Rugby was greeted with a beautiful covering of snow Saturday morning, just in time for the first-ever Christmas home tour. Villagers had been busy for weeks decorating the private homes on tour as well as the Café and Newbury House.
Attendees enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage rides through Beacon Hill. Those who rode in the van were enthusiastic about the van driver’s costume. Gerald Hanwright dressed the part of a Victorian undertaker (thanks to Charles Lovett for use of his tall hat).
Gerald Hanwright is the perfect undertaker (photo by Rick Murphy). The horse and wagon heads out with a full load (photo by Jim McBrayer). Visitors Linda and Steve Miller of Knoxville, their daughter Kathryn and her friend D.C. Barr of Nashville pose in period costume in front of Walton Court fireplace (photo by Rick Murphy)
Villagers went all out wearing period-appropriate costumes to help set the stage for the beautifully decorated homes. It was surprising how many of visitors also came dressed in period costumes.
Several people who helped with the home tour ended up at the Café afterward, where there were quite a few ideas on how to improve the event for next year.
HRI Executive Director Cheryl Cribbet stressed how grateful Historic Rugby is to all the wonderful volunteers who organized this event and spent so much time and energy making it such a wonderful experience.
Don’t forget, it’s not the end of Christmas activity here. “Christmas at Rugby” comes this Saturday, Dec. 12. We’ll have another opportunity to dress up, walk around in Victorian style and welcome visitors to the decked-out village – maybe with more snow, or maybe not. (See calendar details below)
ARTWORK DONATED TO HISTORIC RUGBY
Historic Rugby received a donation this week of six Victorian lithographs from the estate of Judith Ann Austin of Jamestown. Here is a photo from HRI’s Cheryl Cribbet showing her with Sheila Strunk (Judith's sister) from Crossville displaying one of the lithographs of Queen Victoria. Cheryl said Historic Rugby is very grateful that Judith Ann Austin remembered Historic Rugby in her will and looks forward to finding just the right places to display these wonderful pieces of art. QUILTS OF RUGBY CARDS AT COMMISSARY
By Cheryl Cribbet
Historic Rugby announces the arrival of the new "Quilts of Rugby" note card sets now on sale at the Commissary. These card sets were produced by one of Rugby’s master quilters, Jody Hester. All of the quilts pictured are from Rugby and have a story to tell. Jody and Harry Hester have graciously made these beautiful card sets available for sale with the proceeds to be shared between HRI and the Rugby Quilting Group. They are priced at $10 per set, including tax. What a great gift item for not only the holidays but all year long!
DRAMA RETURNS TO RUGBY
By Barbara Stagg
The Rugby Drama Society is coming back to life. Research, writing and producing of an original Rugby play is underway, funded in part by a Rural Arts Project Support grant from Tennessee Arts Commission. Playwright Brandon Daughtry Slocum (see photo from Barbara Stagg below) spent several days in Rugby recently researching Rugby history materials and spending time at Uffington House with Margaret and Emily Hughes (through their letters), the setting and primary characters for the two-act play.
A preview performance for Rugby village folk and other key members/supporters will take place Friday, June 18, with the public "world premier" of the play on Saturday evening, June 19 at the Johnson Theatre.
Slocum is the artistic director for The Wild Thyme Players and Silver Stage in Knoxville, both of which she founded. She served for five years on The New Play Festival committee at Tennessee Stage Company, working with national playwrights to develop and produce new works. She was also a commissioned playwright for the North Carolina Arts Council. Slocum graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Theatre from North Carolina Central University in 1991.
SHARON JONES THANKS RUGBY
Sharon Jones would like to thank everyone in Rugby for their support and caring after the recent death of her daughter. She said she greatly appreciates the cards, flowers, and other expressions of caring during this difficult time.
Sharon says she is looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday at the Commissary when she will be dressed in her Victorian finest to help Rita during the Christmas at Rugby event.
PAINTING WORKSHOP
By Mara Trumbo
Last chance to paint that picture you promised yourself to do before Christmas! Join me at Friends Cafe` this Wednesday, December 9, for the last painting workshop of 2009. We will be painting a waterfall landscape, underpainted in acrylics and finished in oils. $55 includes all materials, a canvas and lunch on me! Call (423) 628-6591 if you can join us.
BIRTHDAYS
December 8 - George Zepp
December 9 - Cheryl Cribbet
CALENDAR
December 12 – Invasive Plant Removal work day to pull Japanese spirea in the Rugby State Natural Area. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the Harrow Road Café.
December 12 – Christmas at Rugby – Tour of decorated historic Rugby buildings and Christmas dinner at Harrow Road Café 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern. There is no Lessons and Carols event at Christ Church this year, but the church will be shown, decorated for Christmas, and some music will be included. EVENT TICKETS: (Includes all activities except dinner) $10 Adults; HS and Elementary Students $4.00, Historic Rugby Members $7.00 CHRISTMAS DINNER TICKETS By Advance Reservation (two seatings – 5:45 and 8:00 p.m. Eastern) $29 each, tax and gratuity Included. Contact Historic Rugby at 423-628-2441 or Toll-Free 1-888-214-3400 for reservations.
December 20 - Christmas Open House at home of John and Kathy Hicks in Rugby on Sunday from 2-5 pm. All are invited.
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 dinner at Harrow Road Cafe
January 2 – Community Potluck
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
By Linda Konig
When you're known in Rugby as the "nature lady," you get strange unexpected "gifts" from people. Yesterday the doorbell rang. It was Margaret Erickson and Carrie Thornthwaite bringing me a pretty little Eastern Screech Owl in a ziplock bag. Though mostly undamaged, it was quite dead from some kind of violent encounter.
I looked up Screech Owls in my books to see what kinds of animals prey upon them, and I learned that larger owls, hawks and even other Screech Owls will attack them. Their eggs and nestlings are eaten by black rat snakes, opossums and raccoons. Of course, since it was found near the highway, it was possibly hit by a passing vehicle, perhaps as the owl swooped down intent on grabbing a mouse or some moth.
Screech Owls are smaller than crows and have feathered feet and ear tufts. This one is rufous-colored and seems to be a male. The only other owl we have in our area that's smaller is the Northern Saw-Whet, a winter resident that's fairly uncommon in Tennessee. Saw-Whets have been seen in the Big South Fork and Obed Wild and Scenic River areas, however.
Though Screech Owls are named for the screeching sound they give when alarmed, a better name would be and is Trilling Owl, because more often they trill or whinny, especially when courting a potential mate or begging for food from a returning mate. In fact, some of their other common names are Quavering Owl and Whistling Owl. I've often heard them back at the Central Avenue Motel or at the Community Center. Once you hear it, you'll never forget it or mistake it for any other bird.
This disturbing photo shows George Zepp's hand holding the dead one-eyed owl in the Walton Court kitchen (photo by Rick Murphy)
