September 2, 2007
Champion – September 2, 2007
This week in Champion the Very Best and Most Lovely News is the birth of two new little Champion lasses! They are not twins but quite distant cousins born within a few hours of each other on Friday, August 31st, 2007! Their Mothers are fine and so are they! Jenna Kaitland Brixey was born about one in the afternoon and is the daughter of Janna and James Brixey of Champion. She is the first grandchild of Dean Brixey and will just have to get used to it. Kalyssa Ariel Wiseman was born a little after six in the evening and is the daughter of Tanna and Roger Wiseman. Kalyssa has a big brother named Foster Emit and Champion grandparents, Faye and Lonnie Krider. She is the first granddaughter in the family. The four grandsons were all around to welcome their new cousin including, Dakota and Dillon from Tennessee and Eli who may have the sweetest smile and the deepest dimples that ever come to Champion. Dakota, who is now taller than his Mother, had great adventures to relate concerning his summer trip to Alaska. He did a lot of fishing and learned a lot about bears and gold mining. He’s a good storyteller and a nice brother and cousin to the younger fellows and now Kalyssa!
The Champion School Reunion was a lovely gathering. There were some notable absences for one reason or another and some unveiled remarks about ‘silver threads among the gold.’ The food was plentiful and tasty. The music lifted spirits and the visiting and catching up was what the whole thing is about. Those attending were: Mary Graham and Robert Graham and Elva Ragland of Drury; Elsie Curtis, Debbie Massey, Barbara Cooper, Linda and Daniel Kingston, Lonnie Krider, Betty Henson, Wilda Moses, Darrell Cooley and C.D. Upshaw of Norwood. From Mountain Grove came Tom and Arlene Cooley, Ruby Proctor and Pete Proctor, Bertha Wood, Rita Coble, Frances and Wayne Sutherland (and daughters Greta of Hartville and Shirley of Nashville, TN), Sue and Russell Upshaw, Dean Upshaw and Juanita and Kenneth Anderson. From Ava came Karen and Leavon Lambert, Irene Dooms, and Billy J. Lambert. Rogersville sent Vivian Floyd and from Seymour came Jerry E. and Shawna Smith. Tommy and Barbara Southerland came from Branson. Esther Wrinkles came from Vanzant. Peggy Hancock Carrera came from Twin Falls, Idaho. Glenna and Wm. Robert Henson came from Springfield. Gainesville was represented by Barbara Boam. There were others in attendance as well and everyone had a good time. The new signs had gone up just in time for everyone to find the way Home. They will stay up for those who were not able to make it to the reunion this time but still want to come Home ….sometime….anytime.
Friday was a big day for Champion marked by a visit from Betty and Darrell Haden. They were on their way to the Haden-Kay-Sellers Reunion in Ava and stopped in Champion for some ice-cream and conversation. They were expecting their reunion to be a good sized affair with Carl Haden Junior making an appearance from Springfield. He was part of the Happy Haden Family that did a lot of entertaining around the country ‘back in the day.’ It is a matter of great delight that Mr. Haden left a copy of “Beyond the Missouri Sky” for Champion enjoyment. It is an instrumental music compact disk with Charlie Haden on bass and Pat Metheny on acoustic guitars and other instruments. Both the artists grew up in small towns in Missouri and Metheny said in his album notes “Missouri. For me, as a kid growing up there, it was a place to dream. A place to sit out in the backyard and consider the possibilities of life and music….” He sounds like he was born and raised in Champion! He also said, “But as much as I loved it there, I was also filled with a restlessness and curiosity about the whole world that I knew existed beyond that Missouri sky.” Champions are an adventurous lot! Among the tunes on the album is Roy Acuff’s “The Precious Jewel.” It is a tragic, sweet love story that many may recall. They chose the songs with beautiful melodies and chords that inspired them for this album. They range from traditional old pieces to film themes and original compositions. It is a most pleasant listen and Champions are welcome to enjoy it. It will be good to hear about the music at the Haden-Kay-Sellers Reunion.
The news from Last Week was that a couple of weeks earlier Linda and Glenn Cooley’s wedding anniversary was reported here. Their accomplishment was underreported by a decade! They’ve had their knot tied since August of 1962! That’s forty-five years—not the reported thirty five. Congratulations to a fine pair of Champions! This error is regrettable, but somehow it represents a balance of sorts since there have been random and unfounded accusations of ‘embellishment’ to the news in these columns. Someone suggested that might be why they don’t always appear!
Notes go out from Champion to it’s soldier SSG Moreno, Raul / 4-319th /TRSABER / FOB NARAY / APO 09354. No news has come from him for a while, but he stays in Champion thoughts and best wishes as do all those serving abroad in dangerous situations. Love and Gratitude is due them from their whole Nation and it is due to the survivors of the Three thousand seven hundred and thirty nine American Service People who have given their all in Iraq. It’s good news to hear that Pete Proctor and the fellows from VFW Post 3770 of Mountain Grove will be presenting a Patriotic program for the students at Skyline School sometime in September.
It was reported last week that once again Louise Hutchison and Sharon Sikes are doing all the work! When the Skyline VFD Firefighters hosted a class at the Fire House on Mobile Water Supply on Friday and Saturday(the 24th and 25th of August), they and a few others of the Ladies’ Auxiliary were busy preparing food for the students which included a big lunch on Saturday. Betty Dye, Ruth Hamilton, Karen Griswold and others contributed food and assistance in getting the men fed. The Firefighters always appreciate the contributions of the Auxiliary and it is generally acknowledged that the Skyline Fire Department enjoys solid community support. Assistant Fire Chief Mark Arnold of the Thayer Fire Department instructed the Skyline Firefighters and members of other local fire departments in the most efficient use of the tanker and pumper trucks in order to maintain a continuous water supply for use in extinguishing fires where no local water is available. The Skyline Fire Department covers an are of 125 square miles of its own territory and offers Mutual Aid to all surrounding fire departments. Attendees remarked that having the opportunity to learn and practice the correct procedures in a non emergency situation greatly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of such tactics in the field.
Exciting things, musical things, reports of hardworking people, and Brand New People are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717. Underreported things (accusations of embellishment notwithstanding) and requests to borrow the CD ‘Beyond the Missouri Sky’ can be e-mailed to Champion News. As always, Henson’s Store is a good place to spin a yarn about the old days and the old ways to keep nostalgia humming along. As Champions have come home to roost they are…. LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!
