Champion News

2021 5K Tiger Prowl Donut Run

The 2021 5K Tiger Prowl Donut Run started at 8:00 a.m. at the Skyline R2 School on Saturday, May 1st.  The first one across the finish line was Skyline graduate, now Mountain Grove High School freshman, Rowdy Woods, with a time of 26 minutes.  Rowdy was first in his division of 18 and under.  Second and third were Jaycee Hall at 30:24 and Evan Homer at 30:53. Andrew Harden was second to cross the line, at 28:30, and first place in the adult division.  Second and third were Jim Hurt, at 31:00, and Tamara Collins, at 44:18.  The Douglas County Sheriff’s Department joined with the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department to provide security for the run along Highway C.  Superintendent, Donnie Luna was stationed at the half-way turn around point for encouragement and support.  Tabatha Hurt kept track of the time and was there at the finish line with water for the 36 runners and walkers.  She also officiated at the awards ceremony, where the winners were presented with gift cards.  There were bananas and donuts and an abundance of great door prizes that had everyone feeling like a winner.  Physical fitness makes learning easier and promotes positive attitudes.  We do better when we feel better.  Just ask Mr. Gray.  We may not all be able to handle a 5K, but the quarter mile paved walking trail at the school is available for anyone to use.  It winds along the edge of the woods and features a lot of shade.  It is a real health care amenity—one of many benefits for the whole community because of this thriving little rural school.  Go, Tigers!

Since 1945, we, together with Great Britain and various cities in Western Europe, have been observing V-E Day on May 8th to celebrate the defeat of the Nazi war machine and fascism during World War II.  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says that around 300,000 of the roughly 16 million American World War II Veterans are still alive.  The youngest are in their 90’s and the oldest are over 100 years old.  Champions extend their Love and Gratitude to them and to all the men and women who serve and have served in our Nation’s military since that time.  Thank you for your service.

In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation designating Mother’s Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor Mothers.  This year it is on May 9th, and the mailboxes and phone lines will be inundated with expressions of Love and Gratitude.  A much-missed Mother admonished: “Just act like you have good sense.”  She left us in 1975, but those words keep her alive in our hearts.  We try, Mother.  She loved Mark Twain and his quote, “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”

Potatoes!

The Pioneer Heritage Festival folks are looking for people with ‘old time skills’ to share their knowledge at the event this fall.  Follow this link and volunteer to help perpetuate those talents and abilities that made it possible for our ancestors to survive here.  Carissa O’Connell-Ainsworth and family moved to Douglas County last summer from Illinois and have just now had the chance to walk around their property.  She is a new member of the Facebook group “Love My OZARKS” and said they were lucky to have found this place.  She said the kids soon got over not being able to get cell phone service in the valley.  Maybe they will find their way to the Fox Trotters Showgrounds in October for the Pioneer Heritage Festival of the Ozarks or over to the wide, wild, wooly banks of Old Fox Creek any time.

Tigers prowled up and down and down and up Highway C on Saturday at the Skyline fun run.  It was indeed fun and another good thing that came out of the day was hearing that Bud Hutchison’s Champion Trail Ride is scheduled for May 19th.  That information came from Andrew Harden who took the reins of that historic trail ride at Bud’s passing.  He also took second place (for the third time) in this annual 5K race.  His time this year was 28:30.  In 2019, it was 29:30, and in 2018, his time was 23:45.  It seems that he is slowing down, but not by much.  Speculation is that running in blue jeans slows a runner by a minuscule percentage that might add up.  His daughters think he could do it faster on a horse.  Another good thing about that day was overhearing a Skyline alumnus, and winner of the race, cheering on and encouraging the other runners, as well as reassuring students about to graduate that the transition to high school is great.  “You’re going to love it,” he says.

More positivity has an Old Champion relating that the heavily humid air brings out the aroma of next year’s firewood stacked so beautifully in his shed.  The General has another wave of kinfolks headed this way, so Vanzant is about to be awash in fun again.  Gardeners are getting busy.  Potatoes are up and looking good.  Share anything positive with us at champion@championnews.us or through our wonderful USPS to TCN, RT. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Mayapple

May Day is on the way. It is coming with warm weather and carries with it lots of history. Recent history has to do with the struggles and gains made by workers and the labor movement that gave us ideas like the forty-hour work week and child labor laws. Ancient history carried over in many places around the world celebrates the return of spring and, in some places, requires singing and dancing and cake. Willie Nelson said, “We are the same. There is no difference anywhere in the world. People are people. They laugh, cry, feel, and love, and music seems to be the common denomination that brings us all together. Music cuts through all boundaries and goes right to the soul.”

The Prize

Bob and Mary will soon be taking in a couple of musical shows in Branson after a fine dinner out. They already have a beautiful basket of flowers hanging in the garage where they keep Bob’s bright red 1946 Studebaker pickup truck, the vintage of which has special significance for Bob. The tickets to the shows and the flowers in the basket were part of the prize for the “Sponsors Choice” in a recent rally sponsored by the Lakeland Pharmacy in Willow Springs. They will kick up their heels and show us how to have a good time. Bob and Mary are about the cutest couple since John and Marsha. Their good friend, Glen Brandstedder, was reading The Champion News about seven o’clock on Thursday evening and decided he could still make it over to the Vanzant jam. He arrived in time to hear some good tunes and to visit with friends seldom seen these days.

Chickadee

Marge Carter writes that it is time to head back to Wyoming. She and Doug will leave on May 1st. They have just seen their first hummingbirds. She said, “We have three birdhouses mounted in the yard. One has a chickadee momma sitting on her eggs. Another has bluebirds. Two have hatched, two to go. The third has a nest built but no eggs. Must have decided to lay elsewhere.” Marge and Doug are another cute couple and their Champion friends will look forward to seeing them when they get back this fall. She will have to make cookies for him for both trips–going and coming.

Driving over to another county gives you the opportunity to see how their dogwoods responded to the 23° temperatures last week. Do they have Mayapples up there in Wright County on their beautiful country lanes? A person does not have to go far from home to be in a brand-new place. We live in an interesting part of the world. Probably everyone everywhere thinks that about his home place, but we know it. It is exciting, however, to find out how much we do not know–say even about Mayapples. With just a little study, we learn they grow in colonies via underground rhizomes and that every part of them is toxic except the ripe fruit. With a little luck, we could run into those folks at Teeter Creek Herbs and learn from expert, Bob Liebert, or another herbalist, Eddie Richardson, who has recently located somewhere around Norwood. They could tell us about the medicinal properties of Mayapples and how they go about turning plants into medicine. We have interesting people in our lives. Having been away from each other for so long, it is exciting to see old, i.e., longtime, friends and new ones. Everyone can teach us some of what we do not know. A friend said, “I love people that have no idea how wonderful they are and just wander around making the world a better place.” We know how lucky we are here in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Bob’s 1946 Studebaker pickup truck.

 

April 15th found the first hummingbird of the season buzzing around a Champion feeder. The second one arrived on the 18th. Careful record keeping in years past revealed the seasonal cost of sugar to have been about $25.00, if a couple of pies and a scant teaspoon per cup of coffee were included. Overall, that is fairly inexpensive entertainment from April until October.

The Skyline Tigers’ Prowl 2021 5K Donut Run is scheduled for Saturday the 24th. So if you are out on Highway C, keep your eyes open for some bright young athletes in neon t-shirts burning up the road! A Tiger Granddad was happy to buy himself one of the t-shirts so long as he didn’t have to run. Students are learning the importance of being physically active and the old folks are too, but in moderation. Go Tigers!

Judi hunting frosty mushrooms.

No man ever steps in the same river twice according to a Greek philosopher born in 544 B.C. Champion’s new friend, Julie Heyer, has a small cabin near the Little North Fork of the White River over around Thornfield. It may be riverfront property where her family enjoys their refuge from St. Louis, but even if it is not, they can wade into tranquil country life whenever they need a break from the city. She has been reading the Douglas County Herald and the Ozark County Times for three years now, so she has a pretty good idea about the lay of the land in these parts. Perhaps on some extended stay, maybe summer, they will have time to amble over to Champion. They can dip their toes in Auld Fox Creek or in Clever Creek if rains have been plentiful. Francis Bacon (1561—1626) said, “Without friends the world is but a wilderness.” New friends are a blessing. An old friend, Susan Dempsey of the Giggle Box, says, “I’ve been to a lot of places but I’ve never been in Cahoots. Apparently you can’t go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I’ve also never been in Cognito either. I hear nobody recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don’t have an airport. You have to be driven there. I have made several trips.”

If the cool/cold weather slows down mushroom season and gives you a chance to collect more ticks, you can send them (the ticks not the mushrooms) to Deb Hudman, Senior Research Associate; Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology; 800 W. Jefferson St. Kirksville, MO 63501. Check out the link to get more information about the collaboration between the A.T. Still University and the Missouri Department of Conservation and the importance of the study. Deb prefers to receive the ticks live and tells you how to send them, but will take them dead.

Entertainment was special at Vanzant on Thursday. Dean’s cousin, the Daring Idaho Darcy and her charming posse of D’Andra, Donelle and Mario drew admirers from one end of Champion to the other, friends, new friends and family. Uncle General started with his now signature song, which he dedicated specifically to his many family members present: “Go and Wash Your Dirty Feet.” At his next turn he asked the musical question, “Where do Cowgirls go when they die?” Between choruses he deftly used the spoken word in rhyme to let Darcy know just what he thought of her. Other offerings especially for her were Sherry Bennett’s “Five Pounds of Possum,” and a shaky version of “The Ode to the Little Brown Shack,” inspired by a memory she shared in Champion on Wednesday. It was of her Grandma’s outhouse up on Fox Creek and the big spider. She met the young fellow who owns that old home place now and was given permission to go on a nostalgic tour. She and her bunch were headed off to Branson early Friday morning. Probably no one thought to call ahead so the town could be prepared. She will be back in the fall and her devotees will be ready. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Redbud Pink Dogwood Flowering Quince

A morel mushroom

On a happy note, the IRS and Treasury have extended the deadline for filing taxes all the way to May 17th, so we can spend April 15th this year working in the garden, enjoying the glories of blooming spring and gathering ticks and chiggers while out looking for mushrooms. A friend up on Tar Button Road has started to find a few morels, and while she did not mention ticks, she said the pollen had made her cough and sneeze all through the next day. Springfield children visiting family down on Teeter Creek found a few small black morels over the week end. It is an exciting time of the year. A self-described intelligent woman up north of Ava said she looked out her window at the redbuds and dogwoods and was just so truly grateful to be living in this part of the world. She wonders why people live anywhere else, but she is glad they do–live other places.

Dogwoods and lilacs

More happy notes will come this week with the arrival of kinfolks from Idaho. They will most likely be put up at the Biscuits and Gravy Chateau and treated like royalty. The General is furiously practicing his guitar licks and rehearsing that Johnny Horton song, “Go and Wash Your Dirty Feet” (before you go to bed). He as much as cautioned the few attendees at the Vanzant Jam to be on their best behavior for Darcy and her party. Musical entertainment is part of his version of hospitality. Music is still going on at the barber shop in its new location. Lena Bell extends an invitation, saying the music starts at 9:00 a.m. and goes on for a couple of hours. She does not go, however, since Wednesday is the day for her weekly scrabble game. Because she is currently ahead by three games, she reckons her brother, the score keeper, is being honest about it. She says they are both sore losers. In all the years they have been playing she said they have only had a tied score a couple of times.
Pete Proctor said, “If you get lost in the woods, find a possum and follow it. You’ll be in the middle of the road in no time.” He has been fishing. He shared a picture of himself holding a couple of nice ones. He said he found them in the water at Warsaw, 23 in all, but he got wet. The next day there was a picture of him and his brother, Fred, each holding two fish. Fred’s were a little bigger, but they were both sort of smiling—the brothers not the fish. Going fishing with a brother is a good memory that a number of Champions enjoy. The internet has been glowing with photos of brothers and sisters this week celebrating National Siblings Day on April 10th. It gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the people who know exactly how we grew up. They are our friends, our enemies, and our competition. They are the people who love us, encourage us, aggravate us, embarrass us and keep us tied to family. The holiday has only been going on since 1995, but family ties go back to Noah. Enjoy your relatives if you are currently speaking to each other and know that nothing pleases parents more than seeing their children getting along and supporting each other. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

White and pink dogwoods

 

Blaine and Dad

Champions making an infrequent trip to town like to go in one way and come out the other. Going into Ava on 14 Highway one might note that Don and Reba either did not burn any fire wood at all through last winter or that they have next winter’s wood stacked already. Firewood stacking is good exercise. The bright yellow and blue paint around the reconfigured square is a nice surprise as are the marked crosswalks. The town is updating. It looks like Gib & Todd’s Barber Shop has moved north. Hopes are there is still room in the new spot for the Wednesday morning jam. From Eliz Arts on the southwest corner all the way around to Jean’s Healthway, merchants and businesses around the square are glad the work is winding up and glad for the improvement. Champions around the stove in the Historic Emporium are not so very impressed. They think it will be hard to round the square with any kind of trailer. To leave town on Jefferson Avenue going out past the cemetery to connect with Highway 76 is an adventure in dodging pot holes. An update to that stretch of the road might save some suspension and tire repairs. Heading back home on 76 finds a new facility, just east of J & R Gravel, across from the Hamilton’s place, bagging rocks. Hundreds of pallets of rocks neatly done up in plastic bags are laid out in long rows waiting to be transported to city stores like Menards, Lowes and Home Depot. City folks can decorate and improve their landscapes with Bryant Creek gravel.

Richard Stumpp

Eight month old Champion Blaine Denlow Woods made a visit with her Dad to the Historic Emporium on Saturday. She brightened up the Bright Side though she might have been ready for her nap. Babies always give us encouragement about the future. After pleasant visit around the ancient wood stove, Emily’s folks headed back to their Centennial Farm just as the Wilbanks arrived at the store. Jerry needed diesel and Dianne needed to see some people. Like many, they have been staying close to home for many months. Spring and the prospect of a professional hair cut have her flashing her beautiful smile.

A Champion smile.

The Herald reports that in March of 1921, Willard Luttrell was hurt when a baseball came in contact with his nose. That was back before General Fast Pitch was pitching. The General claims that a no hitter means you did not hit the batter. Richard Stumpp pitched some real no hitters for the Angles minor league team, throws right, batts left. Richard was a regular visitor to the area for a while and made friends while he was here. He won $20.00 off a Champion on the Super Bowl game. Perhaps they will root for the same team this season. Examples of good sportsmanship could inspire good behavior across all strata of society.

Week to week changes in the countryside seem especially dramatic this time of the year. Flowering trees are making themselves visible. Clusters of blooming bulbs mark a long ago home place. Somewhere north of Prior, out in a field on the east side of 95 Highway stands an unusual grouping of animals: a deer, a hog, a wolf, a bear, a mountain lion—all standing stock still together in a pose that has not changed from week to week. Maybe they are friends of Waterhole Ike. Perhaps they are fiberglass products of a budding business venture or the eclectic collection of an animal lover. Every twist and turn as the road winds through Mountain Grove reveals some new spring delight including a chance meeting with a seldom seen country friend. Donna Moskaly said that as Joe was leaving the hospital after having his hip replacement surgery, he had a heart attack. She said that he is fine now and making a good recovery. That is the kind of good news we appreciate hearing.

Animal Effigies

The geographic confines of Champion seem to run from one end to the other, about a 50 mile stretch from Ava to Mountain Grove. Larry Wrinkles told a story one time (well, maybe many times). He said someone “fell out of a barbed wire fence a straddle of a cherry tree and tore himself from now ‘till tomorrow morning. The doc said he didn’t know if he’d live from one end to the other.” Larry was born and raised in Champion —Looking on the Bright Side!

 

Nelson Park

Good things that happened this week started with a pleasant “Hello!” from an occasional reader of the Douglas County Herald in the St. Louis area.  Julie Heyer enjoyed the birthday tribute to Robert Burns in The Champion News and had pleasing things to say.  An unexpected kind word goes a long way toward keeping the Bright Side bright.

Grandma’s Chocolate Zucchini Brownies [enlarge to read]

Unexpected Azalea delight.

Detail Azalea delight.

The next good thing had to do with Grandma’s Chocolate Zucchini Brownies.  Champion Wyoming Snowbird, Marge Carter, shared the recipe and had just shared fresh baked soft ginger cookies with neighbor, Lonnie Curtis, who stopped by.  Marge said, “Be sure to tell readers to fold in chips and nuts into batter, makes it better.”  She reports that Tammy over in Washington is fine, though travel restrictions had kept her from coming for hunting season last year.  Marge and Doug are hoping she will be able to make the trip this coming fall.  Meanwhile she is studying to be an RN.  That is good news.  As some of us gain age, which sounds nicer than get old, we are more appreciative than ever of people willing to be health care providers.  The past year has shown us exactly who the essential people are keeping things working for the rest of us.  We look forward to hearing Ruth Collins sing Alan Jackson’s “The Older I Get.”

Dandelions are showing themselves among the violets.  They say that every part of the dandelion is edible, and that in earlier times people would dig up grass to plant them.  Edie Richardson, an herbalist and a transplant from Texas, says, “I drink dandelion tea! make dandelion pesto, and sauté the greens with garlic yum yum.”  Missy Street says, “I make dandelion wine.  It is a beautiful flavor—the taste of sunshine in a glass.”  Edie and Lee Richardson were just sworn in for their elected seat on Missouri University Wright County Council and will start teaching adult gardening classes next month at the extension office.  The Richardsons were almost Champion neighbors, but settled in Wright County where it turns out Karen Ross is their mail carrier.  Karen is also an avid gardener and a baker of scrumptious cookies.  It is sweet to see their friendship blossom.  Look for “L and E Organic Farm LLC” on the internet and watch them hoop it up.

Peter Cottontail has hopped down the Champion Bunny Trail so Easter with all its religious and cultural significance will soon be upon us.  Years back the competition between Spotted Hog and Champion for the most elegant Easter Parade was the subject of much discussion particularly by the then Admiral who deemed Barbara Krider’s hat and matching armadillo handbag stunning.  April Fools Day on Thursday will see fun at Vanzant where pranks, shenanigans and tomfoolery do not seem to need a special day.  A certain singular Sister has become the self-appointed Instigator in Chief there, so figure that all the stops have been pulled all the way out.  You pump organ fans understand the significance.

Other good news comes from “The Book of Delights,” shared by the elder of many favorite nephews.  The author’s eye lands upon wonder at every turn, shining light on the countless small miracles that surround us.  Find joy wherever possible and they say the possibilities are endless.  Books make great companions.  The General and William Chaffey have been reading Dan Brown novels and have discovered that St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City is round.  Send your discoveries and your delights to champion@championnews.us or to TCN Rt. 72 Box 367 Norwood, MO 65717-9446.  We are delighting in these beautiful days in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Wilbur delights In the dandelions and violets.

 

Phyllis Proctor is about to have her second vaccination.  She said Pete had chills and felt bad for a while after his second shot, but it sounds like he is doing better.  He and other members of the American Legion have stayed busy this whole last year officiating at the funerals of Veterans.  They were sometimes called on twice a day and were often called far afield.  It is a moving ceremony for the families of those Veterans being honored and they appreciate the solemnity and dedication of the Legion officers.  Recently another post up north of here has been certified to perform the ceremony which will ease things for Pete and our other local officers.  When Thomas Edison needed a wheelchair, his friend, Henry Ford, bought one too so they could have wheel chair races.  That is a mark of real friendship.  Phyllis said that the American Legion has wheel chairs out on loan to local Veterans.  If you have one you no longer need, they will gladly accept it as a donation and will put it to good use.

Elderberries, lilacs, dogwoods and those beautiful non-bearing Bartlett pear trees are swelling and budding and leafing.  March is marching on as we progress into Spring.  Does that make us progressive?  Two people looking at the same field may see it differently.  One sees a sea of weeds to be dealt with, while the other rejoices in the wildflowers.  Attitude might be the difference.  Looking back through the archives here, the same bunches of daffodils, the same creek crossings and distant vistas show up about the same time every year.  The website began to regularly have photos attached in about 2014.  For the seven years before that, all the pictures were painted with words.  Music links came along a couple of years ago, so progress is being made.  A neighbor in Vera Cruz called to introduce TCN to Lou and Peter Berryman who are purveyors of old time music in the folk/cabaret tradition.  There is something about the old time music that is comforting and reassuring.  Describe what progress you are making or what comforts and reassures you in an email to champion@championnews.us or let John deliver those good words in a letter to The Champion News, Rt. 72 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717-9446.

Some of the synonyms for the word ‘liberal’ are tolerant, unprejudiced, broad-minded, open-minded, enlightened, and forbearing.  Others are abundant, ample, and generous.  Marge is liberal in her use of chocolate chips when she makes cookies for Doug.  She has not been baking much lately, so he has had to eat store-bought cookies.  “Poor Doug,” she says, but he is not complaining.  (She did write that she made brownies using their abundant garden zucchini that she shredded, froze and brought with her from Wyoming.)  Esther always liked to cut her pies in five pieces so that everyone had a generous slice.  Days are suddenly getting longer and warmer with copious amounts of sunshine.  Among the few complainers concerning the changes of the seasons are those with ample dislike for lawn mowing and picking ticks, yet they forbear to keep peace in the family.  ‘Family’ is another of those words full of deep good meaning, though there are hardly any other words that convey that special significance.  If you are lucky enough to be part of a tolerant, accepting, affectionate family then you are liberally blessed.  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!