Champion News

CHAMPION—June 30, 2008

        In Champion Independence Day is a serious matter.  The federal holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.  Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain and the tyranny of King George is highly prized.  The patriotic fervor of Champion balances nicely with temperate reticence of the community.  On every day of the year Champions celebrate Independence with orderly lives and indifference to the whims of the rest of the Nation and World.  Behind the pervasive laughter and good humor of the place is the deep thoughtfulness of a Grateful citizenry.  It can be said of Champions that they ”throw a tidy parade and participate consistently in their government at the ballot box.”  Huzza!  America!

        Good news comes from Champion’s Tennessee friend Darrell Haden, who says that “Old Man River” is twenty miles distant from him at Hickman, Kentucky.  He says he won’t be able to take the ferry to Missouri, but it sounds like he is high and dry.  Faye Twitty’s news from the Quad Cities Area in Iowa is much more grim.  Her poignant descriptions of families loosing homes and livelihoods is heart wrenching.  Champions have close ties with that area and wish them a speedy recovery.

        A number of current and former Champion residents attended the Thursday night music at Plumber’s Junction on the 26^th.  The musicians were:  Sue Murphy–vocals and mandolin, Norris Woods–vocals and banjo, Jerry Wagner—vocals, yodels and fiddle, Frank Mings—mandolin, and guitar players—Buzz Woods, Robert Upshaw, and Jeff Barch, who also played the French harp.  On any given Thursday evening around six these folks can be found there playing a lot of standard country and old time music.  Other musicians frequently sit in and the onlookers always have a good time.  Onlookers this week included Phil and Jan Blazius.  Jan is a good-looking Texas woman married to this guy from Connecticut and they have settled up on V Highway.  It seems like they like these parts.  They are neighbors with Elmer and Frances Banks and shared a table with them for the evening.  Elmer was talking about when he first met Frances.  He was working on rebuilding an old historic rock wall somewhere back east and she was a hod carrier.  He encouraged her in the use of a stone ax and she straightway broke off a piece of granite that smashed her big toe absolutely flat.  He must have been very consoling, because they are still together and it has been some little while now.  During the evening several stopped by to visit with Esther Wrinkles who was celebrating her birthday early.  She received gifts of music CDs and pickled beets as well as a lot of good wishes.  River Stillwood shared some of her tasty homemade ice cream.  The General says it is the ‘best I ever tasted.’  That is saying something, since he is reported to be a Champion Ice Cream Master himself!

        Sunday was a happy birthday for long time Champion, Mrs. Eva Powell.  Visits, cards and phone calls from children and grand children marked the day.  Dinner out and plans for more fun were in the offing as those Nettleton sisters go on a tare.  Champions wish her many happy returns!  More of those kinds of returns are wished for the Old Guy who says,  “Don’t pick it up until you know where you’re going to put it down.”  He’ll be sixty nine on the first!

        Donald & Rita Krider really were surprised at their 50^th wedding anniversary celebration on the weekend of the 21^st of June.  Somehow no cats were let out of any bags and the surprise was complete!  The party was held a week after their anniversary which they now share with Staci and Dustin Cline.  The heavy rains did not have any damaging effects on party-goer Vivian Floyd from Rogersville.  She did come home to a surprise, however, and said, “It’s for the birds!”  As for the Clines, Dustin said he’d just as soon watch cars go by in Champion as in Durango, Colorado.  The railroad there seems to be about the only advantage it has over Champion.  How lovely it would be to go up to Norwood and get on the train and head out for distant places to see family and friends or just to have wonderful adventures.  Poplar Bluff is the nearest port of train call and The Black River by the train station may well be out of banks!

        Little Wild Flowers, common and rare, are benefiting from the climate.  Just a stroll down a country lane or a familiar wooded path brings delight to the flower lover and berry picker.  The dozens of varieties of flowering plants that can be seen in Champion just add to the long list of positive attributes of the place.  It is a real garden spot.  Linda’s almanac from over at the Plant Place in Norwood says that the 3^rd through the 5^th will be most favorable for corn, okra, beans, peppers, eggplant and other above-ground crops.  The 6^th through the 10^th will be a barren period—good for destroying weeds.  Robin Chotzinoff’s book, “People With Dirty Hands,” came as a gift from a Texas Champion and has proven to be a great read.  Interesting gardeners of all descriptions from all over the country share their methods and observations.  Any of them would fit right in Champion.

        A US Service Person died in Iraq for every day of the month in June this year.  Champions join the rest of the Nation in extending Love and Gratitude to them and to their survivors.  Supporting the troops who come home is as important as supporting those who are still over there.

        The Skyline Auxiliary’s meeting on July 1^st is slated to be a productive gathering.  Members will have the chance to view the Rose Star Quilt and to report on their ticket sales.  Details of Picnic preparations will be hashed out fully.  “It is auspicious” say some that the Skyline Annual Picnic will start on 08-08-08 this year!  August 8^th and 9^th will be some entertaining and busy days around Skyline.  Excitement is building and The Annual Picnic will doubtlessly prove to be another smashing success!

        “When we sing instead of speak, we have intonation, melody line, and crescendo, which gives us a broader vocabulary to express ourselves,” says Suzanne Hanser, chair of the music therapy department at Berklee College of Music.  “Because singing is visceral (relating to, or affecting, our bodies), it can’t help but effect change.”  It is proven that singing reduces stress and pain.  Studies have linked singing with a lower heart rate, decreased blood pressure, and reduced stress, according to Patricia Preston-Roberts, a board–certified music therapist in New York City.  Some Champions report that the song, “Be kind to your web-footed friends, for a duck may be somebody’s mother!” is sung to the tune of “Stars and Stripes Forever!”  Cool!

        Harley’s haying is done for the time being.  His wonderful singing voice will be missed, but it is time for him to go home for a while.  Barbara can hear him sing, “The barefoot boy with his shoes on came running down the street, with his pants all full of pockets and his shoes all full of feet.  He was born when he was a baby and he died when he got old and that’s how in the world the Old Folks tell that it ain’t gonna rain no more!”

Reports of fervor, fun, family and friends are all welcome at Champion Items, Rt. 2, Box 367, Norwood, MO 65717.  E-mail words to that song to Champion News.  Sing that song or any other on the porch at Henson’s Store.  This charming mercantile is on the North Side of the Square in Downtown Champion where Champions are ever singing, “Look on the Bright Side!”