Birthday celebrations began early for Cowgirl Champion Blaine Woods with candy and presents and money. She was partying at the store on Saturday before heading off to the Ava Saddle Club to run barrels and flags. Her birthday occurs on Tuesday, the 15th. Her Champion friends think someday she may make a king size quilt out of her many blue ribbons. The 15th is Ruby Adams’ birthday too. She may well start in McClurg on Monday and carry her party all the way to Vanzant. She has tap shoes and a winning smile. She says that there is to be a benefit for Gene Dewitt on Sunday July 20th at 2pm at the Raymondville Community Building. There will be dinner and an auction. Proceeds will go toward cancer treatment and travel expenses. Ruby says to contact Brandy Mohrman to donate or to drop off items at the Raymondville Village Hall.

Skyliner Eli Johnstone’s birthday is on the 18th. He will be in the third grade when school starts. Ethan Alexander and Zac Heffern are kinfolks with birthdays on the same day, the 19th. That is the big day for Sharry Lovan who was out at the Vanzant Picnic Friday with Stringed Union filling the evening with her beautiful voice. John Webber might have coffee with the Junction Crowd on the 25th. Wade Day may be off on a trip on his birthday on the 27th. Reba Bishop might make it down to Champion sometime around her birthday on the 28th. Karen Ross and Cheyenne McIntosh share the 29th. Karen carries the mail. She was our Rt 72 carrier for a while and was as much appreciated then as Brittany is now. Cheyenne is a great photographer and a talented musician. She teaches music at our great Skyline School. Rayven Castillo, who will be in the second grade at Skyline, celebrates her birthday on the 30th. Happy birthday to all of you and many happy returns.

We remember Woody Guthrie on July 14th. He was born in 1912 and a great deal of the music he wrote and sang could have been written about the times we are living in today.

Tom tells us that Monday had eleven musicians among the 36 people enjoying a lovely summer evening at McClurg. They started off with “You Are My Sunshine” and went on to “Soldiers’ Joy,” the “Carroll County Blues,” and many others. Tom also tells us of a new evening jam sessions Friday evenings in Brownbranch at Beaver Creek Campground. He says there is good music and delicious food in a nice setting with good folks.

Eddie ate dynamite. Good bye Eddie. That is guitar wisdom from a young Arkansawyer who was helping a Champion learn guitar tuning—EADGBE. There is always something to learn. Someone asked what the difference was between ignorance and apathy. The response was, “I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

The 59th annual Vanzant Community Picnic with all its music, food, and fun was the product of a lot of hard work by a lot of good, dedicated people. The Eastern Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department, firefighters from other departments and community members join to make it one of the stellar events of the summer season. A survey went around asking how many years people had attended, what they liked best about it, what they might like to see happen again and if they would consider helping to plan the 60th picnic next year. Hopefully communities all around the country are coming together like this to support good works. Many in our country and around the world are struggling and suffering for many reasons. Optimism comes with the acceptance of those struggles and the trust that there is still light ahead. This year our picnic was dedicated to Beverly Emery who was a beacon of positivity, a real Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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