Champion News

 

Wednesday found cowgirl mutton buster Blaine Denlow out on the wide veranda painting rocks and having good conversations with Deward’s granddaughter. Two of The General’s fair daughters, Loretta and Elva, joined two cousins, Staci and Tanna, there while two Champion grandson, Carson and Drayson, from Tennessee waited and waited (and waited) to go to the creek. They all agreed it was a beautiful day. Clever Creek had a good amount of water in it to satisfy the need to splash and the significant erosion on the north side of the slab had been addressed for a second time. It will eventually need a substantial repair but considering the miles and miles of rough roads they have to maintain, the road guys are doing a good job. It will get a good fix one of these days including the deep pothole in the middle of it.

The next day was Juneteenth, a National Holiday, commemorating the end of slavery. Tyler Clark enjoyed his birthday on the 20th, which was also the day 25,000 people gathered at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, where people have been making astronomical observations since 2500 BC. They watched the sunrise peeking through the stones and greeted it with drumming and chanting, cheering and dancing.

June 21st is known as National Indigenous Peoples’ Day here. The Prince of Wales in England turned 43 on Saturday, June 21. We wonder if he has any sense of irony since his ancestors were the first to annihilate and depopulate our indigenous peoples to take the land. It was not his fault. He seems like a nice guy. We have heard that the French were not interested in colonizing along the east coast because there were too many people there already.

Anyway, as a Favorite Champion often says, the birthdays of Champion Linda Krider Watts in Tennessee and Felix the Farmer’s Aunt Sierra way out in Oregon fell on that day (the 21st) while bombs fell far away to the surprise and concern of most of the world. We wonder what Prince William and other world leaders think of that and what the real ramifications will be. Senator Elisabeth Warren and much appreciated local educator and historian Cinita Brown have birthdays on the 22nd. Skyline 8th grader Kash Hurt celebrates on the 24th. Sherry Bennett sings “There’s five pounds of possum in my headlights tonight.” Sherry is a local treasure found at every good work in the area sharing her beautiful voice and her good heart. She shares her birthday on the 25th with Eric Blair, born in 1903. He is known as George Orwell, and many people wish his work had remained fiction. Esther Wrinkles is well remembered in Champion where she was born and raised. She wrote items for The Douglas County Herald for over fifty years. Her birthday was on June 28th. We also remember Champion Eva Powell on the 29th. She taught a good lesson about dogs chasing cars. She said to slow way down so the dogs lose interest.

Fifty people had something to say about Tom (TJ) Peters sliding off the Glade Top Trail Monday afternoon. They mostly expressed concern for him and for his car and relief that it was not a catastrophic incident. He was going ten miles an hour around a curve when loose gravel gave way and sent him sliding down off the road. Tom was not hurt and somehow his car was winched back up. It has some damage, but not as bad as it could have been had it not been for all the beautiful trees that stopped its descent. Tom survived and was still ready to host the McClurg Jam where Festus played a lovely rendition of “Leather Britches.”

If you are an American, your family is here because they were either Native American, slave, refugee or immigrant. Some of us are a combination of those things and all of us are fortunate. Democracy is the notion of Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!