As our Christmas card to all of Rugby’s friends we thought you might enjoy seeing a sketch of Christ Church used on a Christmas card from the 1950s, as well an article in its entirety from a Dec. 25, 1934 Chattanooga newspaper about the first Christmas in Rugby.
Wishing all of you a Very Merry Rugby Christmas!!
Rick Murphy and George Zepp
This sketch of Christ Church was the cover of a Christmas card from the 1950s sponsored by C.M. McClung and Co., once a Knoxville hardware business. (From the Historic Rugby Archives' Walton Collection. Will Walton was lay reader and wife Sarah was the church organist prior to their deaths in '58 and '59.)
Cold water instead of wine, plum puddings, a fruitless search for mistletoe and morning calls of salutations by young ladies featured the first Christmas of Rugby, Tenn., founded in 1880 by a small band of English settlers, as revealed by a Christmas greeting sent out by W.T. Walton of Rugby.
Walton has reprinted for his friends an article written by C.D. Jones, one of the early settlers, in a January (1881) issue of the Rugbeian, the town’s newspaper at that time.
Recounting the events of the first Christmas Day spend in “this enchanting spot of the New World,” the article tells that the native Americans of the region gobbled up English plum puddings like nobody’s business. “Christmas pudding fever,” writes Jones, “found its way to each household, and our American residents, although impervious to such ravages in the past, fell victims to the curranty malady.”
Unable to discover the slightest trace of mistletoe, the saddened Jones writes, “It was suggested that a few dozen roots of this, the only tree that gives (to the young especially) so generous and pleasing annual license, should be imported from Old England.” Alas for the young ladies of Rugby!
Is it rationalization of just gentle wistfulness when he writes, “Nature once more being bountiful in a supply of cold water in drinking such toasts” (wines or spirits being prohibited sale or license within four miles of the town)?
Christmas night a band of settlers, carrying pine branches from which were suspended gleaming lanterns, visited each house in town and recited a poetical greeting before each home. In front of the Blacklock home they chorused, “We hail thee, dear Blacklock, we hail thy good wife, we hail the old lady who brought thee to life. We hail the seven sons and hope they will be as worthy a Briton as we’ve always found thee.”
– The Chattanooga News, Dec. 25, 1934
JANE AND BOB’S GREAT ADVENTURE
By Jane and Bob Fuchs
On our road trip home (from Rugby to Washington, D.C.) we tried to beat the storm by leaving Friday but it beat us, at least temporarily. In the end, we beat it by turning it into a Great Adventure. We drove 11 hours Friday and only made it to Bristol, Va. Then Saturday we drove 13 hours and finally made it home. I use the term “driving” loosely because for many hours we were sitting on I-81 at a dead stop. We started having fun once we switched to US Route 11 which is a beautiful drive, especially after a snowstorm. The scenery was gorgeous and hundreds of homes along the way were lit up for the holidays. Needless to say, the trip was a test of patience but, all in all, it was fun too. And all our future 9-hour drives to and from Rugby will be a piece of cake! Oh, and a special thanks to the Olivers...their Christmas treats provided our only sustenance Friday afternoon/night until we finally had “dinner” at 1:30 AM!
By Mara Trumbo
Mara and Bob renewed their wedding vows this Sunday on the occasion of their 10th Wedding Anniversary. Reverend Peter Keese officiated during the Sunday Service. Mara's childhood best friend and Maid of Honor at her first wedding in Rhodesia, Pam Wattenhover, walked Mara down the isle once more in the USA. Pam and husband Hans are visiting the Trumbos from Australia. A small reception was held in the Friendly House and celebrations continued onto Kathy and John Hick's open house in the afternoon.
NEW YEARS EVE IN RUGBY
It’s not too late to make New Years Eve plans in Rugby, where two events are going on.
There will be special dinners at both the Harrow Road Café and Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast. Both places are offering special lodging packages. For contact information, see the Calendar of Events below or check out the Historic Rugby and Grey Gables websites from links on this page.
HISTORIC RUGBY ANNOUNCES WINTER HOURS
All Historic Rugby facilities remain open during the winter with shorter hours from December 28, 2009 until mid-March, 2010. ALL TIMES SHOWN ARE EASTERN. Facilities may occasionally be closed due to winter weather.
The Harrow Road Café is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm, on Saturday from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm and on Sunday from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm serving breakfast all day and lunch beginning at 11:00 am.
The Schoolhouse Visitor Centre’s historical display area on the first floor will be open Monday thru Friday from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm, Saturday from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm and Sunday from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. Tours of the other Historic Buildings will be available on Saturdays and Sundays only.
The Rugby Commissary Museum Store will be open Sunday and Monday from Noon until 4:00 pm, Wednesday thru Saturday from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, and will be closed on Tuesdays.
All Historic Rugby lodging facilities are available year round. To make reservations for lodging, group tours and meetings or to obtain Historic Rugby general information please call locally, 628-2441 or toll-free 1-888-214-3400. You can also visit the website at www.historicrugby.org or email rugbylegacy@highland.net.
Historic Rugby will resume regular hours mid-March.
BIRTHDAYS
December 24 - Charles Gibbs
CALENDAR
December 24 -- Christmas Eve Service at Christ Church 5:00 p.m. with the traditional potluck afterward.
December 25 - Christmas Day Hike - everyone is invited to meet at the Cafe at 2:00 p.m. to go to Colditz Cove for the traditional Christmas afternoon hike.
December 27 – Annual Meeting - Big South Fork Chapter of Tennessee Trails - 3:00 p.m. at the Harrow Road Cafe
December 29 - Christmas carol sing and open house at Tom and Benita Howell’s home, Ambleside, from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.
December 31 – New Years Eve at Historic Rugby – special holiday dinner at Harrow Road Café. Lodging and special lodging/dinner packages are also still available, including rooms in original Rugby historic buildings. Guests can choose from a 6 oz. Sirloin Steak w/Shrimp Scampi, Chicken Primavera or Pan Seared Salmon with Honey Dijon sauce. All dinners will be served with the soup of the evening, garden salad, choice of baked potato or steak fries, cheddar garlic spoon rolls, homemade dessert and beverage. Diners can bring wine or champagne, with $2 per bottle charge for corkage/glasses. Reservations are required. Full dinner prices are from $17.95 to $22.95 plus tax and gratuity. Seating is from 5:30 to 8:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Call for dinner reservations or more information on New Year’s Eve Lodging Packages. Toll free at 1-888-214-3400 or locally at 628-2441. All proceeds after expenses help support the restoration and preservation of Historic Rugby, a National Register village.
December 31 - A "New Year's Eve Dinner Package" including Lodging, Plateau Gourmet Dinner and Country Breakfast will be held at Grey Gables Bed 'n Breakfast Inn in Rugby. $140.00 plus tax and gratuity on dinner, double occupancy. Dinner only is $20 plus tax and gratuity. Call 423-628-5252 for reservations.
January 2 – Community Potluck at 7:00 p.m. followed by English Country dancing. Mary Hemminger says “We will dance between 1-1/2 hours or until people are wanting to go home.”
January 9 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting – 1:30 p.m. at the Community Building.
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).
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
By Linda Konig
Evidently I hit a responsive chord with several people last week when I wrote about skunks. I even had a request to write about them again, this time giving a "recipe" for getting rid of the stink. First of all, as a preventative, you can scatter moth balls around your property to discourage them. They're repelled by the smell of camphor.
In spite of all precautions, however, you--or more likely your dog--could get sprayed. I've often heard that bathing your stricken pet in tomato juice or ammonia does the trick. Fortunately, I haven't had to try anything for skunk spray, myself, but looking on the Web, I found this formula from Field and Stream: Mix 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy with 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 tsp. of liquid soap. Put your pet in a tub of water and wet him or her thoroughly. Apply the soap mixture and scrub. Rinse with warm water. This formula neutralizes thiols, the noxious chemical components in skunk "perfume." Thiols are also the active ingredients in male cat urine, so you can use this formula for other problems, too. Good luck!
Finally (and you won't believe this), skunk "juice" is sometimes used in perfume. After the thiols have been removed, that is. The musk still retains its clinging ability and so is used as a base for some perfumes and added to sweet-smelling spices, flowers, etc.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
