Blaine and Dad

Champions making an infrequent trip to town like to go in one way and come out the other. Going into Ava on 14 Highway one might note that Don and Reba either did not burn any fire wood at all through last winter or that they have next winter’s wood stacked already. Firewood stacking is good exercise. The bright yellow and blue paint around the reconfigured square is a nice surprise as are the marked crosswalks. The town is updating. It looks like Gib & Todd’s Barber Shop has moved north. Hopes are there is still room in the new spot for the Wednesday morning jam. From Eliz Arts on the southwest corner all the way around to Jean’s Healthway, merchants and businesses around the square are glad the work is winding up and glad for the improvement. Champions around the stove in the Historic Emporium are not so very impressed. They think it will be hard to round the square with any kind of trailer. To leave town on Jefferson Avenue going out past the cemetery to connect with Highway 76 is an adventure in dodging pot holes. An update to that stretch of the road might save some suspension and tire repairs. Heading back home on 76 finds a new facility, just east of J & R Gravel, across from the Hamilton’s place, bagging rocks. Hundreds of pallets of rocks neatly done up in plastic bags are laid out in long rows waiting to be transported to city stores like Menards, Lowes and Home Depot. City folks can decorate and improve their landscapes with Bryant Creek gravel.


Richard Stumpp

Eight month old Champion Blaine Denlow Woods made a visit with her Dad to the Historic Emporium on Saturday. She brightened up the Bright Side though she might have been ready for her nap. Babies always give us encouragement about the future. After pleasant visit around the ancient wood stove, Emily’s folks headed back to their Centennial Farm just as the Wilbanks arrived at the store. Jerry needed diesel and Dianne needed to see some people. Like many, they have been staying close to home for many months. Spring and the prospect of a professional hair cut have her flashing her beautiful smile.


A Champion smile.

The Herald reports that in March of 1921, Willard Luttrell was hurt when a baseball came in contact with his nose. That was back before General Fast Pitch was pitching. The General claims that a no hitter means you did not hit the batter. Richard Stumpp pitched some real no hitters for the Angles minor league team, throws right, batts left. Richard was a regular visitor to the area for a while and made friends while he was here. He won $20.00 off a Champion on the Super Bowl game. Perhaps they will root for the same team this season. Examples of good sportsmanship could inspire good behavior across all strata of society.

Week to week changes in the countryside seem especially dramatic this time of the year. Flowering trees are making themselves visible. Clusters of blooming bulbs mark a long ago home place. Somewhere north of Prior, out in a field on the east side of 95 Highway stands an unusual grouping of animals: a deer, a hog, a wolf, a bear, a mountain lion—all standing stock still together in a pose that has not changed from week to week. Maybe they are friends of Waterhole Ike. Perhaps they are fiberglass products of a budding business venture or the eclectic collection of an animal lover. Every twist and turn as the road winds through Mountain Grove reveals some new spring delight including a chance meeting with a seldom seen country friend. Donna Moskaly said that as Joe was leaving the hospital after having his hip replacement surgery, he had a heart attack. She said that he is fine now and making a good recovery. That is the kind of good news we appreciate hearing.


Animal Effigies

The geographic confines of Champion seem to run from one end to the other, about a 50 mile stretch from Ava to Mountain Grove. Larry Wrinkles told a story one time (well, maybe many times). He said someone “fell out of a barbed wire fence a straddle of a cherry tree and tore himself from now ‘till tomorrow morning. The doc said he didn’t know if he’d live from one end to the other.” Larry was born and raised in Champion —Looking on the Bright Side!


 
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