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CHAMPION—September 20, 2010

        Champions are in the charming situation of living in a place that other people admire.  One of the Champions at the recent School Reunion was heard to say, “I spent twenty years trying to get out of Champion and the next forty trying to get back.”  It seems that Champion is what a lot of people think of as idyllic…charmingly simple in its pastoral scenes.  First time visitors to Champion are captivated.  To them nothing seems ‘different’ because they have no history with the place.  Still, they find it lovely.  It was interesting to see how the wagon train felt about the Champion changes.  Mostly it was just done with smiles and sweet old stories about Ed Henson in the Old Store.  Good inspection of the construction site by many netted approval in that it is entirely sturdy and built with much local lumber, milled with an appreciation for how well the last building made of local materials held up in that spot.  The porch will tie it all together and it looks formidable!

        Champions’ own Harley and Barbara will be in town for a spell…always too short a spell and always welcome.  Before they leave, the porch will be on the Replica of the Historic Emporium and patrons will be looking to vacate the now comfortable Loafing Shed for the more prominent spot on the porch.  “All the word’s a stage!”  Moreover, as the official Reviewing Stand, all Champion Parades will perforce be routed down the Broad Expanse of Lonnie Krider Way from West to East or from East to West.  Either way spectators from the porch will have a perfect view!  Champion.

        Ethel McCallie did not make it over to Champion during her stay in the area.  The Haden Family Reunion in Ava was her destination and it must have held her interest so well that she could not break away.  Champions hope she had a good time and that she will get back this way soon.  Champion’s friend, Darrell Haden, has been much in Champion thoughts lately, with best wishes and fond remembrances.  The approach of Fall brings the Headless Cobbler to mind.

        A Champion friend from Vera Cruz made that trip over to Branson on the 11th to the White River Valley Electric Co-Op gathering and found it to have been a good experience.  She had questions concerning solar power and ways to determine high usage times so that she could arrange certain of her activities during times that are not peak usage hours.  Champion kinds of cooperation are always coming to light!

        Autumn begins on Wednesday, though there may still be some nice summertime weather.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that root crops can be planted on the 27th and 28th.  It might be time to start thinking about putting in some spring bulbs.  There might still be time for some beets and turnips!  Everybody will be looking for Lem and Ned to come clean up the garden when it is finished.  Some old Champions say that this is going to be the year when they don’t just let the garden go for the winter.  Those old people will need some help.  Sometimes talking about gardening is as much fun as doing it.  Now that Linda and Charlene have such a comfortable and warm space it looks like some card games and extrapolated visiting will take place in that bright place with all the lights and windows.  Arlene Cooley is still talking about Charlene’s painted bird house that was her door prize at the Champion School Reunion.

        An e-mail came from Pete Proctor with a link to the story of the POW/MIA Color Ceremony and Missing Man Table.  “The sun was shining bright as the Comrades, Sisters and guests gathered on the Mountain Grove Public Square before 9:00 a.m. on Friday, September 17, 2010 for the POW/MIA Awareness Day Color Ceremony.  There were twelve Comrades of Mountain Grove VFW Post 3770, six Sisters of the Ladies Auxiliary and fifteen guests attending the event.”  There are pictures and much more information at POW/MIA Color Ceremony.  Look for a new Link to the VFW Post 3770 website in the Links Category at www.championnews.us.  Look for any opportunity to express Love and Gratitude to those serving Our Nation in and out of uniform.  They are Champions and they have it coming.

        Champion Elmer Banks had a birthday on Wednesday, the 15th.  He was just so happy to have made it another year he forgot to tell his age!  He really enjoyed the wagon train and meeting some newcomers to the area.  There are a number of people with birthdays coming up.  Louise Hutchison celebrates on the 21st of September as does Miss Zoey Louise and Penelope Zappler, both of Austin, TX.  Champion Rebecca Heston (winning bidder on the July Mascot Monkey of the Month for the benefit of the Skyline VFD Fire Truck fund) will celebrate on the 29th.  Skyline Auxiliary President, Betty Dye, will celebrate on the 7th.  Taegan Rae Krider’s old man will have a birthday on the 14th of October.  He had a good time at the wagon train particularly teasing Jackie Coonts about what a ferociously ugly horse he has.  His point was that Jackie seems to think it is a beautiful horse.  He puts a lot of time in the saddle, so he should know.  Donna Moskaly up on C highway will have a birthday on the 20th and many will remember Ana Henson’s birthday on the 21st.  Ana’s sister-in-law, Ms. Maxine Grote, was in Champion for the School Reunion.  Then Harley Krider will have his birthday on the 26th and will once again be older than his contemporaries.  He is such a sport!  “Quite a golfer,” they say.  One Champion will leave home on the day Harley arrives and will stay away from her favorite place in the world until he is gone again.  It is not at all intentional—just a coincidence and so all the teasing that could have resulted from having heard Hovey and that crowd talk about Champion boyhood days will have gone for naught.  Champions always feel like there is plenty of time for that kind of fun.

        “You can’t jump across a chasm in two leaps.”  That is a Champion Thought.  Think up such a thing as that and send it to Champion Items and Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Sing the second and third verses to the Happy Birthday Song out in the Loafing Shed to anyone who will sit still for it.  When the porch gets into regular use by the public, there may be some rules of decorum to observe.  For now, however, it is Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 12, 2010

          Champions are a helpful and generous people.  One took the opportunity to help the builder unload a few boards the other day and now can strut about saying how he has been ‘helping’ to build the Replica of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Patrons of the Temporary Annex over on the West Side of the Square are pleased with the progress of the Replica and particularly with the perfect placement of the pads for the porch posts.  Soon the porch will be there and it is to be hoped that the steps will be the last to go up as a way to keep out the gawkers.  So far the building has not been too overrun with nonparticipating observers because it has been rather inaccessible to all but the nimble, but once the steps go in it might be a different story.  The superintendent is accustomed to handling all types of delicate situations, so no conflicts are expected and progress should not be overly affected.  There will be explanations about how the new roof will be a “three-way” rather than regular shed roof on account of the relative ceiling height and the like.  It will go on and on—Champion!

Champions are more familiar with the “three-way” being a harness of three mules pulling a wagon like the Webster wagon with Candy, Kate and Joe that came through last year.  Champions are excited that the Wagon Train is due through town this week.  If it runs according to schedule, it ought to be pulling into Champion in the neighborhood of noon on Thursday.  This is The West Plains Wagon Club led by Clifton Luna.  The club makes the annual trip to Mansfield starting out from West Plains on Monday morning.  They travel about twenty miles a day and make camp each evening at their regular spots along the way.  They will arrive in Mansfield on Saturday in time for the Wilder Days Celebration.  Last year there were eleven wagons of various descriptions and the community turned out to give them a good examination.  They seem to enjoy the attention, so it works out well for everyone.  The travelers will have some surprises in store for them when they roll into Champion. 

A week after the Champion School Reunion, Hovey will be pleased to know people are still talking about him.  The various versions of the stories about the mailbox, the still, the hollow log, the boys in trouble and trips into town to see the judge are all remembered differently according to whether the rememberer was an actual participant in the alleged shenanigans or the recipient of some exaggerated hear-say third hand and in the way distant past dredged up now from fading memories tinged with the rosy glow of nostalgia.  So much of history trickles to the surface through these murky channels.  Hovey said that he was interested in responding to Wally Hopper’s note about the history of Denlow and how he would like to have an historic marker there.  Hovey agrees that the place has fallen into significant disrepair.  He is also wondering if there is a marker that actually marks the spot known as Vera Cruz.  Inquires confirm that there is such a spot and it is on the farm of a Mr. John Vineyard.  Do-gooders and busy-bodies will spend some time getting the two of them together so the Champion’s concerns can be relieved.

          The coyotes howled around the intrepid campers and the young folks drifted off to sleep to their music.  Roasted marshmallows and ‘smores’ were evening delights and pancakes on the camp stove in the morning will be long remembered and expected on future outings.   No alligators crept up out of the pond and no bears came down out of the woods to trouble the happy campers and Mom and Dad were right there to be sure of it.  Foster and Kalyssa are already building a set of good childhood memories.  Their little cousin, Taegan was quite entertaining on Sunday showing everybody that at four months old she is just about ready to take off crawling.  She will soon get that knee up under herself and then she will be going where she pleases.  Old folks wonder if they are changing as quickly as the little ones do. 

          The General spread the largess of his attentions around to the Brixey Family Reunion up in Seymour on Saturday and so missed the four Henson siblings at the Champion School Reunion.  More is the pity.  They missed him!  The Brixies must have had advanced warning that he was coming because the numbers were down a little.  The General’s lovely sister seems to be related to everyone in the area some way or another and so it is reckoned that he is too and for that reason has some degree (for want of a better word) of ‘welcome’ at almost any family gathering in these parts. There has been no recent news of the marauding goat of Vanzant.  It has spent time on Esther’s porch, napping and nibbling the flower buds off her Christmas cactus and making sudden lurching exits from her garage.  It takes a lot of seasoning to disguise the taste of goat once it reaches a certain age.   These things are best left in the capable hands of the General himself.  This may be the soirée to which certain Champions are finally invited, though no breaths are being held.  Noses will be, though—goat tacos.  Yum.

As of September 13, 2010 there have been 2,054 United States and Coalition casualties in Afghanistan.  Thirty-three of those have been from Missouri.  One hundred eighty-one of those casualties have been twenty-one years old.  Modern warfare in the Middle Eastern conflicts have resulted in fewer casualties but more wounded soldiers.  As the families of the fallen need compassion so do the returning wounded and their families.  Love and Gratitude can be expressed in many ways.  Champions everywhere seize the opportunity to say, “Thank you.” 

The signs have changed and so that the 15th through the 17^th will be good days to plant above the ground crops.  Some spinach and any kind of leafy greens can go in about this time and will most likely have time to make.  These things can stand some cold weather, and it may happen that they get some before long.  The seasons are going by quickly.  Linda’s Almanac has a lot of good information.  It will soon be time to start bringing in those delicate things that will need protection through the winter.  Linda has some nice fall cabbage and broccoli plants and lots of good advice for novice gardeners and experienced ones.

“Rolling, rolling, rolling!  Keep them wagons rolling.  Though the streams are swollen, Rawhide!  Through all kinds of weather, what if the sky should fall?  As long as we’re together, it doesn’t really matter at all.”  One old Champion tells another that this song is about ‘doggies’ not wagons and the rest of it is part of a song called “Side by Side.”  The song the Champion is looking for is “Wagon Train, Roll along.  Rolling over prairie where there ain’t no grass.  Rolling over mountains where there ain’t no pass.  Sitting on the board, eye in the weather, praying to the Lord we stay together side by side on the wagon train.”  Sing that one out in the loafing shed while you still have the chance.

Get down to the Square on Thursday to see the wagon train or just come anytime to Champion and Look on the Bright Side!

The first Champion School Reunion was held in 1984.  They have been going strong ever since.  Attending this year:  Robert and Connie Brown, Ivel Brown, Pete Proctor, Eva Henson Phillips, Tommy and Barbara Sutherland, Jerry and Shauna Smith, Fae Krider, Charles Lambert, Hanna Faith Jensen, Ruby Proctor, Barbara Proctor Cooper, Darrell Cooper, Elsie Curtis, Debbie Massey, Lonnie Curtis, Tom and Arlene Cooley, Robert Graham, Mary Graham, Gary Hutchison and Phyllis Long, Vivian Floyd, Irene Dooms, Verla and Lonnie Mears, Betty Henson, Carolyn and Darrell Hutchison, Jordan Hutchison, Esther Wrinkles, Elva Ragland, Larry and Teresa Wrinkles, Amy Collins, Sheila Collins, Pete Robertson, Maxine Grote, Darrell Cooley, Eric Arnall, Sue Arnall, Leola Bell, Modeen Dooms McGown, Royce Henson, Carol Coats Barnhart, Peggy Hancock Carreras, Randy Henson, Wayne and Fances Sutherland, Laine Sutherland, Greta Cope, Russell, Sue and Dean Upshaw, Leslee Krider, Staci and Dustin Cline, Kenneth and Dawn Henson, Dale and Betty Thomas, Kenneth and Barbara Anderson and Barbara’s daughter Jonna.  There were others who asked not to be named and some who came made only a cameo appearance.

Long tables of homemade pot-luck dishes were spread out under the trees by the Champion School on Saturday.  Champions feasted on the delicious food and on the excellent opportunity to get together for some good old fashioned visiting and reminiscing.  The framework of the Replica of Henson’s Store is seen in the background.

Three daughters of John and Goldie Hicks who attended the Champion School together enjoyed the School Reunion on Saturday.  They are Elsie Curtis of Norwood, and Ruby Proctor and Amy Collins both of Mountain Grove.  Their sister, Sharon Smith, also lives in Mountain Grove and they have a brother, Ray Hicks, who lives in Bluegrass, Iowa.  Their older brother, Gene Hicks, lives in Baker City, Oregon.  He is in poor health at this time and his siblings are all thinking about him.  John and Goldie had ten children and lived just up Fox Creek from Champion.  Some of the younger ones attended the Bakersfield School, but the older ones were all Champions.  The School Reunion is always high point in the year for them.

Arlene Cooley won this painted gourd birdhouse as a door prize at the Champion School Reunion on Saturday.  It was painted by Charlene Dupree of The Gift Corner in Norwood and was presented to her by Miss Hannah Faith Jansen, visiting granddaughter of Champion Charles Lambert.  Hannah will be five years old in December and this was the first Champion School Reunion that she has attended.  Arlene never misses one.  She is a Champion.

Vivian Krider Floyd and Jerry Smith are shown here with the treasure chest that Jerry made from the recycled lumber of the Old Store.  He donated the piece to help perpetuate the Champion School Reunion and Vivian bought it in a lively auction conducted by classmate, Kenneth (Hovie) Henson.  Jerry planed the old lumber and made the box as well as a number of picture frames in his shop in Seymour.  The inside lid of the box features a picture of the Old Store and Jerry had a number of requests for pictures of the store framed in its own wood.  Champions treasure a good memento.

The children of Ezra and Sylvia Henson all attended the Champion School and the Champion School Reunion this year.  They are Royce Henson, of Springfield, MO, Eva Henson Phillips of Bellavista, AR, Kenneth Henson, of Houston, TX, and Randy Henson of Columbia, MO.  This is the first time they have all been together at the School Reunion and there were many stories told and much laughter.

Ms. Leola Bell of Stoutland, MO taught school in Champion in 1953.  This year she was the only teacher attending the Champion School Reunion who taught there.  Ms. Bell began teaching when she graduated high shcool and taught in rural schools while she finished her tcollege degree.  She taught for forty five years and retired from the Waynesville School District.  Her grandddaughter, who attended the reunion with her, said that she is still substitute teaching.  She was presented with a gift by the Reunion Committee and enjoyed reminiscing with many of her students.

CHAMPION—September 6, 2010

        The first Champion School Reunion was held in 1984.  They have been going strong ever since.  Attending this year:  Robert and Connie Brown, Ivel Brown, Pete Proctor, Eva Henson Phillips, Tommy and Barbara Sutherland, Jerry and Shauna Smith, Fae Krider, Charles Lambert, Hanna Faith Jensen, Ruby Proctor, Barbara Proctor Cooper, Darrell Cooper, Elsie Curtis, Debbie Massey, Lonnie Curtis, Tom and Arlene Cooley, Robert Graham, Mary Graham, Gary Hutchison and Phyllis Long, Vivian Floyd, Irene Dooms, Verla and Lonnie Mears, Betty Henson, Carolyn and Darrell Hutchison, Jordan Hutchison, Esther Wrinkles, Elva Ragland, Larry and Teresa Wrinkles, Amy Collins, Sheila Collins, Pete Robertson, Maxine Grote, Darrell Cooley, Eric Arnall, Sue Arnall, Leola Bell, Modeen Dooms McGown, Royce Henson, Carol Coats Barnhart, Peggy Hancock Carreras, Randy Henson, Wayne and Fances Sutherland, Laine Sutherland, Greta Cope, Russell, Sue and Dean Upshaw, Leslee Krider, Staci and Dustin Cline, Kenneth and Dawn Henson, Dale and Betty Thomas, Kenneth and Barbara Anderson and Barbara’s daughter Jonna.  There were others who asked not to be named and some who came made only a cameo appearance.

        This was a nice crowd.  It was said that there were more first time attendees here this year than in any other.  There were sixteen teachers at the first reunion.  This year Ms. Leola Bell was the only one.  She grew up over on Highway 14 near Fox Creek and began teaching in Champion when she graduated from high school.  She had a long distinguished career as an elementary and high school teacher, an elementary school principal, and as a special education teacher.  She lives over by Lebanon now and still substitute teaches.  She had good Champion beginnings.

        Among the things over heard at the reunion:  “I spent twenty years trying to get out of Champion and the last forty years trying to get back.”  “Little, Elvie, did you ever find your shoes?  I threw them in the creek and got a good beating for it.  They might be in the Atlantic Ocean by now.”  “It’s so good to see you!”  “Do you remember that dog show they had down here one time?  The dogs were jumping through hoops and turning flips.  They had a horse that could count.  I was in about the first grade.  Now, I thought that was really something.”  The amount of yarn spun on Saturday could knit knickers for half of Douglas County.  S.C. Turnbo could certainly have found things to write about.  A certain Mr. Phillips receiving some well-warranted sympathy over the luck of the draw of his particular bunch of brothers-in-law quickly turned the subject to Turnbo’s “White River Chronicles.”  A good sense of humor is a Champion thing no matter where a person comes from or how they became entwined in the Champion Experience.

        The reunion was just the beginning of a great day for Esther Wrinkles and her family.  She had both her sons and their wives and her sister, Irene Dooms, and her children and a houseful of grandchildren and great grandchildren all for a birthday celebration on Saturday evening.  It seems to be the nature of Champions to celebrate.  The mysterious goat was still plaguing Esther’s porch and garage—eating flowers and keeping the General at bay.  His absence was noted at the reunion together with comments about unreliability.  Fortunately, Hovey was there to run the auction.

        Foster and Kalyssa Wiseman did not attend the reunion this year.  They arrived after the festivities had ended.  At three years of age, Kalyssa did not seem to be bothered by having had her age reported as four in last week’s paper.  She and Jenna Brixie were born on the same day and Jenna celebrated her third birthday.  Some Champions are getting old and forgetful, but those things only become important later on.  Kalyssa was busy getting ready for a big camping trip out in her Grammy’s field on Sunday night.  The family was going to camp out by the pond in a tent.  Nobody was worried about alligators coming out of the pond or bears out of the woods—well, not very worried.  Mom and Dad were going to be there.

        A short e-mail came from David Richardson to the Champion mailbox.  He sent a link to a movie he made at the Skyline VFD Picnic back in August.  It was well done and nice to see from the comfort of an air-conditioned computer room.  Everyone will remember how amazingly hot it was at the picnic this year.

In response to the thank you note, he said that he had a movie of Lonnie Krider and Wayne Anderson the last time they played together at the picnic.  The song is “Once More” and it is just lovely . . .

        Pete Proctor had a good time at the reunion.  He said that on the 17^th of September, he and Joe Kelly will present a program of the POW MIA Missing Man Table.  It will be on the square in Mountain Grove at nine in the morning with the Flag raising ceremony.  He said that there are still over 1700 missing soldiers from foreign conflicts.  Since May there have been six names added to the Viet Nam Memorial Wall as remains of those soldiers have been recovered.  The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3770 in Mountain Grove stays active in supporting Veterans and their families.  The Love and Gratitude they extend comes from all Champions as well.

        The consensus of opinion concerning the Replica of Henson’s Store being built on the original spot on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion is that it is just beautiful.  Many of those returning Champions had a little somber feeling to see such a change, but none could dispute the necessity.  The vibrant living nature of the place has not changed in all these years.  Someone remarked that it would be nice if the obvious changes in some of these old Champions could be like the ones appearing on the square and they could once again be sturdy and graceful.  Champions are optimists but not delusional.  Much praise was lavished on the absent builders.  “They sure enough are doing a bang up job!”  And the like.  Send the like or any length yarn to Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Sing “Once More” or any sweet, sad old song way out yonder in the Loafing Shed.  If you have a lively, uplifting, happy kind of song, just sing it anywhere in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION—August 29, 2010

           In Champion the dusty dry days, one right after another, were made endurable by the reduced temperature and by the promise of rain.  When it arrived, Champions were ready.  Champions are always delighted to see how quickly things recover and green up again after even a modest shower.  As dust on the back of the truck turned to rivulets of mud, Champions did not complain. 

          An email comes from someone on the General’s staff: “A stray goat has been terrorizing some of the Vanzant residents.  The lady that lives at the intersection of Highways 95 and W was extremely frightened when she came home from church one evening and the goat came running out of her garage.  Evidently, the goat has set up housekeeping there as it has been seen there numerous times.  There is talk by the local vigilante committee that a community cookout is being planned for the near future.”  The note arrives somewhat after a three-freezer ice cream social that made the General’s yard look like a used-car lot.  Esther (Wrinkles) is reported to have counted 48 head of socializers.  The event was held ‘the other night’ and was as spontaneous as it was exclusive.  Of course the very nature of exclusivity is that some are excluded.  The Vigilante Goat Roast will have to include additional goats or a smaller guest list.  Champions do not wait by the mailbox for an engraved invitation.  It is enough to know that their neighbors are having fun. 

          “Jenna Brixey had her 3rd Birthday party on Saturday.  Her guests were dad and mom James and Jana Brixey, Grandpa Dean Brixey and friend Venetta, Grandpa and Grandma Gary and Nyalin Barnes, and aunt and uncle Rick and Jodi Klingensmith and cousins Maddax and Tyler Klingensmith.”  This bit of news comes from an email sent by Nylan Barnes.  Kalyssa Wiseman celebrated her 4^th birthday on Sunday.  She enjoyed the company of aunts and uncles from Tennessee and Seymour as well as her parents, brother Foster and her Champion Grammy.  Intervals between birthdays shorten in direct proportion to the number of birthdays one has had.  This observation by an old Champion is not new.

          Becky Heston writes to inform, “This is a great article, but since you are going to publish it I wanted to edit one item: S: (n) plumb line, perpendicular (a cord from which a metal weight is suspended pointing directly to the earth’s center of gravity; used to determine the vertical from a given point)  I know that you are clever enough to explain away the missing “b” – possibly just as a way to tie in the Granddaughter or just because one can grow and enjoy “plums” in Champion (can one?) and as such, there is no need to add the “b.”  But since “b” is the first initial of the abbreviation of my given name, I am compelled to lobby for its inclusion!  Hope all is well in Champion – and hope we get to personally experience it one of these days.”  It turns out that Ms. Heston was the winning bidder on the Skyline VFD Mascot Monkey of the Month.   Champions will be looking forward to seeing the two of them together in a photo soon together with some good biographical information.  Having recently returned from a sojourn to Italy, it will be interesting to hear how the cuisine compares to the great fare on Fortune Drive.  Most likely she will not get an invitation to the Vigilante Goat Roast either, but her sophisticated palate may well have evolved far past goat n’ groates.  Champion hosts will be on the spot for feeding fancy foodies, but will be glad to give it a whirl!

          August’s Skyline VFD Mascot Monkey of the Month has been on tour with the punk rock band “Fire!” and no word has come concerning its final disposition.  The group is opening for “Pyro-Pyro” at the Lightening Festival in Nebraska on the 31^st, so it should be a cool gig.  “How You Like Me Now?” is the big feature tune for the Monkey.  The September Monkey will show up forthwith at Henson’s Store, currently located in the Temporary Annex on the West side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Construction there is going ‘swimmingly’ as Monday morning found carpenters dodging drops of much needed moisture.  No complaints could be heard concerning the rain and only compliments concerning the wonderful west wall.  It must have taken several nice trees to make all those beautiful boards.  Champion trees, no doubt! 

          Ms. Ethel Mccallie writes a lovely letter: “I envy you Champions and me over here in Oklahoma!”  She writes that the Haden Family Reunion is always the same day as the Champion School Reunion and this year that will be Saturday, September 4^th.  She says that she will be attending the Haden gathering and hopes that she can get a ride over to Champion during her stay.  She sends fond regards to her contemporary friend, Esther Wrinkles, and hopes that Esther enjoyed her 93^rd birthday as much as she did her own.  Ms. Mccallie is a fan of all the old songs and asks if anyone knows one called “Angels Climbing The Golden Stairs,” which was written about the dream that Joseph had.  Research has been futile so far, but some Champion probably knows it.  The Champion School Reunion will be an event to remember and the spirit of the place will be well represented with nostalgia and optimism.

          Linda’s Almanac for September is up on the www.championnews.us website.  It is to be found in the Champion Connections category.  Saturday and Sunday will both be good days to plant root crops, but Labor Day will not be good for planting.  “Destroy weeds,” the almanac says.  It seems that someone is always suggesting that weeding be done.

           Not everyone has a computer in Champion, but for those who do, a visit to The Washington Post’s Faces of the Fallen is a worthwhile visit.  These are the photos of the U.S. service members who died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  It is a sobering experience to see so many young and ‘middle aged’ faces looking back.  They have the Love and Gratitude of the Nation.  Their survivors need that too as do all those living Veterans who have served through the years.   

           Wash the car or just leave the windows rolled down; take a roof off a building; hang some white laundry on the line.  Any of these things can cause a rain cloud to appear.  Champions are ready for more than a drizzle. Glen Yarbrough sang, “Baby, the rain must fall.  Baby, the wind must blow.  Wherever my heart leads me, Baby, I must go.”  Go on down to the Loafing Shed in Downtown Champion and sing your favorite rain song.  Send it in the mail to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion at getgoin.net.  A new shipment of Champion Picture Postcards should be on the shelves in the Historic Emporium in time for the Champion School Reunion.  It just costs twenty-eight cents to mail a postcard, but for those out in the dreary parts of the world it is a true treasure to see Champion and a Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 23, 2010

           Champions are as much subject to the laws of the universe as are any other people. “Plum” is the nickname of one favorite Champion granddaughter and also happens to be a carpentry term meaning a line, which is exactly vertical, or perpendicular to a level horizontal line.  “Level” is another nice Champion grandchild and the spirit of his name goes to the definition that there is no part higher than another; having an even surface; being in a plane parallel to the plane of the horizon.  It is said to be horizontal at a given point if it is locally perpendicular to the gradient of the gravity field.  Now considering the topography of the environs around Champion, being at the bottom of several different hills and the churchyard being the only flat place for miles, ‘level’ might be hard to find.  Fields in these parts are most generally kind of up and down, gravity notwithstanding.  There have been devices invented for just such a situation (sometime before February 2, 1661 by some guy named Thevenot) and Champion carpenters have them and have put them to excellent use.  To put the icing on the cake, that shiny slick galvanized roof went on just before the short hard rain on Friday and so all is well.  The even surface of Champion prevails and is highly decorated by its new structure. 

           An unhappy individual forced to live elsewhere and to eat sour grapes assailed the Champion mailbox a year or so ago.  His complaint was that Champion’s Bright Side is abbreviated as “BS” and his inquiry was whom did Champion think it was fooling pretending to be such a metropolis, since it is only a wide spot beside a road at the end of the pavement.  This note caused stir and offers to sell the malcontent a couple of dry acres over in Chigger Flats that had just been logged off—such a bargain.  While there has been no reply it does occur to some Champions that the Bright Side is not the only BS around.  There is a business in Mountain Grove called Mountain Grove BS and a patron there the other day overheard some discussion of the ‘specialness’ of Champion builders.  And so they are.

           “Did you hear about Alvin Barnhart’s watermelons?” one Champion asked another.  He gave a couple of them to the silent auction over at the Skyline VFD picnic last week.  One of them weighed 62 pounds and the other just 60 pounds!  A report from one of the purchasers was that it was delicious.  They are long watermelons about a foot in diameter and very sweet and luscious.  “The rind is kind of thick but it is tasty too.”  So Alvin and Beverly have once again given the Skyline Fire Department something quite wonderful.  Ruth Hamilton picked a big bunch of okra that sold well in the auction.  It was big, but tender.

           Eli and Emmy Rose celebrated their Mother’s birthday on Sunday.  Eli is excited about starting school and Emmy has more to say these days.  There were many phone calls and reports of lots of new puppies and quail.  Their cousin, Kalyssa, will have her third birthday on August 31^st.  She spent Sunday night with her Grammy all by herself for the first time.  Foster started to school on Monday and so all the little Krider grandchildren are growing up.  Teagan will be four months old on the 30^th.  Cousin, Madelyn Ward, will start to kindergarten this year.  Those Brixie children up north of Champion are growing up and so it is with all the Champion children.  It represents the passage of time and seems more pronounced, as Champions get older, especially when the intervals between visits are long.  This is another of those universal laws.  Bonnie Parker’s beau wrote a note to Henry Ford to praise him on the quality of his V8 automobile saying that they were his favorites when he could get away with one.  He signed it “Clyde Champion Barrow.”  Perhaps someone will use Champion as a middle name soon to better exemplify the appellation.  “No, no, Hon. These is the Ozarks.  The Appellations is back east.” 

          A regular reader of the Champion column who lives in Iowa happened to be at the Skyline Picnic this year.  She said that as often as not she has a hard time following just what is going on in the Champion News, but she reads it anyway and sometimes figures it out.  Champion!  An email from a real Championista says, “I’ve heard that this year is the hottest on record since the 1880s.  I’ve given it some thought and decided a perfect outdoor environment for me is 67 in the daytime and 72 at night.  Know of any place on earth like that?”  Reply with an answer to that question to Champion News or to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.

           It is to be noted that Pete Proctor is now officially retired.  He had a long career with Town and Country and is, these days, doing just what he pleases.  A lot of what pleases him is his work with the VFW Post 3770 over in Mountain Grove.  Pete is always pleased to remind us of the importance of supporting our Veterans of the Armed Services.  In addition to the Love and Gratitude of the Nation they have served, the Veterans returning from current conflicts will have requirements for understanding, opportunity and support from the community.  Champion.

          Gardeners will be glad that the Plant Place and Gift Corner over in Norwood will be opening up again soon.  Pop in there for an Almanac for September or copy one from the www.championnews.us website.  The 26^th and 27^th will be good days to plant root crops as will the first of September.  Time flies!  One Champion writes, “Time’s fun when you’re having flies.”

          The Loafing Shed over on the west side of the square in Downtown Champion has been getting some good use as regular Champions, visitors and kibitizers all have the chance to see history in the making.  The Champion School Reunion will prove to be an eye opener to many who rarely get back.  “Nothing to do, Nelly darling?  Nothing to do you say?  Let’s take a trip on memory’s ship back to the bygone days.  Sail to the old village schoolhouse.  Anchor outside the school door.  Look in and see there’s you and there’s me—a couple of kids once more.”  Sing your favorite school days song those good old golden rule songs.  That’s Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 16, 2010

          There was a mighty rush of wind in Champion as Champions heaved a collective sigh at the breaking of the brutal heat wave that has held the country in its grip for what seems to have been a long, long time.  Uncomplaining Champions have gone on about their businesses with their regular good humor and enthusiasm, though some are moving a little more slowly.  It is important to be cautious in extreme weather.  Champions know that heat exhaustion is every bit as dangerous as hypothermia.  Hot or not Champion is a very cool place.

          The Skyline VFD Picnic for 2010 was one of the hottest on record.  Still the staunch supporters—long time loyal friends of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department came out in numbers.  Those firefighters and auxiliary people who do all the hard work that makes the picnic happen were rewarded by a good turn out and the community seems grateful to have this wonderful tradition to count on year after year.  Not everyone can volunteer to fight fires—drive the big trucks and drag those big hoses—but the chance to participate in a meaningful way in such a solid community organization is one of the reasons people choose to live here.  Increasingly the population of the area is of retirement age.  Those pies that get baked for the Picnic kitchen, the cakes made for the cakewalk, and those quilt tickets purchased, and bingo games played all add up to some significant participation in the fire department.  It is a privilege to serve and it is clear to see that the Skyline VFD Association Membership takes pride in doing so.

          Marilee Richards was the lucky winner of the quilt at the Skyline VFD Picnic this year.  Esther Wrinkles made the queen size quilt; a pattern called Stripes and Scraps, and sold the winning ticket as well.  Ms. Wrinkles said that she had stepped into the First Savings and Loan to get some copies of the tickets made, which they are pleased to do in support of the Skyline VFD.  Ms. Richards made the copies of the tickets and bought the very first ones that Esther sold this year.  She will receive the quilt later this week and will have plenty of reason to be happy.  Such a beautiful quilt will likely keep Ms. Richards participating in the Skyline Picnic for years to come.

          Brenda Paul was the winner of the $100.00’s worth of free electricity donated to the Skyline VFD by Jeff Pardeck of the White River Valley Electric Co-Op.  The annual gift by White River Electric is one of the mainstays of the Skyline Picnic.  Bernard and Brenda Paul moved to the area about a year ago from Oklahoma.  She said that this was certainly a good welcoming to the community and she is looking forward to becoming acquainted with the area and with the people.  She was pleased to hear about the Chili Supper that comes up toward the end of February every year.

          Buzz Woods won the drawing for the Nikon 3 x 9 x 40-rifle scope that was donated by Out Back Gun and Rod of Norwood.  The Out Back outfit has long been a big supporter of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department.  So has Buzz Woods.  The 2010 Skyline Picnic was a win-win situation.

          Will Rogers said to get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.  Standing in the center of the square in Downtown Champion looking up through the trusses and purlings at the bright Champion blue sky, it is easy to imagine being in a great shipyard long ago where the magnificent wooden sailing vessels were built from the ribs out. Light alternating with the long row of identical members plays intricate geometrical games on the eye.   If the builders of this elegant structure are shy about having their horn blown, they should have kept the thing under a bushel.  It’s just too pretty not to be admired profusely.  Moreover it is inspiring building in the most unlikely spots.  One old girl is thinking about building a building out of old pianos.  Newcomer, Joyce Donaldson, is having a little Victorian cottage built down by her pond. Linda and Charlene have been having extensive renovations done to the pavilion over at the Plant Place and Gift Corner in Norwood.  This was not so much a renovation as a continuation of a long-term plan.  It sometimes takes years to get things just right and it is lovely to see a good plan coming together.  They will be open for business again on the first of September and Linda’s Almanac will be available then.  It is nice to see local businesses thriving.  As things continue to cool down it will be timely to plant some lettuce for the fall and maybe some spinach. 

          Pete Proctor was at the Skyline Picnic standing in with Commander Donnie Bunch of American Legion Post 30 from Mountain Grove as they presented the Colors on both evenings.  Pete is a member of the America Legion and is a Commander of the VFW Post 3770.  Picnic master of ceremonies Ray Bradley does an excellent job of leading “The Star Spangled Banner” and has no trouble with the high notes in “the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!”  During the ceremony Pete asked Veterans of the various conflicts past and present to stand to be recognized.  He wants local Veterans to know that they are welcome to attend the VFW meetings the second Saturday morning of each month.  Ed Hawley is the Service Officer for the 18^th District and Pete will have Veterans know that there are benefits available and Ed Hawley is the man to see to get things moving if they need help.  The Love and Gratitude of the Nation they have served is the least they are due.

          The Champion School Reunion is coming up the 4^th of September.  There are some excellent photographs of  previous reunions on the www.championnews.us website.  It is a nice place to go to reminisce.  Some will be surprised and pleased to see the changes that have taken place since last year.  Others will be saddend by what they see as a loss of history.  The history is still there and so is the place.  It is living yet—living history and Champions are proud to be part of it. Will Rogers said not to use up too much of today with yesterday, but Champions have a good sense of balance.  Share some Champion history that would otherwise be lost were it not for you.  Tell it out loud right there in the Loafing Shed next to the Temporary Emporium of Henson’s Store on the West Side of the Square in Historic Downtown Champion.  Send it in an anonymous note to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Published in 1912, this song was already old when Champion was young: “We were sailing along on Moonlight Bay.  We could hear the voices ringing.  They seemed to say, ‘You have stolen my heart now don’t go ‘way’ as we sang love’s old sweet song on Moonlight Bay.”  Sail on into the Square and stand in the sunshine to gaze through the fanciful framework of the town’s newest structure—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—August 9, 2010

          Champions are perforce tree lovers and the spectacle of a great intricate stack of new pine lumber is, in every Champion view, spectacular.  The afternoon sun gleams off the stately structure all golden and precise against a Champion blue sky as visual poetry. Now it has purlings and soon it will have the galvanized and will be what they call “dried in.”  Builders are special people and are given leeway to be ‘special’ because of the good work they do.  Their attentions may be required elsewhere this week as the Skyline Picnic is in the works and so if the roofing is a little slow getting on, it will just give the populace opportunity to admire the substructure all the more.  It is the very nature of tree lovers and Champions to be patient.

          Fishermen are patient people too.  Dillon Watts just returned to his home near the Cripple Creek in Tennessee from an Alaskan fishing trip.  He went with his cousin and his grandfather, Steve Watts, flying from Nashville to Atlanta, then eight hours to Anchorage, then five hours driving to the spot where they got on the boat.  There was some reported seasickness, but the catch was remarkable and great memories were made.

       There were half a dozen seven foot long fishing poles auctioned off the other night at the benefit for Sharon and Buzz Woods.  These were some very fancy rods and reels, new and donated by a local prominent professional fisherman.  Prominent Champion quilt maker, Esther Wrinkles, donated a lovely quilt to the benefit.  Tickets were sold and the winner was Mrs. Judy Hutchison.  She said that she had never won anything and was just delighted with the beautiful quilt.  J.D. Shannon did the auctioneering and made a fine job of it.  He has an excellent voice and has obviously been to a few auctions in his young life.  The first sale of the evening was a peach pie purchased by Robert Upshaw.  The basketball tournament, the good food, the quilt raffle, the music and the auction all went to making a great benefit.  Sharon and Buzz are life long residents of the area and are starting over after losing their home to a fire.  The pictures and precious personal mementoes cannot be replaced, but the friendships and support of the community are solidly in place.   Young Rowdy Woods is making a good recovery from his appendectomy so there is good news to report on many fronts.  The General was getting around pretty well accompanied by his guileless little grandchildren and saintly sweet wife. 

          The ‘Dog Days’ of summer are scheduled to end on August 11^th.  The calendar says that they began on July 3^rd.  If this means the dog gone hot weather is really gone, that will be good.  Gardeners in the area are experiencing bountiful harvests and are freely sharing with friends and neighbors.  There is still some good growing season left and Linda will have the fall Cole crops ready when she opens the Plant Place back up in September. 

          Champions are ever looking for the opportunity to improve themselves or their environs.  For example, one now says that one of the defining features of an inexpensive hose is that it frequently kinks.  Previously he had said things about the ‘dad blamed lousy cheap piece of junk hose’ and just what ought to be done with the no good miserable outfit.  Realizing that swearing at it does not keep it from kinking up at the critical moment, he now puts a little more effort in to handling it in such a delicate way to prevent the problem and is sure that when it is time to replace this hose he will do so with one that costs twice as much.  Surely someone makes a good quality garden hose.  Rich people probably do not have the problem.  They probably hire somebody to do their watering and let them do their swearing as well.  

          Some of Wally Hopper’s cousins were surprised to learn that their distant uncle John Sevier Upshaw was an Indian Agent appointed by Congress.  Wally’s letter brings up a number of historical issues and Denlowites will be most interested to learn more.  This part of the country is less populated now than it was when Wally was a boy and some think that it is less populated now than it was before Columbus made his trip.  How would current residents respond to being colonized by a foreign people with odd features and peculiar ways?  Champions are hospitable by nature but would most likely balk at being elbowed out of their hills and hollows.  History is a tool best used to understand the present and to shape the future. 

          The picnic grounds are shaping up nicely.  Firefighters and other volunteers have been out getting things ready for the big picnic.  The Skyline Picnic is the highpoint of the social year in these parts.  It looks like the weather will cooperate to make it the perfect occasion.  Friends who only see each other at this event will be out in force and the membership is getting ready to stick those pies in the oven.  The music is lined up and there are some great things coming in for the silent auction.  Local merchants are generous and there will be great prizes given away all through the evening on both nights.  It is an excellent opportunity for folks new to the area to get acquainted in a pleasant unconfined, informal environment.  Champion!  Leading up to the picnic is the Perseid meteor shower–the biggest, splashiest meteor shower of the year.  As the debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle scatters into the atmosphere, they say that as many as 60 shooting stars an hour can be seen on Thursday night into early Friday morning. Mars, Venus and Saturn will be lined up with the moon in the western sky so the whole week has promise to be celestially entertaining.

          School busses are practicing their routes, which reminds Champions that the school year is about to begin again.  The year certainly is rushing by.  For those waiting at home for their soldier to return, the time can drag out long.  Champions are reminded that the Nation’s soldiers belong to everyone. All citizens benefit from the willingness of the people in the Armed Services to put their lives at risk in the dangerous parts of the world.  Blood kin or not, all the Soldiers belong to all the Citizens and they have Love (with a capital L) and Gratitude (with a capital G) due them.  They are our soldiers now and will be our Veterans (with a capital V) when they get home.  They are Champions.

          Champions ‘of an age’ remember Shelley Fabares.  “On a picnic morning without a warning I looked at you and somehow I knew.  On a day for singing my heart went winging.  A picnic grove was our rendezvous. You and I in the sunshine, we strolled the fields and farms.  At the last light of evening, I held you in my arms. So when days grow stormy and lonely for me I just recall picnic time and you.”  Sing your favorite picnic song out in the Loafing Shed in the heart of Downtown Champion.  Send it or any good history to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  Look for history at www.championnews.us and get yourself a hand full of those Champion Picture Postcards so that those unfortunates out in the dreary world can get an eyeful of Champion—Looking on the Bright Side.

CHAMPION—August 2, 2010

          Champions are, by nature, students–curious keen observers with good eyes for detail and beauty.  Those are traits that come with the place.  The place has much to offer any time of any year, but these days particularly Champions have available to them an example of joinery suitable for serious study.  Anyone interested in seeing just what is under the skin of a solid building can benefit from a protracted gawk at the skeletal structure of the authentic and only Replica of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  As seen from the vestibule of the Temporary Annex or from the portico of the Loafing Shed, the clean geometry of the structure is stunning.  One hears of an elegant solution to a math problem when doubt, uncertainty and difficulty present themselves.  The difficulty with the Historic Emporium had to do with the tenuous fragility of materials expected to be ageless when indeed they were quite old and depleted of their strength.  The Elegant Solution stands as an example.

          Examples of good neighbor fun were plentiful at the Holt Up and At It Picnic.  This event supports the 4 H Clubs, a very worthwhile program in a rural community.  Reports were that it was close to a record-breaking crowd and that everything was just lovely.  The food was good, the games were fun, the prizes were neat and the music quite pleasant.  Everybody was having a good time and that is the point of the whole thing—community involvement for the overall benefit of the community.  This is a great part of the world for just this sort of thing.

          Another chance to step up to be a good neighbor is coming up on Saturday, the 7^th.  There is to be a “three on three shoot out” basketball tournament for Sharon and Buzz Woods at the Skyline School.  The tournament play will start at three in the afternoon and before it is all said and done, there will be juicy burgers, hotdogs, music, a quilt raffle, fun and games including a pie auction and an auction that will include lots of new fishing equipment and many surprises.  Sharon and Buzz lost their home to a fire recently and this benefit will help them get started again.  They have been good neighbors and steadfast supporters of all the local fire departments and community organizations as well benefits just like this one for people in the area who have found themselves in similar situations over the years. 

          Dr. Amanda Zappler, a well-known audiologist, researcher, and instructor at the University of Texas was visiting in the neighborhood recently.  She works extensively with Veterans in the Temple, Texas Veterans Administration Hospital.  She reports that hearing loss among returning Veterans is very common.  There is much hearing loss precipitated by constant exposure to loud noise and this loss is generally in the high range of sound.  There is also a great deal of hearing loss connected to percussive injuries.  In some cases the mechanisms for hearing sound are damaged and in other cases the person is still able to hear but the damage has been to that part of the brain that assigns meaning to the sounds.  So a person may be able to hear but not know what the sounds mean.  This same person is still able to read and to communicate in that way, but there is much work that needs to be done to assure that these Veterans get the opportunity to return to a normal and productive life.  They have the Love and Gratitude of the Nation, for which they have sacrificed so much, and of Champions everywhere.

          There is an old Champion woman who spends her time naming imaginary grandchildren.  Among the names she has chosen are Dreary, Impunity, Florid, Precipitous, Rationale, Ennui, and Hearken.  Recently she has been neglecting her own work in order to spend as much time at the building site in Downtown Champion as she can without drawing too much attention to herself.  She likes to observe from the sidelines and this exposure to has been an eye opener for the old girl.  She has become a great fan of the Greek inventor Archimedes.  She now thinks that is the ideal name for a grandchild, male or female.  She would not say just which of the famous innovator’s is her favorite invention is or how it relates to the building going in Champion.  Perhaps some study of Archimedes will reveal the answer.

          Linda’s Almanac from over at the plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 7^th and 8th of the month will be the most beneficial days for planting beets, turnips and other root crops for a fall harvest.  Those will be good days to start seed beds.  Many are already bringing in considerable ‘sheaves’ and the bounty of a good healthy garden is the reward for all the planning and work that it takes.

         A note comes from Wally Hopper saying, “I wanted to let you know that I have been tracing my ancestry and discovered that the Denlow store has lots of history.  I have written a letter to State Rep. JoAnn Emerson to pursue the possibility of erecting an historical marker at that location.  You may remember seeing it on Hwy 76. It is in bad condition right now and I am going to see if there is a possibility of the state to restore it.  I found out through my research that it was built in 1899 by John Sevier Upshaw (my distant uncle) and was used as a trading post with the Osage Indians.  He was appointed an Indian Agent by Congress after the Osage Indian War.  Just thought you might like to know and I will keep you updated on the progress after my meeting with JoAnn Emerson.  Thanks, Wally Hopper.”  There is indeed much interesting history surrounding Denlow.  Cletis Upshaw was a real fount of information and he is still much missed by so many who wish for another chance to sit down with him again to hear his stories.  It will be good to hear that the General has resumed his business of keeping track of everything and keeping everyone informed.  He has the good wishes of the whole Denlow/Skyline/Champion population.  Those good wishes are extended to young Rowdy Woods too.  Little guys have their own troubles sometimes and need as many good thoughts as do Old Generals.

          “I’ll build a stairway to paradise with a new step every day.”  Sing your favorite George Gershwin song right out loud in the Loafing Shed next to the Temporary Emporium on the West Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Watch the good stuff happening and be glad to be a witness to history in the making.   Share your own accounts of history at Champion Items, Rt.2, Box 367, Norwood, MO or to Champion News.  Look in at www.championnews.us for a clear view of the beauty of the place.  Take a little drive in your air conditioned car some afternoon…Get out to Champion and Look on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—July 26, 2010

          Champions find themselves curious beyond good decorum when it comes to the construction of the replica of the Historic Emporium on the North side of the Square.  The great nephew of the builder of the original emporium is in charge of this building and is representing his family trade well.   Sunday found the four walls up all the way to the top plate and a stack of trusses blocking the West entry to the Square.  Windows and doors are framed in and the overall configuration is beginning to take shape in the imaginations of happy Champions who see that change is a positive thing.  It is clear that the tenor of the place will not have changed.  The Bright Side will still be in clear view.  It is Champion.

          The 29^th through the 31^st will all be good days to plant root crops for the fall according the Linda’s Almanacs from over at the Plant Place in Norwood.  The turnips and beets can go in now as well as another bunch of radishes and some lettuce and greens.  Champions are lucky to have such a good growing season.  Last frost is typically considered to be May 10^th, but it has been earlier in recent years.  The first one of the Season can come as early as the end of September, but is frequently weeks later.  A little planning can have food coming in out of the garden for much of the year.  Linda has started the Cole crops and in a few weeks the fall cabbage and broccoli plants will be ready to set out in the garden.  The Plant Place will be closed for the month of August while some remodeling happens there, but the doors will open again just at the right time.   “They” say that if you see a pretty garden there is generally someone in it. 

          The political candidates are out in full force campaigning and a-politickin.  The ladies of the Skyline Auxiliary are laying in wait for them to come knocking.  Since the summer fundraiser for the fire department comes after the election, chances for the candidates to tangibly exhibit their support for the community are few and needs must be aggressively addressed.  While there are certainly some beautiful babies in the neighborhood to be kissed, of more service is the purchase of big blocks of quilt tickets.  This year’s quilt is called Stripes and Scraps and it is just stunning.  Esther Wrinkles pieced the quilt and it has her mark of excellent craftsmanship and her good eye for color all over it.  Political candidate, Mary Lou Sallee, in years passed purchased the winning ticket for the Picnic Quilt.  Last year the presiding commissioner bought the winning ticket for the free power that Jeff Pardeck from over at the White River Valley Electric Cooperative awards the fire department every year.  Some old Champions are thinking that their electric bill will be pretty high this month on account of the air conditioning and a hundred dollars worth of free power will be worth the dollar it takes for a ticket. The real winning ticket is the chance to be of help to the fire department.  The July Mascot Monkey of the Month finally made it to Henson’s Store in Downtown Champion.  It is a real cutie with patriotic attire suitable for the month of July.  The Picnic Society sponsors this monthly silent auction to assist the fire department in making its big truck payment.  The bidding ends at 5 p.m. on the last day of the month.  There will surely be some good pictures on the www.championnews.us website of the lucky winner holding the patriotic monkey.  Just now that quilt is up on the Neighborhood Events page and it is dazzling!

          Summertime finds people coming and going in Champion.  Visiting double-cousins have brought some fun with them from Texas and Champions took some real fun with them to Tennessee.  Foster and Kalyssa were glad to see their Grammy home again and to see lots of visitors from Tennessee in Champion.  There has been a young people’s meeting going on over in Marshfield and Champion has benefited from the proximity.  Louise and Wilburn Hutchison have been entertaining two of Louise’s brothers from Iowa and her sister and brother in law from Oklahoma.  It is pretty well figured that some serious cooking and eating has been going on in the general area.  It seems that the General has been laying low for a while, however and the mischief quotient is on the low side as a result.  Things will all be getting back to normal soon…whatever that may be.  The picnics and summer gatherings are what Champions think about during the wet cold months of the year.  There is to be a three on three benefit tournament for Sharon and Buzz woods on Saturday the 7^th of August at the Skyline School.  They lost their beautiful home to a fire recently and it will be a great opportunity for the community to lend a helping hand. These folks have been wonderful supporters of the Skyline VFD for years, and of the Skyline School and every community organization and cause.  “What goes around comes around,” they say, and so Sharon and Buzz can look for a lot of help to come around, delivered up with much affection and genuine good humor.

          Sarah Bettens is a singer from Belgium.  She sings “The Soldier Song” that says, “Mother, I’m fine, everything’s ok.  It doesn’t help to miss me anyway.  I’ll be in your heart you know and you will be so proud to know I was strong, I didn’t let you down.” The story of the song is the story of soldiers serving today.  They tell their Mothers they are fine, but Mothers know they are not.  They will be needing some comforting and some understanding when they get home.  Those serving in and out of uniform have the Love and Gratitude of their Nation and they will need it just like they need a Mother’s love. 

          Sing your own sweet or sad song out in the Loafing Shed in Historic Downtown Champion.  Tell some stories of the old days to whoever is there to hear them or send those old yarns to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to Champion News.  There are changes going on in Champion but big chunks of the past will tenaciously hold on and before long the old and the new will be indistinguishable from each other.   It will take a little time, but shoot! Champions have plenty of that going way back and stretching way out into the future.  It’s Champion…Looking on the Bright Side!