CHAMPION–September 21, 2009
Champion is a bright spot in the world. There is no denying it. The West Plains Wagon Club got wet every day of their trip until Thursday. On Thursday as they came to Champion, the sun came out. Eleven wagons’ worth of teamsters and passengers and 21 horseback riders will be pleased to say that Champion was the Bright Spot of their week long ride from West Plains to Mansfield. Clifton Luna has headed up this ride since the late 1980’s. He is 84 and shows no signs of slowing down. There were quite a few children on this trip. The youngest was Breanna Webster, two years old, traveling with her Grandparents Nancy and Marvin Webster of Bloomfield, MO. Granddad, Don Breauchy of Vanzant enjoyed the company of his 10-year-old grandson, Jeffrey Bingham. Gary Carter’s grandsons, Trent and Trevor, were also out of school for a couple of days getting life experience and education in the saddle. There were several new to this ride this year and sadly, some missing who have made it every year. Don Crawford of Salem, Arkansas, passed away this year. He had made this ride every time. He also headed up a ‘no-shuttle’ ride in the spring and the fall every year. That ride was generally about 100 miles and participants had to bring all their own food, feed, and gear for the trip as they had no support on the trail. Several different folks remarked on his absence on Thursday. A number of Champions were on hand to enjoy the spectacle of the wagon train. Upshaws came from as far away as Mountain Grove and Vanzant, and Wisemans came from Marshfield. Foster and Kalyssa enjoyed some time in the saddle though their feet are still a long way from the stirrups. One of the muleskinners was heard to say how much they all appreciate having the spectators come out to see them when they come to Champion. “It is a real highlight for us,” he said.
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A real highlight falls on the last day of summer most years. That is Louise Hutchison’s birthday. She shares it with Zoey Louise of Austin, TX. One of them is six years old and the other is 74. Champions wish them both a wonderful birthday and another great year. Some Champions are off to Tennessee to see those Tennessee grandsons Dillon and Dakota. They are just about grown now so they have to be looked at often to keep their faces familiar.
“Junior and the General bear a striking resemblance to a couple of old time Champions, Lem and Ned. Lem and Ned might easily have matured into replicas of Junior and the General if they had stayed around Champion, or if they had lived.” This mysterious note came anonymously over the Internet.
Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 25th through the 27th will be good days to clear fencerows and to work in the woodlot. Those are also good days to prune for the discouragement of growth. Those sound like good days to clean up the vegetable garden to get ready for some fall planting of spinach. A Champion was talking about a variety of greens that is a cross between Mustard and Spinach. It sounds hearty and tasty! The wet year has some tomatoes, squash, green beans and cucumber vines still producing. A Teeter Creek Friend once grew cucumbers for a big pickle factory. She was out in Montana on a wheat farm. The rows were a quarter of a mile long, so three rows of cucumbers was quite a few cucumbers. She said that the smaller the cucumbers were the more she was paid per bushel. She did not say how much that was, but she did indicate that it was some while back.
Esther and Raymond Howard were in the neighborhood on Sunday. They brighten up even a bright spot. Esther was talking about the Fair Grove Heritage Reunion and craft show. It always happens on the last full weekend in September. Fair Grove is Northeast of Springfield and West of Marshfield. There will be a number of Champions in attendance. Esther will exhibit some of her paintings there and other Champions will be peddling various homemade trinkets.
“Wake Me Up When September Ends” is a song written by Billie Joe Armstrong, of the band Green Day, as a memorial to his late father. It has a storyline about a soldier being killed, but the lyric is open ended enough so that whether you know all that or not, the tune can still conjure the feeling of summer fading away. The opening lyric sets a downbeat tone: “Summer has come and passed/ The innocent can never last/ Wake me up when September ends.” The soldiers are losing their summer in Afghanistan and Iraq too. The weather there is just a little warmer, about ten degrees warmer than here these days. They will have a short autumn and winter will come soon and heavy. The U.S. soldiers serving there are not summer soldiers or sunshine patriots, but they are there doing what their Nation asks of them. They are all Champions who have the Love and Gratitude of their Nation due them while they are there and also when they come home.
The Wagon Train has come and gone again. Time passes sweetly in Champion. The seasons roll around. Children grow and things change. In Champion though, there is a sense of timeless nostalgia and that old home feeling of things being just the way they are supposed to be. Step up on the porch at Henson’s Store for some of that feeling. It is on the North side of the Square. Look in on www.championnews.us if you are too far away to make the ride. Drop a note to Champion News or to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 if you know what ever became of Lem and Ned or if you have an autumn poem to share—something like “Get your spirit fortified! Get down to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!”
