankful.  They are building good memories.

        Young Foster is holding up well with the cast on his leg.  His singing voice is fine and he is still getting around like greased lightening.  He’ll join the family crowd at Vivian Floyd’s house in Rogersville for a big Thanksgiving dinner.  He has a new little cousin named Emerson Rose.  She is Eli’s new little sister and is sporting a beautiful head of hair.

        Cattle Barons Harley and Barbara Krider, down from Illinois for the holiday, will also attend the Rogersville banquet.  Barbara has not revealed what she will wear to the Champion Thanksgiving Parade nor whether she will attend as an observer or a participant.  The parade will form up on the east end of town and wind its way south down the lane, then following the creek it will loop around the big walnut tree beside the church before it turns northward then west to pass in front of the reviewing stand on the porch of Henson’s Store.  From there it will take the West Exit from Champion and turn right to return to its origins.  If it has not rained by that time, the Champion Parade Committee request that horsemen, shepards, all livestock wranglers including those of ducks, dogs and turkeys are asked to keep the animals calm so as not to generate too much dust.  If the swineherds from Spotted Hog expect to exhibit their mascot again they should be willing to leave it on the trailer which they may pull by whatever method they choose or to have it in adequate harness with sufficient manpower to keep the beast under control.  No one wants a repeat of the Horrible Halloween fiasco.  Enough said.

        Other Champions are on the quest for Revenge Ham up Norwood way.  With home grown sweet potatoes and some pumpkin pie, it will be a lovely day.

        Sweet Sue will celebrate her birthday on Friday.  She will have her usual houseful of family and friends for the holiday.  It is precious to make that annual contact with so many interesting and diverse friends.  It will be exciting to hear what she thinks of the great Bridge scandal in Shanghai last week at the International Bridge Federation Championships.  Another Champion, weary already of the dreariness of the political situation, made a plea for just a little good news, for something positive.  The response was that Shirley Temple was the by-product of the Great Depression.  Champions will be ever on the look out for a contemporary “little ray of sunshine.”

        The Veteran’s Day Celebrations in the area were well attended last week and well reported.  The current conflict in Iraq has claimed the lives of 3,871 US Military Personnel.  Among those is Sgt. Kenneth R. Booker, 25, of Vevay, Indiana, who died Nov. 14, in Mukhisa, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 23 Infantry Regiment.

        Champions send their Love and Gratitude to his survivors and to all those Americans serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and the other dangerous places of the world.

        Recently a Champion was contacted by a nice man in India whose job is to give away free cell phones to people who sign up for the service of the company Sprint or some similar outfit.  It took some convincing for the man to understand that there are places in Champion and the Ozarks in general where cell phones do not work..  “Oh! No,” said he, “in the United States, all topographical regions can receive cell phone signals.”  By exaggerating the height of the mountains and the depth of the valleys, the Champion was at last successful in having the man understand that some people have to travel ten miles to get a signal.  It was a difficult concept for the Indian to grasp.  The Champion noted that this technology is getting cheaper and cheaper.  Soon he thinks it will be Free and then it will be Mandatory.  The dreaded question might be, “Where is your phone, Citizen?”  This Champion says that people are “getting older younger and are staying younger longer.”  By that he means that young people are more worldly and informed than in previous years and more healthy.

        Buzz and Sharon Woods are in a tizzy with the unexpected visit of their daughter in from Hawaii for the holiday.  Sharon says she is running a week behind.  She is working on the benefit to be held for Lannie Hinote at the Skyline School on December First.  She says that there will be a silent auction and a pie auction and a raffle for a pony that Sharon and Buzz are donating.  The Kellies will perform and the PTO will serve chili.  Contact Helen at Skyline to donate items for an auction or for information 683-7874 or contact Sharon Woods at 683-9074.  An opportunity to be of help to someone who is so important to the community is not one to be missed.

        Esther Wrinkles will have a houseful for Thanksgiving.  There will be turkey and all the fixingings for Lonnie and Verla Dooms, Larry and Theresa Wrinkles, Greg and Deanna Harris and their son Gavin and Doug Reece.  It will be interesting to hear what kind of pies Esther makes.  She reports that her gooseberry bushes are doing well.

        Good reports are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Parade photos can me e-mailed to Champion News.  Political discourse can be held in abeyance while visitors to Henson’s Store keep their eyes peeled for a little ray of sunshine.  In Champion the are always—looking on the bright side!

Facebook

November 12, 2007

November 12, 2007

CHAMPION–November 12, 2007

 

        An enterprising Champion proposes to construct a Mobile Toll Booth (MTB) which he will set up and man on the ‘shares’ with land owners who would like to know who is on their property.  For people who do not hunt, hunting season is kind of stressful.  Hopefully, all the hunters have heard that it is important to put ice in those cavities as soon as the deer has been cleaned on account of the warmer than usual weather.  Also some Champions are worried about the hunters’ camp fires and if they are paying attention to the dryness of the season and the still heavy foliage.  In every community there is a worry-wart.  Hunters have been here always and it is an excellent circumstance to be living in an area where wild game is plentiful and the heavy traffic is only a seasonal thing.

        Hunting is one of the major topics of conversation at Henson’s Store this time of the year.  Overheard the other day was a Champion who has hunted bear successfully up North somewhere in Canada.  He remarked that when skinned out, a bear looks very much like a man.  He said it was ‘spooky.’

        An e-mail came to the Champion News mail box:  “ Dear  Champion News,  We read your article in the Herald every week and have no pictures, recipes or squirrel hunts to report.  I do have a favor to ask of you.  A group of us “seniors” get together once a month and decided it would be ok to send goodie boxes to soldiers overseas.  One of our boxes came back this past week as the soldier we sent to hopefully came home.  Would it be ok if we send our returned box to your soldier in Afghanistan.  Thanks so much, awaiting your reply,  Pat Wrinkles”  For some unknown reason the ‘return mail’ part of the e-mail program didn’t work so a postcard was quickly dispatched to the effect that it is perfectly alright to send the package to Champion’s soldier.  SSG Moreno, Raul / 4-319th TF SABER / FOB NARAY / APO AE 09354.

        The following statement is taken from the Presidents Proclamation concerning Veteran’s day 2007.  “Throughout our history, America has been protected by patriots who cherished liberty and made great sacrifices to advance the cause of freedom.  The brave members of the United States Armed Forces have answered the call to serve our Nation, ready to give all for their country.  On Veterans Day, we honor these extraordinary Americans for their service and sacrifice, and we pay tribute to the legacy of freedom and peace that they have given our great Nation.”

        Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin R. Bewley, 27, of Hector, Ark., died Nov. 5 of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting operations in Salah ad Din province, Iraq.  Bewley was permanently assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 11, Oak Harbor, Wash.

        In pleasant conversation with Pete (Lyman) Proctor about the Veteran’s Day celebration he reported that the VFW post 3770 was sponsoring a Veteran’s Day celebration at Mtn. Grove High School on Sunday afternoon at 20m..  The POW/MIA Missing Man table was presented.

        Currently missing or captured in Iraq:

Staff Sergeant Keith M. Maupin since 16th of April 2004.

Spc. Alex R. Jimenez:  status missing-captured since 12 May, 2007.

Pvt. Byron W. Fouty:  status-missing—captured since 12 May, 2007.

         The American Legion presented a Twenty One Gun Salute for the people to see what that is like.  Pete says that every year on November 11th, the VFW has a Flag ceremony on the Square in Mtn. Grove at 11 a.m.  They have done it for years.  In conversation about the current conflict he said that every community feels the war someway.  From Champion he and his brothers Gary, and Frankie all went to the service during the Vietnam War.  They were stationed in different places because in those days they tried not to have brothers serving in the same dangerous place.  Pete’s son, Bryan Proctor, has served three deployments to Iraq and has also been to Afghanistan.  He is thirty nine years old and is currently stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.  He has children and five more years service ahead before retirement.  Pete says that Bryan is ready to go back any time he is asked.

        A chance trip to Henson’s store on Thursday found Don Viles there from Springfield and his brother Jim Viles from Marshall, MO.  They were out on a tour around the old stomping grounds of their family.  Their parents were Lorene and Ernest Viles who used to own the store at Champion.  They sold out to Ed and Anna Henson in 1940.  There was some reminiscing of the past including the fact that in the old days nothing was wasted right down to the brains of the squirrels.  There was some talk about politics as well including a story about some folks years ago up in Mtn. Grove who hated FDR so badly that all they could do was drink beer and cuss about him.  A great number of sentiments were discussed around the stove that day including the concept that often enough a war comes as a tool to boost the economy.  It was also noted that there is a lot of profit to be made by people who are already extremely wealthy and a lot of sacrifice made by poor and middle class people in terms of an inequitable tax structure and the actual people serving as cannon fodder.  Presidential politics came up in the conversation and there was the suggestion that a random drawing should be made for the office every six months.  That’s about the limit an honest man (or woman) could stand before the corruption would begin to eat them up.

        It was a grand time at the Herald’s Fish Fry on Friday!  The fish and fixings were very tasty and it was most pleasant to meet the people that put this whole thing together.  It’s eye opening!  Later that day the violin-mandolin concert at Jean’s Healthway was well attended and much enjoyed by a number of Champions together with music appreciators from far and wide.   A grandson of Champions will be  marching in the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City this year.  He is Tristan Mudd who is a junior in High School in Springfield. He is going to be the only Ozark Mountain kid there.  It’s very exciting.

        Foster (Scooter) Wiseman is not much slowed down by the bright green cast on his lower left leg.  It has let him concentrate more on his music and he was heard singing, “Down the road!  Down the road!  I got a pretty gal down the road!”  Little sister, Kalyssa, seems to like his singing.  It is clear that he will be back up to full speed before long.  Friends and family are relieved.

        Friends, family, coworkers, students, parents and the general community will get together on December 1st at the Skyline School to benefit Lannie Hinote.  There will be chili and music and a silent auction and plenty of opportunity to support a solid and selfless individual who has been the chief wrangler, instructor and inspiration for Skyline’s finest wild and woolly eighth graders for a long time.  It will be the best possible use of a Saturday night and an excellent chance to meet some other real Champions.

        Enterprising ideas, squirrel receipts, hunting tales, and musical reports are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Any suggestions for the Champion Thanksgiving Day Parade can be e-mailed to Champion News.  So far the Champion Parade Committee has fended off suggestions of a Conga line of turkey impersonators and of a raid on Spotted Hog for some Revenge Ham as some are still harboring resentments over perceived injury relating to the missing (but now restored) Champion signs.  Eulalia Jasmin says, “Just get over it!”  Political discourse seems inevitable at Henson’s Store in the Geopolitical Center of the very representation of the Heart of Douglas County where the sentiment remains:  Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

Facebook

November 4, 2007

November 4, 2007

CHAMPION—November 4, 2007

 

        The bad colds that have been going around the country have found their way into Champion.  It’s a drag.  People who have coughed so hard that their ribs are sore are now having to put up with friends and family trying to tickle their funny bones.  Never was there a more convivial or jolly place with a kinderhearted population, until now.  Compassion, which is the very foundation of the community, has given way to rude jest and to a ‘bump and grind band’ singing, “I want a bottle of NyQuil…badum badum badum (imagine some hard driving base and drums here.)…..for that restful sleep my Body needs……….ba daba da bump….an anal-gsic  de-congest-tant……with an anti-hist-amine!  ba daba da dum pa dum bump.”  It’s the kind of tune that brings to mind smoky rooms and general bad behavior.  There are no such places in Champion and the music, while beguiling and full of good message, is unseemly.

        He has been having a hard time since Friday and everybody who wants him to feel much better about everything can bake him a chocolate cake.  This is a good receipt for  A Very Chocolate Cake.  Grease with butter a 13”x 9’ pan or two smaller pans.  Combine and beat well the following ingredients:  2 cups sugar, 1 cup oil, 2 eggs, 1 cup strong coffee, 1 cup milk (scant), 2 cups flour (rounded) 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, a pinch of salt and 1 cup cocoa.  The batter will be thin.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.  Test it with a toothpick and don’t over bake it.  Cool the cake completely before frosting.  This fudge frosting is just wonderful.  For an 8” x 8” cake…double the batch for a 13” by 9” cake.  Do not make more than a double batch.  A quarter of a cup of butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa (or more) a quarter of a cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla (Optional:  Cayenne to taste—starting with ½ teaspoon.)  Put all but the vanilla in a heavy pan.  Stir constantly, bringing to a boil over medium heat.  Continue to cook for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Beat until cool and thick enough to spread.  If too thick, warm it.  This makes a wonderful cake.  Wayne is a wonderful Grandpa……Happy Birthday!

        There is a Champion who is worried about the bees.  He says that there are many fewer bees these days and that if they continue to decline in population we will all have some trouble.  He’s thinking about the squash, peppers, tomatoes, okra, and broccoli.  He is also worried about the apples, peaches, pears and plums and the whole thing about pollination.  As it turns out, bees are a very self sacrificing species.  If one of them gets seriously sick she leaves the hive and doesn’t come back, so as not to contaminate her family.  The Champion has heard that there is a virus among bees that is kind of like the HIV virus in people, that is not so bad in itself, but is a factor that lowers immunity.  Any little old bad cold or other issue can attack an organism with a compromised immune system with serious effect.  So, many bees are getting sick and going elsewhere to die.  Even more scary is that this virus effecting the bees is kind of like Alzheimer’s disease in people in that it causes the bees to forget where home is.  So even the healthy bees go off to get nectar for honey and forget how to get home.  That is a very unusual situation for bees.  Honey is life for the bee hive and certainly a staple among people, but the real threat, as this Champion tells it, is that most all crops that supply food for people are dependant upon bees for pollination and thus food production.  Champions love the past, but they know they can’t live there.  Somebody watching Dr. Oz on the Oprah show the other day learned that if a person licks his lips and then inhales slowly, he can reduce his stress level significantly.  Champions are lucky to have day time TV.

        Eulalia Jasmin is becoming a regular contributor to the Champion Items.  She dropped a note indicating that she was pleased to see pictures of the dance contest winners of the Douglas County Sesquicentennial Celebration Grand Ball in the paper, but she is still dissatisfied at not getting a view of the dancers actually sailing around the floor and is wanting some description of the music and the flowers and the refreshments.  Ms. Jasmin says, “I’ll just get over it.”  She also is aware that many participants in the celebration are still awaiting some kind of acknowledgement from the Ava Chamber of Commerce.  Ah yes!  They were very solicitous beforehand, but now that it is over, a simple “Thank you” does not seem forthcoming.  Well, all those demonstrators, marchers, and other participants just need to keep in mind that it took 150 years to make this celebration happen to begin with and if the organizers have not yet seen the need for expressing their gratitude for the generous participation of the populace, perhaps they will before the bicentennial.  “Get over it,”  she says.

        Another welcome correspondent to the Champion Items is Darrell Haden who wrote to express his pleasure with the excerpting from the Cobbler book.  He also took time to clarify the identification of Cobbler witness Howard Bailey’s grandfather.  “ He was Dr. Daniel T. Bailey, pioneer physician practicing at Rome early last century in Douglas County’s Campbell Township.”  He said, “I may have confused the viniculturist for the physician because Daniel was the given name of each and both men lived in or near Rome.”  He also referred to another item about the late Everett and Amanda Porter’s granddaughter Nola Jean Schuenemann.  Both Nola Jean and Sybil play piano well.  Of course, it was Sybil with her brother, former Champion teacher Arthur, who with their father Everett were famous in gospel music circles for their all but patented rendition of “Old Daniel Prayed.”  It was their version of the song that could cause the hair on the listener’s neck to stand up and cheer!”

        All Champions are urged to refer to page B-Two of the November 1st, 2007 issue of the Herald, just to the left of the Headless Cobbler of Smallett Cave excerpt to see the wonderful photograph of Sybil Porter Gheer and her daughter Noaljean Moyer.  This is a picture of delight!  It could be used as a definition of delight in a dictionary…Beautiful Champions!

        There are 127,000 troops serving in Iraq currently and 33,000 serving in Afghanistan….They are Champions every one.  Love and Gratitude to them and to their families from Champion Missourians.  “Good luck.”

        A nice note came from Betty Thomas over at the Edge of the World at Yates.  She responded to an inquiry about horse riding and said, “We don’t have horses, just wagons.  Isn’t that funny?”  Talking about Bud Hutchison’s trail ride last week she said, “We rode with some friends (car tire wheels) last year.  It was so much fun.”

        Stress relievers, ideas about bees, pictures of delight, beguiling things and things so much fun can be sent to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717.  Email any good chocolate cake receipts to Champion News.  There is probably NyQuil for sale at Henson’s store on the Sunny Side of the Street in downtown Champion where the motto is “Looking on the Bright Side!”

Facebook