BEARPROOFING AND NEW ROOFS

Photo above left - John Gilliat shows off the new bear proof dumpster located behind Harrow Road Cafe that is on loan to HRI - George Zepp is testing the metal top.  Photo above right shows the blue tarp covering the Thomas Hughes Library as roof repair work began this week.

FIREWISE PROGRAM

By Rick Murphy

Ed Smith and Steve Johnson are the people mainly responsible for extinguishing and controlling hostile woods and brush fires in the Rugby area. Both attended the community potluck Saturday night. Smith is head of state forestry for the Morgan-Roane county area, and Johnson heads Morgan County forestry. They shared two videos giving ideas what communities like Rugby and individuals can do to reduce the risks of uncontrolled outdoor fires to their homes and lives.

Photo above by George Zepp shows fire experts waiting to tell Rugby residents about fire safety.

While they did not elaborate on Rugby specifically, they did mention that in riding around the village they noticed several things that might cause difficulties in fighting a fire or might make it easier for a fire to spread to homes or other buildings. I believe the main problem is that many of the homes and buildings in Rugby have so much large vegetation growing up so close that it would be easy for a woods fire to spread to the buildings. This would also make it difficult for firefighters to have good access to the area immediately surrounding the building to fight a fire.

Adding to the problem is that much of the extensive clearing and graceful natural landscaping that the Rugby colonists did in the 1880s has been overtaken by unbridled vegetation growth over the years. And some of that has died thanks to pine beetles.

One of the suggestions from the presentation was that Rugby should do a community evaluation to determine what items need to be addressed to help avoid fires from spreading to buildings and to make it easier to control fires. Tom Barnes, a park ranger with the National Park Service who is moving to Rugby soon (see story below) said he has experience with doing these “firewise” evaluations and would be willing to work with a group from the community in doing one for Rugby. Fire Chief Gerald Hanwright said after the meeting he thought it would be good to try to get a group together soon after the beginning of the year to start this process.

I would be willing to help organize the first meeting of this group if there is enough community interest. Please email me at rickmurphy1@aol.com or call me at 423-319-7842 if you would be interested in helping with this evaluation. I have not talked to Julian yet, but it might be possible to have a short organizational meeting after the next potluck , which I assume will be in early January.

EVENTS THIS WEEK

Saturday morning - Joan Donaldson Book Signing – 10:30 a.m. at the Commissary. Joan Donaldson's book is a great addition to the literature which has been written about the Rugby Colony. Eric Wilson has known Joan and her husband John for more than thirty years, since meeting them at Hindman Settlement School in Kentucky. He says they are wonderful folks who live most interesting lives. They are farmers, builders, musicians. Joan is a quilter and a wonderful cook on their old fashioned wood stove. Their Web page includes a photo of John and the team of oxen that he uses to collect maple sap each spring. Eric thinks that everyone in Rugby will be pleased to meet them. Vi and Eric will also have a dessert buffet afterward at High Wray from 7:00 - 9:00 Saturday evening and they hope everyone will stop by to visit.


Saturday afternoon - History Club field trip to Deer Lodge. Meet in the parking area behind Print Shop to carpool at 1:30 p.m.

Sunday afternoon - Victorian Costume Workshop, Part 2 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern at the Community Building.

CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR DETAILS

Historic Rugby has announced details for its first Christmas home tour to be held Saturday, December 5, 2009. A tour of 10 private homes and horse-drawn wagon rides in the lantern lit village is included. A special holiday dinner will also be served at Harrow Road Café. Following dinner will be a concert by the Don Brakebill Singers at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre.

The home tour is 3:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Dinner seatings begin at 5:00 p.m. The last seating will be at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. The concert starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The event is $50 per person, which includes the home tour, dinner and concert. Reservations are required by calling 423-628-2441 or toll-free 888-214-3400.

WELCOME AMY AND TOM BARNES

It was great to hear that Amy and Tom Barnes are moving to Rugby soon. Amy has been an interpreter at the Visitor Centre off and on for several years. Tom is a Park Ranger with the National Park Service. They have bought Windwood, the home tucked away in the woods behind Uffington House that had been owned for many years by Len and Barbara Morgan. It will be great to have both of them and their two Portuguese water dogs here full time in Rugby.

MARA’S NEWS

By Mara Trumbo

Bob and Mara Trumbo returned from Europe this week, where after visiting her three daughters in England, Mara completed her Platinum Level training as a Jenkins International Art Instructor in Berlin, Germany. This culminates the dream of the originally self-taught artist who for the last few years, has been coached by PBS artists Gary and Kathwren Jenkins through various stages of her fine art teaching diploma.

As an International Jenkins Instructor, Mara will be given opportunities to be one of her tutors’ assistants in local and foreign workshops as new frontiers open up in Europe, Australia and South Africa for the introduction of the “Wet-On-Wet” painting technique made famous by her American art instructors over 35 years ago.

Until those opportunities arise in a world hit by a global depression, Mara will continue as she has done for the last 2 years, conducting wine tasting tours and swapping stories with clients at the local winery, working with special needs adults and teaching art on her days off in and around Rugby!

Mara’s next “Painting In One Day” rooster art class in Rugby will be at her home on Monday, November 9 at 10:00 am till 5:00 p.m. Cost is $55 with all materials and lunch included. Pre-bookings necessary for canvas preparation a day ahead. Tel. 423-628-6591 or by e-mail at Cadisama@earthlink.net.

BIRTHDAYS

November 10 - Michael Harris

November 11 - Boyd Mitchell

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

November 14 - Joan Donaldson Book Signing – 10:30 a.m. Eastern at the Commissary. Her new book “On Viney’s Mountain” has been released and is already available at the Commissary. This historical novel for young adults is set in the Rugby Colony and features a heroine suggested by Aunt Dicey Fletcher (imagined as a young girl). For more information on Joan or the book, see www.joandonaldson.com or Google “On Viney’s Mountain.”

November 14 - History Club field trip to Deer Lodge. Barbara Stagg will lead. Meet in the parking area behind Print Shop to carpool at 1:30 p.m. Eastern

November 15 – Victorian Costume Workshop Part 2 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern at the Community Building

November 23 – Hike Around Rugby – meet at the Harrow Road Café at 9:30 a.m. Eastern

November 27 – Thanksgiving Marketplace

November 28 - Lynn and Tim Takacs are leading a hike at Big South Fork on the Slave Falls Loop, an easy 4.2 mile trail. We'll leave Harrow Road Cafe promptly at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time and carpool via TN 154, the Divide Road, and Fork Ridge Road to meet Lynn and Tim at the Sawmill Trailhead at 2:00 Eastern time. Hikers are invited to Callie's Cabin for fireside refreshments afterwards. Please RSVP to Lynn at lynntakacs@comcast.net and let Benita Howell know if you intend to carpool from Rugby (bjhowell@highland.net.)

December 5 – Christmas Tour of Homes – Tour of decorated Rugby homes, Christmas dinner at Harrow Road Café and concert at the Visitor’s Centre. Contact Historic Rugby for Information

December 6 - Casual Christmas open house at Gibbs 2:00 -5:00 p.m. Eastern. Learn to make Norwegian Christmas cookies or read Christmas stories and relax after work of Saturday's Christmas Fundraiser. Rugby friends all welcome.

December 12 – Christmas at Rugby – Tour of decorated historic Rugby buildings and Christmas dinner at Harrow Road Café. Contact Historic Rugby for Information

January 16 – Book Club Meeting - The next selection is “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel explores the moral complexities of slavery in antebellum Virginia through the experiences of free and enslaved blacks, black and white slave owners, and their interactions with one another and with whites in a society shaped by slavery. The book was published by Amistad, a division of HarperCollins, in 2003 (paperback edition 2004).

Exercise Group - Monday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m. Eastern at the Friendly House

Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House

HRI WORKSHOPS

Photo to left shows Beth Donegan and Gail Minor at Sunday's workshop

November 21 – Christmas “Greens” Workshop – Community Building. 9:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Bring hand clippers. Learn to make traditional Christmas wreaths and sprays with natural materials. Please bring boxwood cuttings, blue cedar berries and/or nandina berries if you have access to any. The workshop is free – everyone is welcome.

TO REGISTER FOR WORKSHOPS: Call 423-628-2441 or Toll-Free 1-888-214-3400. Lodging is available at Historic Rugby with a 10% discount to all workshop participants.

NATURE NOTES

by Linda Konig

The November issue of National Geographic has a short article about European kingfishers which caught my attention. These unusual birds are brilliantly blue, red and white. Their homes and lifestyles are quite different from most birds. Of course, the article made me wonder about our own local belted kingfishers. Would they be as interesting? So, I began to study up on ours. I've observed them before on the Clear Fork and the White Oak as they caught fish, but they aren't as strikingly colored as the Eurasian kind.

Other than their coloring, however, they're very much like their European cousins. They not only eat fish, but also crayfish, dragonflies, frogs, salamanders, lizards. In short, just about every small creature that you might find at a river, but mostly fish. One of the amazing facts about them is that they dig long tunnels (up to 6 feet long) in the banks of streams in which to lay their eggs. Both the male and female dig with their feet which have 2 toes fused together to make a sort of shovel. Both sit on the eggs and feed the chicks, later training them to dive and catch fish.

Late fall and winter is a good time to observe kingfishers as they perch on limbs above the water or hover over a riffle in the stream, hoping to spot dinner. Then they plunge like lightning to spear a fish with their long sharp beaks. Next they slam the fish against a tree branch to stun it before swallowing it headfirst. Why do they do this? So that the fish won't raise its dorsal fin (ouch!) on the way down the bird's gullet. More about these curious birds in next week's Nature Notes.

This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp