Champion News

CHAMPION—May 27, 2013

                Champions are conscious that just a few hours’ drive west the tornado damage in Oklahoma has wrecked homes and lives.  Many have friends and family out there and hopes are that recovery is swift and strong.  It is hard to find the bright side of a tragedy such as this, but there have been a few.  Long lost and estranged siblings and other family members are reaching out to each other to verify their safety and to reconnect.  The squabbles, tiffs and misunderstandings that loosened the ties that bind somehow seem so much less important in the big picture.  In peril, families draw close.  Champion!

                Memorial Day celebrations are of the old fashioned kind in these parts.  People gather at the country cemeteries for religious services and dinner on the grounds.  Graves are decorated as dear ones who have passed away are remembered, and dear ones present are enjoyed and appreciated in sweet fellowship.  For some it is a marathon as their roots are so spread through the area.  For Americans everywhere it is a good time to pause to express Love and Gratitude.

                Miss Alexandra Jean will be having her birthday on the 31^st of May.  She will be seven years old!  She lives in Texas and will be coming with her sister, Zoey Louise, to visit her grandparents as soon as school is out there.  It looks like there will be lots of nice things in the garden for them to pick and that it may be warm enough for a trip to the creek.  Everyone is getting excited.  There will be some good days for planting root crops while they are in Champion and a good chance for some little city girls to get very dirty.  Linda’s Almanac will help.  Find a copy of it on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown Grocery and Gas, up at The Plant Place in Norwood, and on line at www.championnews.us.  Another Texan and fine gardener, who lives over west of Ava will celebrate his birthday on the second of June.  His age has not been disclosed, but since some Champions have known him for close to 40 years and he was a grown man when they met, it is figured that he is getting up there.  Happy birthday to him and to Alex and to everyone who wakes up again happy to be alive.  Every day is a cause for celebration in Champion.

                It was good to see Wilma Hutchison’s photographs of Bud’s Champion trail ride.  It looks like those folks had a good time out on the trail.  Larry McFall is a fellow who lives over in Marshfield and has ties to the Denlow community that makes him want to move over this way.  He has a couple of horses so he is looking for ten or so acres to keep them and he might get acquainted with Bud and some of his cronies to enjoy the many trail rides in the area.  Someone said he plays the dobro, so he will fit right in this part of the world. 

                There is a sad tale to tell.  Jerry Wagner has lost his fiddles.  He and Lena returned home Friday from a bluegrass festival up in Curryville, MO.  They parked the RV down in the lower drive this time because they had a car hauler attached to the back of it.  Ordinarily they would have parked up by the house.  No sooner had they got in the house than they looked out and saw black smoke coming out of the RV.  Jerry got back down there but could not get the fire out with the garden hose.  He managed to get the car unhooked before the whole RV erupted in flames.  Lena called the fire department and they came out and extinguished the fire.  Of course, the good thing is that Lena and Jerry are OK.  They were lucky not to have parked up at the house where the fire might have spread to their home.  They have found a number of reasons to be grateful.  But oh!–that beautiful old fiddle!  It had been a gift from an old family friend who had no children to pass it along to and it was a beauty.  They guess it to have been every bit of 150 years old.  It had a sweet sound and Lena said it was easy to play.  The music community is tight knit here and Billy Hicks let Jerry know he would have him a fiddle in short order.  He got together with Bill Connelly who sent two fiddles over for Jerry to try.  He had a gig on Saturday afternoon playing for an alumni banquet over in West Plains, so he must have found one useable.  Maybe the perfect one will fall into his hands one of these days the way he fell through the ceiling for Lena back in Kansas City all those years ago.  The two of them had grown up around these parts but were not acquainted.  Jerry went to school in Mountain Grove, and Lena went to school in Almartha and then Ava, but was a farm girl home milking morning and evening and did not get out very much.  She was the middle one of eleven children and worked in Gainesville in a one person telephone office for a year after she graduated from high school.  Then she moved to Kansas City with a couple of girls and worked there.  That’s where she met Jerry and the rest is pretty much history.  Her baby brother, Lee Ray, still lives in Almartha but is a frequent visitor to Champion.  Lena indicated that he is spoiled, but they would not have it any other way.  He has a very pleasant disposition and a lovely smile and so does his sister.  Jerry might be a little slow getting his smile back, but his many friends and musical acquaintances will help him.    In England in 1720, J. Roberts wrote, “ Ballad Upon a Gentleman’s Sitting upon the Lady W’s Cremona Fiddle.”  “This Fiddle of Fiddles, when it came to be try’d, was as sweet as a Lark and as soft as a Bride.   This Fiddle to see, and its Musick to hear, gave Delight to the Eye, while it ravisht the Ear.”  Well, Roberts goes on to say what all he hoped would happen to that part of the oaf which sat on the fiddle.  Champion friends are glad there is no one to blame for the loss and will just be pleased that the music is in the man.  It will find a way to get out. 

                Get out on the spacious veranda at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium and visit with Lee Ray, or sing, “Uncle Pen played the fiddle, how he made it ring.  You could hear it talk.  You could hear it sing.” In Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

THE 2013 DENLOW SCHOOL REUNION
The weather was perfect for the 27th annual Denlow School Reunion on Saturday. At eleven in the morning the school bell rang out and students, family and friends assembled for an interesting program. Fred Follis led the group in The Pledge of Allegiance. In his remarks, master of ceremonies, Robert Upshaw, noted that the first reunion was held in 1987, and there were 250 people in attendance. There were considerably fewer this time. The past year saw the passing of a number of students and spouses including Lorene Johnston, Vivian Shannon, Velma Hopper, Esther Wrinkles, Sue Upshaw, Bryan Gray, and Ray Mallernee.
The Memorial Day week end was designated as the most appropriate time for the reunion for a number of reasons, not the least of which had to do with the many Veterans who had attended the school as children. During World War II, Lavern Miller landed on Omaha Beach in France and fought all the way across France and Germany and was in Salzburg, Austria when the war ended. Fred Follis joined the Marine Corps in 1961. Tom Coley joined the Navy in 1956 and liked it. He stayed until 1977. Darrell Cooley was drafted in 1962 and was in Viet Nam in 1963 and 1964. Dailey Upshaw was in the air Force and said he mostly did paperwork. Dean Brixie was in the air Force from 1962 to 1966. He said he joined to see something of the world and what he saw was Arkansas. He was an electrician on the Titan II missiles. Robert Upshaw spent 21 years in the Air Force before returning to his roots. Pete Proctor spoke movingly about his trip this time last year to Washington D.C. with his son Bryan who had just finished 20 years of service. Pete was 23 years old when he was drafted and he served in Viet Nam and this was his first trip to see the memorial there. He said it was a life changing experience. He said that he was told that the Viet Nam Memorial went up before the World War II Memorial as a compensation for the way they were treated when they returned home. He also spoke about the Korean War Memorial with its life like statues of soldiers in the field. Pete suggests that every American, particularly every Veteran, would benefit by a visit to these important National Memorial sites.
Ruby Proctor won the first door prize of the day which was a small handsaw and a flashlight. Rick Wilkey of Kentucky, was the youngest in attendance, and was selected to draw the door prize tickets. He drew his own number and that of a family member, so there were a couple of flashlights and hand saws sent home to Kentucky and Tennessee. It was all in good fun. Then there was a great pot-luck luncheon that begged dieters to step out of their restrictions for a day. Beautiful deserts and wonderful conversations followed until some were about ready for a nap. The group retired to the lovely outdoor pavilion then for music and more visiting. A guitar and a fiddle came out of their cases and the Eight of January and a number of other wonderful old tunes ensued. Then came a banjo and a couple more guitars and things got lively. Toes were tapping and Sally Prock would have danced a jig with just a little encouragement.
Lavern Miller, with the help of Kenneth Anderson, conducted the auction which, according to one of Ruby’s nephews who had traveled from Oregon for the occasion, should have been recorded for its pure comic value. Elizabeth Johnston kept the books and a nice nest egg was set aside to help pay for the next reunion. Those who signed the registry this year were: Linda Jean Popek, Dean Upshaw, Dailey Upshaw, Fae Upshaw Krider, Fred and Jean Follis, Mary and Ken Gerald, Barbara and Kenneth Anderson, Loretta Upshaw, Kaye Upshaw Johnston, Tom Cooley, Darrell Cooley, Lorie Cox, Johnnie Cox, Bonnie Brixie Mullens, Wilda Moses, Phillis and Pete Proctor, Robert Dean Brixey, Cathie Alsup Riley, Rick Wilkey, Jessie Mae Miller, Lavern Miller, Sally Prock, Jef and Bev Schellenger, Shirley Brixie, Ed Williams, Sonja and Allison Williams, Larry McFall. Among those in attendance who did not sign the registry were Russell Upshaw, Carol Barnhart, James and Jana Brixie with their two young ones, Norris Woods and a couple of guitar playing guests, David and Julie Hicks, Richard Johnston, Peggy Hancock, Sharon Upshaw, Pete Mullens, Frank and Freda Proctor and a number of others. It is believed that a good time was had by all.

CHAMPION—May 20, 2013

        “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer…”  Champions now forget the discontent of winter which was not much except for its length and move straight on to glorious summer.  Last Sunday morning found frost in low spots and Tuesday temperatures reached 90˚.  There will yet be some spring before the season changes officially on June 21^st.  Meanwhile on days that are too damp or too hot, friends can gather around the tables in the meeting room at Henson’s Downtown G & G  and discuss current events or daydreams.   Daydreams include the speculation about just how one might handle having won the six hundred million dollars in the Power Ball drawing.  It turns out that Wes and the Cowboy did not have to worry about it.  It sounded like it was just going to make life complicated for either one of them anyway, particularly as it related to the possibility of finding out about how many new kin folks they might have in Douglas County.  As it happens they are both lucky after all!  Champion! 

        A firefighter from over near Evans said that deer have eaten his entire broccoli planting.  He could understand it last year since everything was so dry and foodstuffs were in such short supply for the deer, but now it seems the animals have developed a taste for broccoli and are neglecting the fair nature routinely prepares for them.   Darlene’s sweetheart has been taking care of an orphaned deer and thinks he might bring it down to Champion since there are no resident dogs to keep it out of the tidy little garden there.  He might just be teasing.  Raccoons and possums are making a mess of things up in north Champion.  Some folks were thinking about getting a yard dog to at least bark when the pests come around the garden at night.  Then someone said a person would have to have two dogs because one would just lie on the porch and think to himself, “Look, there’s a raccoon in the garden.”  It takes that second dog for top-dog competition to spark the bark that scares the raccoon or at least wakes up the gardener who can go out with the shotgun and hope he does not shoot his own dog.  Monday morning found some unknown local dog owner alert to the fact that the dog met a skunk Sunday night.  That pain filled squealing bark was clearly heard during the night and confirmed by the wafting aroma through the otherwise quiet valley. 

        Says The General, “Have you ever wondered what went wrong when everything was going right?  Have you ever done something yesterday that you could have put off until today or next week?  Have you ever wasted your time reading or writing stupid questions?  Well, come to the Denlow School Reunion on 25 May 2013, waste my and your time and well put a stop to this.”  That is an invitation spread out like a thick swipe of warm mayonnaise across the whole of the World Wide Web via Facebook.  It is most generally figured that people who have some connection with the Denlow community of old will be the primary attendees to this soirée, though new arrivals, descendants of old timers, nosey neighbors, and a few rank strangers have been known to show up and all are welcome.  By late morning a crowd will gather and at about eleven o’clock repair inside for a full program of patriotism, history, fun and folly, led flawlessly by the venerated orator himself.  Then it is off to an exquisite pot luck luncheon and finally music and an auction in the pavilion where one might find any number of extraordinary items, the sale of which will benefit the reunion.   Last year Wayne and Jo Ann Anderson celebrated their 56^th wedding anniversary at the reunion.  Who knows what will happen this time!  The General says, “Come on down!”

        Linda spent some time in Kansas City this week at the high school graduation of her granddaughter.  It is a momentous occasion for families to gather in recognition and celebration of young people who are doing well and doing what they are supposed to be doing.  It is a step forward in to independent grown up life.  On their way to adulthood they will all have adventures, heartaches and successes and will handle those situations in the way they have been taught, by their parents and other family members, by teachers, preachers, pop-stars and peers.   Sometimes one comes to the revelation that he is an adult with a sense of incredulity.   This often happens to people in their forties when they look up and wonder who the ‘real adults’ are, only to find they are themselves.  While it can be a joyful observation that there is no ‘oversight’ committee and an adult can do pretty much as he pleases, it is also daunting to realize that an adult is completely, personally responsible for his own condition and circumstance.  Champions applaud the accomplishments of young people and wish them the best of good luck!

        This whole week up through Friday will be good for planting above the ground crops and for transplanting and doing all those good things in the garden.  Linda was busy making some wonderful red, white, and blue petunia hanging baskets for Memorial Day last week and they are really pretty.  Her bedding plants are looking good and she will have vegetable plants started and ready just at the right time for transplanting even if a gardener is running behind.  Champion gardeners are so pleased to have such a good neighbor.  Charlene has her own vegetable garden there at The Plant Place and the sisters have established a Perennial Garden where a person can sit on a bench and marvel at all the blooming beauty.  Enjoy Linda’s Almanac at www.championnews.us or on the bulletin board at The Champion Store. 

        Memorial Day week end finds friends and families gathering all over the country.  The sacrifices of those who serve the Nation in and out of uniforms are recognized with Love and Gratitude and the passing of loved ones is acknowledged with flowers and with precious shared memories. “Amazing Grace” and many other sweet songs will be sung to express patriotism and hope for the Nation.  Sing “Glory, glory, Hallelujah!” out on the spacious veranda of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  You’ll be looking out over the tranquility of one of the world’s truly beautiful places, Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—May 13, 2013

        Champion phone lines and internet services were fairly clogged with well-wishing sons and daughters hoping to get through to speak with their dear old Mothers on Sunday.  Monday finds the old darlings smiling and contented to have been remembered.  Some had the good fortune to see their offspring face to face.  Others have plans for a visit soon and look forward to it with optimism.  When the English, Irish, and Scotts made their trips to the New World back in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries, most were on a one way, one time only voyage.  It was the same with the prairie schooners and wagon trains headed west across the country later on.  To look at a child departing for the unknown wild world with their heads full of hope and adventure must have weighed heavily on rooted parents that were left behind.  To know for a certainty that their eyes would never lite again on their precious child must have been a burden as they embraced for the last time.  Surely it would have been a struggle to present a expression of encouragement and enthusiasm as they looked at each other finally with determination to remember every line of the beloved face.   Stoic parents smiled and waved that handkerchief until their traveler has crested the hill or rounded the bend, out of sight forever.  Sometimes those who think idealistically that they were born in the wrong century might consider the hardships and heartaches of those times as well as the simplicity and romance.  Fledglings still must leave the nest and their parents must help.  Fortunately, in the 21^st century, there are telephones and airplanes and an appreciation for good change.   Champion!

        Elmer looked over at another good looking old gray haired old man the other day and said, “You and I are the old timers now.”   He said that he had never seen a year when so many of the old people had passed away.  It was observed that the older a person gets the more dead people he knows.   News has arrived of the passing of a lovely old friend.  She was an exciting, vibrant individual with a great love for good music of all kinds, and of good people of all kinds.  She wrote about her very special neighborhood, “…in which better friends and neighbors could not be found.  Now, it appears I am on my way out under the ministrations of Hospice Austin.  I’m almost 83 and I certainly don’t feel deprived after spending so many happy years in this town.  Love, Nancy.”  She was a gracious lady in life and departing it.  Those who love her are waving that handkerchief and smiling at the privilege of having known her. 

        Two of Linda Cooley’s grandchildren have birthdays in May and her own birthday is on Wednesday.  That is also the special day (May 15^th) for Miss Elizabeth Heffern of Springfield.  She has Champion grandparents and is therefore an amazingly lucky young lady.  The 16^th is the birthday of a tireless Skyline VFD Auxiliary worker, Karen Griswold.  She lives next door to a wonderful passel of grandchildren and so will be grandly celebrated.  Mr. Boardfeet is a Champion son living far away but not so far that he cannot be reached by telephone on his birthday, also on the 16^th.  Skyline prekindergarten student, Meikel Kline, will have his party on the 17^th.  The 18^th of May is always set aside among the good memories of one Champion daughter.  Exer Hector was born May 18, 1913 and passed away in 1975. “Dear Mother, Thirty eight years later, I still remember your face.”   Skyline first grader, Heidi Strong has her birthday on the 22^nd, sharing it with the charming Teresa Wrinkles, of Vanzant.  All her Champion friends wish her well and hope that something unexpected and wonderful happens for her that day, or the day before, or the next day…every day!

        Linda’s Almanac from over in Norwood indicates that the 14^th and 15^th will be most favorable for planting above-ground crops, seedbeds and flower gardens.  After that the next good time to plant will start on the 20^th and go through the 24^th.   The 18^th and 19th will both be good days to prune to discourage growth.   Find a copy of the Almanac on line at www.championnews.us or on the bulletin board at Henson’s Downtown G&G in the city center.   Linda always has a copy of the Almanac to share up at The Plant Place, together with information, advice and encouragement vital for a fruitful garden.  A harried person, not fond of being continually told what to do, might look at the document with resentment, as it mandates the best days to plow, cultivate, plant, weed, harvest, prune, fertilize, transplant, wean , and a host of other farm chores.  Building such resentment would be a mistake (always).  The Almanac is better viewed as a tool so that even the most minimal effort might have the best chance of producing good results.   Then Mom can say, “Thanks for what little you did do!”  That is a special expression of Love and Gratitude.

        There were eighteen riders on Bud Hutchison’s Champion trail ride the other day.  Reports are that it was a pleasant trip to and fro and spectators came to admire the horses and see the party off.  Some stayed and waited happily for their return.   They figured rightly that there could be no more pleasant a spot to while away a few hours.    There were others that would like to have gone along, but circumstances stood in the way.  Obstacles sometimes make the journey more interesting, sometimes they end it all together.  Good hopes are that every cowboy who wants to ride gets to do so next time. Bob Wills sang a song written by Fred Rose.  “There’s a big rock in the road and it’s there blockin’ the road.  Lots of caress folks have found it so you better get around it.  There’s a big rock in the road.”   Sing your favorite traveling song on the spacious veranda down at the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.   While away a moment as you just stand still and enjoy the feeling of Spring in the air in one of the world’s truly beautiful places—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—May 6, 2013

        In Champion, as in the rest of the country, Mother’s Day is an opportunity for children to express their love and appreciation to their special Mothers. They make cards and draw pictures, and glue macaroni on to various things that then get painted. Mothers hold on to these precious mementos until they are yellow or crumbling with age and then relegate them to shoe boxes with tissue paper, just not being willing to let the priceless memories go. As the years go by gifts become more sophisticated. By the time a person is grown, his Mother has become a mature adult and, with some exceptions, most have accumulated just about everything they need. By and large, Champion Mothers are not looking for things, but for a little time and attention. A visit of an hour or two with a grown child is a real gift. If the child exhibits any interest in her life before he was born, or any curiosity about her as an individual, that is ‘priceless,’ as they say. They also say that a mother is only as happy as her least happy child. So if you want to please the old girl, take good care of yourself and be happy. Champion!

        Jimmy Rogers was called the yodeling brakeman. This is one of the stories he shared through music; “I had a home out in Texas, down where the bluebonnets grew. I had the kindest old mother; how happy we were just we two. Till one day the angels called her, the debt we all have to pay. She called me close to her bedside, these last few words to say. ‘Son, don’t start drinking and gambling. Promise you all always go straight.’ Ten years have passed since that parting, that promise I’ve broke, I must say. I started in gambling for pass time. At last I was just like them all. I bet my clothes and my money, not dreaming that I’d ever fall. One night I bet all my money, nothing was left to be seen. All that I needed to break them was one card and that was a queen. The cards were dealt all ‘round the table, each man took a card on the draw. I drew the one that would beat them; I turned it and here’s what I saw. I saw my mother’s picture, and somehow she seemed to say, ‘Son, you have broken your promise,’ so I tossed the cards away. My winnings I gave to a newsboy, I knew I was wrong from the start. And I’ll never forget that promise, to Mother, the queen of my heart.” That is a song that Jerry Wagner could surely play. He does a great job with “Waiting for a Train.” The General posted that he ‘liked’ bluegrass aficionado, Sherry Bennett’s post of a UTube video to the Facebook that was called Vanzant Community Center Vanzant MO. It is about 39 minutes long and was made in April last year. Jerry and a couple of dozen other well-known area musicians entertained a large crowd of appreciative listeners. This is an ongoing event about every Thursday (except for when it snows.) It commences about six and is worth the drive.

        It looks like a beautiful day for Bud Hutchison’s trail ride. Esther Wrinkles used to like to know when they were going to be in her neighborhood so she could watch them go by. She really enjoyed the wagon trains that come through in the fall too. Champions miss their old friends. Bud’s bunch will see a lot of folks out in their gardens as they go ambling by. Linda’s Almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 9th, 10th and 11th will all be good days to plant crops that bear above the ground. They say that those will be cloudy wet days too, so they will be all the better for transplanting. The sun ought to be out nicely still on the 8th though and gardeners getting the plots ready to plant will stand up to wave as the handsome equestrians promenade. They will wipe the mud off the shovel handle as the boys and girls go by and try to figure out just which one of them is the ‘special’ cowboy who seems to get so much attention. They all seem to deserve it.

        School is almost over for the year. The children at Skyline are having their important tests this week. They will get to exhibit the knowledge they have accumulated throughout the year and then will be set free like chickens to run around the yard and scratch up whatever they want to. So begins what will seem like a long, long summer to some of the children. To old folks, already in the autumn of their years, summer will be gone in a flash. Young or old, Champions are of a mind to make the very most of their summer days. Some will pass many hours out on the spacious veranda of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in Beautiful Downtown Champion. They will enjoy the shade and the cool breeze and the company of friends and neighbors coming and going. Visitors will come from far and wide, back to the beautiful Ozark hills and hollows, which truly comprise as pretty a place as there is anywhere on the big round planet.

        There has been some complaint about the length of the Champion News article: “rambling and wordy.” Critique, stories, and suggestions are welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2 Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion at getgoin.net. The archives at www.championnews.us have every article since August 2006, preserved in unedited original form. Hope is they express appreciation for the amazing beauty of the place, the colorful and interesting history of the place, the colorful and interesting inhabitants of the place past and present, and Optimism. Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!