Sunday evening folks in Rugby began to hear the sad news that Bill Jones had died suddenly. Bethany Jackson told us that she learned of the death from Bill’s wife, Linda Sue Brooks Jones. It is our understanding that he was stricken Sunday afternoon.
Bill was probably best known to many as manager of the historic Brooks Store, where he carried on a long tradition of greeting everyone, locals and visitors alike, with a warm welcome. The store is a fascinating place, a combination of functioning general store complete with a pot belly stove and a wheel of fresh cheese, as well as a bit of a museum of time gone by. And, of course he and Linda built and have operated Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast Inn. Bill was also a community leader with a long involvement with the Clear Fork Area Volunteer Fire Department, serving as Fire Chief for several years.
Our condolences go out to Linda, Tiffany and the rest of the family. Arrangements are being handled by Schubert's Funeral Home (phone 423-346-6677). Linda Jones says that visitation and funeral will be Tuesday night, January 12 at the Schubert's Funeral Home in Sunbright. Visitation is from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Eastern. The funeral is at 8:00 pm Eastern. An additional visitation will be on Wednesday morning, January 13 at 10:00 am Eastern, also at Schubert's Sunbright Funeral Home, followed by a prayer time at 10:30 am and then they will depart for the burial at Mount Hope Cemetery in Deer Lodge which will be at approximately 11:00 am. Here is a link to the funeral home site - where an obituary should be available soon: http://www.funeralplan.com/schubert/obits?id=188480
Jessie Gully says that the family has asked that instead of flowers donations can be made to the Clear Fork Area Volunteer Fire Department. Donations can be given to either Fire Chief Gerald Hanwright or Tom Howell. Or they can be mailed to the fire department at P.O. Box 79, Rugby, TN 37733. Tiffany Terry says that donations can also be made to St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 222 N. Church St., Wartburg, TN.
BRRRR BEAUTIFUL RUGBY
Photo shows George Zepp and Carrie Thornthwaite making their way to see the ice at Jones Waterfall. Photo by Mike Harris.
Last week at least two vehicles slid off the snow-covered roads in Rugby. The snow had been predicted for several days. At mid-afternoon on Thursday it began. Flakes soon covered the roads, as it appeared that no salt or salt-brine had been applied by road crews.
Shortly after the snowfall had started, Cheryl Cribbet attempted to return home, leaving her office at Historic Rugby and driving east out of town on Highway 52. She said that as she slowly went down the hill toward the White Oak bridge, the car slid off the road and, fortunately, came to stop against a tree, preventing it from going down a dangerous precipice.
Cheryl got out and was offered a ride back into Rugby by a kindly passing driver. Jane and Steve Logan took Cheryl in for the night.
We also heard that the mail delivery truck that picks up mail in Rugby about 4:00 p.m. slid off the road. I would not doubt other mishaps may have resulted from road conditions.
Highway 52 improved greatly when brine trucks came through a little while later Thursday evening. The road crews have seemed to do a good job of anticipating the need to salt the roads recently, so it is surprising that they missed this much-anticipated storm. Apparently the side roads have remained hazardous. Rita Myers has walked frequently back and forth from her home on Horseshoe Bend Road, which is quite a distance, down to her job at the Commissary since the storm happened.
Icicles hang from the roof of the Old School House on Sunday. Photo by George Zepp
On Friday, the day after Cheryl’s car slid off the road, a wrecker pulled her car back to Rugby. There was not a scratch on it from the accident. However, during the night someone had broken out the driver’s window and stolen some of her music CDs. Cheryl had a really good attitude about it all, saying that she was lucky she was not hurt and that a window is easier to deal with than damage to the body of the vehicle.
FIRE RESCUE MEETING RESCHEDULED
By Tom Howell, Clear Fork Area VFD secretary
The meeting of the Morgan County Fire Rescue Association scheduled for last Thursday night was canceled and rescheduled due to the road conditions. The meeting will be this Thursday, January 14. Dinner will be at 6:30 and the meeting will be at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend.
Anyone who might wish to assist should talk with Clear Fork Chief Gerald Hanwright beforehand by calling 627-4182.
SPIRIT OF RED HILL FEST
Donna and Annie of Rugby’s Spirit of Red Hill shop announce that the Second Annual MLK Day Weekend Book Sale and Hot Chocolate/Cookie Fest will be held Saturday, Sunday and Monday, January 16, 17 and 18. Saturday and Monday hours 10:30 a.m to 5:30 p.m., Sunday noon to 5:00 pm. All books are 10% off, many others are 30% off, and there will be "new" vintage books on the shelves.
Other items will be on sale also as we try to make room for new inventory. Looking forward to seeing you!
ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCING
Mary Hemminger emailed to say “unless there is a conflict, we will have dance in the FRIENDLY HOUSE (Saturday, Jan. 16) 7:00 p.m. (instead of the community room).” If you are interested, you might want to email her at mejs@juno.com to confirm your participation.
HOUSEKEEPING HELP AVAILABLE
Historic Rugby’s housekeeper, Remona Rosenbaum, has additional time available this winter to help clean local homes. Remona's cell phone is 931-397-4873. Cathy Hannaway at Historic Rugby says that Remona has been working for Historic Rugby for one year now and is a very good housekeeper.
BIRTHDAYS
January 14 - Drew Martin and Charles Crabtree
January 15 - Margaret Erickson
January 18 - Deanna Oliver
CALENDAR
January 14 – Fire/Rescue Dinner and Meeting – 6:30 p.m. at the Friendly House
January 16 – Book Club Meeting - The next selection is “The Known World,” by Edward P. Jones. The book club discussion will begin at 4:30 p.m. Eastern to avoid conflicting with either quilting or country dancing. The meeting is at the home of Benita and Tom Howell, 149 Luton Street (at the intersection of Cumberland Avenue and Luton St. in Beacon Hill).
January 16 – English Country Dancing, 7 p.m., Friendly House behind Christ Church. Contact Mary Hemminger, mejs@juno.com
January 23 – (NEW DATE) Historic Rugby Board Meeting – 1:30 p.m. Eastern at the Community Building.
February 6 – Community Potluck 7:00 p.m. Eastern
February 13 – St. Valentines Dinner at the Harrow Road Café – four-course dinner and special gift. Reservations required. Lodging packages also available. Contact HRI at 423-628-2441 or toll-free at 888-214-3400
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
NATURE NOTES
By Linda Konig
Watching the birds at the cafe birdfeeder on these recent snowy mornings has been a joy. Sunday morning we saw SEVEN male cardinals and probably as many females taking turns at the feeder. The males' bright red feathers are so striking against the snowy background. Other birds included goldfinches (the males' coats dulled for winter), tufted titmice, nuthatches, chickadees, and a red-bellied woodpecker.
Cardinals are fun to watch, whatever the season. They mate for life and are especially interesting in the spring when the male re-plights his "troth" by offering his mate seeds, berries, or insects to eat. If she accepts (and I guess she always does), they will again mate and have offspring. Last spring, I observed this little ritual of food offering at the cafe feeder. He seems to be especially programmed to feed others because he will also do all the feeding of his offspring while the female is busy building a second nest for their second brood of the year.
The male seems to be among the most jealous of "husbands" and will fight any other male that gets too near his territory in spring and summer. Unfortunately for him, a male cardinal can't differentiate between a real rival and his own image in a mirror or a window. They seem to fixate on fighting this perceived rival and will return day after day until late fall to fight their own reflected image. Several years ago, those of us who were giving tours at Historic Rugby had the experience of daily trying to clean up a certain male cardinal's "poop" at all the window sills of the Thomas Hughes Library. Evidently he was also trying to ward off his imaginary rival by leaving his scent behind (?), along with some feathers he'd lose banging against the glass. We had to open and close the shutters every day for natural light, and there was no way we could avoid getting our hands against the male cardinal's leavings. We even tried hanging little birdcage mirrors in nearby trees, hoping he would transfer his attentions to those, but it didn't work. Needless to say, we were relieved the next year when that cardinal pair moved their home to a different locale.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
