July 11, 2011
CHAMPION—July 11, 2011
Champions have no requirement for others to boast on their behalf. Neither do they boast themselves, as it is unseemly. It is enough to acknowledge with a simple nod of the head or a raised eyebrow the pervasive tranquility and completeness of the place. Laconic locals exchange glances and knowing smiles as they lounge in languid ease in the now famous Loafing Shed while commerce advances around them. An hour or two in that prime location serves to enlighten and inform. Champion!
It was there that Darlene Conner’s little red tomato was summarily devoured by the judges and declared the undisputed winner of the First Ripe Tomato in Champion Contest. It was ready to eat on the 4th of July! Steve and Darlene live up on WW Highway just not all that far from the Champion City Limits. They bought the place that had been owned by Ruth and Orville Hicks. Sometime back before Ruth and Orville owned it, Everet Tate lived there and Leona Bull owned it. That is just information for reference to distant Champion readers. Steve and Darlene have made the place very much their own and it is lovely. They moved to Champion a few years ago from Springfield and have become excellent neighbors. They had hardly been in the area any time at all when they chipped right in to help with the Skyline VFD picnic a few years ago and certain Champions will be pleased to report the enormous help they have been in various phases of construction in Downtown Champion. The judges sang their praises loudly for any number of reasons as they dabbed at the tomato juice on their various chinney chin chins. Champion!
The Skyline Ladies have a meeting planned there for six o’clock on Monday to get that picnic ball rolling. It should roll as well as Wilburn’s tractor did when he got off of it the other day. He had been trying to get it started by rolling it and it was being stubborn. He left it in neutral when he got down off of it and then watched as it took off on its own down the hill where it met up with a tree. He and Louise just laughed about it. Now Louise is up in St. John’s Hospital for a few more days doing some physical therapy. Her Champion and Skyline friends will all be glad when she is home again and they all send their best wishes for a speedy recovery. Wilburn will be glad to have things back to normal again. Louise has always been a key player in the Skyline picnic. Perhaps she will take on the roll of ‘advisor’ or ‘consultant’ this year and leave some of the hard work to others. Once again Geoff Pardeck from the White River Valley Electric Co-Operative has given his official ‘okey-dokey’ to the donation of a hundred dollars worth of free power to be awarded to some lucky Skyline VFD supporter. This donation has become an annual occurrence that signifies the community involvement of the co-op. Champion!
People around Champion are busy trading produce. Green beans, cucumbers, squash, peppers and garlic are circulating and Champions are being healthy eaters. It is easy to do with so much good food around. Champions are ever mindful of their own good fortune relative to most of the rest of the world. Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood shows that the 14th will be good for planting above-ground crops. Then the 15th and 16th will be good for planting beets, carrots, salsify, Irish potatoes and other root crops. Bill Long says to dig potatoes in the dark of the moon so they will keep better. Get a look at that almanac on the refrigerator in Henson’s Store currently located in the Temporary Annex next to the Loafing Shed and across the boulevard from the Recreation of the Historic Mercantile on the North Side of the Square in downtown Champion. The almanac is also available at www.championnews.us and up at Linda’s Place in Norwood.
Neighbors over in Vanzant had themselves a delightful picnic. Bill Emory was busy telling about the traffic jam out on 95 Highway Friday evening caused by a little bear up in a sweet gum tree. The story was verified by a number of people some of whom were able to take pictures. While people were looking at the pictures in their cameras and milling around, the little bear got down and got away. What direction he went is anybody’s guess. Bill did caution Esther Wrinkles to be careful when she got home. The picnic was well organized and that fish dinner was a bargain—not to mention the pies! The music was good. The children had great games to enjoy and a super bouncing house. Neighbors got together to do some serious visiting. Saturday night the crowd was extraordinary and Esther said that the fireworks were spectacular. This was the 45th annual Vanzant Picnic. Well done! Again! The Veterans organizations were well represented at the picnic and there were many expressions of Love and Gratitude for all those who serve and who have served to the benefit of the nation.
Those Tennessee boys were in town for the picnic and to spend a few days with their Grandmother. There has been much fun afoot. They are growing up. Dakota has his driver’s license now and Dillon is taller than his Aunt Tanna. Foster and Kalyssa are just wild about their older cousins and love it that they will play with them. Foster has a doctor’s appointment Wednesday to find out why he has been having a bad stomach ache from time to time. Nobody likes a sick child. Of course, everyone who knows Foster loves him; they just do not like it when he is under the weather. When he is feeling good, the whole world is a happy place, so Champions all keep him in their best thoughts for a quick remedy.
In recent weeks the communities of Champion, TX, Champion, NY, Champion, NC, and Champion, WI have all been explored. Each of these spots on the globe has its own particular charm, but none comes close to the pacific, irenic nature of Champion, MO sheltered with all discretion on the wide and unbridled banks of Old Fox Creek, where lives a groundhog of such gigantic proportions that folks over in Spotted Hog are jealous. (Not to dredge up old scores, but they have long been jealous of Champion for myriad good reasons.) Champion, Ohio is east of Cleveland some fifty or so miles and about that far south of Lake Eerie. It is in Trumbull County, which was established in 1800. The Township was named after the man who owned it, Henry Champion. When he died in 1825, the western half of the township went to his son, Aristarchus Champion, and the eastern half to his son-in-law, Henry C. Trumbull. In the census of 2000, the population density of Champion Township, OH was 378 per square mile. Champion, MO is in Beautiful Booger County, MO, which boasts approximately 17 persons per square mile. Champion!
The Non-Blondes, Randy Travis and a group called Devo all have songs called “No Place Like Home.” Blu Cantrell’s song of the same name includes these thoughts: “I’ve met a lot of different people and I have seen my share of things. So much I have come across while traveling. But nothing can compare to what I have come to know and love…There is no place, quite like home.” Come take a stroll around the Square and see the sights! What a delight! Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!
