Champion News

CHAMPION COMMUNITY NEWS—April 14, 2008

        Champions are pleased that Monday morning’s frost was not as severe as they thought it might be.  It is always a treat to have pessimism thwarted.  Lilacs in low lying places may yet bloom and the late dogwoods will still be a delight to the eye.

        Raymond and Esther Howard were in Champion over the week end last week, so the place was quite jolly.  Raymond is not willing to jump the gun on squirrel season, but he’s looking forward to it.  Esther was full of her lovely smiles and remarked about how well she feels!  (What a good example that is—thinking about the things that feel good!)  Jack and Wilma Herman were also visiting and that is a rare and pleasant treat.  They are not milking any more but staying busy the way country people do, which is exactly as busy as a person wants to be.  Kalyssa and Foster had a busy week on their grandparents’ farm, helping with the milking and keeping track of that Old Red Rooster.  Foster thinks they ought to send him “on down the road to Texas.”  It was surprise during this last week when Jack walked into that milk barn in his boots and coveralls ready to help out.  Neighbors helping neighbors is a common thing in Champion.

        Champions rarely want to air their dirty laundry.  Mostly the things flapping in the breeze on the close lines in these parts have already been washed.  Once a long time ago there was a Champion in Henson’s store by the name of Hovey.  His friend noted that Hovey had his t-shirt on inside-out and said something to him about it.  Hovey replied that he knew it was inside-out and said that the other side was dirty!

        A delightful visit with Mrs. Ruby Proctor reveals that she is feeling pretty well in spite of having had some blood pressure issues lately.  She said her sister-in-law, Virginia Andrews, had been down from Springfield and the two of them had gone to see Bertha Woods.  She said that it was a good visit and that she is looking forward to having her brothers come home for Memorial Day.  She recalled that April Fools jokes around Champion frequently involved turning over the out-houses.  She said that Edgar Henson’s out-house was turned over many times and she thought that Ile Upshaw over in Denlow was sitting in his when it was turned over.  She mentioned some who might have been involved in that prank.  Champions have good memories.

        The Skyline VFD Ladies’ Auxiliary held a meeting in Henson’s Store on Tuesday evening.  It was well attended and a number of issues were discussed.  Among them was the success of the Chili Supper back on the first of March and the preliminary plans for the Picnic which will be held the second week-end in August.  Betty Dye was elected as the new president of the organization by a unanimous vote and the group is optimistic for another good year ahead.

        Linda’s almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 15^th to the 19^th will be a good time to grub out weeds, briars and other plant pests.  Then the signs change and it will be time to plant root crops again from the 20^th through the 23^rd.  The 22^nd and 23^rd will also be good for cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, kale, celery and other leafy vegetables and good for starting seed beds.

        A certain Champion wanted to make a cautionary note that the big rains in the area wash a lot of agricultural chemicals off the fields and into the streams.  There is also a lot of trash and big debris such as tree trunks and limbs that go rushing down fast moving streams with great speed and force.  It is very exciting to watch and also very dangerous.  More than one teen-age boy has been lost in the Ozarks in recent flooding.  Dirty, fast moving water is no place for little children to be playing even with a Mother’s supervision.  “A tragedy is altogether unnecessary!” chirps the old lady who claims to have become so old by being careful.

        Champion’s Tennessee friend Darrell Haden, originally from Smallette, has sent the words and music to Keep On the Sunny Side of Life.  His notes say that it was written in 1899, the words by Ada Blenkhorn and the music by J. Howard Entwhistle.  He said that it was recorded for the first time ever on May 9, 1928, in Camden, N.J. by the Victor Talking Machine Company which became RCA Victor the next year.  Because it is over a hundred years old it is in ‘the public domain,’ which means that it can be used by anyone without fear of copyright infringement.  It will be the first song in the New Champion Songbook which will be a loose-leaf build-it-yourself book—for Champions, by Champions.  Pick up a copy of the first song for free at Henson’s Store on the north side of the square in Champion or send a self-addressed-stamped envelope to the Champion Items mailbox.  This is a new project.  It replaces The Missouri Song List, which sparked a lot of interest but also quite a number of unfulfillable requests for CD’s of the music.  With the New Champion Songbook everyone can have a song in his heart!

        It has been noted that as of the first of March, 29, 320 U.S Service members have been hurt in the Iraq war.  The complete number of nonfatal casualties in Iraq according to the Department of Defense is 60,645.  This includes people who were injured in non-combat situations and 23,052 people who became ill and required medical air transport from the war zone.  Nearly 300,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have already sought care from the Veterans Administration.  Many Veterans and their families struggle with paperwork and months of delay to get the help they need.  It is reported that 154,000 Veterans are homeless.  Love and Gratitude?

        A Champion home for a too short visit has added a pleasant new word to his lexicon:  ‘eudaimonia.’ It is a word of Greek origin that means ‘the distinctively human good and function.  Thought and behavior in accordance with reason.’  A dictionary also shows it as spelled ‘eudemonia’ and says that it is happiness or welfare.  In a certain philosophy it is  ‘happiness as the result of an active life governed by reason.’  This is a decidedly Champion word in that it could easily be used to name a granddaughter—Eudemonia Hickenlooper, for example with her sister Impunity.

        Cautions, pleasant words, jolly times, and good memories can be mailed to Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  E-mail those things or uplifting sunny-side songs in the public domain to Champion News. Have some Cheetos and a soda pop on the porch of Henson’s Store in the beautiful blooming village of Champion where they are always looking on the bright side!