May 18, 2008
CHAMPION—May 18, 2008
All of Champion is delighted to see Wilburn Hutchison recuperating on his own front porch. He could not find a more pleasant spot to do his mending. Louise keeps the hummingbird feeders filled and so there is constant natural excitement going on. He can at any time cast his gaze out across the hills and fields that have been in his family for generations. His grandfather, Sam Hutchison, homesteaded the place and it was said that they were all raised and weaned there. The luxuriant growth resulting from the very wet spring is lush indeed. The hope is that Wilburn will just enjoy the temporal beauty and not fret about work that needs doing. That work will always need doing and there will still be plenty of it to do when he is back up to snuff.
Finally the soil has begun to warm up in Champion. The danger of a hard frost is surely past and gardens are going in all over the place. Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 22nd and 23rd will be poor days to plant, but late beets, potatoes, onions, carrots and other root crops could go in on the 24th and 25th. There are lots of potatoes up already and looking good. Certainly this year looks favorable for the production of weeds of all sorts. One old Champion woman likes to mulch her garden with newspapers. She will weed out a little place and then cover it up with wet newspapers and then put the weeds pack on top of the newspapers to keep the wind from blowing them away when they dry out. It’s a funny process and she claims to get most of her reading done out in the garden. She just uses the black and white newspaper not wanting to put those colored chemicals into her soil. Newspapers this time of the year are full of graduation pictures, valedictorians and engagement pictures of optimistic young couples. It is exciting to see young folks embarking on their new lives full of hope and promise. That their pictures will wind up mulching some old lady’s squash is of no consequence to them. That Denlow School class picture of 1949-1950 is certainly a jewel. No wonder the place used to be called “Upshaw!” That one will get clipped and saved by many, no doubt.
The picture taking of the Rose Pink Star Quilt did not come off as planned on Thursday last. “Twern’t a fit night out fer man ner beast!” The new plan is to meet up at Beverly’s Beauty Shop there at Plumbers Junction on Tuesday morning, May 20th, for the photo shoot. The Internet is a-buzz with the quilt already. “What size is it?” It’s a Queen sized quilt, hand pieced one winter by Esther Wrinkles and beautifully machine quilted by Ms. Faye Chaney, who has since passed away. A photo is available on the Internet at Champion News. Tickets are being sold in South Carolina, Texas and Kansas. Support for the Skyline Area Volunteer Fire Department is really strong in the Champion area, but a chance to win one of Esther’s quilts is ‘coveted!’
A chance to win the First Ripe Tomato in Champion Contest is dependant on getting started early. Last year the rivalry was intense. Louise claimed to have had the first ripe one, but didn’t want to share with the judging committee and besides she already had an antique blue fruit jar just like the one that was being given away as the grand prize. It will be remembered that local artist, Donna Moskaly, took the prize, though the tomato she shared and with which she was photographed for the paper, was not her first one of the season. Truthfully, Carol Cleveland, the daughter of Grace, had the first ripe tomato in Champion in 2007. Since her tomatoes were on plants that she had carried over from the previous year, however, it was decided by the CTCRC (Champion Tomato Contest Rules Committee) that Ms. Cleveland would be ineligible for the prize but would certainly have the pleasure of eating ripe tomatoes when the rest of the contestants were just dreaming of them. This year in addition to an antique blue fruit jar, the winner of the contest will receive $5.00 worth of quilt tickets (6 tickets) for the coveted Rose Pink Star Quilt as well as a box each of wide mouth flats and regulars. It is generally agreed that official Contestants need to mill around Henson’s Store somewhat in advance in order to drop hints of their expected success. Sizing up the competition is one of the tenants of a good contest.
Dillon and Dakota Watts will be back on the Krider farm for a few days helping out while Granddad is away on a quick trip. School is out in Tennessee, as well, and those fellows rarely miss a chance to get back to Champion. They are always a big help and keep the place lively with their antics and fine singing voices. Other Champion grandchildren will be visiting for a few days. Zoey Louise and Alexandra Jean will be spending a few days with their Grandparents. They are up from Austin, Texas. This will be Alex’s first time on the farm. She is a real outside girl, though, so everyone is expecting to have a wonderful time. They will be in Champion just in time to help out with the garden. Zoey is a big fan of blueberries. The Eckerts over at Dora say that their blueberries will be ready the end of the first or second week in June. So Zoey may just have to enjoy strawberries from over at the Simpson Family Farm at Mtn. Grove instead this year. “When this you see, think of me..” Wonderful Foxfire Champion, Jack Ryan, said something similar to that one day toward the very end of his life. He was on a plum tree digging expedition with someone who had grown very fond of him. Now the plum trees they dug that day are loaded with fruit and the memories of an exceptional individual come back sweetly. He and Gladys were married young and had an interesting life together, full of good cheer and thoughtfulness. They were appreciators of the old days and the old ways. The community is better off for having had them if it is somewhat lonesome for them now.
Lonesomeness is a real theme for sad songs. “Don’t forget me Little Darlin, when I’m growin’ old and gray! Just a little talk before I’m going far away. I’ll be waiting on the hillside for the day that you call, on the Sunny Side of the Mountain where the rippling waters fall.” Now that’s lonesome, but it’s hopeful too. For all the US Service Men and Women serving their Country in the dangerous places of the world, Champions, with Love and Gratitude, are hoping they have someone waiting on the sunny side of their mountains and that they make it home safely soon. As for the singing, it is a proven fact that music aids digestion and singing releases those endorphins that fight disease and depression. Of course there are some whose voices can be a little depressing to the ear of a musician. They know who they are, but that doesn’t seem to stop their wailing. Copies of the first song in the New Champion Song Book, “Keep on the Sunny Side,” are still available at Henson’s Store on the North side of the Square in Champion. While the motif of the collection is light hearted, uplifting, optimistic music, if one finds some sort of cheer in a sad song he can fill his own songbook with those.
Report interesting mulch to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717. Brag about exceptional grandchildren there or at Champion News. Size up the competition or release some endorphins at Henson’s Store on the Sunnyside of the Street in Delightful Downtown Champion where they are always Looking on the Bright Side!
