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

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

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

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

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

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

Facebook