Preparations are full steam ahead for this weekend’s Spring Festival, featured as the “Best Bet” in Sunday’s Travel Section of The Tennessean. Officially this is the 34th Rugby Festival of British & Appalachian Culture which will be Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EDT both days. The featured performers are nationally known folk musicians Sparky & Rhonda Rucker with tales and music from the 19th century, as well as local favorites Butch Hodgkins & Lonesome County Line performing traditional bluegrass.
New this year will be a booth with heirloom plants from Historic Rugby’s new plant nursery. There will be English Primroses and the beautiful aster known in Rugby as Michaelmas Daisies, as well as 1880’s Trophy Tomato plants, heirloom hollyhocks and butterfly weed.
Barbara Stagg asked to mention that she and Cathy will be emailing proposed Festival volunteer schedules very soon to everyone who has mentioned their availability, and may also be checking with some folks to see if they have a few hours this coming weekend. Festival promotion is running on WUOT-FM and WDVX-FM and on East Tennessee Public TV, all out of Knoxville. Knoxville's slick, City View Magazine is running a good feature. The Rugby website is getting lots of visits - should be a well-attended event.
Christ Church will also have things going on during the festival including its rummage sale at the Friendly House. Benita Howell wants to remind folks that they can bring rummage sale items to Friendly House today or Thursday between 9:00 and 10:30 a.m., or on Friday afternoon. Some real treasures are accumulating. She wants to thank everyone who has donated items to the sale.
The Cicadas are Here!
The 17-year cicadas that Linda Konig wrote about last week have started to appear around Rugby. So far they have not been too bad, just a few shells have appeared and the sound has not been very loud yet. Read more about them in Linda’s Nature Notes below.
Fire News
Gerald Hanwright and Tom Howell would like to thank Fred Oliver for helping transport equipment when the fire truck broke down on the way back from a call last week. They would also like to thank Charles Gibbs for mowing at the fire hall.
After this Friday (May 16), open burning of brush will be permitted without first getting an official permit from state forestry officials. However, I am sure Tom and Gerald would want us to warn about not burning when it's too windy or too dry. All fires also need constant supervision to avoid unexpected spreading. Burn safely!
Tennessee Life Features Rugby
The Spring edition of Tennessee Life magazine has Rugby all over it. The cover is taken from a painting that Butch Hodgkins did of the late Joe Gibson’s house across from the Board of Aid Building. Inside is an article written by Cheryl Hodgkins about their experience in rebuilding the Onderdonk house in Rugby. It includes a number of interior pictures of their beautiful new home. Also in the magazine is a full page article about Rugby’s Spring Festival.
Welcome Kristi
Historic Rugby welcomes new, full time secretary Kristi Paul to the staff. Kristi is originally from South Knoxville. She has more than 10 years experience in several types of offices, including extensive computer skills. She has recently made her home on Brewstertown Road, several miles past Gayle Minor's house.
Wildflower Pictures
Mary and Bob Hemminger mentioned that they have seen lots of special wildflowers recently. They said the gaywings were blooming last week and they provided this picture of Bob sitting behind a huge Jack-in-the-Pulpit.
Also, George Zepp provided this photo of Pink Lady’s Slippers he found in Rugby. I love this beautiful wild orchid that is very particular about where it grows. If you see any around Rugby please leave them undisturbed as they really cannot be successfully transplanted.Birthdays
May 17 - Julian Bankston, Len Morgan, Mary Gilliat, Becky Hull
May 18 - Bill Jones
Calendar of Events
May – 17 & 18 – 34th Annual Festival of British & Appalachian Culture at Historic Rugby 10:00 am to 6:00 pm EDT both days. Admission daily $8 for Adults; $4 for K-12 Students, Preschoolers free, 2 day pass $12
June 14 – Hike to Pogue Creek one of Tennessee’s newest State Natural Areas near Pickett State Park. Moderately difficult hike with several grade changes. About three hours of hiking along a beautiful overlook and into a gorge where no trails have been developed yet. Meet at Harrow Road Café at 9:30 am EDT to carpool.
Historic Rugby Workshops – contact Historic Rugby at 1-888-214-3400 or locally at 628-2441 for details and reservations or check online for more information at http://www.historicrugby.org/workshop/workshop.htm
May 31 – Learn to Play the Mountain Dulcimer – Beginner Level with instructor June Goforth. 10:00 am to 4:00 pm EDT. Fee $30
June 7 – Fit and Fun with Missy Kane – Learn secrets for staying trim after 50 starting with a two mile power walk. Includes lecture on foods for fitness, a nutritional lunch and a 3-5 mile afternoon hike. 9:00 am to 2:00 pm EDT. Fee $35 – lunch $9 (optional)
June 14 – Become a Cast Iron Chef – learn camp cooking techniques from Larry Edmondson. Enjoy lunch together as you eat your creation. Fee $15
Exercise Group - Monday and Thursday at 9:00 am EDT at the Friendly House
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm EDT at the Friendly House
Community Choir – Practice Sundays 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm EDT at Christ Church
NATURE NOTES by Linda Konig
I have learned a lot about 17-year periodical cicadas this past week. Though I had read about them and had experienced a couple of outbreaks of them before, there is nothing like close observations during the nighttime and early morning hours. I had imagined that they more or less cracked open and popped or crawled out fairly quickly. Instead, it’s an agonizingly slow process taking most of the night and even lasting into the morning in most cases.
They come out of the ground soon after dark. Still in their shells, they crawl about, looking for a vertical surface. If they don’t find one, it doesn’t seem to matter. They can even be on their backs, and the emerging process will still commence, and when it does, the cicada larva stops moving and becomes still as death. In spite of my efforts, I have yet to see the actually cracking open of the shell. It may be very gradual. The extruding of the adult cicada is so slow, you don’t see any movement. You would have to use time-lapse photography. The emerging adult is pale yellow. Its red eyes are what tell you they are the 17-year periodical cicadas and not the annual ones, which are few in comparison.
As their bodies dry and harden, it darkens, and their legs and main wing veins turn orange. Again, this is a very gradual process. As they darken, they become harder to see on the tree trunks, thus protecting them somewhat from birds.
Steve Logan told me that the females will lay their eggs in a slit they cut in tender new tree branch ends. When the eggs hatch, the tiny larvae begin girdling the branch end, seeking the sap in the cambium layer. When the branch tip falls off (being killed by the girdling), the larvae get a free ride to the ground where they happily burrow in to settle into their home for the next 17 years, the roots of the tree, where they suck the sap.
