Big South Fork Airpark Now Open
It appears that upscale equestrian communities continue to develop in areas not far from Rugby. George Zepp sent me a link to a website announcing the opening of the Big South Fork Tennessee Airpark and Equestrian Community, an exclusive aviation and equestrian community in Scott County near Oneida. The website says “the luxurious Big South Fork Airpark boasts an asphalt runway 5,500 feet in length, with 4 instrument approaches. The Airpark grounds, totaling 400 acres, offer 1-3+ acre home sites ranging from the mid-100’s to the mid-300’s. Personal hangars are available from $115,000 to $289,000. Each home has convenient runway access and is in the immediate vicinity of the 125,000 acre Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area….”
The Airpark website says that the developers are offering complimentary accommodations at Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast in Rugby for those who book a tour of the airpark. Click here to view the Airpark website.
Rugby Gardens Grant Ceremony
Several officials were in town on Thursday for a photo shoot for the award of a Rural Business Enterprise Grant that helps with the start-up of Historic Rugby’s new greenhouse and gardens project. There was a mad rush to clean up the greenhouse in time for the visit by two representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Marilyn Hury, John Gilliat, Robin Sexton and I had a pot cleaning party earlier in the week to clean and disinfect pots used with plants that we started earlier in the year.
Rugby Gardens Grant Ceremony
Several officials were in town on Thursday for a photo shoot for the award of a Rural Business Enterprise Grant that helps with the start-up of Historic Rugby’s new greenhouse and gardens project. There was a mad rush to clean up the greenhouse in time for the visit by two representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Marilyn Hury, John Gilliat, Robin Sexton and I had a pot cleaning party earlier in the week to clean and disinfect pots used with plants that we started earlier in the year.
While there is not a lot going on the greenhouse at the moment, the guests did get to see some plants that we have rooted from cuttings, including Beautyberry as well as some Passionflower that we have recently potted.
Above is a photo showing (not in order) Jerry Ammonnett and Larry Mason from the USDA, John Robbins from Congressman Lincoln Davis’ office, Properties staff Robin Sexton and John Gilliat, Morgan County Executive Becky Ruppe, Barbara Stagg and greenhouse volunteers Marilyn Hury and Steve Logan.
Benefit Dinner Thursday Night
There is going to be a benefit supper this Thursday night, September 4 at the Rugby Community Room to help the parents of Renee Morgan, who many of you know from the Harrow Road Café. Renee’s folks, Raymond and Joyce Brown, who live near Rugby are struggling to keep their home. The dinner starts at 7:00 pm and will include spaghetti, garlic bread and dessert. If you can come out, please help our neighbors.
Georgian Expert From Rugby
I received this email from Tom Howell.
“Quite likely the leading American scholar on the situation in the Asian Georgia is none other than Peter Erickson's elder son Ryan, who has been in Georgia during much of the past year, who has learned to write and speak the Georgian language (which is unrelated to most any other language!), and is intimate with what's going on in that country. His views on the political situation there are radically different from what most of us have been hearing and reading in the American news media. I had a long conversation with him Friday morning.Ryan has been doing a blog consisting mostly of translations from various important statements coming out of Georgia; these translations are worth reading -- though the learning curve to understanding them is rather steep. The blog site is http://tarjimani.blogspot.com/. Ryan returns to the University of Chicago at the end of this week.”
Saturday Night Performance
I returned to Rugby Saturday evening after several days in Nashville in time to make it to the Farr Horizons Trio concert at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre. The place was packed and it was another wonderfully special evening of fine music. It turns out that there were actually four musicians in this “trio” as the husband of one of the musicians joined them for the special concert in Rugby. The group plays an impressive number of instruments including the harp, violin, flute, whistles, psaltry, hammered dulcimer, cello, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. It was interesting that they had requested music that had been found in some Rugby’s piano benches and they put together a portion of the program around that music.
I was sorry to hear that the Hodgkins could not attend the concert due to a death in Cheryl’s family. Several folks mentioned that Cheryl’s stepfather passed away a few days ago.
Thanks to Barbara Stagg for putting together this latest series of concerts, which have been so successful. And thanks to John and Kathy Hicks for helping to underwrite the cost of bringing these fine artists to Rugby.
Do You Know Where Your Dryer Vents?
A distinguished group of experts gathered at the Hury’s Beacon Hill home, Hillgrove, recently to solve the mystery of the disappearing dryer vent. Marilyn has been concerned that there is no visible outlet for her dryer vent. John Gilliat, Steve Logan and the original building contractor, Larry Rindler, gathered and Marilyn says they determined that it was supposed to vent to the outside, but had been covered by siding for the last ten years. This surely is not a good thing. Anyway, it appears that Gerald Hanwright is coming to the rescue this week when he will attempt to uncover the hidden vent.
Free Kitten
I received an email from Margaret Erickson. She would really like to find a new home for a small tri-colored kitten she recently found. She can be reached at ma-erickson@hotmail.com. Phone number is 628-2071.
Thank You Contributors
I just wanted to start by thanking all the Rugby folks who help with this newsletter by sending me stories each week. This week I have included items from Margaret Erickson, Tom Howell, George Zepp, Barbara Stagg, Marilyn Hury and others. And, of course, I am very thankful to Linda Konig who has really become the Rugby Naturalist and reports most weeks through her Nature Notes. I also want to thank Carrie Thornthwaite who has spent time learning the peculiarities of this newsletter/blog and has begun to serve as my backup when I am gone. She is a very busy person and I appreciate her efforts. I also appreciate the photographers among you – Beth Donegan and Mara Trumbo have been great about sending photos of workshops and concerts. Many others have sent photos and stories from time to time, including Jim McBrayer, Benita Howell, Lavonne Gibbs, Gayle Minor, George Zepp, Randy Paylor, Kathy Hicks and lots of others.
And I should mention that I have had the advantage of having a professional journalist in the house who usually reviews the newsletter and loves to mark it up with red ink. Unfortunately, George has been holed up in Nashville for almost a month now working on a special history project for the newspaper in Clarksville, Tennessee. Coming back to Rugby soon George?
Birthdays
Benefit Dinner Thursday Night
There is going to be a benefit supper this Thursday night, September 4 at the Rugby Community Room to help the parents of Renee Morgan, who many of you know from the Harrow Road Café. Renee’s folks, Raymond and Joyce Brown, who live near Rugby are struggling to keep their home. The dinner starts at 7:00 pm and will include spaghetti, garlic bread and dessert. If you can come out, please help our neighbors.
Georgian Expert From Rugby
I received this email from Tom Howell.
“Quite likely the leading American scholar on the situation in the Asian Georgia is none other than Peter Erickson's elder son Ryan, who has been in Georgia during much of the past year, who has learned to write and speak the Georgian language (which is unrelated to most any other language!), and is intimate with what's going on in that country. His views on the political situation there are radically different from what most of us have been hearing and reading in the American news media. I had a long conversation with him Friday morning.Ryan has been doing a blog consisting mostly of translations from various important statements coming out of Georgia; these translations are worth reading -- though the learning curve to understanding them is rather steep. The blog site is http://tarjimani.blogspot.com/. Ryan returns to the University of Chicago at the end of this week.”
Saturday Night Performance
I returned to Rugby Saturday evening after several days in Nashville in time to make it to the Farr Horizons Trio concert at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre. The place was packed and it was another wonderfully special evening of fine music. It turns out that there were actually four musicians in this “trio” as the husband of one of the musicians joined them for the special concert in Rugby. The group plays an impressive number of instruments including the harp, violin, flute, whistles, psaltry, hammered dulcimer, cello, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. It was interesting that they had requested music that had been found in some Rugby’s piano benches and they put together a portion of the program around that music.
I was sorry to hear that the Hodgkins could not attend the concert due to a death in Cheryl’s family. Several folks mentioned that Cheryl’s stepfather passed away a few days ago.
Thanks to Barbara Stagg for putting together this latest series of concerts, which have been so successful. And thanks to John and Kathy Hicks for helping to underwrite the cost of bringing these fine artists to Rugby.
Do You Know Where Your Dryer Vents?
A distinguished group of experts gathered at the Hury’s Beacon Hill home, Hillgrove, recently to solve the mystery of the disappearing dryer vent. Marilyn has been concerned that there is no visible outlet for her dryer vent. John Gilliat, Steve Logan and the original building contractor, Larry Rindler, gathered and Marilyn says they determined that it was supposed to vent to the outside, but had been covered by siding for the last ten years. This surely is not a good thing. Anyway, it appears that Gerald Hanwright is coming to the rescue this week when he will attempt to uncover the hidden vent.
Free Kitten
I received an email from Margaret Erickson. She would really like to find a new home for a small tri-colored kitten she recently found. She can be reached at ma-erickson@hotmail.com. Phone number is 628-2071.
Thank You Contributors
I just wanted to start by thanking all the Rugby folks who help with this newsletter by sending me stories each week. This week I have included items from Margaret Erickson, Tom Howell, George Zepp, Barbara Stagg, Marilyn Hury and others. And, of course, I am very thankful to Linda Konig who has really become the Rugby Naturalist and reports most weeks through her Nature Notes. I also want to thank Carrie Thornthwaite who has spent time learning the peculiarities of this newsletter/blog and has begun to serve as my backup when I am gone. She is a very busy person and I appreciate her efforts. I also appreciate the photographers among you – Beth Donegan and Mara Trumbo have been great about sending photos of workshops and concerts. Many others have sent photos and stories from time to time, including Jim McBrayer, Benita Howell, Lavonne Gibbs, Gayle Minor, George Zepp, Randy Paylor, Kathy Hicks and lots of others.
And I should mention that I have had the advantage of having a professional journalist in the house who usually reviews the newsletter and loves to mark it up with red ink. Unfortunately, George has been holed up in Nashville for almost a month now working on a special history project for the newspaper in Clarksville, Tennessee. Coming back to Rugby soon George?
Birthdays
September 3 Sam Neary
Calendar of Events
September 1 – Labor Day Hike Around Historic Rugby. Meet at Harrow Road Cafe at 9:30 am EDT. Contact Julian Bankston (jrbankston@nxs.net) or Benita Howell (bjhowell@highland.net) for more information.
September 4 – Benefit Dinner – Rugby Community Building – 7:00 pm
September 6 – Community Potluck – 7:00 pm
September 13 – Fall Wildflower Walk – Instructor Jack Carman. Walk around Rugby to see autumn wildflowers including several rare species. Plus slide presentation and book signing. 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EDT with lunch break. Fee $12, lunch additional. Contact Historic Rugby for reservation 888-214-3400 or locally at 628-7842
September 13 - Fall Harvest Dinner at Grey Gables - 6:30 pm EDT. Reservations required. Call 423-628-5252.
September 20 – Hidden History Walk with Barbara Stagg – Voices from the Past at Laurel Dale Cemetery. Noon to 4:00 pm EDT. Begins with a lunch discussion followed by a walk around the cemetery. Contact Historic Rugby for reservation 888-214-3400 or locally at 628-7842
September 27 – Wild Mushrooming Workshop – Instructor Harry “Whitey” Hitchcock. 9:00 am to noon EDT. Hike into gorges around Rugby, learning to identify many fungi. Fee $20. Contact Historic Rugby for reservation 888-214-3400 or locally at 628-7842
Exercise Group - Monday and Thursday at 9:00 am EDT at the Friendly House
Dulcimer Class – Tuesdays, 2:00 pm EDT at the Friendly House
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm EDT at the Friendly House
Nature Notes by Linda Konig
Vi Biehl and I just get back from North Carolina where we spent a couple of days admiring early fall/late summer wildflowers, learning about them and photographing them. We especially enjoyed the Botanical Gardens at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.
We also walked down Elizabeth’s Path in the heart of Montreat at Black Mountain. Taking a leisurely drive back to Rugby, we drove part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and part of the Smokies.
Among the many wildflowers we found were: Red Turtleheads, Asiastic Dayflowers, Lobelias, Cardinal flowers, Passionflowers, Blazing Stars, white Beautyberry, Broad-Leaf Coreopsis, Pale (yellow) Jewelweed, Silverrod, Cranfly Orchid, False Foxglove, Clingman’s Hedge Nettle. That’s not including the more common Aster family flowers such as Goldenrod, Black-Eyed Susans, etc. nor the flowers we were unable to identify.
Among the many wildflowers we found were: Red Turtleheads, Asiastic Dayflowers, Lobelias, Cardinal flowers, Passionflowers, Blazing Stars, white Beautyberry, Broad-Leaf Coreopsis, Pale (yellow) Jewelweed, Silverrod, Cranfly Orchid, False Foxglove, Clingman’s Hedge Nettle. That’s not including the more common Aster family flowers such as Goldenrod, Black-Eyed Susans, etc. nor the flowers we were unable to identify.
On September 13, we will have the opportunity to see many of the wildflowers I’ve listed here as well as many others such as Southern Harebell & Indian Pipes when Jack Carmen returns to lead wildflower walks in the Rugby area.
