Champie Memoir

Memoir

My Memories of the Champies

by Elinor Asdell

(Lawton Champie was the grandson of Charles Champie I. His father, Chas. II, moved to Arizona from Texas, and the Champies lived in the Bradshaw Mountain area, north of Phoenix.)

     I am a 'newcomer' to the Champie clan. I first met them in 1946 when I was 15 and I went to Crown King, Arizona to visit a school friend Martha Nelson. She and Charlie Bill Nelson were cousins on their 'father's side'. I already knew some of the cousins as I went to school with them. Just didn't know they were 'Champies'. Charley Bill Nelson is Bessie (Champie) Morgan's grandson. Their mother was Marian (Morgan) and their father was William Nelson. He and his sister Frances were in school with me. Then Beth Champie moved to town with her mother Madge. Her mother and father George were divorced. Betty Sue Walker and her sister Bobbi were also in school with me - and their mother was Gertrude (Champie) Walker and their father was Tommy Walker.
     Lawton and Elinore had their 'summer range' up in the Bradshaw mountains (Crown King) and the 'winter range' and their home in the Castle Hot Springs area. I can't remember how large the ranch actually was, but somewhere around 100 sections (it was not all patented land - - there was a lot of BLM land).
     The Champies 'adopted' me as one of their own--I felt very fortunate to be accepted into the family group. I went on roundups many times after I married and was able to take my children on those 'outings' also. Also my husband, Jim Asdell, was a 'favorite son' of Lawton's' (Lawton didn't have any sons, but treated Jim like he was his own').
     Grandma Champie [Elizabeth (Lee) Champie] was a great lady. I know of no one who didn't love her dearly. When there would be family gatherings, all the women would bring food and we would have a giant sized pot-luck. Grandma Champie always wanted me to bring my Lemon Meringue pie. We would have dances in the school house in Castle Hot Springs, and would dance all night! All the ladies would bring food, and we would have a midnight supper - and dance again!
     They worked hard, and played hard. All those years I knew Lawton, he never said a swear word! At times he was badly injured, and still would never let a swear word pass his lips - - I think that was due to his mother, and his upbringing. One time he showed me a couple of baby cougars he had caught when he killed the mother. He was giving them some meat, and one of the kittens (very big kittens) reached up and tore his hand open to the bone... and he said "the little guy scratched me; I better go get Elinore to put a band-aid on it." Another time Lawton was at camp and rolled over in his sleep and into the campfire! He couldn't get out of the sleeping bag fast enough and was badly burned. He said "Guess I shouldn't sleep so close to the fire." Lawton was "World Champion Cowboy" 2 or 3 years in a row in the late 20's - early 30's. He would jump his horse into a baggage car and away he would go to Madison Square Garden! Elinore had a label that came off of a pair of Levi's that said "Even Lawton Champie, World Champion Cowboy, wears Levi's." Nowadays the big orange label on a pair of Levi's is paper - - in the early 30's it was made out of leather. I suppose that Ibbie has it now. Ibbie is their daughter. Actually her name is Elizabeth - but she has been called Ibbie all her life.
     Back to the Champies--they didn't have a 'full crew' all the time, and during roundup, a lot of cousins, nephews and friends would go up to the ranch to help. Gathering the cows, moving the herd to where they would separate the calves from the mothers, and branding, was a lot of work and also a lot of fun. There might be 18-20 people sleeping around on the floor, in the extra bedrooms, and on the hide-a-bed couches, but about 4 or so in the morning, Elinore would get up and put a stack of records on the records player (they were 78's, as I remember) and turn the volume up LOUD - with some fast moving, toe-tapping country music. What a way to wake up!!
     Elinore had a 'cleanliness' fetish - I think you might call it - and she always had the washing machine running, and every morning after breakfast, when the crew had moved out, we would vacuum, mop the kitchen floor (this happened after every meal, just like washing dishes) and strip the beds - and put fresh sheets on them. She changed her bed linens every day! And then (Jim Asdell, my husband, always teased her about this) if she didn't have enough laundry, she would pull all the clean linen out of the linen closet and wash it again... She said if it had been in the closet a week or so, that it had gathered dust, and needed to be re-washed. Elinore showered when she got up, after her household chores were done, and another shower if we were going to 'party' at the school house, and of course a shower before bedtime.
     After the crew would leave (about dawn) during roundup, as we were cleaning the kitchen, Elinore would put a huge roast in the oven--or sometimes a turkey--and start planning on what we might take to the crew for lunch. She and Lawton would discuss (before he left) where she was to meet them with the food. Then after we did our household chores, we would load the jeep or the Dodge power-wagon with sandwiches, maybe a pot of beans, salad, various and assorted kinds of drinks, juices, soda and of course beer. And off we would go on 4-wheel drive roads to the rendezvous point. There was always a huge amount of food and it was always eaten by the hungry crew. It was a lot of work to set it up and then re-pack and get ready to go back to the ranch--to get there in time to have supper ready.
     Yes, the Champies were a close knit family. Sometimes I felt I was resented because some of the family members thought I was treated 'too much' like family. But most of the family 'adopted' me as part of the 'clan'. When Ibbie's daughter Cody was bitten by a rattlesnake at Castle Hot Springs (she was 3 years old and weighed only 36 pounds) Ibbie, Elinore and Ibbie's other two children came and stayed at my house for 6 weeks while Cody was in intensive care. I know that they would have been welcome at any of the other relatives' homes, but for some reason they were more 'at home' with me, I guess. Also when Lawton died (at home in Phoenix) Elinore and Ibbie called me right after they called 911 to see if he could be revived and I arrived about the same time the ambulance did! Jim Asdell arrived shortly thereafter. He and I took over the menial tasks - like calling relatives--answering phone calls, and feeding the family, and making sure all those types of things were done.
     I also used to get so tickled at Aunt Claire (Champie) Cordes as she would tell me (and others) that I was her favorite in the whole Champie Clan (and of course I was NOT a blood relation!). If you are not aware, Aunt Claire wrote a book. There should be some great family stories in it. Claire was truly a beautiful person (like her mother). She also painted, and did some very nice oils.
     Hope this gives you some of an outsider's insight into the Champie family.