Champions determined to get the potatoes in the ground on St. Patrick’s Day determined that the next day would be close enough since it was forty degrees warmer the next day. One of the almanacs says the 18th will be poor for planting. Time will tell. Until time to get seeds in the ground there are plenty of springtime things to do. One old Campion is on a window washing campaign trying to get the special ones done before the hummingbirds arrive, which could be any day now. Wild peaches are blooming and mushroom hunters are surely out. Time flies.

From the March 18, 2007 issue of The Champion News at www.championnews.us we read, “The expected large turn-out for Champion’s First Annual Unorganized, Unauthorized and Unannounced St. Patrick’s Day Parade was a no show. Oh, there was the usual Saturday parade of regulars in and out of The Store throughout the course of the day and there was, no doubt, a mention of the Irish here and there, but the throngs of revelers were nowhere to be seen. Most of them were out in their potato patches doing what has to be done at this time of the year to make potatoes happen. It was the digging and seeding and the mulching that kept people off the street. There were frantic calls for newspapers from various farmers. Ed Henson was quoted by several regarding the use of newspapers to keep the dirt out of the eyes of the potatoes so they could see to come up. It has been suggested that a Champion Parade Committee should be organized so that a better showing can be made next year. The example set by the Spotted Hog community as reported in the Spotted Hog Yearly Gazette of a number of years ago is one to be emulated. It might be the good luck of Champion to secure Cletus Upshaw’s services as Grand Marshall. He was the official Director of Traffic at the now famous Spotted Hog Christmas Parade and clearly has more parade expertise than any who have so far stepped forward. It will be taken under advisement by the, as yet, unformed committee.”

Julie Heir lives up in a suburb of St. Louis or Kansas City and visits in Champion on her way to her family’s country place somewhere southwest of here. She shared an interesting book, “Mystery of the Irish Wilderness,” by Leland and Crystal Payton. It is a good read about the land and legend of Father John Joseph Hogan’s lost Irish colony in the Ozark wilderness. Julie called the other day asking about the ticks. She hopes to bring her four year old granddaughter down on her next visit, but would not like to return her to her mother with a tick bite. It was suggested that she speak with the Missouri Department of Conservation for whatever information they might have on the subject.

March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day, is also the birthday of Skyline School’s assistant cook Jenifer Trujillo. The talented young Scotsman, Charlie Macsween, has his birthday on the first day of Spring! On March 23rd Skyline kindergarten student Georgia Proctor will share her birthday with appliance doctor Donald Powell, with The General’s fair daughter Elva Upshaw, with true morel hunter Judie Pennington, and with Seahawks fan Susan Perry. On March 26th we remember Champion Troy Powell who loved gospel music. He was born in 1926 and passed away on his birthday in 2001. Skyline fourth grader Aliyiea Trujillo shares her birthday on March 27th with first grade teacher Joycelyn Downs. Tucker Johnson is in the seventh grade. He shares his birthday on March 30th with third grade teacher Melissa Wilhite. March ends on the 31st with a celebration of Morag Edward, artist, musician, scholar and intrepid sailor who not long ago crossed the wide Atlantic from Portugal to Argentina under sail. Happy birthday to all you exciting, interesting people.

With more good weather, the Sometimes Porch Band might convene on the wide veranda again and Ms. B. Denlow’s Saturday Coloring Club will likely produce some excellent renderings. Good things happen all the time in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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