Champ Bond was a mechanical genius.  He could figure out any mechanical problem, fix anything, and even invented machines that are still in use 60 years later.  During World War II he received a notice from the draft board that he was to report for a physical, and duty in the armed forces.  The neighborhood farmers were up in arms when they heard that news, and threatened to start a war of their own if Champ was called away.  They argued that he was desperately needed at home to keep their machinery running.  They presented a petition to that effect to the draft board, which considered it, and then granted their request.  Champ stayed home.

An example of Champ’s ingenuity occurred as he was first moving to Baker County.

Champ moved from Grant County to Haines at the beginning of the war.  Because of the war, new tires were completely unobtainable.  One of the tires on his truck had a bad gash.  To fix it he cut a section of rubber out of another unusable tire, and made a boot which he inserted into the inside of the tire over the gash.  As the move got underway, it quickly became apparent that the repair job was deficient.  The boot in the tire made it so unbalanced that the truck shook and trembled unbearably when its speed reached 15 miles per hour.

Champ stopped and analyzed the situation.  Then he picked up a ball peen hammer that he judged was about the same weight as the boot, and wired it to the other side of the tire away from the boot.  It was apparently just the right weight, because he was able to drive it just as fast as the old truck wanted to go.  The ball peen hammer stayed there on the tire for the duration of the war.