Champion News

Skyline School students, staff, parents and community are getting ready for the Fall Carnival coming up on Friday. There will be games and snacks, interesting artwork to enjoy and the chance to tour the great little school that is preparing our youngsters to be the good citizens who will be running things in just a few short years. Rockbridge is sponsoring Skyline School’s First Annual Duck Race as part of the Rockbridge Fall Festival on Saturday the 15th. The Whetstone Band, made up of David Richardson, Gina Hollingshad and James VanKirk, will be playing there from 2:00 to 5:00 pm when the Duck Race will begin. The race will start on the high side of the dam and will end with some lucky person winning a two night deluxe stay for two at the resort. Most likely you can buy your duck there before the race begins. Proceeds go to the eighth grade class at Skyline.

October is being beautiful. It turns out the month has five Mondays, five Saturdays, and five Sundays, which is something that only happens every 823 years, a fact we might not have known, but for the internet. There is much to be learned there. Many interesting people celebrate birthdays in October. Madelynn Ward became 16 today, October 10th. Teresa Tost, who keeps us informed of local weather and other emergencies, was celebrated on the 8th. The 7th was for Betty Dye of Skyline proper, and Vicki Trippe of Springfield, a much admired political activist. The 11th has little to show for it, but the 12th gives us Janet Chapin, famous OATS bus driver, KC Chief’s fan, mother of artists and sailor daughters. Up in Manes, Cathy Baldwin’s mums are going crazy she says. Her birthday is on the 13th. Champions Eva Clark and Leslee Krider share the 14th for their big day. They will be celebrated in different places by lots of people who love them. October gives us festivals, pumpkins, and many good reasons to celebrate. We celebrate the fluffiest squirrel tails in years, the spoons inside all the persimmon seeds, and the darkness of the rare wooly worm as portents of a severe winter. Forewarned is forearmed and warm in Champion.

The hummingbirds are gone, but the armadillos are willing to be seen in broad daylight. Wilbur, a Champion groundhog, has not been seen in a couple of weeks. Gwen Lawson reported having had a groundhog undermine her driveway and, after numerous attempts to dissuade the critter, finally used a bag of Quikrete to fill its hole. She was curious about the groundhog pictures in The Champion News at www.championnews.us. The Missouri Conservation Department has a great deal of information concerning area groundhog/wood chucks accessible on the internet. Ms. Lawson was also curious about who The General might be. He is the gregarious fellow who has been hosting and entertaining many family members, some from Idaho and other places near and far. As a preamble of the Vanzant Jam, representatives of that throng presented him with a custom made, handcrafted, ornate cigar-box guitar which surprised and delighted the gentleman. It proved excellent accompaniment to his voice as he burst forth in song throughout the course of the evening. This is an entertainment rich part of the world.

In another part, out on the wild Atlantic Ocean, our Champion daughter, on a 130 foot sailing ship, is headed toward the equator, which she will cross in a few days. She will next stand on land in southern Argentina on November 17th. Happily, she was able to obtain rosin for her bow in the Canary Islands before they sailed on to Cape Verde. From there her request to her other half in Edinburgh, Scotland was to be texted lyrics for a couple of folk songs. So there is music on the high seas. Today, on John Prine’s birthday, many of his great songs come to mind. He wrote “Slow Boat to China” and “Paradise” where we think we are here in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

 

Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Fall Trail Ride is scheduled for Wednesday, October 12th. It looks like the weather is going to be wonderful for it. Someone said that a hundred years ago everyone had a horse and only the rich had cars. Today, everyone has a car and only the rich have horses. “How the stables have turned!” We do not know how affluent the equestrians are, but it is a rich experience to see them out on our beautiful country lanes. They will appreciate the work of our charming and handsome gentlemen from the Drury Shed. A friend visiting on Friday said, “I see the stone sharpeners have been around here.” As he came up from the south and went back that way, he did not see the repair to the deep, wallowed out spring branch up the road, now much improved and more easily passable. Moreover, the higgledy-piggledy, long standing, concrete slab/bridge just south of the pavement over Clever Creek has been smoothed and gentled into a pleasant wiggle from a jarring joust. Thank you, kind sirs, and Commissioner Loveless.

Autumn is on us and visitors from the sizzling south relaxed in the relative cool with their relatives. In the span of their short visit the foliage began its change. The four days filled with feasting, fun, and music left no time for television, so guests and hosts enjoyed a reprieve from the turmoil of weather, war, and politics. They had a wonderful time at the Pioneer Heritage Festival and think they will plan a trip next fall to coincide with that excellent event. They loved the music, the food, the beautiful crafts, and demonstrations. They left with souvenirs.

Vanzant is enjoying visitors from Boise, Idaho this week as Darcy Upshaw Cecil, Ron and Loni settle into the Chateau. On Wednesday they will be welcomed to the porch in downtown Champion where wasting time is considered time well wasted. They likely will tour up and down Fox Creek Road to gaze once more on that special little shack with its many family memories. The General will be sure they are entertained all during their stay and particularly at the Vanzant jam on Thursday.

Fourth grade Skyliner, Myson Loveless, shares his birthday on the first of October with kindergarten teacher, Janna Brixey, and with the late Pete Mullens, with former President Jimmy Carter, now 98, and with The Prominent Champion who just acts like he is having a good time until he really is. The second day of the month is for Tucker Clark, who was born in 2015, and for Mahatma Gandhi. Third grade student, Evan Homer, has his big day on the third. The fourth is for the Upshaw sisters, now Krider and Johnston. Their brother, The General, will most likely tease them mercilessly as that is his one of his primary methods of showing affection.

Skyline’s cross country team has done well in their recent meets and will be in Thornfield on Wednesday the 12th to run again. The Fall Carnival will happen at Skyline on the 14th with fun for the whole family. Rockbridge will be the site of the first annual Skyline Duck Race on the 15th. The owner of the winning duck will win a two night deluxe stay at the resort. Any eighth grader can tell you how to get your duck in the race. One Old Champion is buying a duck for distant relatives which she hopes will entice them to visit.

Dry but otherwise wonderful weather here in the Ozarks has us grateful even as we feel for the many suffering the effects of the hurricanes in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the far northeast. The first responders, National Guard, linemen, and all the many others who step up in these catastrophes are putting themselves at risk to help those in dire need. They are indeed Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Excitement and enthusiasm for the Pioneer Heritage Festival of the Ozarks caused us to report, in error, that it was happening last Friday and Saturday. This Friday and Saturday is when the fifth annual event will take place. Meet your friends and neighbors out at the Fox Trotters Park and have some fun.

A busy week here on the Bright Side started with Chuckles, the groundhog, distant cousin to Wilbur. Something scared him so badly that he broke into the screened in porch and wound up trapped in a wicker chair! It took a neighbor and a coat hanger to free the little fellow who took off lickety-split. Then, for the second day in a row, young Mason who is 3 or 4 years old, was able to convince Grandpa Mayfield to come over from Drury to the Champion Store for a popsicle. While he was there he probably heard about the time The Cowboy drove his 1979 brown three-quarter ton Chevy truck slowly around the field while a couple of yahoos loaded eighty-five (85!) bales on it. He said the hood kept getting higher and higher, but he made it the two and a half miles home to his barn without losing any of it. This allegedly happened during the early 1980s when farmers ordinarily maxed out their trucks with fifty bales. The story was corroborated by both the Cowboy and the yahoo doing the stacking. They said the stack barely cleared the electric lines.

The tall ship with its 25 sails and a Champion daughter aboard left the Spanish isle of Madera on Sunday and is expected to reach the Canary Islands off the western coast of Africa on Wednesday, a little over three hundred miles. To be out of the sight of land on the ocean is an experience many have not had, and one that Grandpa Mayfield does not want to have again. He got caught in a storm while fishing off the Oregon coast and was disoriented and lost for a while. He was glad to get back on dry land again. But the girl loves it. She says there is nothing between you and the sunrise and the sunset and you get to see all the colors of the ocean. Her report on the trip from Portugal to Madera was that she had spotted a fin whale, lots of dolphins, skua, predatory sea birds, and bioluminescence during night watch. To her old folks on the farm who have not been anywhere in a long time, this is a wildly exciting adventure, if only a vicarious one. She was pleased to find that the ship is equipped with a violin, but unfortunately there is no rosin for the bow. Hopes are that she will have luck finding some when they dock in Tenerife on Wednesday and that it is clear sailing all the way. We can’t direct the wind but, we can adjust the sails.

Barbara Cooper said how much she misses the Skyline Picnic. We all do. Barbara and Darrell were shopping at Richard’s Brothers Thursday and paused for a pleasant visit. She said she would like to come back to Champion some Wednesday. Darrell said he might bring his banjo. The General said he would believe it when he saw it. It seems that Darrell plays everything. He planned on seeing Cheyenne McIntosh Saturday in West Plains at HOBA and would decide if he has extra guitars to share for her Skyline R2 School guitar class. Children benefit in multiple ways with music as a part of their education. The school year is off to a good start. Runners made a good showing at the track meet in Ava last Wednesday and they will run there again this week. The Fall Carnival is coming up October 14th which will give the whole community a chance to tour the campus and to show support for the great little rural school turning out the good citizens who will be running things in just a few short years.

By the time The General got back from West Plains to Vanzant Saturday night, a sudden thunderstorm had his yard full of debris, though the downed limbs and trees had already been cleaned off Highway 76 and EE. Monday morning Commissioner Brand Loveless said the county road men were working on cleaning up storm damage and when they could, they would get over to the spot 1.3 miles south of Highway 76 on CR 76-237 to deal with a deep, wallowed out spring branch across the road with big rocks submerged. Those charming gentlemen of the Drury Shed do fine work.

This is an exciting time of the year with sudden serious weather, and now all our glorious weather for our festivals and gatherings. The excitement associated with the KC Chiefs, however, dwindled a little with their unfortunate loss on Sunday. The lessons the team will have learned through the experience will doubtlessly prove valuable as the season goes on. Optimism is a great trait of Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

These are being glorious days for our area festivals.  The fifth annual Pioneer Heritage Festival of the Ozarks is happening this Friday and Saturday out at the Fox Trotters Park, just north of Ava on Highway 5.  In addition to all the great music, there are local artisans demonstrating ‘heritage’ skills like blacksmithing, broom making, spinning and weaving, seed saving, and bee keeping.  They are sharing these skills not just as an homage to the perseverance of our ancestors, but perhaps as instruction against their future need.  We are reminded that the more we can do for ourselves, the less reliant we are on others, as we prepare to be new pioneers in an uncertain future.  Check it out at www.heritage417.com.

Mum’s the word!  Chrysanthemums, that is.  The Skyline R2 School’s PTO fundraiser is likely to become an annual event since the community response has been so wonderful.  The beautiful plants are huge, healthy harbingers of fall.  Lots of good things are going on at Skyline.  The cross country team is getting ready to run.  Eighth grader, Tristian Jeffrey will have his birthday on the 25th.  Title I Aid, Alicia Borders, will celebrate the 27th, and fourth grade student, Melanie Hall, will have her birthday on the 30th.  Preparations are underway for the Fall Carnival on October 14th.  Go Tigers!  Skyline’s Sunshine Committee is creating a cookbook from the recipes submitted by students, their families and community members.  Champions are looking forward to seeing what’s cooking.

Politics are heating up in all our kitchens and we are encouraged to exercise our franchise in this very important mid-term election coming up in about fifty days.  When considering a candidate, ask yourself, “Would he pull me out of a mud hole?”

Fall arrives on the 21st.  That was Louise Hutchison’s birthday.  She was a real Champion, active in every good cause of the school, her church, our VFD.  Her favorite song was, “What a Day That Will Be.”  We miss Louise and her good energy.  Zoey Louise, Champion granddaughter and gifted artist, now out in California, also has her birthday on the 21st, as does her distant cousin and frequent visitor to Champion, Penelope, still in Texas.  Booger County bicyclist, Sandy Ray Chapin, will party on the 24th.  Cathy Alsup Reilly, of Denlow heritage, residing in Kentucky, has the 27th for her big day.  Belizean sailor, Becky Heston, will be celebrated on the 29th with the elegance due to someone who lives on Fortune Drive.

On Sunday, another sailor, Champion daughter Morag Edward of Edinburgh, Scotland, stepped aboard the Dutch tall ship Bark Europa, sailing from Cascais, Portugal to the Canary Islands.  They say it takes 45 minutes to hoist all 24 canvas sails, and only about 5 minutes to take all sails down.  The ship uses three and a half miles of rope to operate.  As part of the crew, Morag will not be hoisting sails or hauling on the bow line, but most likely navigating, photographing, sketching, and providing reels and jigs to her shipmates, and, perhaps, the Sailor’s Hornpipe, the melody we associate with Popeye.  She is a great musician.  Her family here wishes her clear sailing on this great adventure.  She is indeed a Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Jody Henson, Eva Lois and Harold Phillips

September 11, 2001, will be marked in our history books the way we remember December 7, 1941. While neither Bin Laden nor Hirohito flew the planes, they inspired and directed the action—impactful words of powerful people.

There were nine Champion School Alumni attending the 37th Champion Reunion– Robert Brown, Larry Wrinkles, Glenna Henson, Charlene Medlock, Wilma Hamby, Eva Henson Phillips, Darrel Hutchison, Doug Hutchison, and Alvie Dooms. Eighteen others signed the guest list, though more joined the celebration as the day went on. Jody Henson came as an homage to Royce who passed away in May. She is still driving her little yellow Mustang. Eva Lois and Harold Phillips made it all the way up from Bella Vista, Arkansas. It was pleasant to visit with Glenna Henson who was married to the nephew of Ed Henson, our beloved old storekeeper. Newcomers had the chance to hear some of the old stories and to get acquainted with some of their neighbors. David Richardson and Gina Hollingshad provided some lovely tunes out on the wide veranda. They are good neighbors and busy people playing all around the area as Whetstone.

Skyline students Luke Hall and Serenity Merryman enjoyed September 2nd and 3rd for their birthdays. Brayden Ellingsworth had his on the 5th and Ely Young on the 8th. Tanna Wiseman is a Skyline School alumnus. Her birthday is September 13th. The 14th is for Frances Sutherland who was 82 in 2014, and for kindergartner Ellie Strong. The 15th is for Tigger Patty Squirell, retired mail-gal Pat Kim Smith, and for the late Elmer Banks, whose thoughts on the current state of affairs would certainly be interesting. The 17th is for prekindergarten student Jackson Johnson and the Chief’s Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes led his team to victory on Sunday and is a most popular fellow in the Chief’s Kingdom. Prekindergartner Bailey Kilgore and Donald Krider both celebrate on the 18th. Mr. Krider grew up in Champion and recently enjoyed a trip on the Greater Peoria Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Happy birthday to all of you and to the 385,000 people who are born on any given day worldwide.

Delightful changes in the weather have lifted the spirits of Champions. Stacking firewood is a seasonal chore that affords security in the form of wintertime warmth and a good reason for an afternoon nap. Someone will probably be singing “Shine on Harvest Moon” at the Vanzant Jam even though the moon was full last week. Music seems to be good medicine for many of us including Gail Lawson who has been enjoying the jam in recent weeks. She taught school in Norwood for thirty years, perhaps to some of those musicians. Cheyenne McIntosh is teaching music at Skyline. She is on the lookout for good guitars for her class. Alvie Dooms just came through with the loan of a small one, just right for some of the younger students. He thinks he may have another one to share from among his many souvenirs. He will look. Look around for ways to support your local schools and teachers, no matter where you live, you will be Champions—Looking on the Bright Side!

September 2, 1945, aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the instrument of surrender was signed marking victory over Japan and the end of one of the deadliest and most destructive wars in history. We have a few World War Two veterans left along with many who have lasting memories of that time. The whole nation was unified in the ‘war effort.’ A recent arrival to the area posted on the Internet, “Our biggest problem is that we’re still trying to play by the rules. They have no rules!” But, she did not say who ‘they’ are. The ‘us and them’ of these days makes us regret the loss of a unified Nation.

Some things have changed over time, changed for the better. The forty hour work week, child labor laws, workers’ compensation, and other laws statutes that protect workers. We celebrated these things on Labor Day and appreciate the hard fought battles, lives lost and sacrificed that made the changes happen starting in the late nineteenth century. Our picnics and family gatherings over the holiday festivities are a good time to remember the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being.

Twenty-eight celebrants gathered in and around the Historic Emporium on Saturday for the Champion Reunion, which has happened every year, except last year, since 1984. About nine of them were Champion School Alumni. That number may not be accurate, but the potluck lunch was delicious, and the visiting and reminiscing was sublime. The old days were full charm, adventure, drudgery, difficulties, and accomplishments—full of love and loss. Generations of old timers have shared their experiences out on the porch and out on the porch on the old store, and around the old wood stove that has graced both stores, taking listeners back with them to those earlier days. We look forward to more of the same next year. A couple of generous musicians shared their gift, making the whole afternoon a lovely one to remember.

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Young James Mastrangelo likes to hang out with his old man. They had lunch in the Champion Store on Wednesday and told friends there about his new little sister. Her name is Reagan Grace and she weighed about seven and a half pounds when she got here on August 25th. James is going to be a good big brother because his old dad has some of his own childhood stories to tell him as he grows up. He will be three years old in May. Betty Thomas, Larry Wrinkles, and Wilma Hutchinson all have September first for their birthdays, but nobody is asking their ages. Phoebe Ward enjoys the third for her celebration. Vernon and Dailey Upshaw will both be partying on the fourth. Happy days. Teasing and harassing the Cowboy is good sport by neighbors and long time friends who failed to rush him out in time for him to catch his favorite soap opera. He can find out tomorrow what happened today, and the story line will probably not have changed much over the last twenty years.

News of the sale of Richard’s Brothers Grocery was all over the Internet and big news in Champion on Wednesday. This family business has been a mainstay in Mountain Grove since 1937. October 11th marks the day of the big change. Change is hard sometimes even for Champions—Looking on the Bright Side.

Festivities for The Champion Reunion this Saturday, September 3rd, kick off at noon with a potluck luncheon. Everyone is welcome. It will be a good mix of nostalgia and fellowship. Bring your lawn chairs. Looking back, there will be stories told of the old school days and interesting happenings around the old store. Erstwhile neighbors will have a chance to reminisce and to catch up with each other’s life events. Jody Henson is planning to come as an homage to Royce who passed away in May. She is a girl from Oak Forest and said that they never had a school reunion. At some point, the Oak Forest School house was moved to Mountain Grove and is someone’s residence now. She did not know when that happened. She said Royce loved everything about Champion.

Looking forward, newcomers to the area will get a chance to soak up some of the history of the place as they make themselves at home here. Those newcomers can get on their computers (not their phones) and stroll back through time here. These archives only go back to 2006, but they are sprinkled with reports of school reunions and Skyline VFD happenings and a great video produced by David Richardson called “Champion New Store.” David is planning to make it to Champion on Saturday, perhaps with some of his Whetstone Band colleagues. (Maybe Foster and Kalyssa will be there with their mandolin and fiddle.)

Always looking for a good meal, David is then planning to go to the Crouch Farm Labor Day Picnic in Drury where the chicken dinner will be blessed at 5 PM. Roy and Pam Crouch moved here from Iowa back in 2016 and began having their annual picnic at that time to get acquainted with the community and express gratitude for being able to live in such a lovely place: Box 65, County Road 247, Drury. Everyone is welcome. Bring a side dish, if you like, your lawn chairs and musical instruments.

While they were ‘locals’ here for about fifteen minutes, Edie and Lee Richardson (a different bunch of Richardsons) are now situated nicely over on the other side of Norwood, but still Champions. Talking about the summer, Edie said, “It was a full time job just keeping everything watered and alive. The produce garden wasn’t as nice as usual. It has been 3 years now and not one season has been the same. There is still a lot to learn about Zone 6b, but we have done well so far I feel. We are still on council and doing our Master Gardener volunteering at University of Missouri Extension Wright County. If I’m not out in the gardens or herb beds, you can bet I’m doing my next passion—food.” She is an amazing cook. Lee has become a beekeeper and it is all “Honey this and Honey that” with him.

An avid gardener way over west of Champion says his squash vines are thriving with many fewer squash bugs than in years past. He attributes this to having planted white icicle radishes in each hill and letting them grow up together. That is a trick he learned on the internet. He also suggests that we might Google “Grazon contamination” for information concerning the poisoning of garden soils by herbicides. He says, “Some of these chemicals are persistent in the soil for years and may be introduced through manures of animals pastured on treated fields or through straw or hay grown on treated land used as mulch or to make compost.” He said that this has been a big problem in England, with thousands of garden allotments being ruined. Champions will quiz their manure suppliers this fall.

The second week of school is well underway now and Skyline has 89 scholars attending plus a number of preschoolers. The year is off to a good start. The General and other old timers will miss the farm kids who have been hanging out with them on the wide veranda on Wednesdays asking for that “Dirty Feet” song. They are now laboring over their books. So far, Felix the Farmer is really enjoying kindergarten. He already knows the alphabet and can count to 30. Kindergarten is a good time to learn the ropes of school. A well educated population is the hope of the Nation. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!