October 14, 2013
CHAMPION—October 14, 2013
Bud Hutchison’s Fall Trail Ride is slated to take out of Champion on Wednesday the 16th. The weather sounds like it is going to be ideal for the ride. The bunch will be made up of Foxtrotters and others equestrians who will rendezvous at Champion in the morning and then mosey over to Drury on the back roads. They’ll make it back to Champion in the early afternoon and will be tired but satisfied for the adventure. Happy trails! They will have been dazzled by the autumn colors. The sumac, poison ivy, and trumpet vines are all going to purples and reds; the persimmons are turning yellow; sassafras will be brilliant red and the beauty of the dogwood tree in every season is yet to be adequately described. Fall elicits a special showing from the lovely State Tree. The summer rains and recent mild temperatures are working together to make this a spectacular year for color. Champions watch it happen and are jubilant!
The Skyline VFD Auxiliary got together on Wednesday evening in the community room at Henson’s Grocery and Gas in Downtown Champion. President Betty Dye oversaw the meeting with Betty Henson, Betty Elliot, Lisa Shepherd, Fae Krider, Sharon Sikes, and Wilda Moses in attendance. Chris Daily was detained by other obligations and was missed. Karen Griswold was helping her firefighter husband, Bill, as he struggles with health issues that a have all their friends, family and firefighting fellows thinking about them with good thoughts. Pat Moser, a Skyline VFD fan from over in Brushy Knob, who exhibited enthusiasm for the organization at the summer picnic, did not get the notice of the meeting in time to attend. She will be on the regular mailing list henceforth. Louise Hutchison did not make the meeting this time either. She and Wilburn have just returned home from a lengthy stay in town. The internet is a-buzz with ‘welcome homes’ to them, happy birthday wishes, and general well wishes from friends, family, and their happy Champion neighbors. Louise has put a lot of time and energy into the Auxiliary over the years. It is good to have the neighborhood complete again. Back to the meeting: regular business was addressed and then the focus turned to the chili supper. It is figured that March 8th will be a good day for it, March 15th as a bad weather day. Details of the music, the quilt and the food were discussed and good progress made toward another event that will be the cure for cabin fever come March. Planning ahead is a good thing.
A nice note from Pete Proctor lets Ruby’s friends know that she is doing well in her new situation. She is in the Country Living Assisted Living facility north of the Fruit Experiment Station on Highway 95 in Mountain Grove. Her phone number there is 417-926-1955 extension 118. Her mailing address is Ruby Proctor Room 18, P.O. Box 649, Mountain Grove, MO 65711 if her friends wish to send a note. Look in the Champion Snapshots section of www.championnews.us to see a picture of Ruby and her family when they were on a ramble through Champion back in 2011. The Mountain Grove lot was joined by contingents from Cincinnati, Davenport and Bluegrass, Iowa. The steps of the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion make an excellent stage for family photos. This particular photo shows how Ruby’s sweet smile has been handed down and passed around to her whole family. It’s a joy to see Ruby smile—a genuine Champion!
Columbus Day came to be a celebrated in the 1930’s when the Knights of Columbus requested that President Roosevelt declare a National Holiday as a way to set forth a positive male role model for the Catholic Church. Of course, Columbus was a religious guy. He was also wildly curious as were all his stalwart companions on those early expeditions. In a time when printing presses were a brand new technology, more than 20 books were published by the adventurers of those famed voyages in the immediate years after their return. There are surely some interesting reads to be had there, keeping in mind that circumstances were probably significantly more dreadful and dark than rosy history paints. It was the 1490’s. October 12th was the day designated for school children to remember. Champions remember it and all kinds of important historical information and continue to be wildly curious. Janet Chapin has her birthday on the 12th of October. She seemed to have a good time if one believes everything one reads on the internet! “What a birthday! My Mizzou team beat Georgia. My Cardinals won their second game against the Dodgers. I beat Sandy in 10 straight games of Scrabble. We had a great hike and later, a challenging but beautiful bike ride on the Ouachita Vista Trail.” Sandy’s birthday was back on September 24th. It is reckoned that he had a good time too. Certainly he did if he spent it with Janet. They are accomplished gardeners and, like Linda up at The Plant Place in Norwood, they are happy to share the knowledge they have accumulated with their successful gardens in the Ozarks over many years. They live way over yonder, but they are Champions!
The bluegrass jam session at the Vanzant Community building is a lovely way to spend a Thursday evening. The pot luck starts about six with an ample spread and before long the music gets started and goes on and on. Sherry Bennett seemed surprised the other evening when a nice looking young fellow wearing a t-shirt that identified him as a sniper and as a 2013 Veteran of Afghanistan, picked and sang one out of her repertory: “Five Pounds of Possum in My Headlights.” He did a good job of it and Sherry seemed to enjoy it as much as the rest of the crowd. Sherry also enjoyed the Older Iron Club show over in Cabool over the weekend. She posted some really excellent pictures of the tractor parade, the quilt show and many of the other exhibits. It looked like the weather was perfect for the occasion and that there was good attendance. Champions certainly have interesting neighbors!
The evening news is where they begin with, “Good evening!” and then proceed to tell you why it is not. It is difficult to evaluate the message if you do not know the bias of the messenger. When the news from every source seems so ominous and worrisome, it does a body good to remember the good things about the Nation. Some of those things are freedom, liberty, equality, respect for the individual, respect for the law and for an independent judiciary, admiration for ambition, innovation and expanded thinking. Drop a note to Champion Items, Rt. 72, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717 or to champion at championnews.us with your ideas about what is good about the Nation. Come down to one of the worlds’ truly beautiful places and sing, “America! America! God shed His grace on thee!” You will be in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!
