Champion News

CHAMPION—January 30, 2017

A Champion landscape

        In Champion winter turns out to be an enchanted kind of time.  A solitary sycamore tree shining white with slender arms yearning and reaching upward amid a gray wood along the far side of Auld Fox Creek, blue sky above, makes an admirable photograph.  Add the wide rich golden tinted field undulating down to the creek as foreground and the picture takes on the quality of a painting by an old master, fit to be hung in a gallery anywhere.  Champion takes its place as a bona fide Beauty Spot (BS) in the Worldwide Scenic Sites Association (WSSA).

        Whoever invented the calendar?  There was a Julian calendar, proposed by Julius Caesar that took effect on January 1, 45 BC.  The Gregorian calendar is the one we use now…it goes back to February 24, 1582.  There are other calendars:  the Jewish one where we are currently in the year 5777, the Chinese one–4715, or the Aztec one, which is said to have been much more accurate concerning celestial observations.  However we choose to keep track of time, birthdays of our important people bear some special weight.  Young Salem Travis Bluegrass was 20 on the 7th of January, and Sally Goodin Prock had a birthday on the 23rd.  Thomas’s Dad, up in Washington, had the 24th and Neda B. Hutsell is a first time grandmother with a birthday on the 30th.  Young Zack Alexander celebrated on the first of February.  The second is the special day of Punxsutawney Phil of Groundhog fame, Sweet Judy Sharon, Charlene Dupre–Olivia’s grandmother, and Grand grandmother, Connie.  Joyce’s favorite Cowboy, Jack, celebrates on the 7th.  Skyline students will have their days—kindergartener, Aidan Acree, on the 8th, fourth grader, Joshua Garner, on the 13th, and third grader, Madison Bradshaw, on the 16th.  Time seems like an arbitrary way to keep track of things, but it is worth the trouble and even the confusion to be able to acknowledge our lovely people.

        “I tried so hard to show, my dear, that you’re my every dream, but you’re afraid each thing I do is just some evil scheme,” so sang Mr. Ed Kimbrel at the Thursday Bluegrass Jam.  “Why can’t I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold, cold heart?”  Mr. Kimbrel is on one side or the other of 90 years old.  He has seen a lot in his lifetime.  How often have you heard friends, family or neighbors hearken back to the distant past?  Certainly, many of those students of the Champion School look back on those days in the 1930’s and 1940’s as some of their most wonderful times.  It may be their youth, as opposed to the circumstances of the time that holds the nostalgia.  People, uncomfortable in today’s world, are often fond of saying, “I should have been born 100 years ago.”  Well, 100 years was 1917 and at that time the country was getting ready for World War One and for the influenza pandemic of 1918 which claimed the lives of 20 to 40 million people worldwide.  A children’s’ song of the day was, “Inza, Inza! I opened the window and in flew Inza!”  Today we have television, radio, the internet and the print media as our windows on the world and it is truly amazing what all is flying in.  As a people with a great eagerness for truth, it is a struggle to sort things out.  The Mayflower, for example, arrived in 1620 with our Pilgrim mothers and fathers who were referred to as the Brownists Emigration for the next 200 years.  They were religious refugees, English dissenters, early separatists from the Church of England named after Robert Brown.  The male passengers drafted the Mayflower Compact establishing a democratic government.  It took until 1776 for Thomas Jefferson, his committee and the Second Continental Congress to write the United States Declaration of Independence.  It was a disappointment to some that it was not a more overtly Christian document.  There is no reference to Jesus Christ, no quotations from the New Testament, nothing more than four vague references to God which reflected the theistic world view of the British-American colonies in the 18th century.  Politics and religion are interesting studies, but perhaps not suitable for polite conversation.  Remember the contact information for your government representatives if you have something you wish to discuss with them:  The White House (202) 456-1111 or (202) 456-1414, Governor Greitens (573) 751-3222, Roy Blunt (202) 224-5721, Claire McCaskill (202) 224-6154, Billy Long (202) 225-6536, Jason Smith (202) 225-4404 and Paul Ryan, 700 St. Laurence Ave., Janesville, WI 53545.

        Polite conversation in the Meeting Room at the Historic Emporium has to do with local history, the weather, the difficulties of winter time farm chores, the antics of grandchildren and health issues.  A young Champion fellow (3 years old) named Chase has become the official greeter at the store.  He likes to open the door for customers and is a good hand shaker.  He has been disappointed for several Wednesdays in a row not to get to see the General.  The General is called back to work from time to time and, most recently, was spending his Wednesday in West Plains with his sweet mother-in-law, Lucille.  She was ready to get back home and Chase is ready to see his buddy again.  Perhaps Chase will bring his guitar if the General will bring his.  Maybe Ethel of Omo will get her Bob to bring his mandolin banjo for its regular tuning and perhaps some old Gene Autry song will come out of it.

        Very good news comes about the Prominent Champion Girlfriend.  Her serious heart problems are going to be controllable and she said, “Still have a few little issues but all in all I’m going to be around for a long time.  Thank you all very much for keeping me in your prayers & thoughts.”  Smiles are the order of the day.  Nanette Hirsh from the Douglas County Health Department has a great smile.  She will be at the Skyline School on Tuesday morning the 6th of February to do blood pressure checks and other health screenings.  More smiles come from Linda Keys and Marjorie Carter over at the Downtown Pawn Shop on the east side of the square in Mountain Grove.  They have always been most generous in their support of the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department.  Now they are pleased to be offering genuine Champion Post Cards for a mere four bits—the very same price as those at Henson’s Downtown G & G on the North side of the Square in Downtown Champion.  Linda and Marjorie have family history at Champion and a great appreciation for the beautiful place.  Gary Hutchison has history here as well.  He has again shared his copy of Darrell Hayden’s song, “All the Late News from the Court House,” and Eric Stevenson of Edinburgh, Scotland has shared his song “From Galloway to Graceland.”  Look for the lyrics of both songs in a special post at www.championnews.us.  Look there too for ten years of past Champion news and for future proclamations of the Champion Ethics Committee (CEC) which will have its first meeting Wednesday.  Enjoy the stunning winter scenery on the wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek because it is soon to change in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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