Champion News

It is sad news to hear of the passing of Harley Krider. He was here from Peoria for his class reunion in September and then more recently for the funeral of his sister Vivian Floyd. He and Barbara have been coming back to Champion for the 58 years of their marriage, bringing fun with them. Recent visits had Harley spinning yarns in the store while Barbara laid waste to any Scrabble challengers there in the game room. Harley grew up here, attending the Champion School, where he and Punk (Eldridge) Hicks and Larry Wrinkles were a teenage trio that could melt a heart with their rich gospel harmonies. Arthur Porter was their teacher back then. Harley complained about having to stem gooseberries when he was a kid when he would rather have been doing something else. His many friends and family here will be reminiscing about a genuinely nice man. His dad, Oscar, had grown up around Brixey and his mother, Goldie, over on Bryant Creek at 76. They settled in Champion where they milked cows and raised a family. Both Harley and his brother Lonnie said their dad never went to town without a hymn book in his pocket. He could always find someone on the corner to sing with him. He passed the gift of music to all his children. Harley had a beautiful voice that will be much missed.

Looking back to last week: Sister Ruby of Our Lady of the Golden Slippers was fanning herself with a paper plate at the Vanzant Jam. Her habit was hot. The Gypsy was hot too, glittering and dazzling in all her finery. Ruthie came as her lovely self, as did many sensible people. At least three big black hats designated cowboys and two handsome gents sported overalls, though that is their regular attire. They were not in costume. Sherry was in costume, but she always sparkles. The gala affair featured eight guitars and at least a dozen guitar players, four mandolins, two bass fiddles, a bass guitar, a ukulele, and a fine fiddle. Bill Tackett from Caufield brought his mandolin and Jerry Tackett came over from Dora with his guitar. Notably absent were the hippies from last year. The fiddler of that pair was off on an oinking expedition. Then, there was the “boy of summer,” referring to a baseball player. All the various fastpitch teams for which he played were represented in the uniform of General Fastpitch, topped off with a stunning pink chapeau. What a way to end summer!

The General has so far not revealed his pic in the World Series. An article from “The Screwball Times” says that the U.S. Army has long recognized that gum chewing reduces stress and chewing gum has been included in combat rations since World War I. “There is little doubt that chewing gum can be a powerful stress buster. One has only to look at a tightly contested baseball game on TV to see how many players, coaches and managers are vigorously chewing bubble gum or something else to relieve their pent up tension.” When Red Barber and his contemporaries were broadcasting baseball on the radio, somehow it seemed to be a more elegant sport. Champions try to look the other way, grateful to not be so ‘up tight.’ Play ball!

Sunday’s welcome to fall that feels like winter gives some old Champions a chance to bring in the last of the garden gifts. The wonderful inch or so of rain soothes nerves about forest fires and affords people purging paper the opportunity to set the heap ablaze. They will be bundled up to do so. The Chiefs had to bundle up in Denver. It was a cold, hard difficult day for them, but their fans have faith they will be back on top when they play the Miami Dolphins over in Germany next week. People who just get their television over the air and do not get a bill for it will have to wait until after Thanksgiving to get to see their Chiefs again. Meanwhile, there will likely be football to watch several times a week.

The striving and struggle for optimism is ongoing. Exciting Halloween hoopla, baseball’s world series, college and big league football, the internet, daily work and chores, friends and family, solitaire, homework, and music practice can combine and/or alternate to keep our focus away from the horrific things going on in other parts of the world, natural and manmade. Even these many distractions cannot wholly insulate Champions who are always trying to Look on the Bright Side!

Champion Trail Ride

Champions are ready for rain even as they glory in the beauty of early autumn. It may be, because of the lack of rain, that things just go from green to brown. Still when the light hits just right there are dazzling yellows, surprising oranges, a rare red, and purple. Who thinks about purple? But the dogwoods do and so does random sumac. A knowledgeable Champion says sumac is kin to the cashew and they may both be in the poison ivy family. We might look it up. “Anyway,” as the Prominent Champion often says, one is pretty, and one is tasty. We will not worry about the ‘family.’ It rarely does any good.

Wednesday’s Champion Trail Ride was an unqualified success. Twenty individuals mounted up, nineteen on horses and one on a mule, which is reported to be for sale, according to Trail Boss Andrew Harden. He says mules are always for sale. Recovering nicely from having been seriously thrown in February of last year, Karen Brown, was happy to finally make this ride. Her accident had been catastrophic and but for the intrepid first responders of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department, she would likely have not fared so well. She had been looking forward this ride since arriving in these parts five years ago. She said it was a lovely trip including the sighting of a couple of bears out on the small trail on the Shannon Ranch, probably a mother and baby. Several of the riders have been making this trip for many years, going back to the early days when Bud Hutchison was leading them all into fun and excitement and Wilma was lining them up to take their picture. Don Hamby reported on the ride to friends and reminisced: “Bud grew up in the Champion community and always liked and rode horses. He told me of a mare he had when he was young that would kick straight back with both hind feet when he would flank her. This was ideal for a teenage prank during a church meeting. Bud admitted that the story was true of him backing his mare up to the church building and flanking her and she kicked the building with both hind feet during the church service. Bud was a good friend and a good man and in later years went inside of the church houses. This story and others are treasures and Bud shared many of his stories while we rode the roads near Champion in years past.” We can only imagine the stories being retold by the old timers to all the new folks joining this traditional escapade. To folks who have never been on a horse, the sight of teenagers comfortable in their saddles makes them think the future is in the hands of some well-grounded young folks.

A bunch of road warriors turned on to Fox Creek Road at Denlow on Saturday and toured all the way around down past Wolf Pen Hollow on Cold Springs Road a couple of hours later. They may have met the pavement at Cold Springs on 76, or perhaps they arrived up on C Highway somewhere south of Skyline. There were four or five side-by-side four wheeler outfits, some flying flags, and a little jeep bringing up the rear. The leader, a handsome white haired gentleman, beamed, “It’s a lovely day for it!” He had a wide smile and a hand or foot light enough on the throttle to be able to enjoy the sights without throwing up much dust for those behind, riding drag. It seemed like a perfect Saturday.

Thursday had been nice too. At the jam, some regular players were absent from the circle, but some seldom seen ones, including Jim Orchard, Mark Eldringhof, Keith Turner, and various others sat in, along with some very newcomers, well welcomed. It was unusual not to have a bass fiddle or bass guitar in a circle of a dozen bluegrassers, but they persevered with some serious foot patting. It was a farewell evening for Idaho Upshaws who vow to be back in May to Vanzant, to Denlow, and to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

Tuesday morning finds frost on the Champion pumpkin–not a hard freeze, but just enough to verify that the seasons are changing. Abundant spring rain and a mostly, well partly, mild summer have us well situated for some autumnal splendor. Clouds obscuring Saturday’s solar eclipse failed to drop the rain needed to make for a safe burning of the pounds of paper being purged by Old Champions. The seemingly relentless wind hardly helps. Campions take fire safety seriously and genuinely appreciate those volunteers who help us when we need it, responding to fires, accidents, and serious health concerns.

“Shining a light on the past to illuminate the future” is what they say about Ken Burns who has made amazing documentaries about the Civil War, the Dust Bowl, Baseball, Jazz, Country Music, several other subjects and, currently, the American Buffalo. It may not be so much to illuminate the future that Champions are so interested in their past as it might be to understand how they got here. Chatter around the old wood stove in the Historic Emporium often centers around old family connections and antics of ancestors. The General and his big bunch just enjoyed the Ousley, Alsup, Livingston reunion. His great, great granddad on his mother’s side, James Ousley, is buried at Denlow. James’ brother, Crawford, kept the “Owsley” spelling. James’ dad was Joseph Owsley. Joseph’s brother, Richard, is the third great grandfather of J.c. Owsley up in Cross Timbers. J.c. and The General are fifth cousins. This is only part of the mind boggling information that The General has documented in genealogical binders for his children. Similar histories exist on his dad’s side of the family, which reveal him to be kin, a very distant cousin, to the Prominent Champion with whom he frequently exchanges good natured jibes out on the wide veranda. Some of the family trees in this part of the country look more like the briar patch, but they seem to be peopled by generally nice folks.

Those Skyline Volunteer Firefighters were well represented at the Skyline School Fall Carnival, helping with the games, and helping disappear some great chili. Skyline students celebrating birthdays soon are kindergartener London Coon on the 22nd. The 24th is for third grader Grant Strong and prekindergarten student Bo Lynn. Kayleigh Crownover, a third grader, will celebrate on the 28th along with prekindergarten’s John Sudderth. Seventh grader Addison Burns will party on the 30th.

Up on WW Highway, the lovely Darlene celebrates her birthday on October 18th. That is the same day for Champion grandson Carson Cline who lives over in Tennessee near his uncle Marty, whose big day is the 20th. The next day we remember fondly Anna Henson. She and Ed kept Champion supplied with its necessities for many years. Donna Moskaly has an award winning painting of the Champion store hanging in the store. Check it out. She is talented. Her birthday is on the 22nd and Ester Grace Ogelsby, also a Champion grandchild, will be six years old on the 23rd. Her Aunt Breauna Krider has the 24th for her big day. Esther Grace’s dad, Brad Ogelsby, and her great uncle Harley Krider share the 26th for their party day. That is the big one for Shala Clark too, mother of Champion great-grandchildren. The 30th is for the late Royce Henson, and for the charming Connie Landsdown, another pleasant lady up on WW Highway. Go east on that highway from Connie’s house and you will soon be at the end of the pavement where country roads meet at the banks of Fox Creek.

Look for pictures next week of the annual Champion Trail Ride, which is now considered to be the Bud Hutchison Memorial Trail Ride. Andrew Harden has taken the lead in Bud’s absence and will likely be abetting the hooky-playing of a couple of Skyline students. Among those pounds of paper the Old Champion is trying to dispose of is a yellowing scrap of undated newsprint showing a group of riders at the Champion Loafing Shed on the halfway point of their 43 mile trip from Crystal Lake to Champion and back. They were Bud Hutchison, Howard Price, Bob Herd, Mutt Stone, Gene Dun and Raymond Johnson. This week’s ride will be missing those old timers, but will be continuing a special tradition. While the expedition will be shorter in distance, just over to the Shannon Ranch and back, it will be long in memory making for young riders. The forecast is for a warm, lovely day. The intrepid equestrians will be glad for ice cream upon their return to Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!