The fortieth and final Denlow—Fairview School Reunion occurred on the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend. Somewhere between 30 and 50 people attended and among them four alumni—Frankie Proctor, Robert Upshaw, Kenneth Anderson, and Pete Proctor. One of them speculates that there are about seventeen students still living, though some of them have never attended the reunion. The Denlow School closed its doors in 1955. The first reunion was held in in 1987 with 250 in attendance. Though the numbers have dwindled, the nostalgia, the fun and feeling of community persists. Pete and The General waxed eloquently over the old school days and a bevy of beauties, Elizabeth Lawrence, Debora Barker, Phoebe Ward, Elva and Loretta Upshaw, and Tanna Wiseman, reprised their cheer squad from the late 1980s. Ed Williams and his staff provided the main course and the tables were filled with all the favorite potluck dishes that cause us to overeat. The dinner will continue next year under a new and as yet not determined name, and the community feeling will carry on. The Memorial Day weekend was designated as the most appropriate time for the reunion for a number of reasons, not the least of which had to do with the many Veterans who had attended the school as children. It is said that a true tribute is in living a life worth the sacrifice made by our Veterans. It has been said that there is good in this world, and it is worth fighting for.

Some of the good things to celebrate are the birthdays of the grandpapa of Felix the Farmer on June 2nd, and of banjo expert, David Medlock who will celebrate on June 6th, which is the kickoff day of the 43rd Annual Heart of the Ozarks Bluegrass Association Spring Bluegrass Festival. He will have fun. On the 7th we remember Champion Wayne Sutherland who was 85 in 2015. He is well remembered for his good humor and is much missed by his many friends and family members.

In these fast moving, tumultuous days, an Old Champion insisted that there are plenty of things to aggravate us and to complain about, but when things are good, we ought to say so. So spread the appreciation around any chance you get the way we do in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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