Champion News

CHAMPION –March 18, 2007

        Good news in Champion!  A purple Martin was spotted on Wednesday the 14^th.  That’s a little early for their return (they generally show up around the 21^st) but the odd weather and other unknowns have at least one of the wonderful mosquito eaters home for the season.  Geese are winging their way north and the red, red robins are bob, bob bobbing along and probably eating tons of wonderful Champion earthworms.  They are so plump they might make a nice robin pie. 

        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 no where 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.

        A good neighbor and Champion eagle observer suggest that the Ozark Mountaineer is a good source of information for the history and points of interest of this local area.  She said that a recent issue had an excellent four page article about the West Plains Disaster including a number of photographs. Its title was “Devastating West Plains Blast Still a Mystery After 79 Years.” She said that the words to the song together with the music were reproduced there.  It costs $19.95 a year for six issues of the magazine.  Perhaps, when the cost of the sheet music to MY MISSOURI HOME has been recouped and some savings have been accrued,  arrangements can be made to get a subscription for Champion.  Someone remarked that last week’s Champion Items said, “This is the cover of the Sheet Music…….for MY MISSOURI HOME” and then there was no picture.  Well, it is an attractive item including the name of the author, the publisher and the date of publication.  The title at the top is written in an old fashioned type-face.  Then there is a picture of a farm house with a big porch and some shade trees sitting down kind of behind a hill which is indicated by some curved parallel lines.  There is a windmill in the drawing, however, and while that is not representative of this area there may be parts of Missouri where windmills are more common.  In any event the sheet music is still available to be examined by any interested party.  There has been made a description of written music as looking like hen scratches and fly specks.  It is kind of magic to people who can’t read it.  Champion Souvenir copies of MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU are available at Henson’s Store in Beautiful Downtown Champion.

        Mrs. Eva Powell is happy to have her daughter home again after her recent adventures out west.  She and her husband explored gold mines and desert towns and big lakes and dams.  They had fun but were glad to get home.  Many Champions have family out traveling.  The world is a dangerous place and loved ones far from home pass through the good thoughts of home folks during course of the day.  Worry is a waste of time.  “May the Good Lord bless and keep you, whether near or far away.”  Family and friends of distant travelers and US Service People abroad hold them close in their hearts with hopes for safe and speedy returns of all those precious ones.  They are full of Love and Gratitude.

        Kyle Alexander Barker was visiting with his old Grandfather and his young Grandmother on Sunday.  His favorite flavor of ice cream hasn’t been determined yet, but it won’t be long.  Ice cream preferences, songs, stories, parade reviews, and reports of happy homecomings are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, at Champion News and at Henson’s Store in Downtown Champion.

        The Ladies Auxiliary of the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department had their regular meeting on Tuesday at the home of Esther Wrinkles.  The recent chili supper was discussed and plans were made to make next year’s event even better.  The immediate business at hand is the Bluegrass Festival that will be held at the Wagon Wheel Bluegrass Park the first week end in June.  The Auxiliary will be providing the food for the event and plans are in the works.  Good planning is responsible for the wonderful successes of the Auxiliary projects.

CHAMPION – March 15, 2007

        Time is getting away!  The early change in the daylight savings time is a headache to some.  Some don’t worry about it at all.  The “Ides of March” is Thursday.  Some say, “Beware!”  Others don’t care.  The Luck of the Irish will be spread around Champion over the week end.  May it last the whole year through!  It will be met with Love and Gratitude.

        The delightful news out of Champion this week has been the weather.  If it were like this all the time Champions could not find a spot to light for all the tourists.  As it is, the ticks and chiggers, the hail storms, cyclones, tornadoes, floods, droughts, heat waves and blizzards kind of keep things balanced out.  A local Hero and well known Mushroom Hunter was heard to say that in a week or two, if we get some warm nights, we can start looking (for mushrooms) with expectations of success.  The dogwoods are swelling up to bud, and all is well.  Champions Love the daffodils and the sweet Spring green.

        This is the cover of the Sheet Music that arrived from the on-line web-site that specializes in collectables: MomThrewItAway.com.  The official words to MY MISSOURI HOME are very much like those recalled last week by Darrell Haden.  The official words are:  “Dear old Missouri, I know, You mothered me long ago.  You are my own, I should have known, That I’d be missing you so.  My Missouri Home, My Missouri Home, Let me show you why I’m so blue; I just long to be with folks I long to see, who still belong to me and you.  Old Missouri farms, Take me in your arms, Hold me so I never can roam, Open up your doorway, For I’m coming your way, My Missouri Home!”  It is a waltz moderato and was written by Little Jack Little and published in 1930.  A band made up of piano, alto and B-flat tenor saxophones, ukuleles, guitars, tenor banjos and Hawaiian steel guitars could all use this same piece of sheet music.  Any musicians interested in viewing this excellent ‘collectable’ should contact Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO. 65717, or should e-mail to Champion News or leave word at Henson’s Store in Downtown Champion.  Copies of the words and guitar tablature to MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU are also being made available as a Champion Souvenir.  Ask at the store or contact the address above. “May your heart stay tuned music, that will cheer the hearts of men.”  That’s a Champion motto!

        A Champion Idea heard recently is:  “Those wounded Veterans should be able to go to just any hospital anywhere and get good treatment.  The hospital could bill the VA the way they do Medicare.  There would still be plenty room for the ubiquitous corruption and ineptitude, but maybe a few more Veterans would actually get the help they have coming.”  As of March 12, there have been 3194 US Service People who have lost their lives in the current conflict.  The number of seriously wounded and otherwise damaged personnel may never be known.

        “Sassefrass, that good old yaller tea!  Sassefrass, it’s good for you and me.  If it put pep in my Grandpap, it’ll put pep in you too!  Sassefrass, that good old southern brew.  Oh! They dig it in the hollers and they dig it in the hills.  The drink it for the fever and they drink it for the chills.”  That is all that has been reported of this song except a partial verse that says “And when they failed to get enough, they began to fight.”  Once all its lyrics are rediscovered it will be added to The Missouri Song List. Meanwhile, it’s that time of the year when people are looking for the Spring Tonic.  They say that sassafras is a good blood purifier and it can be brewed to taste pretty good.  It is reminiscent of ‘root beer’ and probably the source of ‘sarsaparilla.’  Some say it should be strictly used as a ‘tonic’ and not to be a regular drink on account of its blood thinning and ‘purifying’ qualities and its possible effect on the liver and kidneys.  Still, it is getting on to Spring and some may be ready for their tonic.  The other day some folks were talking about gardening by the signs.  Over in Norwood Linda’s almanac says that the 15^th & 16^th are barren days.  The 17^th good for planting root crops and the 18^th for above-ground crops. The 19^th & 20^th are not good for planting, and that the 21^st and 22^nd will be good for planting above-ground crops. It’s a long time until the signs change and one fellow said he would just sit down and wait! The almanacs are free and full of good information. Flowers, herbs and  home grown food can’t be beat.  These same folks were talking about something called “Ugly Farming.”  It has something to do with not tilling the soil.  There is a song about it that ought to be informative if it can be found.

        A pleasant conversation with Tony Evans, now of Ozark, MO, clears up some information that appeared here back in October.  He says the store at ‘Evans’ was first built by Lee Evans and was located at about the place where the Dobbs family lives now which is about a quarter mile west of where the store last stood.  No details of ‘how’ the store was moved were available, but Mr. Evans said that his sister, Joyce, was born in the store in 1932.  His Grandfather Thomas Luther Evans had the stave-mill at Evans and had donated the land and material to build the church there.  The church was built by a Mr. Lathum.  Mr. Evans says that his Aunt Erma Evans, who was the wife of Curtis Evans, brother of Lee Evans, still lives in Ava and will have all kinds of family history to share.  Champions look forward to learning more about their neighbors.  It’s not that they are so nosey, they are just interested.

        Points of interest, ‘bright ideas,’ songs, sayings, eagle sightings and signs are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion News.

CHAMPION – March 5^th, 2007 

Good news in Champion!  The words to MY MISSOURI HOME are on their way.  From Ebay for $4.49, a copy of the original sheet music from 1930 is on it’s way by express mail.  With shipping it comes to about $8.00 and while that is quite a lot, the amazing thing is that the World has become so small and accessible.  Thanks to Scott C. Wehner of Midland, TX for locating the sheet music!  He must be a Champion himself or related to one.  Then, of course, Darrell Haden, formerly of Smallette, first mentioned the song back in January so there will be more Gratitude to spread around particularly if it is a likeable tune.  It looks like it will be a catchy number as it is orchestrated for saxophone, banjo and Hawaiian guitar.  Another postcard has arrived from Haden, now of South Fulton, TN.  He said that MY MISSOURI HOME was used in the late 1940’s on KWTO Springfield as a theme song by one of the many live-music shows still being broadcast then on 560 AM.  “I worked there as an announcer from 1955 until the spring of 1957.  Jr. ,’Speedy’ Hawthorn and his trio performed almost every month at Ava’s Avalon Theatre ‘Thursday Night Music.’  As a former KWTO member of several on-the-air groups, he may remember the song.  All I remember of it is: ‘My Missouri Home, my Missouri Home,/ Let me tell you why I’m so blue./ I just long to be with friends  I long to see/ Who still belong to me and you./  My Missouri Home, My Missouri Home/ Open up your doorway/ Because I’m coming your way/ My Missouri Home.’  It sounds like the refrain,” Haden says.  While waiting for the sheet music to arrive with all those words, someone suggested that a better version of MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU by Meredith Wilson might be made available.  Any old timer around can remember the melody for any young guitar player who wants to learn this Lovely song: 

An e-mail arrived concerning the location of Spotted Hog, Missouri.  It says among other things, “From Champion take the dirt road east until you reach V highway.  Turn left on V, go to highway 95.  Turn left on 95 and go about nine miles to ZZ highway (ZZ is about 34 miles south of Lynchburg).  Turn left on ZZ and go four miles to Cherokee Road then turn right for about one quarter mile.  Turn left on spotted hog road.  Spotted Hog church is about 150 yards off Cherokee Road.”  A good friend over in Spotted Hog had a birthday Monday.  She is young at heart, adventurous, productive and ready for fun!  Linda, who runs the Plant Place in Norwood, is the birthday person!  Things are starting to percolate over there and her free monthly almanac is available again.  It is compiled from a number of sources and informs gardeners with such information as that the 8^th and 9^th of March will be an excellent time for planting root crops and for starting seed beds.  The 10^th -12^th will be poor planting days.  Any root crops planted the 13^th and 14^th will do well.  The 15^th and 16^th are a barren period.  Good fishing days will be the 8, 9, 15, etc.  Some people do everything by the ‘signs.’  It would be interesting to know if the Highway Department has provided Spotted Hog with a sign such as the excellent one in Champion.  [Of course, Champion is on the pavement.]  Speaking of signs, it is also to be reported that the Chinese New Year celebrated on the celebrates the year 2007 as the ‘Year of the Boar.’  It only comes around every ………………years.  That must be why certain odd people are harkening back to the glory days of Spotted Hog.  There were wonderful singings there, attended by Oscar Krider and others, and a well reported Christmas Parade some 25 years ago.  It is a sweet thing to have neighbors.  In this auspicious year of the Pig, it would be good of Champions to reach out to their neighbors to the North (and everywhere.)

Last week the Champion Items appeared on the page with the pictures of the Chamber of Commerce Ladies at their February 17^th banquet modeling dresses that had been made for the Centennial celebration of 1957 and for the nation’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976.  They are lovely, though even the most simple of the day dresses looks like a lot of yard goods to keep out of the mud, or the pig trough, or just to get around in the barn and in and out of wagons.  Appreciators of the old ways and the old days also appreciate the automatic washing machine and plumbing.  Darrell Haden remarked in his recent note that he is enjoying Mr. Curry’s Reminiscent History of Douglas County.  He said that he had bought a copy of it in 1957 for five dollars “when five dollars was worth almost five dollars!”  Excitement will be building for the Douglas County Sesquicentennial Celebration.  Beards are already sprouting.  Hopefully the spirit of the festivities will carry through the whole year and the Skyline and other community picnics will find attendees wearing period costumes this summer.  Then will come the fall and the Pioneer Settler’s Reunion over in Yates.  More than one person is hoping that a serial reprint will be running in the Herald of The Headless Cobbler of Smallet Cave.  Perhaps Champions will be able to lure Mr. Haden home for the Finale!  It’s a small world.  If the crow were to fly a straight line between Champion and Smallette it would be about……miles according to the ………………map.  It’s only about …………miles as the crow flies to Spotted Hog.

The News of Our Military Personnel reported in the Herald is most welcome.  Everything that keeps our service people in our thoughts is good.  Most week day evenings at about 6:50 p.m. the News Hour With Jim Leher on Channel 21 TV gives a silent memorial to the fallen.  They are shown as their deaths are made official and as pictures become available.  Most evenings there are ten or twelve.  It is an honor to see their optimistic faces so dedicated to duty.  It was recently reported by Bob Woodruff of ABC News that during the Viet Nam War there were three seriously injured soldiers for every fatality.  Now they are saying that there are sixteen seriously wounded people for every fatality.  Bless their hearts and the hearts of all their loved ones.  It is a tribute to better armor and to better medical technology that fewer people are dying.  That any are dying is a heartbreak for those they leave behind.  Those Champions who survive don’t need their hearts broken too.  They are our neighbors.

Now we are all looking for Peace Valley.

CHAMPION – February 25, 2007

Last week’s news:  CHAMPION – February 22, 2007 

        The good news in Champion once again has to do with grandchildren.  Those boys from Tennessee were back again making life on the Krider farm joyous.  Dakota and Dillon keep young Foster, visiting from Marshfield, well entertained and the three of them together is a sweet sight.  Foster is also an excellent entertainer and is currently practicing a duet with his Mom: “You Are My Sunshine.”  Some of the best news around has to do with the weather.  There has finally been a break from the deep cold.  Remembering that recent winters have been unusually mild doesn’t make the hard ones any easier to bear.  Buzzards were reported to be flying around the Skyline Ladies’ Auxiliary Shoot Out the other day, so that is  portentous of something, perhaps just the passage of time.  Warm days make the garden call out to Champions.  Linda, over in Norwood, says the cole crops are looking good and their second leaves are beginning to emerge.  Mailmen will be burdened with seed catalogues and the seasons keep rolling around.

        The sad news in the community is word of the passing of Murnice Hamilton.  She was a most consistently good humored person with an openness for friendship that is seldom seen.  Kind words, compassion and a sweet laugh were her hallmark.  Her gentle smile will be missed by all whose lives she touched.  She was a great repository of Love and Gratitude.

        Gunfire echoed throughout the hills and hollows of Champion as those Auxiliary women blew off steam.  Their chili supper will go off on Saturday.   It will be the event of the season.  People will be celebrating a change in the weather, a change in the season, and the chance to get together for some good visiting and good food.   The music will lift every spirit and everyone will benefit.  The Skyline Volunteer Fire Department will be the designated beneficiary, but the whole community will share in the uplifting.

        Monday was marked by The Return of the Buzzards,  then came Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and then it was the birthday of Farel Sikes, and Friday the birthday of Staci Krider. Yipee!  Farel is  making a good recovery from his injury and is doing what he has to do regain his strength and mobility.  There are many people struggling to overcome serious injuries sustained in the line of duty.  There are more than twenty thousand veterans of the current war in Iraq whose lives will never be the same.  No one who has served there will return as the same person who left.  Hopefully they will be met here with Understanding as well as the Love and Gratitude that is their due.

        The Missouri Song List will surely become longer as a result of the Skyline VFD Ladies Auxiliary Chili Supper.  Words to “My Missouri Home” are still being sought.

1. The Missouri Waltz
2. Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie
3. I’m Goin Back to Whur I come From
4. The Wesphalia Waltz
5. The West Plains Explosion
6. My Missouri Home
7. Kansas City, Here I Come
8. May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You

        New songs for the Missouri Song List, old stories from around Champion, family histories, new or old news, poetry, admonitions, complaints, speculations, exaltations—all are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, at Henson’s store in the heart of Champion and at Champion News.

This week’s news:  CHAMPION – March 1, 2007 

        Well the Skyline Auxiliary chili supper is past again for another year.  The big build up was worth it and Auxiliary members are still busy on the phone congratulating each other on a splendid success.  Also on the phone this pas week was Louise Hutchison and Marion Conradi.  They share the view of a beautiful open field where a large bald eagle has been putting on a show for their benefit this last week.  Ms. Conradi looks out East and Louise looks to the North.  When the eagle is there, the first one to see it calls the other one.  Champion has some excellent entertainment. 

        An email has been received at Champion News from the Webner Household of Midland, TX.  He says, “Read your article in the Douglas Co. Herald and see you are looking for lyrics to MY MISSOURI HOME.”  He sent a link to http://missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu/eyecandy.html that proved to be most interesting.  There were pictures there of some of those Missouri quilt blocks:  “The Missouri Daisy,” “Old Missouri,” and “The Missouri Star:”  He also included an address on EBAY to buy a copy of the original sheet music from 1930.  When the sheet music arrives at ‘Champion Items’ a full disclosure of the lyrics will be made.  Thanks, Scott C. Webner of Midland, TX!

        An email has been intercepted from a famous pitcher turned ice cream aficionado.  He says:  “I guess I will be making a lot of peanut butter ice cream this year.  I sure do have some great neighbors in this here hamlet of Vanzant.  I bet I have over 60 containers of peanut butter they have given me recently (although some are only partially filled).  Even some of the people I don’t even care about have been extra generous, and they told me I didn’t even have to make any ice cream for them.  So, anytime any of you can come by and visit just call an hour ahead and I will have a batch ready.”  There must be more going on here than rock salt and friction can freeze.

        The daffodils are starting to bloom and some trees and shrubs are beginning bud.  Some people just can’t stay out of the dirt and are already hauling manure and turning clods.  It is an example of the kind of eagerness that some can watch for hours from the comfort of their porch swing with no kind of guilt.  The story of the “Little Red Hen” is one that might benefit a number of fine Champions.  The garden is a place to learn a lot of lessons not the least of which is patients.  A few warm days can cause some folks to ‘jump the gun.’  Last week the saying about a day in February when the dog looks for a shade was proven to be true.  Another one of those February sayings is “thunder in February, frost in May.”  While time marches on, it is important to enjoy today.  No use getting in a hurry.  Haste makes waste.  Send any sayings, platitudes or cautionary tales to Champion Items, Rt. 2. Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.

CHAMPION – February 19, 2007

        The good news in Champion once again has to do with grandchildren.  Those boys from Tennessee were back again making life on the Krider farm joyous.  Dakota and Dillon keep young Foster, visiting from Marshfield,  well entertained and the three of them together is a sweet sight.  Foster is also an excellent entertainer and is currently practicing a duet with his Mom: “You Are My Sunshine.”  Some of the best news around has to do with the weather.  There has finally been a break from the deep cold.  Remembering that recent winters have been unusually mild doesn’t make the hard ones any easier to bear.  Buzzards were reported to be flying around the Skyline Ladies’ Auxiliary Shoot Out the other day, so that is  portentous of something, perhaps just the passage of time.  Warm days make the garden call out to Champions.  Linda over at the Plant Place in Norwood says the cole crops are looking good and their second leaves are beginning to emerge.  Mailmen will be burdened with seed catalogues and the seasons keep rolling around. 

        The sad news in the community is word of the passing of Murnice Hamilton.  She was a most consistently good humored person with an openness for friendship that is seldom seen.  Kind words, compassion and a sweet laugh were her hallmark.  Her gentle smile will be missed by all whose lives she touched.  She was a great repository of Love and Gratitude.

        Gunfire echoed throughout the hills and hollows of Champion as those Auxiliary women blew off steam.  Their chili supper will go off on Saturday.   It will be the event of the season.  People will be celebrating a change in the weather, a change in the season, and the chance to get together for some good visiting and good food.  The music will lift every spirit and everyone will benefit.  The Skyline Volunteer Fire Department will be the designated beneficiary, but the whole community will share in the uplifting. 

        Monday was marked by The Return of the Buzzards, then comes Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and then it’s the birthday of Farel Sikes, and Friday the birthday of Staci Krider. Yipee!  Farel is making a good recovery from his injury and is doing what he has to do regain his strength and mobility.  There are many people struggling to overcome serious injuries sustained in the line of duty.  There are more than twenty thousand veterans of the current war in Iraq whose lives will never be the same.  No one who has served there will return as the same person who left.  Hopefully they will be met here with Understanding as well as the Love and Gratitude that is their due. 

        The Missouri Song List will surely become longer as a result of the Skyline VFD Ladies Auxiliary Chili Supper.  Words to “My Missouri Home” are still being sought.

1. The Missouri Waltz
2. Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie
3. I’m Goin Back to Whur I come From
4. The Wesphalia Waltz
5. The West Plains Explosion
6. My Missouri Home
7. Kansas City, Here I Come
8. May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You

        New songs for the Missouri Song List, old stories from around Champion, family histories, new or old news, poetry, admonitions, complaints, speculations, exaltations—all are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, at Henson’s store in the heart of Champion and at Champion News.

CHAMPION – February 12, 2007

        The very good news in Champion this week is the beautiful weather!  Sunday was so lovely with such blue skies.  People felt good about being out and about.  Raymond and Esther Howard were visitors in Champion and Eva Powell enjoyed the company of three of her four children and their spouses.  Grandson Brian is always a welcome guest.  They all enjoyed lunch at the North and South and had some food and good conversation.  One thing that came out was that when it is all said and done Springfield is going to have produced what amounts to a brush pile covering forty acres three stories high.  Many Champions have not yet been up to the big town to look it over.  They should be ready for a shock. Mrs. Wrinkles said it looks pretty shaggy.  A number of folks from around Champion are lending their hand in the clean up.  Good neighbors are a gift.  Bad weather can happen anywhere. 

        Roses are red and violets are blue, Champion is Sweet and so are you! (Champions!)  The original poem may be “May All the Flowers” written in 1590 by Sir Edmund Spenser for his epic “The Faerie Queene.”

She bathed with roses red,
And violets blue
And all the sweetest flowers
That in the forest grew.

        As it was published in 1596, the epic presented the following virtues: Book I: Holiness, Book II: Temperance, Book III: Chastity , Book IV: Friendship, Book V: Justice , Book VI: Courtesy.  It sounds like a pretty wholesome read.  Perhaps a review of  “The Faerie Queen” will be appropriate for next Valentine’s Day.  Meanwhile Gratitude for Love is appropriate in Champion and everywhere.

        When Abraham Lincoln became President, the U.S. Population was 31,443,321.  There were thirty six stars on the flag when he left office.  Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

        As of February 13, 2007 Greenwich Mean Time,  at 3:16 a.m.  The U.S. population was 301,160,400 and the population of the World was estimated to be six billion, five hundred seventy-five million, nine hundred seventy-nine thousand, four hundred and eighty five people.  That’s 6,575,979,485.  Champion has a lot of neighbors.

        Looking for Missouri songs, Red Foley who touched the whole country with the Ozark Jubilee used to end the show with “May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You.”  It turns out that that is the work of  Meredith Wilson who wrote the songs for “The Music Man” and many other great songs.  He wrote it in 1951.  Wilson was from Iowa.  Champion has a solid connection with Iowa (Wilburn and Louise among others) and everyone has sung this song, from Perry Como, Roy Acuff, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, as well as Red Foley.  Until there is an oversight committee to say otherwise “May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You” will be included on the list of Missouri songs just because Champions have a lot of sweet connections out there in the big world including soldiers and sailors serving in harm’s way. During the week that ended February 10^th, twenty more Service People lost their lives in Iraq.  Here are the words to the song:

May the good Lord bless and keep you,
Whether near or far away.
May you find that long awaited,
Golden day today . . .
 
May your troubles all be small ones,
And your fortune ten times ten,
May the good lord bless and keep you,
‘Til we meet again . . .
 
May you walk with the sunlight shining,
And a blue bird in every tree.
May there be silver lining,
Back of every cloud you see . . .
 
Fill your dreams with sweet tomorrows,
Never mind what might have been.
May the good Lord bless and keep you,
‘Till we meet again . . .
May the good Lord bless and keep you,
“Till we meet again. . .

        Somebody always has something to say about maudlin sentimentality.  Too bad.  So here is the updated Missouri Song List.   Words for “My Missouri Home” are still being sought.

1. The Missouri Waltz
2. Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie
3. I’m Goin Back to Whur I come From
4. The Wesphalia Waltz
5. The West Plains Explosion
6. My Missouri Home
7. Kansas City, Here I Come
8. May The Good Lord Bless and Keep You

        Aw Shoot!  The Second Annual Invitational Shoot-Out of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department has had to be postponed again!  For one reason and another, i.e. weather, illness, schedule conflicts and requirements to go off and meet new grandchildren, the fracas will have to be put off.  Last year there were about twenty people and about a hundred guns in attendance.  It may happen that it will have to be held in two “heats” in order to get all the shooters in. (Most everybody would like some kind of heat for sure.)  Anyway, it gives the ladies more time to work on their costumes.  Some will have hats with feathers and some long skirts that look good with holsters strapped across them.  It’s a fashionable affair, though marksmanship has  not much to do with wardrobe.  They are shooting at alarm clocks and wrist watches among other things.  There is likely to be a pile of shot up stuff on display at the Skyline Chili Supper.  Those Auxiliary women are a wild bunch and they make good chili, ham and beans and chicken and noodles.  The Membership is responsible for all the beautiful pies.  It’s coming around pretty soon.  Excitement is building! 

        Farel Sikes is making a good recovery.  He’s got some good weather this week for recuperating.  On a dreary rainy day the gardens are getting just what they will need.  On the cold days it may be that the ticks and chiggers are loosing ground.  Persevering through a hard season in hopes of better days ahead, Champions plug along.  Some of them are more careful about having an ‘emergency’ blanket in their cars during times like these.  These little pieces of reflective plastic just cost a couple of dollars.  They are folded up small so they can easily be carried in a purse or a glove compartment.  A moment to be safe and well prepared is a moment well spent.  Send your admonitions for prudent and safe behavior to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, drop them off at Henson’s Store in downtown Champion, or e-mail them to Champion News. Valentine or other poetry, songs, statistics, observations and any other pertinences are welcome.  There were many eloquent elegies written about Molly Ivins.  Her most popular book is Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?

Champion – February 5, 2007

        There is an old saying in Champion that there will be a day in February when a dog will hunt the shade.  In Champion, as in other places, this past Friday was both Groundhog Day and February’s Full Moon, called the “Snow Moon” by some.  Some groundhogs saw their shadow and some did not. So anybody’s guess about the upcoming weather is sanctioned by a groundhog somewhere.  The Champion Woodchuck is a monster.  He stands up nearly as tall as the dinner table.  If he had been prowling around Friday night, C.W. could have seen his moon shadow and what weather that would portend is speculation certainly.  Speculators are a dime a dozen around Champion.  One of them thinks this whole Global Warming thing is a put up job by the Government because anyone can see that it is as cold a winter as has been had around here in a long time.  “It’s the frequency of violent weather in general that’s the result of the warming,” says one.  Somebody else said that man is not having any kind of effect on the weather because it is all in God’s hands.  Then somebody said that God gave man dominion over the earth and man is fouling it up.  Some say their point of view is backed up by scientific data.  Others say there is no point in reading all that stuff because a person can find paperwork to prove anything.  Cabin fever may be playing a part in this surly discourse.  Feel free to participate in the discourse at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717, at the Champion Store (write it down and give it to someone in the store who has recently had a birthday) or e-mail opinions to Champion News. The whole argument may be more compelling in late summer.

        In answer to a request, these are the words to “The West Plains Explosion.”  “ In a little town of West Plains In old Missouri state Twas in the month of April They saw the hand of fate.  The springtime flowers were blooming  The world was bright and gay  And no one dreamed the danger Would come to them that day.  Was there the young folks gathered One fatal Friday night  And to the dance they wandered With hearts so gay and light.  And there they spent the evening Without a thought of fear For nothing came to warn them That death was drawing near.  The dance was nearly over The evening nearly past When from the floor beneath them There came an awful blast.  The building all around them Came tumbling to the ground  And there they fought and struggled But the hot flames beat them down.  How quick the scene was shifted From one so gay and light How hard the brave men struggled To save their friends that night.  How sad the fears of loved ones Who came at break of dawn To see the great disaster Where forty lives had gone.  We can’t explain the reason These awful things must come But we should all be ready to say, ‘Thy will be done.’  And tho Our hearts are weary Our burdens hard to bare  We have one consolation We’ll meet them over there.”  That is a sad song.

        The  Missouri Song List currently is:

1. The Missouri Waltz
2. Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie
3. I’m Goin Back to Whur I Come From
4. The Westphalia Waltz
5. The West Plains Explosion
6. My Missouri Home
7. Kansas City, Here I Come

        The words to “My Missouri Home” have not yet been found.  “The Shotgun Boogie” looked like a pretty good candidate for the song list.  Red Foley used to play it, but it was written by Tennessee Earnie Ford and was his ‘hit.’  The subject matter looks like it’s straight out of Champion with its references to squirrel hunting, etc.

        Little Granddaughters, Zoey Louise and Alexandra Jean will have to look for someone else to teach them to lift up the underdog and to hate it when the wealthy make excuses for injustice.  Their great fellow Texan, Molly Ivins,  passed away this last week.  She was sixty two years old and had made every moment of her life count for something good.  It was her intention to keep the war in Iraq in the forefront of American thought.  With Love and Gratitude for her and for our precious soldiers over there, it is to be noted that eighty four of them lost their lives in January.

        UFOs have been reported between Willow Springs and Houston.  It is understood that there have been several sightings.  Champion has some interesting neighbors.  Linda over in Norwood at the Plant Place has some of her perennials in already and the Cole crops are about up.  When the moon sign is right in a few days she will plant the herbs.  It is nice to know that gardening season is coming up.  Plans need to be made.

        The much anticipated invitations are in the mail!  Auxiliary members will soon be donning their hats and six shooters.  Rifles will be slung over delicate shoulders and the order “Commence Fire!” will be heard.  The Second Annual Invitational Shoot Out sponsored for the Members of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department is in the works.  Last year crock pots, coffee pots, toasters, and a few other things were the targets of their rage: “BLAST IT IF IT WON’T WORK!” was their cry.

        This year……who knows?