Champion News

CHAMPION—January 29, 2007

        It’s cold in Champion.  No one is complaining, however, as the discomfort and damage has been so minor compared to neighbors close at hand.  Springfield will be a long time recovering from the ice storm that made the national news and was reported on the BBC around the world.  Some Champion residents are still going over to help in the clean up.  It’s a good feeling to be part of such a generous community.

        The big ‘goings on’ in Champion this past week revolved around cousins Foster and Eli and second cousin Madelyn Ward.  They, together with various parents and grandparents, descended on the Krider farm to the extent that hardly anything was accomplished.  Oh, the cows got milked and fed the way they always do, but the family focus was on the wonderful swarm of little people.  There is a reason for Love and Gratitude!

        The Krider ladies were not present at the Auxiliary meeting of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department, but they were subsequently informed by friends and neighbors of the proceedings.  The meeting was held in the home of Esther Wrinkles.  Attending were Ms. Wrinkles, Louise Hutchison, Sharon Sikes, Sarah Sikes, Betty Dye, Ruth Hamilton, Murnice Hamilton, Susan Griswold, Karen Griswold and Wilda Moses.  The main topic of the evening was the chili supper which is scheduled for February 24^th.  In the event of bad weather an alternate date of March 3^rd was determined. Details of the menu were discussed and responsibilities were delegated and assumed.  In addition to chili and ham & beans, this year chicken and noodles will be available for those who can’t eat spicy food late in the day.  Ruth brought the Chipmunk 22 youth rifle to show the membership.  It is a lovely little gun with a walnut stock. There will be separate drawings for the Chipmunk rifle and for the Mossberg 535 twelve gage shotgun this year.  It was reported that ticket sales have been brisk.  Ruth also brought the lovely red, white and blue star quilt to show the members.  It was completely hand made by Loren Mastrangelo and has been donated to the Auxiliary as part of the fund raiser.  It is six feet square and hand quilted.  It would serve as a beautiful wall hanging or as a quilt.  The membership was happy to learn that the Bressler Brothers will perform again this year as will Back Yard Bluegrass and The Blades of Bluegrass.  Booger County Bluegrass and the Firehouse Quartet are perennial favorites and this year for the first time Bill Conley an Ozark String Band will perform.  Other items on the agenda included the report of donations of some new merchandize to the silent auction by Betty Dye and  rumors of an impending shoot-out somewhere in the suburbs of Champion.  The meeting was concluded with coffee and Ms. Wrinkles’ excellent apple cobbler. 

        Friday is Groundhog Day.  A few years ago there was a movie made by that name staring Bill Murray and Andy McDowell.  It is one of those ‘feel good’ movies that stresses the idea that a person can start over and do a better job of living, or that when a person extends himself to help others his own life improves.  There are several songs about groundhogs too.  One such, sung by the American Indian singer Buffy St. Marie, has a verse that goes, “Groundhog, groundhog, what makes you smell so bad?  I been livin in the ground so darn long, I’m mortified in my head, head!  I’m mortified in my head.”  Several lovely people have their birthdays on Groundhog day too.  One such lives over on the other side of Ava from Champion.  Judy Sharon is as lovely a person as can be found anywhere, full of  skills and talents with a genuine appreciation for and understanding of her many friends.  She’s got a smile like a sunny day.  Charlene Dupre over in Norwood is another one like that, multitalented, compassionate, high energy and ready for fun.  It’s a delight to have them for neighbors and a gift to have them as friends. 

        As the search was made for lyrics to “My Missouri Home,” other discoveries were made. (There are quilt blocks called “The Missouri Daisy,” “Old Missouri,” and “The Missouri Star.”)  The song was suggested by Darrell Haden for the Missouri Song List and when the words are found, they will be reported.  Perhaps one of those bands that will play at Skyline’s chili supper will know the song.  Meanwhile, someone inquired about “The West Plains Explosion.” On Friday, April 28, 1928, about sixty young people had gathered at the Bond Dancehall, on the second floor of an East Main Street building (the first floor was occupied by Wiser Motors.)  At 11:05 pm, as the orchestra played “Sundown,” a violent explosion occurred.  Thirty seven people were killed and twenty two were injured.  Twenty of the dead were never identified, but buried in the Oak Lawn Cemetery, where they are memorialized by the Rock of Ages Monument erected October 6, 1929.  No cause was ascertained, though leaking gasoline from the garage below was suspected.  Windows were shattered throughout the  Halstead block and the heat, combined with subsequent explosions twisted cars on the street out of shape.  It is said that no dances were held in West Plains for many years.

        For appreciators of the old days and the old ways, these stories are interesting.  The Looking Backward column in the paper is frequently the first one read and the Reminiscent History of Douglas County together with the Centennial photos are most welcome.  From time to time a person is heard to say that he was ‘born a hundred years too late.’  The implication is that those days were better and a person could have lived a better life back then.  Those things may be true, but it would be a rare individual nowadays, brought up in the comparative ease and sloth of today, who could make a go of it.  Some look back on the old days to get an appreciation of today.  Today, almost thirty-one hundred U.S. Service People have lost their lives in the current conflict in Iraq.  That their sacrifice is appreciated by their Nation is the Hope and it is hoped that their survivors are recognized with the Love and Gratitude that is their due.