Champion News

CHAMPION—September 30, 2013

        It happens sometimes that an old friend introduces one to another of his old friends and the two strangers suddenly become acquainted as if they have known each other for years.  There is immediate trust and appreciation for the good taste of their comrade who is willing to share friends with each other.  They often find that they have much in common apart from their mutual acquaintance and new vibrant relationships emerge.  Bringing kindred spirits and good people together is a Champion practice well implemented.

        Good news is that Pete Proctor has had a birthday.  No telling how old he is, but everyone who knows him knows him knows him to be young at heart.  That is probably on account of having such a sweet mother.  Word is that Ruby has taken a fall and hopes are that she was not seriously injured and that she is much recovered.  The details have been sketchy but it was reported that there were no broken bones and that she was feeling better.  All her Champion friends are most interested in her because she is so well regarded as part of that generation of Champions that made the place what it is today.  She will tell you that Champion is where her heart is and her Champion friends all wish her well.  Graeme Laird, a fine singer-songwriter in Edinburgh, Scotland, celebrated his 42nd orbit of the sun on the 26th.  He wrote, “Now’s the end of the beginning.  The days are passing faster than the sun.”  Other birthdays being celebrated belong to Jana Brixey who marks hers on the first of October.  She shares the day with the shy cousin of her husband, most frequently referred to as “a prominent Champion.”  The very next day Wild Turkey Hunting Season opens.  It is presumed that the kind of wild turkeys being hunted will be of the avian variety and not the distilled kind, though there likely will be some of that floating around.  Conservation officials say the number of adult turkeys should be plentiful thanks to good reproduction over the past couple of years.  That is good news for hunters who are looking for turkeys with meatier bodies.  Back in the late forties Sylvia Henson was writing the Champion Items and remarked that the Upshaw family had increased by two on October 4th.  The twin girls had a number of big brothers to spoil and tease them and Morton and Mable must have had their hands full with such a boisterous household.  Linda Kaye comes back home to visit often and Karen Fae keeps the home fires burning and the welcome mat out for all the family.  Between them they have ten grandchildren so there is always fun and excitement going on.  Skyline Auxiliary President Betty Dye celebrates her special day on October 7th.  She may decorate her own cake, a skill at which she excels.  She has many talents and keeps the auxiliary humming along in a productive and supportive way.  Betty will let an interested party know that the Skyline Auxiliary is not just for ladies, but for anyone who wishes to support the wonderful little fire department that allows home owners to have insurance and the protection provided by the able volunteer fire fighters.  Champions all!

        Sherry Bennett has posted some excellent pictures of the Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering on the Facebook.   They were made in 2011 on a bright sunshiny day.  David Richardson also posted a fine video of the 2011 gathering.   Bob Berry’s gorgeous red Studebaker was prominent and it makes friends lonesome for the sight of Bob and Mary.  Hopefully they will be here again this year.  With recent rain and promise of cooler temperatures, the weather ought to be perfect on the 5th and 6th.  A note from Cathy Mallernee to champion @ championnews.us asks “Can you tell me were (The Pioneer Descendant’s Gathering) is located and give me directions please?”  She also says, “Thank you.”  Cathy, if you are in Ava, go East on Highway 14 for 18 miles to County Road 341. If you are in Mountain Grove, go South on 95 Highway to Gentryville and turn right on Highway 14 to get to County Road 341.  From there go South for four miles following the signs to the Edge of the World.  The road is well marked and the parking is good when you get down there.  They always provide golf carts from the parking area to the event grounds for anyone who might need some help getting around.  Bring your lawn chairs to rest under the big pavilion where lots of live music will be going on.  There are acres of interesting exhibits and demonstrations and the chance to bump into folks that you may seldom see.  There is plenty of good food.  The event is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.  There is no admission and it is a wholesome family affair that will draw you back year after year.  Have fun!

        The last of the tomatoes are coming in and some of the greens planted last summer are making.  Pretty soon there will be hardly anything to do in the garden.  Go up to The Plant Place in Norwood to find a few things to put in this fall and to visit with Linda about how to bed your garden down for the winter.  Then go enjoy some music.  There are reports on the internet of another superb night at the Vanzant Music Jam with lots of tasty food, nice folks and music, music, music.  It happens every Thursday Night.  Ruth Collins says that she appreciates such a fine group of pickers and listeners.  Gospel songs, bluegrass and country music make her happy and her smile is a light for the room.  She wrote a note to Sherry thanking her for lugging that big old bass around and said “It adds so much to the music.”  It does.  Sherry provides a solid beat that makes it all just right.

        When a friend, a family member, or a rank stranger knocks on a door in Champion unexpectedly, he is met graciously.  The house may not be clean.  A person may have plans and be busy.  The caller may just pop in for a moment or may arrive with expectations of a lengthy stay just figuring that he is loved and welcome.  Whether or not accommodations are easily available or the visit is appropriate or fitting, Champions are most likely to extend the courtesy to invite the guest in, or at least to stand on the porch and visit for a spell in the case of the stranger, particularly if he is rank.  Champions do not need lead-time, advanced notice or an R.S.V.P. to be polite.  It is just natural.  They say that hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.  Augustus McCall of “Lonesome Dove” fame said, “There’s no excuse for rude behavior.”  It certainly does not fly in Champion and the rest of the world could well take a lesson therefrom.  It could just be that a surprise is anathema to some and the rebuffed should endeavor to not take it personally.  A traveler to other parts of the big world might well say, “Come on down through the beautiful hills to the end of the pavement, where country roads meet by the wild wooly banks of Old Fox Creek, where generous spirits prevail  and where ‘Welcome!’ is the byword– to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!”

The good news in Champion comes in the form of wonderful weather, though some are beginning to feel a little chilly in the mornings.  Those folks who are responsible for cleaning the flues and getting the kindling boxes full figure that they should have had it all done already. There are so many distractions this time of the year it is hard to focus on what is important until the toes hit the cold floor one morning.  The woods will be full of the sound of chain saws as the slackers start gathering wood that should have been in the shed already.   There will soon enough be frost on pumpkins whether or not residents are ready.  Champions are ready.

Betty and Dale Thomas are getting ready for their 12^th annual Pioneer Descendants Gathering down at the Edge of the World.  This year it will happen on October 5^th and 6^th.  There will be lots of live music provided by local bands.   They have constructed a marvelous huge pavilion where people can sit in their lawn chairs and listen to music the whole day long.  The many demonstrations of the 1860 to 1960 era, the wonderful food and wagon rides down along the creek make this a popular annual event.  It is promoted by the many descendants of Tom Brown and John Burden.  Royce Henson and Jo, of Springfield, are most likely going to come out for the festivities.  It will be nice to visit with Royce to find out how his wagon ride went.  He caught the wagon train in Champion on Thursday, the 12^th and rode down to Cold Springs with them.  That is the reverse of the walk he likes to take to get to the Champion School Reunion every year.   He is an intrepid traveler and a true Champion.   It will be good news to Royce and to others who attended the Champion School Reunion that things are back to rights in the old school building after the dramatic flood of August 8^th.  The floor and the carpet have been thoroughly and professionally dried and reattached.  The pews are back in place and all is well.  Young Drayson Cline, now a month old, enjoyed some singing there Sunday and did some of his own.  He comes down to see his Grandmother often and the whole community enjoys getting to spend some time with him.  He is already a Champion.
Skyline School fourth grader Dustin Johnson will have his birthday on September 26^th which is Thursday.  Maybe his folks will give him a treat and get him started off right with a trip to Vanzant to the bluegrass jam that happens every Thursday there.  He could share his birthday cake at the pot luck and then settle in for some good music.   Ms. Nicki, the preschool aide at Skyline will celebrate on the 27^th.   Friday is always a good day for a party.   A regular follower of The Champion News who lives in Texas sometimes and in Belize other times, Becky Heston, shares her birthday with Judge Dale Johnson of Mason, Texas on the 29^th.  They are longtime friends of each other and of Champion as well, Judge Johnson by his nature and Ms. Heston by experience, having toured the place a few years back.  Newt Souder is in the 6^th grade and will have his birthday on September 30^th.   A birthday on a Monday is a splendid way to start any week, Newt.  “Tuesday’s child is full of grace” according to a traditional British rhyme and so Lydia Harden will enjoy her day with her kindergarten class at Skyline.  Birthdays seem more exciting to five year olds than to people in their late middle age, middle age being considered between age 55 and 70.    A prominent Champion, who graciously likes to go unnoticed, will celebrate quietly that day and will open his birthday cards in private.  He always remembers that if a person acts like he is having a good time, pretty soon he will forget that he is acting and he will really be having a good time. People reading The Champion News in other parts of the country are often looking for names of people they know.  It turns out that some people do not like having their name in the paper.  Some do not mind.  Some rather like it.  The often vague references to individuals or affectionate diminutives referring to one or the other will not confuse distant readers.  You probably know who they are—those Champions.  Send your guesses of who might be who to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to the new email address Champion@championnews.us.  Wander through the website at www.championnews.us for clues while you are resting up from working in the garden.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that the 28^th and 29^th will be good days to plant turnips!                     Those pleasant, helpful, friendly, hardworking, productive, efficient and good looking gentlemen of the East End County Road Shed over in Drury have been steadily working improvements on the much damaged roadways in the area.   August’s floods wreaked havoc on low water crossings and some road beds that had never before been under water.  The Clever Creek crossing has a new extension of concrete covering an area that has washed out repeatedly over the years.  New slabs and repairs to old ones up and down the road make it a safe and beautiful drive, ride or walk.   It is the very definition of infrastructure.   Thanks, fellows!

Gary Allan is a singer songwriter who says, “Every storm runs out of rain just like every dark night turns into day.  Every heartache will fade away just like every storm runs out of rain.”  As things get back to normal in Champion it is hard not to think of the many people in Colorado who have lost homes, and roads, and whole communities , as well as lives, to the disaster of floods that followed fires.  Every part of the country is subject to some kind of weather calamity, though the catastrophes may not happen often.  In Douglas County, it is reported that there has been a tornado to strike in every month of the year.  It just goes to show that danger is ever present no matter where one might live.  Since the whole round world seems to be fraught with peril to some degree, it only makes good sense to live at the end of the pavement, at the bottom of several hills where country roads meet.  A person can stop in at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square for necessities, niceties, news and neighboring.  Hum that tune, “Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong,” while you are out on the spacious veranda enjoying the tranquility of one of the world’s beautiful places—Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 16, 2013

        The excitement of the wagon train left Champion feeling good.  It is a real gift to be part of a vital community that can support and encourage such an interesting and important event.  It is more than nostalgia that keeps these people rolling along in mule and horse drawn wagons.  They make up a great and close community among themselves while preserving the technology and knowhow that might prove invaluable one day.  Without prognosticating any calamity, it is still good to know that these skills have not been discarded.  The train has been coming through at this time of the year since the early 1980’s.  Some of these folks have made every trip.  It is one of the many bright spots in the Champion year—one of the brightest.

        It was a good time on the side of the hill with all the spectators and musicians on Thursday.  The General showed up and wisely loaned his guitar to Butch Stone who sang one great old song after another with Wayne Anderson, Jerry Wagner, Sherry Bennett and a number of other players who came and went during the course of the afternoon.  Butch left saying he was supposed to have been home two hours earlier.  His audience was glad he had dallied.  The General got tangled up in a fairly short loop of string but finally got loose for the last few tunes of the day.  He was so loose, in fact, that he started the Dueling Banjo’s on the guitar.  He was hard put to keep up the speed with Wayne on the real banjo.  His family always finds him entertaining.  It is a sweet experience to hear the stories of the old days back in the fifties when a lot of these fellows were teenagers.  Joann Anderson says that her children are always wishing their dad would record these memories.  They might have to come armed with their own tape recorders.  Though hearers may not remember the details of the various escapades of the storytellers, it is sure that the flavor is captured and affection shared and built with an understanding of the history of the place and the people.  It is also a lovely thing to see the look on a musician’s face as he struggles to remember a tune.  Their faces relax and their eyes look up as if the notes were written on the clouds.  When they find them, it always brings a smile.

        It was a great surprise to see five wagons going south on Cold Springs Road Saturday.  These folks were on a self-contained trip back to Viola, Arkansas.  Visiting brothers from Iowa, who had missed the wagon train earlier in the week, had the chance to see this bunch up close as they camped in Champion overnight.  It is a genuinely hospitable place.

        Champions can find something special about any day that comes along.  It is part of the overall philosophy of the place to be alert to the good things as they are happening.  Sunday started off with Elmer Banks birthday, and then Monday, the 16th of September is the day Mexico celebrates as the start of their eleven year war of independence from Spain (1810-1821).  Linda’s Almanac says that Tuesday will be a good day to kill plant pests like poison ivy and weeds of all sorts.  Wednesday will be good for planting crops that bear their yield above the ground and Thursday will be good for root crops and for transplanting.  The Harvest Moon is full on the 19th at 6:13 a.m.  Friday may still be ‘date night’ for some households, but certainly not all.  Then comes Saturday and Skyline VFD Auxiliary members Louise Hutchison and Betty Elliot share their birthday.  The 21st is also the birthday of Champion granddaughter, Zoey Louise, and her second cousin Penelope, both of Austin, Texas.  In years past the Autumnal Equinox was celebrated on the 21st thinks one old Champion.  A little research reveals that due to the necessity of recent astronomical measurements, the date of the holiday is not officially declared until February of the previous year.  It became a public holiday in 1948—Equinox Day, September 22nd.  Skyline’s preschool teacher, Ms. Angie, has her birthday on the 23rd.  Landon King is in Kindergarten at Skyline.  His birthday is on the 24th.  Every day of the week has something interesting going on.

        The weather seems to be moderating nicely and Champions have no kind of complaint.  A little rain settles the dust and saves some irrigating, and cooler temperatures foretell the autumn chill ahead. There is much to do this time of the year and Champions are busy.  When the Work is Done This Fall might be a song to add to a cowboy repertory.  One of the jolly cowboys discussing plans at ease said that when the roundup days are over and the shipping all is done,” I’m going right straight home, boys, before my money’s gone.  I have changed my ways, boys.  No more will I fall.  Yes, I’m going home, boys, when the work’s all done this fall.”  Getting the last of the harvest in and a few fall things planted will keep some busy while others are ambitious and getting the big plots in the garden tilled, fertilized and mulched over for winter.  Others are planting winter rye.  Houseplants are coming in from outside.  Walnuts are falling.  It’s that time of the year.  Bud Hutchison’s trail ride will be coming up soon and the Pioneer Descendants Gathering will happen the 5th and 6th of October.  Time passes quickly.

        Look in on www.championnews.us  to find pictures of the wagon train, the music and frivolity, which may include some shots of the general in a tangle.  Send your news and birthdays to the new email address Champion @ championnews.us.  Come stand out on the broad veranda of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square to sing your favorite end of summer song.  Ray from over at Almartha rides his Harley over a couple of times a week just to enjoy what he thinks is one of the last such places in the country –a community at the end of the  pavement where country roads begin, at the bottom of several hills on the wild and wooly banks of a wet weather creek under the shade of ancient trees.  Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 9, 2013

        It is a lovely sight in Champion to see the pastures still green even as the wet weather creeks have dried up again.  Few complaints are to be heard as the moderation of the temperatures and hope of a little rain will smooth out minor wrinkles that vex perfection.  Champion–glorious in all seasons!

        Bud Hutchison hosted an impromptu trail ride to accommodate folks from Michigan and Louisiana on Friday.  He will have his regular fall event coming up in October, but the serendipitous spontaneity of Friday’s ride honored a promise to show these out- of- towners the sites.  Festus Hagen would say that Champion is plumb ‘sitesome’ or maybe he would say ‘looksome.’  The sightseers ambled around for several hours covering a solid 20 miles of beautiful Champion territory and are all much plussed for the experience.  They are reported to have had a pleasant, uneventful ride and that none had to be fished from the drink.  Their names are written in the guest book at the Restoration of the Historic Emporium together with notations of their home places.  That guest book is doubtlessly an interesting read.

        Cowboy Jack did not make this ride, but made it down to Champion to visit with his friends.  He will most likely make an appearance as an out-rider with the West Plains Wagon Club wagon train when it sashays into Champion on Thursday.  They generally leave West Plains on Monday and make it to Champion about midday on Thursday.  They loiter about the Square to give themselves a rest and observers the opportunity to examine these wonderful rigs and beautiful draft animals up close.  The General has made a tentative commitment to show up about eleven with his guitar.  The preeminent resident of Champion would specify that The General often commits and then is called away on business so urgent that he cannot be held in contempt for a failure to appear.  He is an important man.  Spectators will park out on the road or on the edge of town so that the wagons and animals can enjoy the little church yard under the big trees for their rest.  Spectators will include a sizable contingent of the General’s blood kin and so if he does show he will be on good behavior.  Cooler weather is predicted for the Champion segment of the wagon train’s journey so the travelers will all be in a good mood when they arrive.  The wagons have rubber tires and spring seats but the hard work, knowledge and skill that it takes to roll across country behind a team is authentic to the experience of those who ‘paved’ the way long ago.  Welcome!

        A prominent citizen in Champion concludes that fall is on the way.  He says that the walnut leaves are fluttering down in golden swirls, just a ’trickling down to the parched, dry ground.   He speculates that should the Cowboy take a tumble from his mighty high horse, he would come up coughing and sputtering, perhaps gasping and snorting to clear his windpipe of the dreadful desiccating dust.  Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood says that any above the ground crops planted on Friday and Saturday will do well.  Some are planting spinach, lettuce and radishes thinking that these things can stand a little frost.  That frost could be around the corner in two or three weeks is another of those startling yet not unexpected proofs of the rapid passage of time.  Where did the summer go?

        Tanna Jo will have her birthday of Friday the 13th!  That will be just fine.  She is not superstitious and is a lucky person blessed with a beautiful family and a great joie-de-vivre.  Foster and Kalyssa can use their new tuning forks to pitch a great happy birthday song to their dear, sweet Mother.  On the 14th a regular visitor to the Ozarks, nephew Konrad, will have a birthday that will be celebrated in song by daughters, Sophia and Penelope who are great Champion aficionadas.  Over at Skyline School, two seventh graders, Derek Camp and Donavon Sarginson, celebrated on September 5th.  Lexus Ledbetter is in kindergarten and has a birthday on the 10th of September.  Breann Davis, sixth grader, has hers on the 14th.  Grandparents Day at Skyline School was a particularly wonderful day for Taegan Krider.  She is in pre-kindergarten and loves it.  She had both of her Grandmothers visit her in school Friday.  They did a little hand print craft project together making some good memories.  Elmer Banks has been out of school for a long time but still has birthdays and his is on the 15th.  He knows how to enjoy himself and people in his company are usually having fun.  He has recently gained some admirers for a particular exercise in restraint.  He is a transplanted Transylvania Champion well met!

        The Thursday night jam session at the Vanzant Community Building draws musicians from all around the county and beyond.  Here are some but not nearly all of the songs heard there recently:  Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlights, When It’s Springtime in Alaska, I Thought He Walked on Water, Somebody Touched Me, Mule Skinner Blues, Walk Softly On This Heart of Mine, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, Where Could I Go But to the Lord, Wabash Cannonball, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Fox on the Run, Bear Tracks, Blackberry Blossom, God Gave Me You, Wildwood Flower, Memories That Haunt Me, Oh! They Tell Me of an Uncloudy Day, Cry Cry Darling, Why Did I leave The Plow in the Field, Wayfaring Stranger, Crazy Arms, Shady Grove, There She Goes, and I’ll go Stepping Too.  Musicians are often some of the friendliest and most generous people around.  They are interested and supportive of each other in ways that the broader community could stand to emulate.

        Send news, birthdays to celebrate, traits to emulate or favorite songs to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO. 65717.  The email address is changing to Champion @ championnews.us.  The website www.championnews.us is full of pictures of the Brushy Knob bear, the Champion flood of 2013, wagon trains, school reunions and a video of The Grand Opening of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in 2011.  Archives of all the Champion News since August, 2006, are there as well.  A stroll through cyberspace is an agreeable method to idle away an hour, but live and in person is the best way to enjoy one of the world’s truly beautiful places.  Come south on C Highway from Norwood, or north on C from Highway 14 and turn east on WW.  Follow it for two miles or so over hill and dale until the pavement runs out and there you will be in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

CHAMPION—September 2, 2013

        The hottest day of the year so far was Saturday, August 31^st and also the day of the annual Champion School Reunion.  That did not seem to make much of a difference to the fifty or so stalwart Champions, families and friends who enjoyed the afternoon under the ancient walnut trees in the old school yard.  Ruby Proctor pointed to the tree that was home base and told about the batter who let go of the bat after a hit.  It hurled right into her face and she said she still had the scar, but her sweet smile hides it well.  Some of the others who passed the day with Ruby were Elsie Curtis, Debbie Massey, Connie Brown, Robert Brown, Paul Brown, Lee Brown, Richard and Kaye Johnston, Karen Krider, Ray Hicks, Pete Proctor, Harold and Eva Phillips,  Elva Ragland, Sheila Brown, Betty Henson, Fern Bishop, Kenneth and Barbara Anderson, Wayne and JoAnn Anderson, Russell and Dean Upshaw, Frank and Freda Proctor, Arlene Cooley, Tom Cooley, Laine Sutherland, Frances Sutherland, Billy Jo Lambert and his son, Don Krewson, Anita Krewson, Wayne Sutherland, Modeen Dooms, Mrs. LuAllen and two daughters, her son and his wife, Benton Hutchinson, Jackie Coonts, Dale and Betty Thomas, Leslee Krider, Bill Smith, Wilma Hutchison Pointer and her husband, Royce and Joe Henson and Vaughn Henson.  Royce and his son Vaughn completed the Walk of Ages again this year from Cold Springs all the way to Champion.  Champions know about how far that is and about how long ago it was that the roads were full of young folks going here and there.  A few old pictures came out at the reunion, and many old memories of pleasant days long gone.  They may seem more pleasant now than they were then, but memory plays some great tricks.  It is easy to forget the hard times after a while and to let those sweet remembrances hang on.  There were some notable absences, but perhaps next year the weather will be more mild and those who could not make it this year will be able to come home again.  Champion!

        So many inquiries were made concerning the dates of the wagon train schedule this year that a call was made to West Plains Wagon Club ramrod, Clifton Luna.  He says that the outfit plans to leave West Plains on the 9^th of September and will roll into Champion on Thursday the 12^th at about their regular time.  That is somewhere around late morning to noon.  They generally rest up and lunch in Champion and then make their way up Cold Springs Road to a campsite north of Skyline.  Look at pictures of previous wagon trains on line at www.championnews.us.  Everyone is invited to come out to the Square on Thursday to enjoy seeing all the various wagons and rigs and the beautiful horses and mules.  One year a guy showed up in a cart pulled by a goat.  It was funny looking but it got there just the same.  Moderate weather will be expected and appreciated for the sojourn as well as for the journey.

        The Dogwood School Reunion is coming up October 19^th at Evans.  Betty Thomas claims to make excellent cheese enchiladas and plans to bring some to that gathering to satisfy the hankering of a native Texan whom she has invited to attend.  She and Dale were also handing out flyers for their twelfth annual Pioneer Descendants Gathering down at their place at Yates on October 5^th and 6^th.  This event has become a great new tradition in these parts out on the “Edge of the World.”

        Birthdays are good for your health.  Studies have shown that people who have more birthdays live the longest.  Kalyssa had a great sixth birthday on Saturday and was treated to a roller skating adventure by her family.  Reports have not arrived concerning the celebration of Jenna Brixey, born on the same day, though it is a fairly sure bet that it was a good one.  The first of September is the birth anniversary of Larry Wrinkles.  Teresa is certain to have made his favorite dish.  Perhaps Sandy Ray Chapin will have prepared something wonderful for his lovely wife, Janet, on her special day as well.  Over at the Skyline School seventh grader, Derek Camp, will have his birthday on Thursday the 5^th.  The 8^th of September will be on Sunday this year.  That is the birthday of intrepid bridge player Carol Tharp of Vera Cruz.  She has a birthday buddy group that knows how to celebrate and then her bridge friends will put the icing on the cake at their next game.  Elmer Banks has a birthday coming up on September 15^th.  Various hunting and fishing seasons open up in Missouri on that day and in the United Kingdom it is The Battle of Britain Day.  Elmer shares his birthday with Roy Acuff, Jackie Cooper, James Fennimore Cooper, Tommy Lee Jones and other famous people.  Elmer makes quite a good local celebrity and always has some interesting information to share.  He is quick to attribute his facts to the proper source, but Champions generally just remember that Elmer said it.  For instance one can learn from him that Douglas County is the second largest county in the state and is the least populated and the most economically depressed.  It is also the only county with only one town.  Some prominent citizens dispute that fact, however, and can be heard doing so vociferously in the community meeting room at the Recreation of the Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion.

        Taegan (Peanut) Krider has taken to pre-school like a duck to water and her folks are feeling like empty nesters.  They grow up so quickly.  She is very fond of her new cousin, Drayson Cline, who was in Champion for the first time Sunday.  He was very well received and there was a line waiting to get the chance to hold him.  His great uncle Richard very much enjoyed his turn with the little fellow.

        Linda’s Almanac from over at The Plant Place in Norwood indicates that the 3^rd through the 6^th will be a most barren period, best for killing plant pests or doing chores around the farm.  After that there will be several good days for planting crops that bear their yield above ground, especially leafy greens and the like. Linda has some nice Cole crops started for the fall.  Find her Almanac on line at www.championnews.us or at Henson’s Grocery and Gas or up at The Plant Place.  She always has some good advice to share and is pleased to answer any gardening questions.  The erstwhile barber of Champion West should ask her why his beans bloom but do not set any fruit.  He was down at the store on Wednesday bragging about all the canning he was doing with crates and cases of food he had bought in various places.  Once his brand new overalls are washed a few times he might start looking a little less like the city slicker he plans to be when he moves to town.  When he gets there he will look like a country boy.

        “Why did I leave the plow in the field and look for a job in the town?”  Now that is one that many know and it is likely to be sung at the Vanzant Thursday Night Jam Session.  Last week a dozen or more musicians entertained a good size crowd.  It is wonderful to see the age range from fourteen to way-on-up-yonder all enjoying the musical tie that binds.  Your good news is welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or at Champion at getgoin.net.  Spread it in person out on the graceful veranda of the Elegant Emporium in the city center–Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!