Champion News

 

Two bass guitars, ten six stringed guitars, three mandolins, and two banjos plus a couple of vocalists made Vanzant’s Potluck Jam a humdinger on Thursday. On Sunday Vanzant’s entertainment came from beautiful rolls of thunder and a light shower. The thunder was distant, but lovely, in Champion where there were reports of twelve drops, and seven drops by neighbors just to the west. We remember what rain is like and are grateful for even distant thunder to remind us. We are also reminded that until we get some real rain, we need to be extremely cautious about any outside burning.

Even way out in West Texas back in the 1950’s when we heard “The Sugarfoot Rag” we knew it was time for the Ozarks Jubilee, a program we never missed on our brand-new television. It is lovely to hear it again along will all the other tunes Tom Peters shares from the McClurg Jam and the Oldfield Opry. Thanks, Tom! This week we heard that one and “Muleskinner Blues” and “I Saw the Light” from Oldfield. From McClurg we were blessed with “Seamus O’Brien,” “Oklahoma Redbird,” “The Cat Came Back,” “Home Brew Rag,” “Milk Cow Blues,” and “Great Big Taters in Sandy Land.” The potluck goodies, the visiting and all the musical camaraderie do not come through on the internet, but distant Champions are grateful for the virtual windows into the old store on nights filled with music.

“Dry and Dusty” is another great old fiddle tune and it truly speaks to current conditions in these parts. In the old days when the kids were young and there were no air conditioners, some Champions spent a lot more time at the creek than they do now as old folks, cozy and cool watching the electric meter spin. We must appreciate the farmers and merchants, construction workers and laborers of all kinds performing necessary tasks out in the heat. They are keeping the country working. Of course, those ball players, Chiefs, Royals and Cardinals are out there perspiring for glory and for our entertainment. Thanks. Most folks have a cell phone these days and have it with them when they go out. It is also a good idea to have a hat and water in the car or truck and to be sure our shoes are built for walking. Weather prognosticators seem to be saying that the worst of it is almost over. We will believe it when we feel it. Critters are feeling it too. Deer, groundhogs, squirrels and birds and all our local fauna are also at risk. All those cows out there in their fur coats huddle in the shade when they can find it.

Thursday evening had our Champion friend Kaitlyn McConnell up in the Nation’s Capital enjoying a concert at The Library of Congress by the “Creek Rocks,” a musical duo comprised of Mark Bilyeu and Cindy Woolf. They have been studying in the American Folklife Center Archives listening to songs recorded by Ozarkers many years ago. Kaitlyn and Mike O’Brian visited Champion on a Wednesday on their way to lunch at Rockbridge. She told us then that she would be going to D.C. and was only lamenting that the Capital would be militarized while she was there. We look forward to her report on the concert and on the state of the Capital city!

We are also looking forward to a visit by Bobby Emery on his big road grader. One Champion up on the North end of Cold Springs Road says when he hears that machine he will rush out and greet him with a cold beer. A neighbor further to the south on that road has chocolate chip cookies ready for him. We have confidence that if and when he gets here, he will roll those big rocks out of the road and smooth the path to Champion.

All the excitement and hard work getting ready for the start of school is paying off. Students have been busy getting haircuts and new school clothes while teachers and staff have been getting the campus ready for another great year. The Champion School was consolidated into Skyline along with Denlow and a couple of other small schools back in the 1950s. It is one of only two little rural schools left in Douglas County. School days, dear old golden rule days, will surely be some of the conversations going on at the Champion Reunion on Saturday the 30th. It is a potluck luncheon with everyone welcome. Bring a dish and join the fun down at the end of the pavement (the very fancy new pavement with the bright yellow stripes down the middle of it) on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

The second Saturday Skyline swap meet was the next to the last one, that is to say there will be another one, the last one, on the second Saturday of September, September 8th. This Saturday the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department had a prominent display of firefighting gear there and added some newcomers to the membership. Dues help cover the expense of operating this vital outfit. Those first responders do not just fight fires, they work car wrecks, floods, any kind of catastrophe as well as health emergencies among the membership. Hopes are that some young folks (a subjective term) among the newcomers to the area will join the diminishing ranks of the aging volunteers. We need you and thank you in advance.

Sunday found old Champions standing out in the heat watching the beautiful billowing clouds, moisture laden and dark in spots, swirling about, listening to the thunder rumbling from all directions, longing for a drop in the temperature and drops of rain. Gardens three miles away may well have been drenched. J.C. Owsley had an inch in his rain gauge up in Cross Timbers. Most likely folks in Ava, Sweden, Norwood, Mountain Grove and Vanzant got a few drops while we parch out here on the Bright Side. Alas. We are reminded that there is no amount of money, oil, or gold that is worth more than having bees, trees, and clean water. Master gardener, herbalist, and master chief Edie Richardson tells us that Lee’s Bees are doing well. It’s about time to harvest and his new hive is thriving. Lee is a luthier as well and has helped our Skyliners with their music making.

Monday at McClurg featured a dozen musicians and twice that many enjoying the music and the community. “Little Liza Jane,” “Rattlesnake,” and “Red Wing,” “ Snowshoes,” “Horse and Buggy-O” and “Treasures Untold” were just some of the great tunes coming out of that little building that help us keep our spirits up. Music is a gift of joy, sweetness, sadness, hope, defiance and tranquility. We especially like the tranquility. Peace is not when everyone agrees. It is when we can respect our disagreements and still play in the sandbox together or play music together. A prominent economist and historian said, “Some things are believed because they are demonstrably true, but many other thigs are believed simply because they have been asserted repeatedly and repetition has been accepted as a substitute for evidence.” Charlie Chaplin said, “You need power only when you want to do something harmful, otherwise love is enough to get everything done.” We love music and music makers. We will also love to see Bobby Emery out this way on his road grader. “Don’t that road look rough and rocky?”

The Back to School Bash at our Skyline R-2 School was a great way to start the week. The first day of school will be on the 19th. Teahna Krider Oglesby is a Skyline alumnus with a birthday on August 22nd. The 23rd is for her nephew Drayson Cline over in Tennessee and for Skyline second grade teacher Carolyn Willhite. Dakota Watts, another Champion grandson, parties on the 24th. Barbara Krider, up in Illinois, shares the 25th with Lauren Collins, a seventh grade Skyline student. The 26th is for Reta Krider, also up in Illinois, and for Seneca Parsons, father of Felix the Farmer. Mia Trujillo, a third grader at Skyline, celebrates on the 27th. The 29th is the big day for seventh grader Brantley Kilgore, second grader Chaseton Shelton and sixth grader Jason Smith as well as for Wes (Bill) Smith and Mini Jo Henson, who lives up in Springfield, but is a Champion at heart. We remember Laine Sutherland on the 30th. Education was important to her. She worked as a curator for several universities and had wonderful stories to tell about her Champion ancestors. Kalyssa Wiseman, Champion granddaughter, and Jenna Brixey, dairy farmer and Norwood High School’s FFA President, share August 31st for their birthdays. We celebrate you all and wish you happy days.

Champions expect a happy day on the 30th. That is the Saturday of the Labor Day Weekend when the old timers and newcomers come together to celebrate Champion. It started as The Champion School Reunion years ago and has recently become The Champion Reunion. It is a potluck luncheon held in the air-conditioned comfort of the Historic Emporium on the north side of the Square. Everyone is welcome in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Cool mornings in the garden, watching birds and butterflies, get us off to a good start. Cool dry days have been good for farmers and for old Champions, but it is August. These days, August means school. There are lots of fun things coming up at our great Skyline R-2 School. August 11th the ‘Back to School Bash’ will be going on from 4 to 6 pm. ‘Open Enrollment’ will be from 9am to 3 pm on August 13th. ‘Open House’ will happen the next day from 5 to 7 pm. Summer has been wonderful, but at least one young Champion has said she is ready to get back to school to be with all her friends. Kindergarten teacher Sarah Goss will celebrate her birthday on August 13th. (That is a day we celebrate Dean Upshaw. He enjoys a good song.) Morgan Johnson was in the eighth grade at Skyline last year. His birthday is on the 14th. Skyliner Lee Borders celebrates on the 16th. School days and birthdays are days to be remembered.

Remembering the old days, we miss Cletus Upshaw because he knew the deep story behind everything around these parts. He has kinfolks with good memories. We relish those afternoons here on the north side of the Champion Square when The General and others harken back. We are grateful to the Douglas County Museum and Historical Society for all they do to keep us grounded in the past. They have an Open House coming up on August 16th that will be a chance to tour the twelve rooms of the museum again and to support that important institution. ‘Dora Historian Ozarks’ is a Facebook page that often shares photos and stories of the far eastern part of the county. Our friend Kaitlyn McConnell with Ozarks Alive shines a light on Champion and interesting places all over the country. Ozarks Watch Magazine on public television gives us a deep look into the history of the Ozarks with a particular emphasis on the music. Tom Peters over in McClurg is helping to keep old music alive in a spot that has been doing that for many years. The Douglas County Herald, even in its current diminished form, is still sharing things from 125 years ago. A famous man said, “There are people in every time and every land who want to stop history in its tracks. They fear the future, mistrust the present and invoke the security of a comfortable past, which in fact, never existed.” Another famous fellow said, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” This quote highlights how those in power can manipulate historical narratives to maintain their control over society and shape future actions. By controlling what information is available and how it is interpreted they can influence public perception and behavior. Mother said, “Behave! Act like you have good sense.” We try and hope. Another guy said, “Education is learning how to spot the signs of history repeating itself.” Hopes are we will repeat the good and the neighborly parts.

Our friend Johnny Burkdoll visited again in Champion on Wednesday. He has a big job taking care of several hundred miles of rough country roads on this big end of the county. We have fewer people out this way and many more miles of county roads. He says Bobby Emery will be in this neighborhood soon. We will be glad to see him on his big machine and glad to have some smooth sailing down our lovely country lanes.

A large and spreading damp spot emanating from the front left side of an old ugly truck parked under a giant oak tree was visible only because the gravel there was so dry. Good fortune comes in the form of good neighbors, knowledgeable good neighbors, willing and able good neighbors. They diagnosed the problem, a loose radiator plug, and set about to reseat it and to top off the radiator with antifreeze and water. Chances are very good that without their help the old truck would not have made it the mile and a half home without something catastrophic happening. Those guys know who they are—Champions! —Looking on the Bright Side!

 

 

Significant warm Wednesday weather had the Sometimes Porch Band jamming inside the Historic Emporium where the air conditioning cooled. School girls joined The General in a sweet rendition of “I Saw the Master This Morning when he came down to wake up the world.” Once a city girl, now a country girl, young Olyvia recently moved into the stone house up on lovely Valery Lane. Olyvia sang along sweetly on “Itzy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle Twinkle.” She will be in the first grade at Skyline this year and is looking forward to making friends.

Kaitlyn McConnell’s blue-ribbon winning pie at the Ozark Empire Fair was a raisin and black walnut pie. She said the recipe “comes from Champion, Missouri, that little hamlet in Douglas County about which I often share and is close to my heart. I found this recipe while looking through cookbooks on the porch of the community’s rural store. It was shared by Vergie Smith for that cookbook, which was published by the nearby Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department in the 1980s.” Her Champion friends are looking forward to the release of her own pie ‘cookbook and diary.’ We can tune in to KSMU at 7:30 am on August 13th to hear her “Notable MO-ments” where she tells stories about this part of the world. The program is on every second Wednesday morning of the month. We mark it on our calendars.

Head, Heart, Hands and Health are the 4 Hs that the club celebrates. Teri Woods Walden said, “Each year the Up ‘n At It 4-H Club has a rural picnic/festival fundraiser which has been held for the past 70 years, once a year. There are no towns anywhere close to this picnic, just lots of fields, cows, a few churches and cemeteries. For a small square in a field, it has contained much history for us. My great grandma was crowned picnic queen there. My mom twirled her baton on stage. My dad first asked my mom out on the south side edge of the light there.” It is a valued annual family affair for many local families going back generations every year on the last full weekend in July.

August 1st has us remembering Elitta January on her birthday. We miss her around the bridge table and in all the good works she was a part of. Champion grandson Seamus Heffern celebrates on the 2nd and Clark Shannon (Sparky) was 66 on August 3rd, 2018. Skyline student Genesis Castillo has a birthday on the 5th and Skyliner Jaxton Harley will share his birthday on the 6th with LaVonne Carter who will be celebrated that day in the Ava Place. Dora’s own Gina Hollingshad will also have her party on the 6th, but most likely the Vanzant bunch will sing to her on the 7th at the jam. Roger Wiseman will enjoy the 8th, and Lynette Cantrell will have the 9th for her big day. She jams with her mandolin and friends out on the Mountain Grove square on Monday evenings.

Tom shared some great tunes made by the 13 musicians at the McClurg jam. “Wolves a-Howlin” at a “Flock of Birds” and “That’s Earl” headed to “Home Sweet Home” on a “Flop Eared Mule.” Tom said the potluck is lovely this time of the year with all the fresh garden produce. Good food and good music go together in a good community. Thanks, Tom.

Someone on the Savannah Banana baseball team said, “You miss every shot you don’t take.” An old Scottish Proverb: “Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.” In stressful times, or any time, it serves us well to think of all the things that make us happy, all the things that inspire gratitude. We find happiness in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!