In Champion on Wednesday Cheryl and Carissa of Hero’s Rest joined the jam with fiddle, mandolin and sweet harmonies.  “Er long, in came Kaitlyn McConnell with a walnut raisin pie and her “Ozarks Pie Project Diary.”  She brought several books to fill orders and left a few at the store for shoppers to make someone happy on Christmas morning. Then Skyline superintendent Donnie Luna arrived on his lunch break.  What a treat to introduce Kaitlyn and Mr. Luna.  Something good is liable to come from it.   Good music and pleasant visiting with Linda, Cactus Mike, and Fox Creek Farmers made a good day.  The Prominent Champion was unusually quiet, having overworked in the cold lost his voice.  Consequently, there was no clever repartee between him and The General on this occasion, which is always an entertaining feature of the Wednesday gathering.

Thursday marked another good day when the Vanzant jam bunch sang that Birthday Song to David Richardson–just a kid.  Hired to do the announcing/commentating on the Winterfest festivities in Mt. Grove, he talked for six hours.  While we did not get to hear him out in Champion, we heard that all the festivities were delightful, gala, rememberable.  Ava’s Christmas Parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 13th, starting at 2:00 pm.  The theme this year is “Candy Canes and Christmas Trees.”  Christmas on the Ava Square will go on all day with music, vendors and Santa photos.

Around forty people enjoyed the “Friendsgiving” potluck Saturday in Champion.  The tables were full to overflowing with every savory holiday dish imaginable.  Old friends and new ones had the chance to connect, reconnect and catch up, defining the best part of community.  A family that moved to the area around Labor Day met more of their neighbors and were made most welcome.  There is a chance there may be another fiddler in that bunch who will join the jam.

We remembered Pearl Harbor Sunday.  Twelve US Military survivors of that attack are with us still.  They are all over 100 years old.  There are still many people around who were alive at that time.  Most of us were not, but it is an important part of our history not to be forgotten.   A guy named S. Kierkegaard said, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.”  Looking forward to some good things:  Happy birthday on the 8th to John W. who sings that song about “Free Bubble-Up and Rainbow Stew.” Elizabeth Raelyn Johnson, a kindergarten student at Skyline, and Skyline Nurse/Aid Karen Tamblyn have December 9th for their birthdays.  That is also the day to celebrate Champion Richard Johnston, our esteemed retired blacksmith. On the 10th of the month two fifth grade students, Levi Hall and Westin Nava, share their birthday with third grader Annabelle Thompson.  We remember Paul Uhlmann on the 11th.  He rode thousands of miles on horseback and ate many meals out of a saddlebag. The 12this for Loretta Upshaw, lovely daughter of The General himself, and Ilene Woods, marathon racer and great grandmother of Champion barrel racer, Blaine Denlow among others.  Eighth grader Kennedy Hinote will have a birthday party on the 13th.  That will be a Saturday, always a good party day in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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