Champion News

           How many people can fit into the Vanzant Community Building? If the building could speak, it would have a lump in its throat and a sweet happy tear in its eye for the love and support of the community and the surrounding communities filling it to the brim. Dignitaries, luminaries, emissaries, artis, musicians and the great hoi polloi mingled and remembered seeing each other there at other times. This time the Pie Supper auctioneer skillfully admonished bidders, “Don’t stop now!” and they did not. This young man, Brady Shaffer, had a great voice and a pleasant way of keeping the bidding going. Tasty pulled pork sandwiches and hotdogs fueled the crowd, and the result of the auction was a substantial sum to benefit the place where we have picnics, baby showers, weddings, family reunions, funerals, benefits of all kinds, funerals, yard sales, political rallies and were some folks go to vote.
          The biggest fire in Douglas County history encompassed 1,386.4 acres and was fought by all the area Volunteer Fire Departments. Those firefighters and first responders leave their jobs, their dinner tables, and their beds to protect our lives and property. Fortunately, there has been no loss of life or major loss of property and no reports of injuries. We have many reasons to be grateful, even amid the struggles and turmoil of modern life. Low humidity, lack of rain, high winds, accidents and careless people all make it a dangerous situation. The Red Flag is not an invitation to burn. We will all be grateful for some real rain.
           The windy week had limbs and pinecones littering our country lanes and had old gardeners transplanting little seedlings inside out of the gusts. The sea of daffodils has suffered in the wind and lack of rain, looking a little bedraggled, but beautiful yet. Redbuds are beginning to bud and other pink and purple trees along with all those Bradford pears are blossoming. Soon the dogwood trees will pop out in the woods assuring us that Spring is here.
             We are glad for all the activities of Tom Peters who has been sharing The Oldfield Opry and tunes like “Blue Night” “Wildwood Flower” and “Summertime.” We was a Red’s Pizza in Norwood on Saturday with Herbie Johnston and a number of others doing lots of great picking and Dennis Shumate singing The Blue and the Gray.” This Monday he said, “Over 40 people at McClurg tonight, including some grad students of Dr. Cameron LaBarr from MSU. Santiago came all the way from Argentina. It’s his first visit to the Ozarks.” Many of us online got to enjoy all those wonderful dancers and fiddlers playing “Fort Smith” “I’ll Fly Away” “Wes Mur’s Tune” “That’s Earl” and more. “Hell Up Mud Creek” Thank you, Tom!
            Woody Guthrie said, “Life has got a habit of standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that you don’t change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow.” Highway Patrol Trooper Hogan, as in Hogan’s Heroes, was unable to locate the great big black mama cow with a broken leg laying off in the ditch on 76 Highway on Thursday night. Standing across the west bound lane the cow did not see the little Ford Escape coming over the rise at 40 miles an hour–blam! By morning the carnage had been cleared. There is a seriously wrecked car, a calf without a mama, and a farmer without a cow, but things could be worse.
            Skyline and Norwood Archers had a good time at the State Level Archery Competition in Branson. We look forward to hearing about their experience from their point of view. Parents, friends, and kin folks have the point of view awash with pride. Every one a Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

We celebrate our first responders and all those who work to keep u safe and to help in the aftermath of tragedies.  Watching the radar on Friday night had Champions holding their breath, at the same time grateful for safety and anxious for those in danger.  With floods and fires, sandstorms and tornadoes and people in the path, we hope to comfort and console and help where we can.
Skyline R2 School student birthdays are 4th grader Lillith Jeffery on March 16th, 7th grader Wyatt Carrol on the 20th, 3rd grader Aliyiea Trujillo on the 27th, and 6th grader Tucker Johnson on the 30th.  The birthdays of three more special people all occur on Marach 23rd.  Those folks are Donald Powell (who can repair your washing machine or almost any appliance and who has a lovely singing voice), Elva Upshaw (who does good work in Ozarks Healthcare and happens to be The General’s fair daughter) and Judie Pennington (who has black bears visiting her every year and who suggests that the real luxuries in life are time, health, a quiet mind, slow mornings, ability to travel, rest without guilt, a good night’s sleep, calm and “boring” days, meaningful conversations, home-cooked meals, people you love and people who love you back.)  Happy birthdays and happy every day to all of you!
This week Skyliners enjoy Spring Break.  Spring arrives on Thursday.  Gardeners are already ready.  March 13the marked the day of the first tick of the year crawling on and Old Champion who was happy to get his potatoes in the ground on St. Patrick’s Day. Tom Peters shared the “Irish Washer Woman” as a tribute to St. Patrick.  Old folks who cannot make it to the McClurg Jam on Mondays very much appreciate being able to join the fun, even if it is just online.  Thanks also go to the good cattle farmers who are willing to share that good stuff the cows made last year for the fertility of the soil.  Music and the tiller, shovel and rake are some of the tools that help us grow our own food and help us keep grounded in turbulent times.
Julie and Tom Heyer, Champion friends from Webster Groves up in St. Louis, were on their way to their country place in Thornfield Thursday and stopped by to have lunch and visit in Champion.  Julie brought a beautiful pecan pie to donate to the fundraiser for the Vanzant Community Building.  It is made with pecans from Alabama.  It is frozen to be thawed for the benefit on the 22d.  It comes in a good pan that you can bake your own pies in and with a neat cover that will let you take your pie to your friend’s house or to your mother’s house.  Bake a pie or come and be a high bidder on one of the amazing home-made pies at the auction.  Doors open a 5 p.  The auction starts at 6 pm.  The fun goes on and on for a good cause.
A note from Julie on Saturday said, “Friday night’s wild weather–the southern horizon was lit up four hours with lightning, yet we heard very little thunder.  The sky overhead was clear.  We watched Orion on its journey.  Then the full mood came up.  Wow!  We stopped at Rockbridge for a fish sandwich on Saturday and heard the news that Bakersfield got hit hard.  We saw a lot of damage in Rolla along 63 going north to 44 on our way home.”  We hope the next time Tom and Julie come to visit things will be less ‘eventful.’
Eventful events concern some citizens.  If you are concerned, reach Senator Hawley at 202-224-6154 and Senator Schmitt at 202-224-5721.  Our district 8 Congressman Smith is at 573-335-0101.  There are any number of Public Servants obligated to serve our best interest.  They work for Us and are charged to do good by us.  Dolly Parton said, “If I ever was good, I was as good as I ever was.”  Spoken like a Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

          We are reminded that the Red Flag warning is not an invitation to burn. An explosion of daffodils along country lanes at old home places and places where people have not lived in generations brightens any day tripper’s day. Exploring some of Douglas County’s four hundred miles of dirt road is a sweet springtime pastime. The question begs: should one pick up the litter coming out of the window the truck up ahead and follow the truck to return it? Probably not. We want to say, “Trash litters.” And we expect to hear, “Who you callin’ trash?” Then there is the bright blue beer can that has been on the side of the road since last summer that a Champion drives by on every outing. It has become a landmark and has maintained its bright blueness through the election day flood and two snowstorms.
          Ten archers from Norwood will be going to the State Level Archery Competition in Branson during March 19-22. Their sponsor and coach is Jana Barnes-Brixey. Jacob Brixey scored 291 in 3D for first place in the Marionville tournament and is one of those going to State. Chase Cauthron, a Skyline 5th grade student, has qualified for state level for both the Elementary and 3D divisions. For the Middle School level: 6th grader Raiylnn Dixon has qualified for both the bullseye and 3D divisions at the state level and 7th grader, Paige Jonas, has qualified for the bullseye state level division. Melissa Willhite oversees the program at Skyline. She says the 24-25 Archery Team consists of two levels” Elementary and Middle school. “Our Elementary individual level students are 5th Graders: Evan Homer, Chase Cauthron, Lauren Collins, Paxton Elgie, RyAnne Harvey, Brantley Kilgore, Jaxton Harley, and Aubrey Lewis. Our Middle School individual level students are 6th Graders: Railyn Dixon, Ely Young, Serenity Merryman, Tucker Johnson. 7th Graders: Paige Jonas, Morgan Johnson, Kennedy Hinote, 8th Graders: Jordan Ellingsworth, Isabella Peters. Archery, like music, teaches the life lesson that focus and practice move a body forward toward whatever goal one has in mind.
           Ilene Woods and Elaine West Woodward made a rugged four-mile hike at the Bryant Creek State Park on Friday. It was sunny and 70 degrees. That same day, Calvin Chambers and fourteen other riders rode 10,9 miles on the NTR at the North Fork River Ranch. These beautiful days have even sedentary senior citizens strolling about in the evenings after supper. The time change is not a problem for old folks who do not have to rush off to work on Monday morning. This Monday afternoon Kathy Love’s letter to the editor in the Heral with questions for our congressman was a treat to read. Kathy is part of the Voters for Positive Action out of Rolla. She asks good questions. Champions appreciate Thomas Peters for sharing the McClurg Jam online as it happens. This Monday evening, we heard a rendition of “Monkey in a Dog Cart,” which was requested by Festus. Other tunes were “Tat’s Earl,” “Oyster Girl,” and “Down Home Waltz,” where we saw Ruby Adams and Stephen Assenmacher cutting the rug with gusto. Tom is writing a biography of Red Foley who wrote may good songs including “Too Old to Cut the Mustard.” Tom’s visits to Champion are always welcome.
             The pie supper to support the Vanzant Community Building is coming up on March 22nd. The doors will ope at 5 m for pulled pork and other good things and the auction will begin at 6p;m. Pie supper auctions have proven to be our communities’ favorite way to support our communities. The long history of goodness that has come out of that building is one that needs to carry on. We need a place to vote, to congregate, to celebrate, to come together to help each other, to make music and have fun. Vanzant–sister city to Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

             The first daffodil booms began opening on the last day of February making Champions happy at the prospect of spring. Sunny days out in the garden lift spirits better than anything inside on screens possibly can. Honest hard work with our hands in the soil and good music in our heads is good medicine to stave off anxiousness, sadness, and worry about things over which we have no control. The Blum’s Farmers and Planters Almanac says that good days for starting seed beds will be the 7th, 8th, 17th, and 18th. That might be a good time to start some tomatoes and certainly a good time to plant pepper seeds. Deward’s granddaughter plans to grow a lot of peppers this year, but the Prominent Champion tells her not to bother because he will have a superabundance of them.
             It was an encouraging sight Wednesday afternoon up on Highway 76, just west of the old Coffman place, when an eagle in all its majesty soared away from the dead armadillo on the side of the road. Two of our favorite things are our beautiful bald eagles and dead armadillos. When we see an eagle, we often think of Marian Conradi who loved them, often including their pictures in her correspondence. Armadillos first moved into the United States in the 1850s from Mexico and finally made it into Missouri about forty years ago where they have been wreaking havoc on hay fields and yards. The Missouri Department of Conservation says it is okay to shoot them on your own property if they are causing damage.
             Skyline fifth grade student, Lotus Winter, had her birthday on March 1st. Fifth grader Ryanne Harvey and mandolin maven Dennis Shumate both celebrate on the 3rd of March. The birthday song was sung at the Vanzant Jam on Thursday in honor of Dennis and Ruth Collins who had her birthday back on February 24th. The 4th is for eighth grader Grace Rystad. Linda Heatherington and Krenna Long both around Norwood share their birthdays on the 5th with eighth grader Gabriel Castillo. Sue Murphy also plays the mandolin and sings with a strong clear voice. Her birthday is March 8th. In a chance encounter with her recently, she said she hopes to be back at the jam one of these days. Kay Dennis will party on the 9th. She enjoys a frequent swim over in Seymour. C.J. Castillo is a second grader with a birthday on March 11th. We remember Champion Geoff Metroplos and Cathy Odneal on March 12th. The were both farmers, hard-working people with lots of skills, both guitar players.  Geoff was a master at whatever he laid his hand to. Cathie was undaunted by mechanical tractor problems and worked them out herself. We remember L.R. Johnston on the 13th and miss him and his tenor banjo at the Vanzant Jam. He was a Champion who loved the old songs and passed that love along to more than one aspiring musician. Trinity Castillo, a sixth-grade student at Skyline has her birthday on the 13th. We celebrated our friends and families on their birthdays and remember dear ones who have passed on.
            Dawn Henson down in Houston, Texas says she thinks their winter is over. It was close to 80 degrees when she was writing. She and Hovey were sad to hear of the passing of Beverly Barnhart and of Gary Proctor and had hoped their condolences had been received. She also said that they were entertaining the idea of trying to make it to Mountain Grove in July for the reunion. She did not know if it would be possible. A favorite Champion musician, far across the wide ocean to the east, says to do what you can do now so you can do what you can do later on, or more eloquent words to that effect. We shall endeavor not to rule out possibilities while we continue to proceed with caution, consciousness, determination and empathy as Champions–Looking on the Bright Side!

                 While farmers and merchants, truck drivers, mail carriers, health care professionals and others doing important and necessary work continued doing what needed to be done, some Old Champions were hold up warm and cozy during the week of extreme weather. They watched old movies and opened boxes of forgotten memorabilia, worked on unfinished projects, started new projects, wrote letters and did a lot of cooking and eating. Lucky are those snowbound with people they like. The days seem t pass slowly. When you live way out in the country, you can turn the music up as loud as you want. While inconvenient, the days were not unpleasant.
The rising temperatures are raising spirits. Sunday in the 60s found adventurers out on their side-by-sides, buggies and four-wheelers exploring beautiful country lanes, muddy already but not nearly as muddy as the will be when the thaw is complete. Dee mud stories of old will likely be told again around the old wood stove as rain is expected on Wednesday. Back in the late 1970s a county gravel truck was mired down on Cold Springs Road in the aftermath of a Valentines’ Day party just after a thaw from a deep snow and a little rain. The truck was said to have just wallowed over on its side.
               Saturday, March 1st, Sue’s Greenhouse will open for the spring season. It is a warming notion. She has been working since December getting everything ready. She has her seeds ready and has added some additional herb seeds to her stock. In a couple of weeks, she will have berry bushes and perhaps some fruit trees. A stroll through the greenhouse is aromatherapy and frequently the chance to visit with friends who are there for the same reason.
Edie, over at L and E Organic Farm has also started lots of seedlings and has enormous leaves of her Indian Green Malbar spinach already providing wonderful salads for herself and her handsome honey, Lee. Edie is an herbalist who makes natural remedies and a wonderful tonic called Super Power. Lee is a beekeeper producing Lee’s Bees’ Honey, in addition to being an excellent luthier. He has repaired and donated instruments to the Skyline School Guitar class taught by Cheyenne McIntosh. We celebrate garden goodies, honey, music and the promise of spring in just 27 days.
               Saturday, March 22, 2025, there will be a pie supper to raise funds to keep the Vanzant Community Building doors open and operating. Pulled pork and other food will be available before the auction begins. Doors open at 5 pm with the auction beginning at 6 pm. There has not been a fundraiser for the community building since 2011. Funds have run out. This has been the accommodating venue for many benefits–benefits for victims of house fires and heath issues, as well as birthday celebrations and celebrations of life. It is a polling place and a place for politicians to rally. The Thursday night Vanzant Bluegrass Jam every week and the Vanzant Picnic every summer are some of the glue that connects Ava, Mountain Grove, Norwood, Willow Springs, Dora, Prior, Champion, Gentryville and probably Spotted Hong and other sweet spots. Come together to help keep a part of the history of our community alive and thriving! It is a pie supper, so maybe Kaitlyn McConnell will be there. Her Ozark Pie Project is producing a cookbook soon. She may have some of Esther’s and Teresa’s recipes that brought substantial auction money for many good causes over the years.
                Sunday marked the anniversary of the day the flag was raised on Iwo Jima in 1945. The American victory there significantly weakened the Japanese early warning system and helped hasten the end of World War Two. The country was allied with Great Britian and the Soviet Union at that time. Times have changed and some of us old folks recall the warning of Nakita Khrushchev way back in 1956. Look it up and look up to enjoy these beautiful blue skies and the optimism of Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

               The buzzards are back. Surely that is a harbinger of spring. They are beautiful at a distance with their soaring flight–not so pretty up close, but that is subjective. They have their work to do and it is an important service they provide. Daffodils are poking up bright green through the brown grass and that gives us more optimism. Champions had half a dozen visiting robins on Sunday, bobbing along through the garden. They give is more hope, which they say springs eternal.
                Last Friday’s Valentine celebration, replete with fresh flowers and chocolate, included wonderful declarations of love. One of those borrowed from Roger Miller goes: “Roses are red; violets are purple. I love you and maple surpel.” Andrew Kuster operates Tri County Drone LLC, a very interesting enterprise. He celebrates his birthday on Valentine’s Day. Douglas County historian Cinita Brown shares her birthday on the 15th with Skyline School’s prekindergartner Everett Nelson. The 17th is for Linda Clark who photographs the moon through the threes. The 18th has Skyline students fourth grader Rayleigh Harvey, and second grader Perry Banks celebrating birthdays. That day is also a good one for Pete Proctor and Madelyn Boehs. On the 19th we remember Champion Ruby Proctor and dear friend, Trish Davis. Mike Powers shares his big day on the 20th with Skyline prekindergarten Jaxon Farris and fourth grader Jaylee Sudderth. Joanna Bell will be celebrated on the 21st and the 23rd is for Champion Stacy Krider Kline, now living in Tennessee. The 24th is for super gardener, Arnie Ahlstedt. Skyline first grade student Zachary Harvey’s birthday is on the 28th. Frankie Proctor will not have a birthday this year because our calendar does not have February 29th on it. Happy Birthday to all of you!
                Saturday had Champions around the old wood stove talking about the cutest grandbabies in the world, donkeys, and the great achievement of Champion archer Jacob Brixey. Don and Reba Bishop made a most welcome appearance. Downsizing and disposing of a lifetime of accumulated and inherited treasures was a topic of discussion–an onerous task. Cold weather has given some old Champions time to get started. One opened a box of old papers to find a “Life ” magazine from May 20, 1946. It is a little ragged around the edges, but complete. It cost ten cents. A story about a boy lifting a calf every day for 201 days was illustrated with two pages of pictures. The calf weighed 75 pounds to start with and 365 pounds when he lifted her for the last time. Stories about the ‘black market” and the coal strike that was halted after the U.S. economy started to shut down were some of the serious topics along with a report that Nazi women who had been guards in the concentration camps, were in prison gaining weight. Politis and world events seem very much like what we are seeing today. It is a big magazine with lots of colorful advertising and a story about a nine-year-old boy who had swallowed eighteen glass marbles. The x-ray picture took up most of the page. The fashion of the day was elegant and modest by today’s standards. Downsizing and disposing of treasures might be hampered by interesting finds. A week’s worth of seriously cold weather will be well spent. Stay inside if you can and reminisce
                    Monday, we celebrated the birthday of George Washington, now the federal holiday called Presidents’ Day.
We might wonder what George would have to say about these days. Some of his famous quotes are: “It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company.” “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” “There is nothing which van better deserve your patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness.” We are happy here in Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!

             Wednesday at Champion was another of those interesting days. A couple celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary had enjoyed a few days at the River of Life cabins over in Dora and on their way home, some four or five hours away, stopped in to sit around the stove and visit. They had heard about Champion from Kaitlyn McConnell at Ozarks Alive. Steve and Sharon Schlichting are big bluegrass fans and enjoy a jam anytime they can find one. Steve does not play, but he has a guitar and a mandolin made from a walnut tree that grew on his family farm. He is a retired truck driver and a coon hunter with a lot of stories to tell. He said his own Mother, when asked about his pedigree, said, “He’s half hound dog and half Indian. If he isn’t sitting on his ass howling about something, he’s on the warpath.”
                Angela McKay teaches sixth and seventh grade students at our wonderful Skyline R2 School. He birthday was on Thursday. She said it had been a lovely day with cards and singing from her students. “My son-in-law baked me a strawberry shortcake! My favorite!” More good news comes as Champion, Jacob Brixey has qualified for state in his archery tournament in Mt. Grove on Saturday with some great scores. Calvin Chambers did a nine-mile ride on Saturday with eleven of his friends. He said they did not see the sun, but their spirits were not dampened.
               Chief’s fans may have their spirits dampened a little, but they will get over it. Sports have been a good diversion from calamitous world events. Since the future is murky at best, we can look backward for some inspiration. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” He also said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Another president said, “The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil.” Another one said, “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” Ideas are plentiful in Champion–Looking on the Bright Side!