Champion News

CHAMPION—September 17, 2012

          When the forecast proved to be more than right on Saturday, Champions just stepped back and said that had they only known that advertising the Champion Fall All City Yard Sale would cause it to rain steadily, gently, all day long, why, they would have been doing it all summer—certainly all through June and July!  The softly falling droplets–larger than mist– fell one after another  until it finally added up to something.  The philosophy of Zoey Louise, “You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit,” is the standard in Champion.  Nobody could possibly complain about the rain.  The rescheduled yard sale will doubtlessly be more successful than the scheduled one would have been and the general notion that things most often work out for the best will be proved out once again.  Hopefully the Stillings over west of Ava, had a roof under which to work for their annual Molasses Making on Saturday, or perhaps they too will reschedule.  Molasses makers will be the first to say, ”You’ve got to go with the flow.”  The weather did not dampen Patty Squirell’s surprise birthday party Saturday.  Friends are pleased that the images of all those smiles were shared on ‘the’ face book!

          Zoey has her birthday on Friday, September 21^st.  She shares that day with Louise Hutchison and with Betty Elliot and with her second cousin, Penelope.  That day is also the tenth wedding anniversary of Tanna and Roger Wiseman as well as being Ember Day and the very eve of Autumn.  Louise and Betty are Skyline VFD Auxiliary members and good friends.  They will enjoy some time together on their birthday Friday.  On Saturday afternoon Zoey will go over to Penelope’s house for a party with a chocolate fountain.  Foster and Kalyssa’s folks might get a babysitter and go out for a romantic dinner.  They cannot rely on either of their grandmothers for babysitting or on their grandfather or Aunt Kaye, Uncle Robert or Cousin Elizabeth.   Those folks are all off on a lark together, visiting old family stomping grounds in North Carolina, Tennessee, and other places and accumulating a new bunch of adventures to relate.  Look for some of those adventures to show up in print one of these days.

          The West Plains Wagon Club made its pilgrimage through Champion on Thursday as it has at this time annually for more than twenty years.   Thirteen wagons and twenty five outriders came jangling, creaking and squeaking into the Champion Square where they were met by a large group of spectators.   The weather could not have been more lovely.  The travelers had camped out on Don Carter’s place over in Vanzant the night before.  Carter bought his place a number of years ago and learned at that time that the wagon train has long used it for the Wednesday night campsite of this ride.  He has been pleased to keep the tradition going.  He made his way to Champion in advance of the train so that he could meet his boy, Eli Epps, who had hitched a ride from home to Champion just for the adventure.  Wagon master Clifton Luna had company in his wagon when he pulled into Champion.  Richard Miller had joined him sometime Thursday morning after he got up off the ground.  A dog had spooked his horse and it threw him off in the ditch.  Miller has been making this trip with Mr. Luna for twelve years and is an experienced rider.  A couple of years ago this same horse threw him twice on the same trip.  Apart from having the wind knocked out of him, Miller was no worse for the wear and was pleased to ride in the lead wagon with his old friend.  Mr. Luna’s granddaughter, Cassie, did not fare so well over her spill.  She had some significant abrasions and was walking with quite a little hitch in her get along, but she walked her little appaloosa into the square after it had been startled into bucking by a dog.   She left the Square in a wagon with her little horse tied to the back of another one.  The accident could have been much worse, so she was grateful, if sore, and will have a story to tell her grandchildren.  Mr. Luna also had a grandson and a cousin on this train.   His grandson joined the train as an out-rider.   Cousin, Bonnie Luna, is from Gainesville and has been ‘wagoning’ for three years, but this was her first time on this particular ride.  She accompanied Jerry Arnold who has been through Champion before. 

            Champions were glad to see Jerry and Diane Wilbanks making the trip.  The Wilbanks, together with Ralph and Shirley Martin and Coy Stone, also on this ride with the West Plains Wagon Club, had just returned from a week long trip in Kentucky.  Diane said that it was an amazing ride with just spectacular scenery.  She has brought home some blue and green stones that will grace the arch in her fireplace, as they do some repair work there, and serve as mementoes of a great experience.  Their young neighbors, Sarah and Jeff Lemanski, with their little daughter, Haddie, came out to see the wagons and the animals too.  They are new to the area and Miss Haddie will soon be receiving books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, because she is in the Skyline School District.  Another newcomer about Haddie’s age, Nicholas George, will also be enjoying the DPIL.  He was out appreciating the sites with his Mom, Salina, and the young ones became acquainted as did their folks with each other and a number of their near and like-minded neighbors.  Champion!   

              Jim and Judy Cantrell have been making this train for about sixteen years.  Mansfield is home for them so the end of the trail on Friday found them at their house.  Others like Ken Felts and Randall Barnet had a long way to go.  They are from over near Viola, Arkansas, probably members of the Gee and Haw Club.  Ken had traveled 28 miles in his wagon just to get to the starting place for this ride.  Randall is from Pocahontas and this is his fifth year on this train.  It was a disappointment all around that Nancy and Marvin Webster, of Bloomfield, MO, were not able to make this ride this year.   Marvin has had some serious health issues that are improving, to the delight of his many friends, so Champions will look forward to seeing them next year.  

             Esther Wrinkles has always enjoyed watching the wagon train go by, and her many friends will stop in to visit with her at the Autumn Oaks Care Center to report on it to her.  Linda Cark and her folks, Joanne and Wayne Anderson, along with her Aunt Fern Bishop were some of the first spectators to arrive in advance of the wagon train.   Joyce Coonts was there waiting for her Cowboy Jack who came cantering into the Square with his usual panache.  Lee Ray, from over Almartha way, parked his shiny black and chrome motorcycle well out of the way.  Louin and Valery Clayton came to see the spectacle from Squires and they had a friend with them whose name was not recorded, but who very much enjoyed the sights.  Steve and Darlene Connor came down the hill to look things over as did Betty Elliot and any number of other locals who just happened to be in the neighborhood.  Royce and Joe Henson came all the way from Springfield.  They love Champion and make it back home as often as they can.  That new load of gravel on the hill going up county road 243 was well placed and made the exit from Champion easier than it could have been.  Champions have the East End County Shed boys to thank for that.   All this excitement is just an example of what can happen in Champion on any Saturday of the month.  The forecast is for a nice day next Saturday.  “Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street” in Historic Downtown Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 10, 2012

          Champions are set for another busy fall season and some are tiring of the constant comments about the swift passage of time.  “You’ll miss it by talking about it so much.”  That sentiment also speaks to people who are so busy taking pictures with their fancy cameras that they do not really see what is in front of them.  If they were to lose those cameras or lose the photos, they might lose the whole experience.  One of the main things that Champions do is enjoy the beauty of their surroundings in the wonderful here and now.  It would take a tenth degree curmudgeon to find fault with these lovely days.

Here comes the wagon train!  The West Plains Wagon Club is on its way again, having left West Plains Monday with the objective of lunching in Champion on Thursday.   Tanna Wiseman will be celebrating her birthday that day and may be in town with Foster and Kalyssa to enjoy the curious spectacle of seeing all the wagons roll into the Square with all the beautiful animals and the fascinating rigs.  There are covered wagons and buggies of various sorts and every year brings something new and interesting.   Clifton Luna has been ramrodding this outfit since the 1980’s and it is a highlight of the season for Champion to have the welcome visitors.  The train will complete its journey in Mansfield on Friday.  Champions are particularly looking forward to seeing Jerry and Diane Wilbanks.  They have been ‘wagoning’ for close to a decade now and made their first trip through Champion in 2010 with this wagon train.  They liked the area so much that they have moved here from Potterville.  They have a nice place over on Bryant Creek now and from time to time they hitch up their buggy and roll over to Champion just for the fun of the trip.    

          Lainie Sutherland has sent six photographs of Champions and some ‘Denlowites’ and random Sutherland portraits to the Champion News.  They will soon be available on-line for everyone to enjoy.  Anyone who would like to share photos of old times in Champion is welcome to e-mail them to Champion at getgoin.net  or to mail them, via the illustrious US Postal Service, to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  The first picture has twenty young people and an adult woman standing beside a rock bluff.  While in town for the 30^th Champion School Reunion last week, various Hensons went out exploring, searching for ‘the bluff’ under which those people had their picture taken.  It is not known if they actually found the location, though it was clear they were having a good time looking.  Eva Henson Phillips wrote from Bella Vista, Arkansas to say how much she and her family had enjoyed the reunion and that it was so nice to be able to use the store’s facilities to bring the festivities in out of the rain.  “Royce, Jo, Tom, Valli, Alex, Evan, Victor, Victoria, Vaughn and Whit all enjoyed their walk from Cold Springs to Champion.  That was quite a crew walking the old ‘trail’ once more.”   Royce called it “The Walk of Ages.”

          Miss Emerson Rose and brother, Eli Ogelsby, were happy to be visiting with their Grandmother in Champion during the past week while their Dad was busy with the recent horseshow.  On Saturday night he won the Grand Championship prize for training five year old horses.  Articles and pictures will be showing up in the papers all around the area with more complete and accurate information about the event.  It made for a late bed time Saturday night, but everyone was excited and had a wonderful time.  Little niece, Taegan Krider, loves to see the horses canter.  She loves all her cousins too, and is happy when they come to visit.  “Peanut” is quite a farm girl and there are some great pictures of her being such at www.the-dairy-maid.com a link to which can be found at www.championnews.us.   Little children growing up in the country, knowing all about farm life is a real National Treasure.  The little rural schools, like Skyline R-2, are just what the Country needs.  The Skyline R-2 School Foundation had a meeting on September 5^th to set priorities for the school year ahead.  It is good news to know that there are currently 31 children in the school district benefiting from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program that the Foundation sponsors.  These youngsters, from birth to age five years, receive a new, age appropriate, book in the mail every month.  The love of reading and the love of learning are life skills that support success no matter what course people choose in life.  It makes them Champions!

          The fall garden wants to be planted.  The next good days for planting above the ground crops will be the 16^th through the 20^th, according to Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood.   Linda is still busy dealing with all the produce from her summer garden and, while friends do not like to see her tired and overworked, they do not feel altogether sorry for her having to deal with such abundance.   Fortunately, she can work a few bridge games into her busy schedule, and that gives her some time off her feet.  At the regular Fortnight Bridge Club game on Saturday, she took second place behind the Vera Cruz player, who was celebrating her birthday.  The host, Champion, came in third and the low money went to Brushy Knob.   Wilma Pointer, who attended the Champion School Reunion this year, remarked that she would like to learn to play bridge.  She lives in Mountain Grove where there are a number of great bridge players who often meet at the Senior Center there.  Wilma will find it to be an intriguing game that she will never tire of playing. 

          Music on the Square this Saturday may include the All-General, All-Star Accordion Ensemble with its great repertory of patriotic songs.  The General will have all know that it is important to support the Troops and the Vets!  The music may just be one old guy with a French harp up on the porch of the Historic Emporium playing  “Listen to the Mockingbird” or some hillbilly jug band singing, “Who Poured the Whiskey in the Well?  There’s just one thing for shore, that water’s ninety proof or more!”  Come on down to the Square in Historic Downtown Champion to enjoy the Fall Market Day Celebration spread out on the wide grassy banks of Old Fox Creek.   It is a picturesque, lush green utopia.  It’s just where the pavement ends and where the fun begins.  Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 3, 2012

          Some of the rain that has been so needed in Champion came in the best possible fashion with no big electrical disturbances and in such a gentle way that not a drop ran off anywhere, but soaked right in.  Over the course of a couple of days, the little drops added up to more than two inches in some rain gauges.  The rest of the rain that is needed will show up when it does and in the interim Champions will enjoy some bright, steamy days with no complaints.  Champions smile at strangers.

          The rain did not dampen the enthusiasm for the thirtieth annual Champion School Reunion which took place on schedule Saturday.  The pot-luck luncheon is usually held out under the big walnut trees on the old school grounds, but because of the off and on drizzle and outright rain, it was decided to move the festivities into the meeting room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium.  It was an excellent move and the long table of delectable dishes was a sight to see.  Royce Henson asked the Blessing on the table and on the gathering.  Happy to be there were:  Russell Upshaw, Kaye (Upshaw) Johnson, Elva Ragland, Ruby Proctor, who was the oldest one in attendance this year, Phyllis Driskell, Elsie Curtis, Debbie Curtis, Eva (Henson) and Harold Phillips, Frankie and Freda Proctor, Connie Brown, Robert Brown, Lee Brown, Wilma Pointer, Pete Proctor, Norma Shannon, Vaughn Henson, Whitaker Henson, Victor Henson, Victoria Henson, Valli (Henson) Mills, Tom Mills, Alex Mills, Evan Mills, Royce Clayton Henson, Minnie Jo (Lorett) Henson, Karen Krider, Vivian Floyd, Arlene Cooley, Tom Cooley, Betty Henson, Tommy and Barbara Sutherland, Lainie Sutherland, Wes Lambert, Wayne and Frances Sutherland,  Modeen (Dooms) McGowan, Darrell Hutchison, Bill and Charlie Smith, Leslee Krider, Wilda Moses and Staci Cline.  Others wandered in and out through the course of the day and the mood was effervescent. 

          Hoovie will be sorry to have missed this reunion.  His brother and sister-in-law, three nephews, a niece, and a raft of good looking great nephews and nieces took “the long way home through the park.”  That is to say, they walked from Cold Springs to Champion, a good four miles, in what is now being called, “The Walk of Ages.”  This is not the first of these reminiscent expeditions to have been made in recent years.  There was a support vehicle prowling the road back and forth in case of emergencies.  Somewhere along the way the leader of the pack decided to pilfer a boulder off the side of the road or out of a creek bed.  He must command great respect from his youthful sons and grandsons to have them so willingly wrestle the monster into the back of the truck.  It will decorate his landscape in the city and all those who had a part in purloining the great stone will share a family remembrance when they pass by.  With every step from here to there evocative of some memory, made mostly sweet by the great passage of time, the party arrived in time to catch their breaths before the sumptuous luncheon.  Everything about it was good except that none of Esther’s pies and none of her noodles graced the table this time.  Cards were signed by attendees to let her know how much she was missed.  The Sutherland Clan headed out en masse to visit Esther after the reunion and Frances took the cards to hand deliver. 

          Lainie Sutherland, who lives over in Nashville, says she has some wonderful pictures of Champion taken many long years ago.  She said that she would email them to Champion at getgoin.net..  Everyone is encouraged to follow her lead.  A number of folks expressed some interest in old pictures, and it is being talked up that next year everyone will bring their pictures of the old days to the reunion.  Between now and then someone will figure out a way to scan them all so that everyone can have copies of all of them.  Technology really works well for Champions.  Lainie has some interesting information about the history of her family which comes from Sutherland Scotland.  Sutherland is a county of 2,028 square miles and contains some of the northernmost land in the island of Great Britain.  Douglas County has 814.6 square miles, just as a point of reference.  The land over there in Sutherland County is rugged and sparsely populated.  Its beaches are on the North Sea. Douglas County is rugged and more densely populated and it has miles of beaches up and down the creeks and rivers and along the banks of beautiful freshwater lakes.  It is a small world and then again “There’s no place like home.”  

          Missing also this year was General No-Show Upshaw.  He has suspiciously made himself pretty scarce around Champion lately, causing comments such as, “Hmmm.”   On this occasion, there was speculation that he figured he was just so sweet, he might melt if he got out in the rain.  Somebody else said that he was much a-feared the creek was up and “he canna swim!”  His chance to redeem himself will come September 15^th when the All General Accordion Ensemble is booked as “Music on the Square” –part of the Champion Fall Market Day Celebration.  One vendor has accumulated a Denlow-specific package that should be of great interest to the General.  The price of these items has been inflated significantly as a way to extract as much of his dough from him as possible without leaving Sweet Sharon in the lurch.  It might be called extortion under other circumstances. 

          The Labor Day holiday is the yearly National tribute to the contributions workers of all kinds have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of the Country.  It is also a chance to bid a wistful good bye to summer.  That does not rule out the possibility of more very hot weather and the increased humidity guarantees that it will be sweltering, but not for long.  “Time passes quickly up here in the mountains.”    The rain seems to have revitalized the remnants of the summer garden and the fall garden is going in.  Cole crops and greens have plenty of time to make, particularly if the winter is mild.  Look to Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood to help decide what might be planted now–maybe some nice turnips.  Find the Almanac on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown G & G over on the north side of the Square in Historic Champion or on line at www.championnews.us.

          Remember the good part of the old days and remember those precious dear ones now gone.  Remember those who are serving Nation in the U.S. Military Service and in other capacities, giving the population the leisure to wax nostalgic.  “We’ll sing of the old, and we’ll sing of the new.  We’ll sing of the changes in years.”  “Everything old is new again” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 27, 2012

          The mist hanging in the valleys on Monday morning speaks of the rain that fell enough to wash the dust off the cars, but not enough to wake a person up to say, “Oh! It’s raining!”  The forecast for the end of the week shows Champion to be cool and damp.  When it comes to the weather, Champions never complain.   Zoey Louise, a Champion granddaughter who will soon be nine years old, says, “You get what you get, and you don’t pitch a fit!”  That is an excellent precept that speaks of a good upbringing.  It must come from her Mother’s side.

          When Harley an Barbara were down from Illinois during the Skyline VFD Picnic, Harley remarked that he has some incredibly beautiful tomato plants that are not making much in the way of tomatoes.  He did have a small bunch of plump Romas to share with sister-in-law, Karen, who said they were very pretty and very tasty.  It is to be noted that Barbara had her birthday on Sunday and now is considerably older than some of her family and friends in Champion.  Until they catch up with her again those younger people will go out of their way to show deference and appreciation for their elders.  It is the Champion way!  Harley drives a bus and school has started up there again too so they probably will not make it to the Champion School Reunion this year.  It is coming up on Saturday, September 1^st.  Even Champions who never attended school there are welcome and everyone always goes away from the occasion with a smile.  Bring lawn chairs, a bite to eat, and get ready for some serious visiting, reminiscing, acquainting and reacquainting.

          The 30^th Annual Champion School Reunion is just the first of a series of excellent gatherings of the fall season in the bustling crossroads of one of the prettiest places in the world.   “Crossroads” is used here only as a designation for a gathering place or for the hub of a community.  Looking from above (on the map), the loop around the Square is Lonnie Krider Memorial Drive.  It connects County road 243 from the north, with County Road 234 from the east and with the pavement of Highway WW that goes off to the west.  If a person is of a mind to go south, he might take out east on 234 for a way and then turn right on 235.  A person could spend a pleasant hour just perusing the map, but better yet, make the trip.  Refresh yourself out on the porch at the Historic Emporium and enjoy the sites.

 On Thursday, the 13^th of the month, the West Plains Wagon Club will come through again on their week-long trip from West Plains to Mansfield.  They generally spend the lunch hour and a little siesta break around the Square and are most congenial to spectators, many of whom may never have seen, up close, wagons and buggies hitched up to horses and mules.  There are all kinds of different outfits.  Many of these rigs are equipped with solar powered electric lights and running water, but some are as close to the original historic configurations as is possible with only minor alterations to fit current conditions.  Look in on www.championnews.us to see some great pictures of Wagon Trains in Champion or come out and see them in person.  The procession creaking out of the Square on its way north puts a person in mind of the changing of times.   “The only constant is change,” they say, and Champions are not at all adverse to it.  Forward thinking is not anathema to a love of history and precious memories of the golden days of youth.  “The old grey mare, she ain’t what she used to be, many long years ago!” Every guy who was born in 1939 thinks the ‘57 Thunderbird (or Desoto) is the prettiest car ever built.

 It will be remembered off in the future (way off) that Janna Brixey did not want to go to school.  She does not like riding the bus and the whole process of going every morning seems egregious to her.  Once she gets there, however, and gets involved in the day, she seems to like it quite well.  She talks about it favorably when she returns home in the evening, and yet, the morning starts the whole process over again.  She will soon discover that the rewards are worth the trouble it takes to get there.  Kindergarten is cool.  Meanwhile, she and Kalyssa Wiseman will have their fifth birthday on Friday, the 31^st of August.  One is just a few minutes older than the other.  They will probably know each other for the rest of their lives, so they can work it out between them who is older.  Larry Wrinkles has his birthday on the 1^st of September.  He most generally is at the Champion School Reunion and he will have to make a good appearance this year as a stand-in for his Mother, Esther Wrinkles.  She will be spending a little more time at the Autumn Oaks Care Center where she is doing rehabilitation for a broken hip.  This will be the first Reunion that she has not attended and these are the kinds of ‘changing times’ that people dislike.  She will have lots of company there as friends stop in to report on the reunion and to tell her how much she was missed. 

Third grader Jasmine Schroeder will miss getting to have her birthday at school.  She will be nine years old on the third of September which is Labor Day this year.  She can celebrate with her Skyline classmates later.  The forth of September is the birthday of both Ronald Thornhill who will be 14, and Eathaniel Poppas who will be 10.  Two sixth grade boys, Derek Camp and Donavon Sarginson, share their 12^th birthday on the fifth.  Birthday celebrations can be some of the best part of life.  The chance to tell friends and family that they are loved and cherished on their special day and that the world is somehow sweeter for their very presence is a chance not to miss.  The feeling one has about his own birthday can change from age to age and if a person is lucky somewhere along the line he begins to be grateful for having lived another year.  Send any birthdays that you would like to commemorate to Champion at getgoin.net or to Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Freely, lavishly send birthday cards to friends and loved ones by the U.S. Postal Service.  Write some post cards and love letters to the troops overseas and tell them how much their sacrifices are valued. Karen Ross, Champion mail carrier, participated in the Customer Appreciation program of the post office by delivering banana bread.  Notes back to her in thanks for the deliciousness included the sentiment that it is the community who appreciates her.  Reliable mail service to rural residents is noting to take for granted. 

Elmer Banks’ birthday is on September 15^th! It will be hard to tell how old he is and the fact is he may not know himself.  He is originally from Transylvania, Louisiana and lived many places before he settled on Champion as his home.  Fun and laughter come along with him and it will be “Elmer Banks Day” in Downtown Champion on his birthday as the whole town gathers for a swap meet kind of festival with the Fall All City Yard Sale and Musical provided by the All General Accordion Ensemble.  Come for the fun to Champion!—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION–August 20, 2012

          The good news in Champion is plentiful. The weather is being pleasing and little dribs and drabs of rain keep Champion hearts optimistic for eventual drought relief. An agronomist was heard to say that gardeners can expect a bumper crop of weeds next year on account of so much barren ground this year. Ahead of the times, as usual, many Champions already have quite a bounty of weeds, which some classify as any plant whose virtue is not yet known. Some who have had glorious, ornamental, non-bearing green beans are expecting the plants to suddenly produce a plenteousness in these temperate days. Great expectations abound in Champion.

          Over the years the ‘Champion Items’ have been written by a number of people. Sylvia Henson, wife of Ezra and no kin to Edgar and Anna, wrote them back in the 1950s and 1960s. Ruth Hicks, who lived on the next place over, wrote them for a while and Esther Wrinkles, who lived in Champion proper, wrote them for many years. There were others as well. Some research off in the future will detail the chronology of Champion writers for anyone who is interested in such things. This particular permutation of the ‘items’ only goes back to August 28, 2006. The first entry was: “News has reached the Champion community that its former longtime resident, Mrs. Clifford Wrinkles, has suffered a mishap that has resulted in a plaster cast on her foot together with admonitions to stay off the foot for two weeks. This will work a hardship on Ms. Wrinkles who is routinely more active than most.” Since then she has made a dozen or more quilts, hundreds of pies and gallons of noodles. She has lifted the spirits of family and friends and kept the road hot with her comings and goings. Now she has had another mishap that put her in the Autumn Oaks Care Center in Mountain Grove. She has a steady stream of visitors who join with many others who know and love her to wish her well. All her fellow music lovers are dedicating the best song that plays in their heads to Esther.

         Tennessee Champion Dakota Watts’ aunt Tianna Ogelsby celebrates her birthday on August 22, and Dakota has his on the 24^th. His great aunt Barbara Krider shares her birthday with Dana Harden who will be six years old and is in kindergarten at Skyline School. Barbara’s sister in law, Rita Krider, has her birthday the next day. They live near each other up in Illinois and will probably revel together in a big chunk of cherry cheesecake to mark the occasion. Rowdy Woods, Skyline first grader, will be seven on the 29^th, which is the same day Wes Smith will be—well, older. It would be interesting to know if Wes was like Rowdy when he was that age. Something in the twinkling of the eyes makes one think that might be the case. Abigail Dyer will enjoy her eighth birthday in her third grade class on the 30^th, and then Kalyssa Wiseman and Jenna Brixie will celebrate being five years old on the same day–August 31^st.

         The Champion School Reunion is fast approaching—September 1^st. Alumni of the Champion #47 School District, which last held classes in 1959, together with descendants and other family and friends will gather on the grounds once again to tell the old stories and to hear them. “Ain’t it funny, how times slips away?” That could be one of the songs proffered by the various attending musicians, to which some might remark, “T’ain’t funny, McGee!” If you would like to see what a Champion #47 School Reunion is all about, go to www.championnews.us and look under Champion School Reunions. There you can find pictures from the first one, held in 1984. By then the school had been closed for twenty five years. A particularly interesting reunion occurred in 2008. While everyone is not computer-savvy or particularly interested in being so, most people know someone who has access to the World Wide Web. Out there on the web is stored some pictures of the 2008 reunion and a person can almost hear the laughter and pleasant sounds of acquaintance renewed. Also find there the Dynamic Duo of Lonnie Krider and Wayne Anderson singing “Two Different Worlds” with such sweet harmonies a person cannot help but to smile and express some gratitude for the experience. It is a chance for the young folks to take the old folks on a computer tour of Champion. Captain Picard (not to be confused with the General) says, “Make it so.” The past is “slip sliding” away; the future is a promise; today is happening right now in Champion!

          Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that Friday and Saturday the 25^th and 26^th will both be good days to cut winter wood and to prune to discourage growth. One finds it amazing that there is forever something timely to be doing and, at the same time, gratefully, not much in the way of an oversight committee. One is inclined to do just as she pleases and she finds it serendipitous in the extreme that those things she so enjoys doing are the exact things that most need to be done.

      “They” say that good news travels fast. If you have some good news or joy that you would like to spread around send it to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.   It is a joy to tour a friend’s garden to see how differently and how effectively each gardener approaches the endeavor. Driving down a country lane, if the gardener stands up to watch you pass, he will probably wave at you. The tidy little plot next to The Historic Emporium in Downtown Champion is the very picture of a garden specific to the gardener’s needs. It is just right. Lean over the porch rail to admire it. Look around and take a moment to appreciate the tranquil beauty of the setting with its great trees and grassy creek banks, its charming lanes and precipitous hills. It is Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 13, 2012

          Champions begin the week with grateful hearts that the severity of the summer heat has for a while abated.  They are optimistic that the moderation will endure and that rain will eventually fall.  Every dry spell in history has ended in a shower.  When the creeks are up too deep to ford, will Champions remember these dry days?  Yep. 

          “The Orange Blossom Special” was a deluxe passenger train that ran between New York and Florida from 1925 to 1953.  The song by that name is known as ‘the fiddler’s national anthem’ and was written by brothers Ervin and Gordon Rouse in 1939, when Esther Wrinkles was a girl of 22.  She is 95 now and her friends, Backyard Bluegrass, finished their last set at the Skyline VFD Picnic on Saturday night dedicating the song to her.  She is recuperating over at the Autumn Oaks Care Center and this is the first Skyline Picnic that she has missed.  She has been a mainstay in the organization since it first began and her friends are looking forward to her getting back in the swing of things.  Tamara Griswold was the winner of Esther’s quilt.  She and her husband Greg moved to the area a couple of years ago from northern Illinois.  They have been coming to this part of the country for several years visiting family in the Skyline community.  They live over in the EE/76 Fire District, but have been buying Skyline quilt tickets for years and years.  She is very happy about the beautiful quilt and will, no doubt, be first in line for tickets for the next one.  Champion! 

          The weather was perfect for the picnic and attendance was quite good.  People came from far and wide to meet up with old friends and family for the fun of it.  Some had to go the long way around to get there, but they came nonetheless and had a good time.  Ruby Proctor and her family were there both nights, as were Louise and Wilburn Hutchinson, Violet Hinote, and many others.   Harley and Barbara Krider came all the way from Illinois for the occasion and were happy to visit with many people they had not seen for years.   Area merchants are generous with their donations of door prizes and other support for the picnic and for the fire department.  It is a good relationship.  On a humorous note, Bob Upshaw, (When is he not funny?) engaged in some competitive bidding that went like this:  Anna Lou Wallace-$5.00, Bob Upshaw-$12.00, Wilda Moses-$13.00, Bob Upshaw-$14.00,  Aldous Huxley-$15.00, Bob Upshaw-$16.00, George Orwell-$17.00, Bob Upshaw-$18.00,  E.E. Cummings-$19.00, Bob Upshaw-$20.00.   The prize?  It was a fuzzy green wig, which upon winning, he promptly donned and proceeded to overwhelm the bingo parlor’s guests with antics too wild to report.  Do not be surprised if this typical behavior is repeated on Thursday evening over at the Vanzant Community Center for the Thursday night music and pot-luck.   Myron Jackson from KZ88 Radio in Cabool spread his money around at the auction and came out of it with some glass electric insulators, a Mad Magazine board game and a number of plates and platters that were commemorative of various states.  He is a music lover and can be found at all the local picnics, benefits, and festivals.   

          Dirk Beeson is a name to remember.  He is the hero of Michael Upshaw’s novel, “It’s About Time,” soon to be available in local stores.  It is almost a field manual on the use of resources, intellect and a sense of humor to solve the problems of the universe.  Two signed, first edition copies of the novel were on the silent auction block and brought in some good revenue for the fire department.  Tim Scrivner made another of his wonderful bird feeders for the auction and Tanna Wiseman’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies brought in a cool sawbuck.  Proceeds from the auction are being spent this very week on some super-duper leaf blowers for the firefighters to use for clearing fire breaks.  It is an important piece of equipment that can make a real difference in controlling and suppressing a dangerous fire.  

          William Crawford will be thirteen years old on the 19^th of the month.  He will be a seventh grader at Skyline.  Caitlynn Pierce will enter the sixth grade this year and will have her twelfth birthday on the 21^st.  School is back in session and everyone is set for another exciting year of learning and growing.   The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is gaining a few more subscribers and so Skyline School can look forward to more future students with a well-developed love of reading.   

          Rachel Pitts who lives over by Hunter Creek was the winner of the White River Valley Electric Co-Operative’s $100.00 of free electricity at the Skyline Picnic.  Jeff Pardek from over at White River is kind enough to make this award to the fire department every year.  Ms. Pitts is a lifelong resident of the area and she says that with the price of cattle, the lack of rain, and the dreadful heat, this winning ticket was a real bright spot for her family.  They have always been staunch supporters of the fire department and love to come to the picnic.  Her daughter, Kristi Vinson, taught at Skyline in past years.  Nine years ago when Kristi’s son, Jacob Teaster, was four years old he had an illness that put him in a coma for three weeks.  During that time the Skyline community had a benefit for him and Ms. Pitts said it was greatly appreciated.  Her grandson, Jacob, is thirteen now and is doing just fine.   She remarked that she had recently been down to Champion to see the new store and she very much approves.   It is a real winner!  So is Ms. Pitts and a Champion!

          Linda’s Almanac says that the 14^th and 15^th will be good days for transplanting and for planting below the ground crops.  It is also good for planting seedbeds and flower gardens.  Then the moon changes and the 22^nd through the 24^th will be time to plant above-ground crops again.  Some Champion gardeners are experimenting with ‘earth-barrels’ for some of their fall garden.   Being willing to try new techniques is the mark of a Champion!  Cowboy Jack was in Henson’s Downtown G & G on Monday morning bemoaning the fact that the Olympic equestrian events did not include one for swimming.  Perhaps the committee will come to its senses and will add a cold creek swimming event for man and horse.   He will be ready to go to Brazil in 2016.  His friends all wish him the very best!  Send any ideas about any other place where Cowboy Jack can go to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.

          The Fairview School Reunion is reported to have been a great success.  Lyman Proctor was part of the program representing the Veterans of the group.  He had a moving statement to make about his recent visit to the various monuments in Washington D.C.  He does a good job of keeping Veterans and those serving currently in the forefront of the community consciousness.  They are Champions every one.    

          The cool weather makes a sojourn out on the porch at the Historic Emporium just right.  It is a beautiful place, picturesque and tranquil, an excellent place to enjoy a pleasant visit with friends, or just to meditate for a quiet moment.  Come on over on to the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 6, 2012

               Some Champions are feeling that they have had a reprieve, as if they have been pardoned or have found amnesty or sanctuary from the heat and the oppressive prospect of no-end-in-sight to the brutality of summer, in spite of the full knowledge that ‘eventually’ it will be some other season.  An inch of rain is truly a gift and Champions say right out loud, “Thank God!” 

              “You can’t go home by the way of the mill.  There’s a bridge washed out at the bottom o  f the hill.”  Well, the bridge on Highway 76 at Bryant Creek was not washed out but it is being rebuilt.  They say it is going to be a doozie.  Anyway, it will not be open in time for the Skyline VFD Picnic, so people from the other side of the creek will just have to go around in order to get to the fun this year.  Maybe the bridge will be will be ready for use when school starts on the 15^th of the month.  Students and teachers are getting geared up for another successful term of learning and growing.  Kinzleigh Crain will have her 10^th birthday the day before school starts and Trent Homer will have his seventh birthday the day after school starts.  Kinzleigh will be in the fourth grade and Trent will enter the first grade.  There may be some new students in Skyline this year as there are reported to be some new families with children moving into the area.  It has been said that due to the current state of the economy the birthrate in the US is significantly down.   Add to that to the evidence that while the overall population of rural Ozarks counties is increasing, so is the median age.    There are plenty of Champion grandparents who would be pleased to have some young people move into the neighborhood, preferably their own grandchildren, but any would do.  A new batch of Dolly Parton Imagination Library Applications has been delivered to Henson’s Store in Downtown Champion so the little ones who make their way to Champion/Skyline will be able to get started right away building their own libraries.  It is true that much of the knowledge of the rest of the world will be coming to students on the internet from here on out, but it is also true that a bound book with paper pages, new and bright, or ragged and well-read can spark imagination and curiosity just as it did for Champions back in the days when they attended their own treasured little school.   As the years roll around and people look back with nostalgia on their school experiences in the little one and two room school houses in these parts, perhaps they will think about the one hundred or so youngsters who are attending the Skyline School today.   The Skyline School Foundation has been set up to help this small rural school with some of its needs, which are many.  There will be some good information about the Foundation available when the East Fairview District #46 has its reunion at the Vanzant Community Building on the 11^th.   The Champion School Reunion is always held the Saturday before Labor Day and there will be plenty of opportunity for Champions past and present to subsidize the future by supporting the Foundation today!  Look in on www.championnews.us to see Champion School Reunions from the past.  There are pictures there of Hensons, Cooleys, Sutherlands, Kriders, Hicks and Hutchisons, Smiths and Upshaws, Andersons and Proctors and on and on. 

               Esther Wrinkles is feeling better and someone said that she should have had a stack of quilt tickets by her bedside there at the Autumn Oaks Caring Center in Mountain Grove.  She has a pretty steady stream of visitors and they all have an interest in this year’s quilt.  Bob Berry comes by to see her every few days and he has bought lots of quilt tickets over the years and he won one fairly recently, maybe at the Skyline chili supper a couple of years ago.  Mary was very happy about the whole deal. 

                Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood will let you know that there is plenty of growing season left this year.  As the harshness of the weather abates, enthusiasm for gardening is refreshed.  Some gardeners mix lettuce and radishes together and the harvest process promotes the thriving of each.  The almanac reveals that the best days for destroying weeds will be the 11^th, 12^th,  13^th and 16^th , though some figure that anytime you pull a weed is a good time.  There are good times to be had in a garden any time.  One says that when the soil is so nice and damp from the rain, “Why, the weeds fairly jump into your hand!”   Find the Almanac up in Norwood, on the internet or on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown G & G on the North Side of the Square in scenic and serene Champion.

                As is frequently the case, Linda had the high score in the regular Fortnight Bridge Club game on Saturday night.  She has been playing for a long time and continues to take lessons and teach.  The game is a good exercise for holding on to the processes involved in remembering things and keeping brains working with agility and keenness.  It works better for some than for others.  A link in the www.championnews.us  site takes a person interested in bridge to the American Contract Bridge League.  There is a link there also to the VFW website where a great deal of good information about Veterans is available.  For example, one in seven new Veterans will have some form of post-traumatic stress disorder.  There are 244,000 new cases of traumatic brain injury and it is reported elsewhere that every day one American Service person takes his own life.  Veterans have a lot of Love and Gratitude due them as well as some support and understanding.  Local Veterans are always a significant presence at area picnics, chili suppers and benefits.  They are Champions every one.

                “You ought to see my Blue-Eyed Sally.  She lives way down on Shinbone Alley.  There’s a number on the gate and a number on the door.  The next house over is the grocery store.”  Those are lines from Bob Wills’ song, “Stay All Night.”  Sally Prock might have been the Blue Eyed Sally that Mr. Wills was singing about, but she was most likely just a very little girl when the song became popular and she lived more than a few doors down from the Mercantile.  She is quite popular in Champion and she shows up for every important function and sometimes just for the fun of it.  She has a great smile.  “Pull off your coat.  Throw it in the corner.  Don’t see why you don’t stay a little longer” In Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!