Champions are not weary of the excessive extolling of the beauty of nature in our part of the world. This seems to be an outstanding year for every booming thing. Once again we are celebrating the most glorious spring we can remember. The woods are filling in quickly. Soon all those cabins, chateaus and palatial estates will disappear from view. Mushrooms are still being found and ticks are being the nuisance we expect them to be. Were it not for the ticks and the chiggers, the countryside would be overrun with tourists (touristers) and land speculators. That does not mean that we have to like the ticks, but it shows that to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose, under heaven.

Myrtle Harris

Myrtle Harris had a spectacular birthday party on Saturday. She is 90 years old. The balloons, the cards, the cake, the band, and the many friends and family congratulating her kept her smiling through the afternoon. She is probably smiling yet, grateful for the loving family who arranged the tribute. It was a glorious spring day. Bouquets of flowers added just the right touch for a lovely lady who is well known for her own green thumb. Taegan Krider is a third grade student at Skyline. Her birthday is on the 30th of April. She has a long way to go to catch up to Myrtle, but chances are very good that her birthday will be memorable for her too. She has an enormous family. She is a descendant of people who are kin to almost everyone in the county—a fortunate young lady. All the reports are that the spring music program at the school on Thursday was just wonderful. Mrs. Casper has the gift of being able to coax the talent out of the children in a way that makes everyone feel good. Parents and grandparents are simply swollen with pride and joy at the accomplishments of their young ones. It was a Hoedown to be remembered. Mrs. Casper, Mrs. Downs and the Skyline student body showed a wide range of talents. The General said he saw the Hoedown Program, “I rate it as ‘’OUTSTANDING!” With it all capitalized like that, you know it was good. Meanwhile, over at the Vanzant Bluegrass Hall, the circle swelled to twenty participants. What a night! A dedicated musician, unhampered by farm and yard chores, housework and child rearing, or having to work for a living, could find a jam most any night or day of the week somewhere in Douglas County or in the general area. Optimists believe this is the way it is all over the country, but it might not be so. We will just count ourselves lucky to be where we are.

Myrtle’s 90th

It happens sometimes that people we may love and care about, family and friends, may hold beliefs and opinions that are exactly the opposite of our own beliefs. At some point we finally ask ourselves if they think we are as off the wall, out of touch, misinformed, and delusional as we think they are. How can we have grown up together, or just exist in the same world, and be so disconnected? Do I offend and dismay my loved ones and break their hearts the way they do mine? The division is stark. It is hard to imagine how we can carry on. But we do. We talk on the phone. We meet for coffee.

Gardeners are doing the hard work now that will give them vegetable rewards later. They will be diligent in their efforts so that between the planting and the weeding they may take advantage of the many exciting things going on this time of the year. Among the upcoming events is the Skyline 5K Fun Run, being billed this time as the Donut Dash. It is sponsored by the Skyline Wellness Committee. It had originally been scheduled earlier in the month, but unsettled weather caused officials to postpone the event until this Saturday, April 27th. Participants will meet at the school at 7:30 a.m. and the race will start at 8:00. Last year the Skyline Volunteer Fire Department, together with the Douglas County and Wright County Sheriff’s Departments did an excellent job of controlling the traffic so that the runners could feel safe as they pounded the pavement. It is a good community effort to promote fitness.

J.c.Owsley

The Champion Spring Fling will be on Saturday, May 11th starting at about 11 in the morning. Bring your lawn chairs, and your sun hat. If you are a musician who likes to jam, bring your instruments. You will meet new friends and probably run into old friends you haven’t seen in a long time. Invitations are going out. It will be another fine day down on the wide, wild, wooly banks of Auld Fox Creek.

Our Champion friend, J.C. Owsley, has been on an epic trail ride out in Nebraska through the Soldier Creek Wilderness, the upper end of the Deer Creek Watershed and on the Fort Robinson Trails. Ride ‘em cowboy! On the 15th, Bud Hutchison’s Spring Trail Ride will take off from Champion early in the day. The riders generally take up Fox Creek Road and wind around on the Shannon Ranch for a while before they come ambling back into Champion from the east in the early afternoon, looking for ice cream and a rest on the wide veranda in the shade. They will have stories to tell about Bud and reports of their day’s adventure. Wilma is recuperating from a fall and hopefully she will be far enough along in her recovery to venture out for the spectacle. The Historic Emporium on the North Side of the Square is equipped with a ramp to make access easy for folks with mobility issues. These are special events, but any day down on the wide banks of Auld Fox Creek is a day well spent in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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