Champion News

Summertime flowers are making Champion even more beautiful.

Hey! Haymakers are making hay like Champions!  All over the area, from here to yonder, there are beautiful fields just mowed and baled producing record amounts of hay.  Of course, some fields are not producing because of damage caused by the flood, but those that are producing really are.  These days it is big round bales bucked with tractor forks, but many know about bucking those square bales from the old days.  Ruth Fish Collins said that her son could buck a thousand bales a day.  It was just the kind of hard work that robust young country fellows were accustomed to doing back then.  Technological advancements in haymaking have made it so that today, even at an advanced age, The General is able to participate in the agrarian activities that result in the hay getting put up in addition to the validation of having the appearance of having worked hard.  It is a win-win situation—while the sun shines on the Bright Side and elsewhere in the area.  Meanwhile, summer wild flowers in their vigor and profusion have replaced the delicate posies of spring.  Daises, sunflowers, Queen Anne’s Lace, chicory, primroses, butterfly weed, Echinacea, the little pink shy plant and the orange day lilies and so many that we do not know the names of grace our country lanes and fill us with appreciation for the beauty of the place we live.  Time marches on in Champion.

All the birthday Buzz started on the 11th with the special day of Grandpa Woods who is best known for the beauty of his granddaughters and his devotion to them.  Artist and philosopher who spent some formative years in Champion, Joshua Cohen, has a birthday on June 19th.  Daniel Parkes was in the 4th grade at Skyline last year.  He is moving on to the 5th grade and his big day is also the 19th.  Tyler Cark was born June, 20, 1988.  Linda K. Watts has her birthday on the 21st—the first day of summer.  Her Tennessee sons are now both high school graduates with exciting lives ahead of them.  Sierra Parsons out in Portland also celebrates on the solstice.  Her grandparents keep an amazing garden and interesting chickens over west of Ava.  Elisabeth Warren was warned, nevertheless she persisted.  Her birthday is on the 22nd as is that of Ms. Cinita Brown.  Alyssa Strong was in the 8th grade at Skyline last year and now will be a high school freshman somewhere.  Congratulations.  Her birthday is on the 23rd.  The 24th belongs to Easton Shannon who will be a first grader in the fall.  The 25th belongs to Jonny Rainbow of Tar Button Road and velvet voiced Sherry Bennett of bass fiddle fame.  Devin Scot will be in the 6th grade.  His birthday is on the 26th.  The 29th is for David Fulk who will be in the fifth grade in the fall.  It is also the special day of Mrs. Eva Powell.  Her Champion friends miss seeing her in the neighborhood.  Esther Wrinkles was born June 28, 1917.  She passed away in 2013, but the centenary of her birth has her in Champion thoughts as she often is.  She liked to play ‘skip-bo’ with her family.  She loved music, cooking, quilting, her church, her fire department, politics, her many friends, and her big loving family.  All you celebrants past and present know that you have friends and family who think you are top notch Champions.  Happy birthday.

Our kids know they are cared about.  Terry Ryan shares the post, “No matter how much pedagogy we know, no matter how many degrees we have, unless our students know that we care, they will not learn from us.”  That is a sentiment that is reflected in Ms. Ryan’s attitude and commitment to our precious country children and our wonderful little rural school.  Sonja Hodges was at Skyline on the first Tuesday of June doing blood pressure screenings.  (Nannette Hirsch is off on an adventure, but will be back for Champions at the Historic Emporium on the last Tuesday of the month.)  Sonja filled in for Nannette and also happened to be there for the first day of summer school and the ribbon cutting and dedication of the new playground equipment that is called Monkey Junction.  Superintendent Jeannie Curtis did the ribbon cutting and officiated at the ceremony.  She shares Ms. Ryan’s philosophy and has for some time now put her good efforts into making Skyline the excellent little school it is.  The new equipment consists of a couple of slides and some climbing components.  The apparatus came through a Healthy Schools—Healthy Community grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health and the Douglas County Health Department.  The Ava Middle School and the Plainview School have also been recipients of this grant.  Sonja has been with the DCH for eleven years now and has had a hand in many good works.  One of those is the paved walking trail that winds along the edge of the woods and over to the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department picnic grounds.  It is a delightful stroll.  Four times around makes a mile. People like Terri Ryan, Jeannie Curtis and Sonja Hodges make us grateful for their good energy and dedication.

Legend has it that Garryowen was an Irish drinking song that came to the attention of General George Armstrong Custer via a trooper who was under the influence of spirits.  The tune is lively and accentuates the cadence of marching horses and was adopted as the regimental song of the 7th Calvary soon after Custer arrived at Fort Riley, Kansas to take over command of the regiment.  It was the song that followed the column into history.  These days another Yellow Hair seems to be headed for a historic cataclysm.  Like Custer, he is both loved and reviled.  The fact that Custer came in last in his class at West point did not hinder his rise up the ranks of the U.S. Army.  There seem to be many similarities and the song is still lilting and lively, reminding us that things can change dramatically in a short period of time.  Over at the Vanzant Community Building, for example a new structure has sprung up in the past week.  It looks like it will be the new bingo parlor that will be the big attraction at the Vanzant Picnic.  New bingo parlors seem to be all the rage in the east end of Douglas County.

Haymaking duties reduced the Wednesday turn out at the Historic Emporium, though several regular visitors made solid appearances.  Next week there will likely be stories shared about the snakes that are disturbed by haymaking and those that are just out and about this time of the year because it is their nature.  This week the excitement on the wide veranda was a controversy between brothers with differing opinions about who wrote the song, “Satisfied Mind.”  It looks like the dispute is not the first one the brothers have had between them and while the authorship is important, the gist of the song is one of those life lessons.  It seems that “money cannot buy back your youth when you are old, or a friend when you are lonely or a love that has grown cold.”  The beautiful full Strawberry Moon on Friday was enough to put sweet satisfied smiles on the faces of local romantics whose love is still warm in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Black snakes are just out and about this time of the year in Champion.

New windows going into the old Champion School.

The years are passing quickly.  The Denlow/Fairview School Reunion has come and gone again.  Attendance was down a little this year due to threatening weather and conflicting events, but those who made it out had a great time.  There was a little music before lunch and a lot of visiting.  It turned out to be a lovely day after all.  The pot luck luncheon was a genuine feast.  Shirley Brixey is a Denlow School alumnus.  Her son Ed Williams and his wife Sonja provided fish, chicken and hushpuppies that were a great hit.  That hushpuppy receipt is one that every cook in attendance would be glad to have.  After lunch Pete Proctor led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance and presented a short program dedicated to the Veterans.  Laverne and Jessie Mae Miller were not able to attend this year.  They had appointments to keep.  Laverne’s auctioneering skills were much missed, but Pete and The General did the best they could.  Margie Carr, an Upshaw cousin from Washington State, wound up with framed photographs of two big Denlow attractions and a complete set of Champion post cards.  Ray Hicks was down from Bluegrass, Iowa, and took home with him a big bluebird house.  Well, the actual house was not that big, but it was on a tall post with a welcome sign attached to it.  He said they have bluebirds up in Iowa too.  Ray also said that he reads The Champion News, but he does not recognize the people mentioned there any more.  Family and friends were sorry that Pete and Bonnie Mullens did not make it to the reunion this year.  I guess Ray knows them.  We miss the old timers too, those exciting personalities who are just the previous generations of young vital people living here.  Ray’s dear sister, Ruby Proctor, and her life-long friend, Esther Keller Wrinkles, and all their friends, family and acquaintances are the sweet legacy of the place.  These days old folks often visit Denlow and Champion with their individual sets of memories of the good old days.  Once Esther said that Champion was not anything like it used to be, that it had really gone down.  The folks who live here now, young and old people and people from elsewhere, love the place even as she did always.  “Time is filled with swift transitions!”

Alumni attending the 2017 Denlow/Fairview School Reunion: Robert Upshaw, Johnny Cox, Shirley Brixey,
Fred Follis, Kaye Upshaw Johnston, Dean Brixey, Kenneth Anderson.

Veterans attending the 2017 Denlow/Fairview School Reunion: Margie Carr, Robert Upshaw, Dailey Upshaw,
Jaes Garrett, Fred Follis, Frankie Proctor, Dean Brixey, Paul Upshaw, Pete Proctor.

Birthday celebrations begin with Kaitlyn McConnell on the 6th of June.  She is a lovely lover of the Ozarks and a frequenter of Champion and Douglas County.  The next day, the 7th, belongs to Wayne Sutherland who was 85 in 2015 and was hob knobbing with friends on the North Side of the Square back in May when we had our Spring Fling.  Destiny Jeffery was an 8th grader at Skyline last year.  She shares Mr. Sutherland’s birthday.  Jacob Shannon will be in the second grade in the fall.  His birthday is on June 10th.  Isabel Creed and Wyatt Hicks will both be in the 7th grade in the fall.  Her birthday is on the 12th and his will be on the 13th.  Zackary Coon’s birthday is on the 15th.  He shares the day with Ava’s sweet Janice Lorain.  Champion grandson, Foster Wiseman, has his big day on the 16th.  So, congratulations all you birthday Champions!  Know that your friends and families all love you and are glad you are in their lives for another year.  Vanzantians sang that special song to a dazzling personality on Thursday.  Her birthday had been the previous Friday and she sparkled with happy contentment and let her vivacious laugher loose on the crowd.  To have had yet another birthday is dazzling, indeed.

Lannie Hinote is on her way home from Alaska.  She passed some beautiful waterfalls in Canada, got her picture taken with a moose, saw a family of bears walk by her camper and entered the United States of America again at Roosville, Montana.  She will have stories to tell and her family is looking forward to her arrival.  On Sunday evening she posted a video from Yellowstone.  She said, “Old Faithful did not disappoint.”  Adventure comes in different ways.  On Wednesday music minded loiterers were loitering on the wide veranda when Mr. Joseph Bullfer pulled up in his 1923 Ford touring car.  What a beauty!  He knows the provenance of the vehicle since it was new—who owned it and for how long—what they paid for it—how long it set up—why it was sold.  The man he bought it from sold it because his wife would not let the grandchildren ride in it with no seat belts.  The car has a three pedal system of stopping and going that would take some getting used to.  He had some mechanical difficulties not long after he left the Square, but it was observed that ere long he had competent help and after some while was on his way again.  It was a real treat to see.  Other sights to see on the Square include the new windows in the Champion Church of Christ which started out as the Champion School.  Alumni in distant places will be pleased to see how the old building is being sustained.

Here’s Jonnie!

Ethel of Omo inquires about Jonnie from time to time.  Jonnie is the Boxer/Beagle mix that came to Champion old folks back in February.  She has been a real gift to them with her affection and her antics.  She showed up on the scene, emaciated and anxious.  It took some coaxing and food to get her comfortable, but now she is part of the family.  She had obviously had puppies at a very young age and was in that condition again.  The vet said she was probably two years old or younger.  She has had her operation now and has a loving home, but it was just good luck that she found an accepting place.  The Ava Area Animal Welfare League has a spay/neuter program that is dedicated to preventing the kind of abuse that Jonnie suffered.  They are going to be part of the Citywide Yard Sale in Ava on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday June 8th-10th.  Their part of the sale will be at 109 N. Jefferson.  It is the white building on the west side of Jefferson, across from Givan’s Furniture.  There will good stuff there donated by friends, neighbors and businesses who appreciate the efforts of the Animal Welfare League and their good ethical work.

“Ethics,” there is that word again.  How does it happen that a Nation whose very genesis comes from protesting the unfairness of a government can somehow now consider legislation around the country making protesting a felony?  The private security firm, TigerSwan, retained by Energy Transfer Partners, coordinated with local, state, and federal law enforcement to undermine the protest movement of the Dakota Access Pipeline while it sought to portray the wronged Native, First Nation, peoples as a jihadist insurgency.  As the white people of Nebraska stand up to the Keystone Pipeline, will there be yet another Ethical Waiver that will allow them to be called terrorists when they try to protect their land?  Ethics turns out to be a conundrum to some.

On the Bright Side, if you are looking for the names of your contemporaries in The Champion News, you might spin a yarn at champion@championnews.us or to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  We kind of know the story about when Bud Hutchison was run over, and the one about when Mr. Hatfield wrestled the bear on the dance floor out over Fox Creek.  Then there was the time Ferlie Lambert blasted a humming bird with his 12 gauge because it would not share.  Cletus Upshaw knew stories and had an easy way of sharing them.  Come down to the wooly old banks of Auld Fox Creek and tell your stories.  “Tell me why the stars do shine.  Tell me why the ivy twines.  Tell me why the skies are blue…” In Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Joseph Bullfer touring through Champion in his 1923 Ford.

Champions heed the warnings.

These are being some beautiful days out in Eastern Douglas County.  Everything is blooming.  Purple cone flowers have joined the other wild flowers along the sides of the roads and the delicate greens of spring have changed to the deep luscious greens of summer.  We have been blessed with more rain than necessary and the roads and bridges feel it.  The county road crew is working diligently and no one is complaining.  They have, in consideration of Memorial Day, worked to be sure all the roads to the little cemeteries in the area are passable.  We will be able to get out to decorate the graves of our loved ones.  Hopes are that the weather will be amenable.  More rain is in the forecast and the Gents of Drury have already had to repair some of the repairs they have just made after the recent deluge.  On this end of the county there are more than a dozen bridges that have been significantly compromised.  It will take some time to get everything back together again, so residents are patient and appreciative, and willing to go the long way around.  When the weather folks on the TV say, “Turn around, don’t drown” that is important information.  When you go around those signs that say, “Road Closed,” or “Bridge Closed,” you take a chance.  Be safe all you Champions and if you want to make some cookies for the valiant road guys, go ahead.

The parking lot was full at the Vanzant Community Building on Thursday.  It was a splendid evening to be out.  Mr. Kyle Ray came from Ava with his fiddle and sawed off some lovely tunes.  The 90 year old said that he is not playing as much as he used to, that so many of his musician friends have passed on.  It was pointed out to him that the room was full of music lovers and that he is always welcome.  Maybe he will take it to heart and make it a habit.  Upshaw cousin, Margie Carr, was in the audience.  She lives in Washington State.  She and her traveling companions are on an east to west, coast to coast road trip and were able to arrange their itinerary so that they could pass through Denlow for the Denlow School Reunion.  Margie has been here before and likes the looks of the country.  She has come at a glorious time of the year.  If she decides to retire in this part of the world, we will have another good neighbor.

The first day of June is the birthday of Dr. Amanda Zappler, a Champion niece.  She lives in Austin and is the hub around which her family turns.  Sierra and Bailey live in Oregon, but their grandfather lives out west of Ava and has a birthday on the second.  They call him Papa and he has a chicken named Violet with whom Bailey has an attachment.  Bailey and her family will be here for the Fourth of July, so the whole family is excited.  There is a great song by Fats Waller, the name of which is, “Where Were You on the Night of June the Third?” Margie Cohen was celebrating her birthday up in her Pennsylvania home.  She has been a welcome Champion visitor on more than one occasion.  Skyline School’s PAT coordinator, Mrs. Hicks, has a birthday on the 5th.  Destiny Jeffery’s birthday is on the 7th of June.  She was in the eighth grade this year and so she will be off to a new school next year.  Wayne Sutherland also celebrates his birthday on the 7th.  He was 85 back in 2015.  He and Frances and Greta were at the Champion Spring Fling.  Laine gets them to McClurg on a regular basis, so the Sutherlands are on the go.  Happy birthday all you Champions near and far–many happy returns of your day!

Some folks were following the Montana special election closely, hoping that the bluegrass musician would prevail.  A last minute shenanigan by his opponent brought out the vote in a surprisingly dismal fashion.  Meanwhile, abroad, one humiliating performance after another puts ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ in the darkest light it has been in since McCarthyism.  As Edward R. Murrow said back then, “Have you no shame?”  Apparently McCarthy did not either.  Murrow also said, “When the politicians complain that TV turns their proceedings into a circus, it should be made plain that the circus was already there, and that TV had merely demonstrated that not all the performers are well trained.”  George Orwell said, “A people that elects corrupt politicians are not victims, but accomplices.”  Fifty years from now, those of us who are still alive will still be shaking our heads trying to figure out how it all came to this.  There will be many theories, but the bottom line will be that fewer than half of the eligible voters chose to vote–abysmal.

On the Bright Side, the holiday is causing many travelers to make their way back to their home places to reconnect with family, friends and memories of their youth and vigor.  Old friends who have passed on are being remembered with affection.  Jack and Gladys Ryan were some Champion friends.  They have been gone for some while now.  They lived on N Highway just west of the Monastery where they kept a big, lavish vegetable garden and raised chickens.  Gladys was a great cook and happily shared her method of pickling garlic.  Jack invented all kinds of interesting contraptions in his shop and taught little boys how to take a picture of a little fish to make it look like a big fish.  He loved morel mushrooms and made plum wine which he was glad to share.  His CB handle was Foxfire.  They had their place logged by an outfit that used mules instead of log skidders.  When the West plains Wagon Club would make its trek through Champion, he would always be there, lending his watering trough for the animals and his good humor to the community.  Their friendship has endured past their lifetime.  Memory of them always brings a smile.

Jack Ryan loved being in Champion when the West Plains Wagon Club made its stop there.

Bring your own smile, your vigor, enthusiasm, wisdom and optimism down to the very wide, wild and wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek.  Sit out on the veranda where you can greet your neighbors as they come to the Square for commerce and camaraderie.  You can sing, “To thee, I’ll return, overburdened with care.  The heart’s dearest solace will smile on me there.  No more from that cottage again will I roam.  Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Riders relaxing on the steps at the Historic Emporium
on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.

It was a windy day in Champion for Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Ride, but a beautiful day and the ride was another great success by all accounts.  There were a dozen in all who took their regular route starting out along Fox Creek Road, ambling through the Shannon Ranch and then wading across the wide, fast moving Fox Creek to come back into Champion from the east.  One said that it was pretty exciting to be in the woods with all the strong wind and there was a report of a couple of the riders dismounting to mend somebody’s fence along the way.  They all came in pleased for the outing and the fellowship and happy for the ice cream at the end of the trail.  Bud led the way on his horse, Jim Bob.  Riding along with him was Don Hamby on Butch, Calvin Chambers on Betty Ann, Nancy Emerson Perryman on Ginger, Frank and Mary Williams on Rosie and Magic, Jeff Alcorn on Lace, Bill Bruner on Dream, Bill Winkelmann on Cookie, Cindy Hufham on Dolly, Andrew Harden on Cloud, Sharon Langley Stillings on Whistling Dixie, and Kenny Woolider on Dolly.  Wilma Hutchison had them line up for their photograph mounted before they headed out.  She must have quite an album of those pictures as she has been chronicling Bud’s trail rides for as long as he has been having them—some while now.  She waited for their return and enjoyed the day visiting with old friends and new ones as they came through the Historic Emporium.  Wednesday is often an eventful day in Champion and Bud’s bunch made it more so.

School is out so Kyle and Caleb Barker had the chance to spend some time with their Granddad at Champion on Wednesday.  They walked down to the creek together where Kyle found a stone that had metal in it–some kind of ore.  When he finds out what it is, hopefully he will share the information with The Champion News.  Meanwhile, Caleb endured teasing as his name was substituted for a groundhog in one song and as the person coming around the mountain in another one.  He is a good sport, however, and responded with a smile.  Their old Grandpa Upshaw will be the stuff of their legends in the future.  He and Frank and Pete Proctor will be the perpetrators of good works on Wednesday as they will be busy mowing over at Delow getting ready for the Denlow/Fairview School Reunion on Saturday.  The General says there will be music starting at 11:00, “featuring anyone wishing to play and sing with the Fox Creek Hee-Haw ensemble.”  There is always a good potluck dinner at this affair and usually a fun filled auction out in the pavilion.  Hopes are that the weather is good and all the travelers from distant places have easy, safe trips back to the place where so much of their happy youth was spent.  Pete says, “Come and enjoy some of your old friends….hope to see you there.”

Skyline student birthdays include the one of Heidi Strong who will be in the 6th grade next year.  She shares her day with Teresa Wrinkles, who has spent some time in school herself.  The 27th was Ed Henson’s birthday.  He was 95 years old when he passed away in 1998.  He is legendary in Champion.  Brylee Clark was in kindergarten this year and will be a first grader in the fall.  Her birthday is on the 28th.  That is Dale Tomas’s birthday too.  He is a town dweller now and his friends hope he and Betty are finding it enjoyable.  The 29th is Joseph Kennedy’s birthday.  He will be in the 4th grade at Skyline in the fall.  Kazie Perkins of KZ88 FM public radio also enjoys her birthday that day.  The 30th is the special day for Gabriella Frey who will be a first grade student in the fall.  Champion granddaughter, Alex in Austin, TX will have her birthday on the 31st.  She was recently recorded playing The Maple Leaf Rag on the piano.  Her old grannie was much impressed.  Birthdays come around more quickly when you are old, so enjoy every one of them and all the time in between.

Nanette Hirsh of the Douglas County Health Department helping Champions stay well.

May 30th will be the last Tuesday of the month and Champions know that that is the day they can expect Nannette Hirsh of the Douglas County Health Department to be at the store from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. doing blood pressure checks as a service to the community.  She joins a great list of folks whose work makes life sweet in Champion.  They work on the roads, put out the fires.  They keep the electricity flowing, the phone lines working and the mail running.  Thank you all.  The last hard rain of 2.6 inches undid some of the fine work that the fellows from the Drury Shed had done up on Cold Springs Road, but they will be back on it again soon and locals will be patient and go the long way around when they need to.  There are doubtlessly a number of spots like that around the area so give them a smile and a wave when you see them out working.  Encouragement is a Champion commodity.

Memorial Day is the federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces.  It originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868 and by the 20th century was extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.  It marks the beginning of summer holidays and is celebrated with picnics and barbeques and all manner of family gatherings.  Amid the merriment will be a few serious discussions concerning the current abysmal state of affairs.  French philosopher, Albert Camus, said, “And I should like to be able to love my country and still love justice.  I don’t want any greatness for it, particularly a greatness born of blood and falsehood.  I want to keep it alive by keeping justice alive.”  Journalist Laura C. Keeling said, “America will not be destroyed by undocumented workers, same sex marriage, Muslims, or abortion, but rather by unreasonable fears, uncontrollable hatred, divisive politics, unethical politicians, deliberate misinformation and a gullible population.”  Note that fewer than half the eligible voters exercised their franchise last year and fewer than half of those who did vote were satisfied with the outcome.  So, wear your poppies, express your gratitude, sing a few bars of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” and hope for the best.

It is still quite early in the gardening season for people in this latitude.  There is time yet to get some beans in the ground, to set out a few tomato plants, and plant some okra and squash.  These cool sunny days are just right for being out in the beauty of it all and physical activity provides a great distraction from your worries.  Come down to the wide, wild and wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek for some refreshment after your hard work.  Situate yourself comfortably on the spacious veranda and hum some of that great song, “America!  America! God shed His grace on Thee!” in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

The horses get good attention at the end of the trail.

Clever Creek is now passable.

Champions look out across their green and growing landscape and feel awfully blessed and good about the choices they have made that got them here.  Some were born and raised here and chose to stay.  More than one married someone who came from this part of the world and returned with him or her.  Others strayed here with the back to the land movement of the 1960s and 1970s, and every decade since.  People from all over retire here, and why not?  It is Champion.

Connie Brown and Joy Ann Coonts Firrell both had a birthday on May 12th.  Connie lives in Mountain Grove and can often be seen in the company of her Dad, a Champion School Alumni.  Joy Ann lives in Bluegrass, Iowa and has deep connections to Champion.  She said that her grandparents, William Thomas and Zada Lee Rhoades Coonts, lived in front of the store and behind the school with a field between them.  She said her dad skipped school so much that when he would go, he cut across the field to get there.  In 1844, her great, great grandpa, James L. Coonts, owned Coonts Holler in Champion.  He divided it between his kids.  Willard Coonts was one of her grandfather’s brothers.  He owned the Coonts Store in what is now called Evans.  All this means, more than likely, that she is kin to the Cowboy!  That has to be fun.  Joy Ann has been working on her family tree for 30 years now.  She said that if you look on ‘Find a Grave’ on Google, it gives you all the kids’ names [and perhaps their birthdays.]  The day after Skyline third grade student, Gracie Nava, had her birthday on the 7th of May, Mrs. Dixie had her birthday.  Mrs. Dixie retires this year from her years of good work at the school.  She will be having a long-lasting summer vacation. Enjoy!  Second grader, Meikel Klein, will celebrate on the 17th and fifth grader, Heidi Strong, will have her special day on the 22nd.  Champion granddaughters, Zoey and Alex, will help their dad have a great day on the 16th.  Rachel Cohen up in Chicago, is Waylon’s mother.  Her birthday is on the 18th, which also was the birthday of an old Champion’s mother, Exer Lynnie Hector Masters.  She was born in 1913, and passed away in 1975.  She is missed every day.  Birthdays and Mother’s Day give us the chance to celebrate and remember in an open, public way what we feel every day–love and gratitude for our family and friends—for those gone on and those we can call on the phone and/or hug in person.  Happy Days, you Champions!

Brenda Coffman Massey is one of the people to contact about the Eastern Douglas County Volunteer Fire Department garage sale at the Vanzant Community Building on Saturday.  It sounds like a person can get a space there for a fee and then get rid of (oops, ‘share’) some of the great abundance of one’s accumulation of interesting and possibly useful things.  For enthusiasts of great bargain shopping it will be a field day.  Brenda is a stalwart supporter of her VFD and has her hand in every good cause in the area.  Many are the burgers she has flipped at the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department Picnics.  It is nice to see communities supporting each other.  The Denlow School Reunion is coming up soon, so Pete and the General and the boys will be in high gear getting things organized.  We have survived the floods and spring is full on us.  It is easy to be grateful in spring.  Everything is growing.  People are smiling.  Spring cleaning is going on and you never know what wonderful thing you might find in a garage sale.  A ride through the country to get there is a dazzling experience this time of the year.  Cabins have disappeared into the woods again.  Forgotten wild flowers are reappearing in profusion.  That feeling of optimism and renewal is all over the place.  That is the way it is at the Thursday night jam in Vanzant where people come to hobnob and forget their troubles while accomplished musicians and neophytes keep it lively.  The Monday night acoustic jam at the Cabool Senior Citizens Center is getting very good reviews.  Light hearted and fun, they say, and great music.  There are jams being held all around and anybody interested can find them.  Just ask around.  Indeed, we are lucky to live in this part of the world.  “And I think to myself, what a wonderful world,” sang Louis Armstrong.

Neighbors over in Nebraska are still at it in their opposition to the Keystone Pipeline.  Natives in North Dakota can already report oil spills.  They say a small spill in April (84 gallons of crude oil) was completely remediated and posed no threat to the water table.  The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe continues to fight Energy Transfer Partners in court in an effort to halt the project’s expected opening next month.  The political scene has become more bazar with serious ethical issues in the governor’s office and absurd shenanigans on a national level also having severe ethical ramifications.  A guy named Kierkegaard said, “There are two ways to be fooled.  One is to believe what isn’t true.  The other is to refuse to accept what is true.”  Heaven help us all.

In the award winning book, “The Education of Little Tree” published in 1976 by Forrest Carter who also wrote “The Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Gramma said when you come on something good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out where no telling it will go.  Which is right.”  It has played out in a lovely way in our area as a friend who has been suffering with the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease has discovered an exercise regime that seems to be helping to tie brain function in with muscle control which is the neurological problem with the disease.  The easy exercises also seem applicable to all of us who are having issues with stamina and balance.  She shared with a mutual friend who shared with The Champion News.  As particulars become available TCN will be pleased to share.  It is called Chi Kung.

In Edinburgh, Champion Morag Edward writes, “The bowl of oats on my windowsill is filled with sparrows.  Sparrow porridge is very, very loud.  The mother is shoveling the oat flakes into the chicks, yet they manage to squawk FEED ME and eat at the same time.  Now she’s glaring at me like she thinks I should be helping.”  They have been suffering drought over in Scotland for the first time in a long time, even having fires in outlying areas.  A nice rain on the 12th was well celebrated, while here many are yet dealing with significant flood damage.  The phone lines and internet were full of wonderful loving messages for mothers everywhere.  There was even a report of Lem and Ned back in the neighborhood.  If you see or hear tell of them, please inform on them at champion@championnews.us or drop a note about anything to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717.  If you are looking for a little respite from the hubbub of the busy world, take a trip down WW off of C Highway and hum a few bars of “The Maple Leaf Rag.”  Soon you will run out of pavement just on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Cold Springs Road to Champion

Champion’s Spring Fling–Looking on the Bright Side!

Champions are grateful for a good idea conjured up by the Prominent Champion Girlfriend back in March.  It was her birthday wish that came true on Saturday with the Square full of people enjoying the fish-fry and the pleasure of the company of friends and neighbors at the Whoop De Do Spring Fling.  It was a glorious sunny day after so many glum and dreary ones.  Everyone was happy to put the yard work off for a little while longer just to have the chance to visit and share flood stories.  Charlie Lambert came from way up on the other side of Springfield.  He brought his mandolin, but didn’t get around to playing it.  There was a lot of catching up to do.  Music happened and the birthday girl and her friends and her Prominent Beau worked with good humor to be sure the bunch was well fed.  It was just right.  Thanks to everyone who made it happen and to the Champions who came from near and far to the wide, wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek again.  Many regular visitors to the Historic Emporium were able to attend, but Elmer could not.  He lives on the other side of Fox Creek which was still running high and deep.  He has been marooned for some while, and his neighbors are only grateful that he has been marooned in such good company.  Champion!

Pete Proctor said he was inducted into the U.S. Army on May 3rd, 1967—fifty years ago to serve his Country for two years and he is proud of it.  We are proud of Pete too and proud of all those who have served and who currently serve the Nation in and out of uniform.  Pete and his brother and thousands of others served in Vietnam.  The official end of the Vietnam War was April 30, 1975.  It is still germane.  Our wars, past and present, stay with us.  It seems like a never ending procession.  As Memorial Day approaches and the process of remembering comes to mind, a friend posted on the internet:  “A lovely military man selling poppies stopped me today and asked if he could reposition mine.  While doing so he told me that women should wear their poppy on their right side:  the red represents the blood of all those who gave their lives, the black represents the mourning of those who didn’t have their loved ones return home, and the green leaf represents the grass and crops growing and future prosperity after the war destroyed so much.  The leaf should be positioned at 11 o’clock to represent the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the time that World War One formally ended.  He was worried that younger generations wouldn’t understand this and his generation wouldn’t be around for much longer to teach them.”  “We cherish too, the Poppy red/ That grows on fields where valor led,/  It seems to signal to the skies/ That blood of heroes never dies.”  This was written by Moina Michael in 1915.  She then conceived the idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the Nation during war.  She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need.  The Royal British Legion said “There is no right or wrong lapel, or right or wrong leaf position, no right or wrong time of day, no right or wrong start date.  The best way to wear a poppy, is to wear it with pride.”  So we will be proud of our Veterans.  We will wear our poppies and hope that common sense will prevail in the dangerous and complicated world in which we find ourselves.  The world is full of despots and greedy people who are willing to use our patriotic young people for nefarious purposes when they could be helping to alleviate the appalling suffering and deprivation in the world.  It makes a person wonder.

On Friday the internet was full of great pictures posted by parents and grandparents of the Skyline School students who were part of the play “The Wizard of Oz’ that was presented on Thursday evening.  Mrs. Casper, Mrs. Coonts, and Mrs. Downs did the adult behind-the-scenes work that allowed the students to shine in this excellent presentation.  May 11th will be the annual Field Day and the last day of school is scheduled to be May 12th.  Summer stretches out for the children as if it will last a long time.  Old folks know that it will go fast so they admonish the youngsters and vacationing staff to enjoy.

The Square was a full parking lot in Downtown Champion for the Celebration of Spring.

The birthday girl, her beau and her friends served up a great fish fry for the crowd.

New road conditions may well be working a hardship on our intrepid United States Postal Service employees.  Their routes have probably had to change substantially to accommodate washed out low water crossings, but they have been getting the job done.  They and those wonderful Road Grader Guys are real local heroes.  As the waters recede, the damage becomes more evident.  Many old timers say they have never seen the water so high in this part of the country.  Recovery will be a slow process and Champions will continue to be grateful for the good fortune that things were not worse and appreciative of the hard work of our mail people and road people.

Yard work and gardening are the major activities of some old Champions this time of the year.  All that rain has incited things to grow at a break-neck speed.  Gardeners have been rushing to get their above ground crops in before the full moon.  After that the beets and carrots and turnips can go in.  Good days for transplanting will be 18, 19, 20, 23 and 24.  Some people go strictly by the astrological signs and others go by when they are able to get things done.

Ann Reeves Jarvis was a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.  She died in 1905.  Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, held a memorial for her mother and promoted the idea of Mother’s Day to honor all mothers, because she is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world.”  As time went by, Ms. Jarvis protested against the commercialization of the holiday.  It was her notion that people should appreciate and honor their mothers through handwritten letters expressing their love and gratitude, instead of buying gifts and pre-made cards.  Now we have telephones and the internet, so those personal communications are a little different.  Jimmy Rogers wrote a great song appropriate to the celebration.  “I had a home out in Texas, out where the bluebonnets grew.  I had the kindest old mother.  How happy we were just we two.  Till one day the angels called her, that debt we all have to pay.  She called me close to her bedside, these last few words to say…”  Well, his mother extracted a promise from him that he would always go straight.  The song goes on to reveal that he broke the promise but then came to his senses.  Come to your senses down on the wide, wild and very wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek…Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

Part of the crowd moved their chairs up into the shade to enjoy their lunch. Later the musicians joined them there for some great tunes.

Thanks to Sami McCleary for this picture of Champion high water.

May Day!  Champions are pleased to report that we join our neighbors in being grateful that things were not as bad as they could have been.   Gratitude is the flip side of our neighbor’s suffering.  That is to say, we have but to cast our eyes about to find others in less desirable circumstances. We are, therefore, in a position to offer help.  One of the best gifts a person can receive is the opportunity to help.  So, if you need some, ask.

The internet has been a great resource during the inundation.  From it came the many postings that let us know about road closures and bridge failures as well as assurances to family afar.  There was also a timely Newsy Break from the Vanzant Weathered Bureau and Part-Tyme Distillery.  To wit:  “Chunks of I-44 has washed into down-town Vanzant and blocking traffic.”  Lynette Cantrell replied that the General’s observation might actually have had some substance as there were detours from I-44 coming through Cabool on their way back to I-44 via Rolla to Cabool to Springfield.  She also confirmed that the Monday Night Acoustic Jam at the Senior Center in Cabool was to be a ‘Go!”   Musicians are unflappable.  Lynette favored the Thursday Vanzant Bluegrass Jam with “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.”  She also has a very sweet touch on her mandolin, one to match her smile.  Nine guitars, two banjoes, four mandolins, three ukuleles, three fiddles and Sherry Bennett on the dog house bass made for another great evening. (A number of the musicians play multiple instruments.)  There are neophytes among the bunch of real musicians and it is a sweet mix.  Next week someone will sing, “Oh! The night was dark and stormy, the air was full of sleet, the old man stepped out in the yard and his shoes were full of feet.  Oh!  It ain’t a gonna rain no more no more, it ain’t a gonna rain no more!  How in the world do the old folks know that it ain’t a gonna rain no more?”  Champions do not necessarily want it to not rain any more, they would just like half an inch a week through the gardening season.  Like Zoey Louise says, “You get what you get and you don’t pitch a fit.”  It is not like a person can do anything about the weather anyway.  That begs the question about whether human activity has anything to do with what is perceived to be the acceleration of climate change.  There are some who say, “Yea” and others who say otherwise.  Old people who have had a lifetime of observations and experience are interested in the future of their grandchildren.  They are generally alert to the fact that there are more than seven billion human beings on the planet right now (7.4 billion) and a small powerful bunch of them do not give a tinker’s damn about anything other than their own best interests, let alone the future.  “Exciting times!” you say.

Some of the good news out of the chaos is that thirty-six Champion milk cows that were feared to have been lost have been found.  They have gone a while without milking, so hopes are that they will make a good recovery and rejoin the herd soon.  Champions will have tales to tell for a long time to come.  Birthday celebrations for Taegan Krider were abbreviated because of the excitement, but she is being appreciated for having helped out in the crisis by entertaining her little sister and generally being a good sport.  She is a farm girl…that explains it.  Waldo Champion, Linda Heffern, has a birthday on the 6th of May.  Third grade Skyline Student Gracie Nava will enjoy her special day on the 7th and Mrs. Dixie celebrates the next day, the 8th.  She is retiring so has lots of reasons to celebrate, though Skyline will miss her.  Champion Bonnie Brixey Mullens celebrates on the 9th.  She and Pete will surely make it to the Denlow School Reunion.  It is always a pleasure to see them.  They have a lot of history in the area and deep connections.  They live out in Wichita and have family connections there close to them that are the envy of other old Champions—children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren—what a blessing.

Hummingbirds are back and ready to deplete the area of its sugar.  It turns out that the red food coloring in store bought ‘nectar’ is really bad for the little birds.  It makes them sick.  They do well without it and as far as feeders go, these ravenous ones could probably do just fine without them.  This time of the year there are lots of nectar sources, it is just that the people like seeing their ruby throated friends so much.  They remind us of the fleeting nature of life and of resilience.  They have just flown thousands of miles to come home to Missouri and welcome they are.  They live for as long as eight years and come back to where they were hatched every year.  It is one of the marvels of nature.  While natives are busy enjoying the birds and reclaiming their yards from the storms’ ravages, they will also be being mindful of the Douglas County Road guys as they repair the water damage, and of the first responders who stand to safeguard us when we need it, and the electric co-op people and the telephone people who do what they have to do to make our lives normal again.  It is easy to take this great infrastructure for granted, so thank all you folks for your hard work and dedication.

“I cannot be an optimist but I am a prisoner of hope.”  Those are the words of a prominent contemporary philosopher.  They strike home these days as the political climate is more dismal than anyone might have expected.  The absurdity of current national politics will go down in history as mind boggling.  There is no need to go into particulars other than to say that the Regressives are flourishing.  Health care, public education, the environment, civil liberties, the free press, the Veterans and others can all look to recoup the damage, but it may well take decades.  Meanwhile, a good question might be “How much is enough?”  How rich does one have to be to be satisfied?  The Insatiables have it!

The Champion Spring Fling is still a go.  Come down to the wide wild wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek for a vision of resilience.  The festivities will kick off about 11 in the morning on Saturday, May 6th with a fish fry, music and the chance to see your neighbors at their best. Bring your lawn chairs, your appetite, your musical instruments and your good humor.  Roger Miller wrote a great song that is appropriate here, “Thunder rolling, lightning flashing, right through the middle of it I’d go dashing, just to show how far I’d go for you,  if you want me to!” to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!