Champion News

CHAMPION—December 8, 2014

        The population of Champion was increased on Tuesday, December 2^nd, with the birth of Luxe McKenzie Krider.  Her big sister Taegan, her parents, grandparents and all her cousins, aunts and uncles are delighted with a new addition to the family.  Champion is improved.  To paraphrase, “Welcome to our world.  We’re so glad you come on in.”

        The General, in his alter ego as Robert Hood, has made the cover of Time Magazine.  Acclaimed journalist and restaurateur, R. Quiet Timber, has documented lavishly for the internet, the heretofore unknown exploits of this dynamic individual who played back up behind Hank Williams, rode the Apollo 13 rocket to the moon, chatted up the Dali Lama and the Pope, hobnobbed with Queen Elizabeth II and FDR, applied diplomacy to Vladimir Putin and Kim Jon Un, taught George Clooney how to ride a bicycle, advised the Supreme Court, and currently unofficially officiates at the Thursday night Bluegrass Pot Luck and Jam Session under the bright lights of Old Vanzant.  Get out your fiddle and rosin up your bow!  The fun starts at 6:00 with supper and then music!

Workers from Southern Construction have been clearing the electric right-of-way for the White River Electric Co-op in Downtown Champion.

        Once again, Aaron L. Hawkins and the nice folks at Hawkins Home and Lawn are donating a new washer and dryer to a home in need during the giving season.  They are a generous outfit and have always been kind and supportive to the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department and other worthwhile organizations all around the area.  Marjorie Carter over there at the Downtown Pawn is a regular reader of The Champion News and also a regular supporter of the Skyline VFD.  Located midway between Ava and Mountain Grove, the VFD and the Skyline R2 School get good support from both directions.  It is a luxury to live in a part of the world where the community supports local merchants and the merchants support the community.  The White River Electric Co-operative is also part of that good reciprocal alliance.  Those fellows from Southern Construction have been busy cleaning up the right-of-ways (rights-of-way) for the White River electric lines with a bunch of big heavy equipment and a lot of hard working men.  This is a good time of the year to do this kind of work.  The leaves are down for the most part and the county brush hog has already been down the road chewing things up (in a good way) so that the initial mutilations of the landscape are not as unnerving as they might otherwise be.  Champions are alert to the possibility of a little blinking of the power while the dangerous work goes on.  There are quite a few folks around who remember when the first electric lines came to this part of the country way back when.  It might be interesting to see how well some young folks could navigate off the grid.  It would take some adjustment.  Brother Dave Gardner said, “If it weren’t for Thomas Edison, we’d all be sitting around watching television by candlelight.”

        A wise, wild and wonderful woman who does not celebrate birthdays and shall remain nameless has her birthday on December 10^th.  Her friend and The Champion News salute her for her positive resilience, her persistence, her creativity and her steadfastness, tenacity and grit.  Eva Coyote (Kai) Parsons celebrates her special day on the 11^th.  She lives out in Portland, Oregon with Sierra and Bailey, whose grandparents are homesteaders over on the west side of Ava.  There are a slew of lawyers, barristers, counselors, advocates, defenders, prosecutors and magistrates who share birthdays on the 10^th or the 11^th…notable folks on opposite and similar sides…all very what you call ‘civil.’  Things are getting pretty exciting for the young folks at Skyline R2 School as they endeavor to add their names to the seasonal “nice” list.  Devin Burdette and Tevin Burdette are in the first and second grades there and their birthdays are on 12-12.   The next day is written on the calendar 12-13-14.  It is the birthday of Richard Green.  As a youth, he served an extended stretch of time in Viet Nam in what was known as The Brown River Navy.  An article from the September, 1969, issue of “Stars and Stripes” says, “Nearly any day will find the three-year veteran of Navy service somewhere along the 25 miles of the meandering Vam Co Dong, 25 miles west of Saigon, which his division covers with visual recon missions, blocking stations, troop lifts and the like.  It is a job that has taken Green through more than 25 fire fights.  A job he says is often “boring as hell except for brief stretches when it is more exciting than anyone cares for.”  The anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor has Veterans much in the thoughts of Champions.  Men and women serving in uniform in dangerous places around the world and those who have served have Love and Gratitude due them from a Grateful Nation.

        Our favorite Dr. Schmeckle, while trading affectionate jibes with, Mr. Chide, happened to let loose of a piece of interesting information about the only time in history when the continental United States suffered an aerial bombardment in wartime.  It happened on September 9, 1942, on Mount Emily, near Brookings, Oregon, when a Japanese floatplane, piloted by Nobuo Fujita, launched from a submarine, was loaded with incendiary bombs and sent to start massive fires in the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest.  The attack caused only minor damage.  Dr. Schmeckle says they did not account for the annual rainfall in their target area.  Fujita came back to Brookings in 1962, and presented the town with his family’s 400-year-old samurai sword in friendship.  Seventy-three years later Pearl Harbor is still a tender spot for both sides.  Dr. Schmeckle lived in Japan for a number of years and can attest to the sincerity of the Fujita apology.  Thanks for the insight, Doc.

        The Skyline Archery Team competed in a tournament in Rogersville on Saturday against some big schools from Arkansas and Missouri.  Lannie Hinote says, “Congratulations to Cheyenne for placing 3^rd, Dylan for placing 4^th, and Morgan for placing 5^th, and Levi for placing 8^th, and super proud of the entire team for placing 4^th over-all against some really tough competition.”  Champions all!

        Instead of enjoying the sweet story of “It’s a Wonderful Life” on T.V. Saturday night of how Clarence got his wings, and how George Bailey gets a second chance to live and learns that Bedford Falls was much the better place for his having lived there, Ms. Anne Thrope writes in to The Champion News to say, “Potter did not give back the $8,000.00!  It is emblematic of everything that is messed up in the country today.  The government has been loaning money to the big national banks at less than one percent interest with the intention that the banks will lend money to people who will spend it in order to stimulate the economy.  Instead, the banks have been buying treasury notes from the government that pay more than one percent and pocketing the difference while executives are enjoying bigger bonuses than ever.  It is as crooked as it gets, there is no oversight, and that is why the economy is being so slow to recover.  It’s just crazy.”  This lady may have been raised a pessimisterian, but she makes her point.

        Wednesday found the same rowdy crowd around the old wood stove in the Recreation of the Historic Emporium over on the North Side of the Square.  Philosophy, history, local genealogy, jokes, recipes, tall tales and pertinent observations were bandied about.  Come down to the woolier than ever banks of Old Fox Creek and do some bandying of your own.  Share your thoughts about anything in person or at champion@championnews.us.  If you have a voice like Jim Reeves, you can sing “Welcome to my world.  Won’t you come on in?  Miracles, I guess, still happen now and then”…in Champion!  Looking on the Bright Side!