The new year in Rugby has been greeted by a period of extremely cold winter weather. As I write this, the thermometer at Walton Court tells me that it is seven degrees outside. The forecast predicts that the high is not supposed to get above freezing for several days.
In photo above Rugby Hiking Club members ignore the cold temperatures. Photo by Rick Murphy
The Decorating Committee has been busy taking down Christmas decorations. Jody Hester and Bethany Jackson were working hard to restore the Café mantels to some sense of normalcy. They said they were hoping Ron Jackson would come work his magic on the mantel decorations as soon as he is feeling better, as he has been under the weather. Lisa Donegan and Carman Roberson were reported to be taking down the decorations at Newbury House.
A large group showed up for the potluck Saturday night at the Community Room. Mary Hemminger helped people work off the meal with some rousing English Country dancing. We skipped out early, but heard that Mary had a little trouble getting husband Bob and Steve Logan to follow dancing instructions.
2009 – GOOD RIDDANCE, SOGGY PERIOD
By Jim McBrayer
This past year I measured 75.15 inches of precipitation. Rugby has no official record, of course, but since NOAA bases our forecasts on the Crossville airport weather station, we can compare that to an annual
average of about 55.5 inches. We had 111 days with measurable rainfall. September, normally the second driest month, was the wettest, followed by May. WATE television reported that 2009 was the 7th wettest year on record in Knoxville.
PUBLIC INVITED TO FIRE/RESCUE MEETING
By Tom Howell, Clear Fork Area VFD secretary
The Morgan County Fire Rescue Association, consisting of the chiefs and primary officers of all the Morgan County fire departments and the Rescue Squad and Forestry, will meet at Friendly House Thursday, January 7, for dinner at 6:30 and meeting at 7 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend. Lavonne Gibbs has offered to provide desserts.
Others who might wish to assist should talk with Clear Fork Chief Gerald Hanwright beforehand by calling 627-4182.
HISTORY CLUB TO DISCUSS REVIVAL OF DEAD
The Rugby History Club is meeting this Friday, January 8 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House. This will be the annual time for tossing about ideas for future programs, as well as updating some of the information from past programs. Linda Konig says the group will also be discussing a proposed Laurel Dale Cemetery tour. She says that Mike Harris will be there to help with the thorny topic of “which of the dead should/could be on the tour, asking for volunteers to play the parts, etc.”
The new Rugby Hiking Club had its first hike Saturday. Despite the cold, hikers enjoyed seeing the great progress that the Historic Rugby properties staff and volunteers are making on the new trail to the Massengale Place. Dead trees are still being removed to make the trail safer for hikers, so anyone who ventures down there before the work is completed should be very careful.
Photo shows George Zepp crossing a large downed tree with Bob Hemminger not far behind. Photo by Rick Murphy
Carrie Thornthwaite is organizing an informal afternoon hike for today (Monday, January 4). Hikers can meet at the Café at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
The next planned hike will be this Saturday, January 9. Bob Trumbo will lead the group around the Deer Gap Loop in Fentress County. (See details in the calendar below.)
Anyone wanting to organize a hike or participate in future hikes should give their email address to Benita Howell at bjhowell@highland.net. The way it will work in the future is that anyone on the email list can email others letting them know they are organizing a hike and providing the details. If you know well enough in advance (Sunday evenings by 5:00 p.m.), you can also submit your hike information to Rugby Week.
By Mara Trumbo
Well, the Appalachian Quilt Trail has been active for years, and a few of us wondered why Morgan County barns did not sport the festive Barn Quilt painted squares our neighboring counties so proudly display all around us. Here in Rugby, Eric Wilson and Vi Biehl have a darling miniature one on their guest house wall. I guess the idea to join the association struck a few residents round about the same time. Mara started in August 2009 with designing a Sergeant Alvin York Foundation barn quilt featuring the York family quilt in the background and Sgt. Alvin York's war medals in each main square. Then Lavonne and Charles Gibbs invited Mara to paint a panel for their Kentucky barn. This opened doors for starting this activity as school projects as well as a privately commissioned business for Mara's Art Expressions Studio. Unbeknown to each other the Chamber of Commerce held their first meeting about the possibility of embellishing our County's main road barns, and this week-end yet a third group formed to discuss this very same subject. Rugby is obviously enthused by the Barn Quilt idea, and it's admirable that so many residents are willing to participate in it. To facilitate its success however, it would be best all parties work for the same common good, within the guidelines supplied by the East Tennessee Quilt Trail Association. The Morgan County Chamber of Commerce has invited all interested parties to their second Barn Quilt meeting to be held on the third floor of the Wartburg court house at 10:00 on Monday January 11th, 2010. Flyers with copies of traditional patterns, advice on wood preparation, painting etc. will be available.
Car-pooling would be great so call Mara if you want to join in at 628-6591.
MISTLETOE SAGA CONTINUES
Recently we published an article about the first Christmas in Rugby which mentioned that the colonists could not find any mistletoe that first Christmas. And last week we shared that a visitor had told Julian Bankston that the reason the colonists could not find mistletoe was because in England it grows on the ground, not in trees like it does here.
Several of you curious about the visitor’s statement did a little research. Jenny Young says that mistletoe does indeed grow in trees in the British Isles, just like here. This is a link she provided to information about this subject. http://www.mistletoe.org.uk/home/index24.htm
Sounds like a subject that Rugby’s Nature Guru, Linda Konig, might need to address.
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 6 - John Gilliat and Dorcus McBrayer
CALENDAR
January 4 – Hike – Meet at the Harrow Road Café at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
January 7 – Fire/Rescue Dinner and Meeting – 6:30 p.m. at the Friendly House
January 8 – History Club Meeting 7:00 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House. This will be the annual time for tossing about ideas for future programs, as well as updating some of the information from past programs.
January 9 – Saturday Hike with Rugby Hiking Club. Hike approximately three miles along the bluffs south of Jamestown on East Fork Stables property accessed from the Jordan Motel on Highway 127. Rated moderate, depending on the weather, with bluff views, a waterfall, and Jordan Lake as points of interest. Dress appropriately for the weather, and bring water and snacks. Meet at Harrow Road Café at 9:30 a.m. Eastern to carpool, or arrange to meet at the animal barn parking area behind Jordan Motel at 9:00 a.m. Central. For more information and to register, contact hike leader Bob Trumbo at ctrumbo@highland.net.
January 9 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting – 1:30 p.m. Eastern at the Community Building.
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).
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
A couple of days ago, I read an article in a back issue of Living Bird given to me by Mary Dresser. It was about migrating birds and the wild berries they eat to fuel their journeys. The article talked about which berries were best for fuel and which were not as nutritious. Some of the best are the ones eaten first in fall. They include dogwood, spicebush, winterberry, autumn olive, and sassafras, all of which we have around Rugby. These berries tend to be more nutritious for birds than berries they eat later. Being more nutritious, they're attacked by microbes and so, if the birds don't get them, they rot and fall off. Every fall, I wish the dogwood berries would last till Christmas; their clusters of red berries are so pretty. Of course, they never do last that long.
Then the later migrators and local winter birds dine on greenbrier, privet, coralberries, holly, eastern red cedar, poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, and staghorn sumac berries. These particular berries usually aren't as nutritious and some will last till next spring. Staghorn sumac berries may not be as useful to the birds, but they're loaded with vitamin C. They were useful to the Cherokee in a hot winter drink, tasting like hot lemonade if you add sweetening. They're also useful in Christmas decorations. These berries are easily recognized because they remain red instead of turning black. Their bunches tend to point upward in a curve like a flamingo's beak at the top of their tall stalks.
Reading the above list of berries that last on into winter, you'll see that several of these plants are less desirable, humanly speaking. All of these berries are spread by birds, I think. Most, if not all, of these berries' seeds have to pass through a bird's gut before they can grow new plants. Late wild berries are something interesting to look for on winter walks, lending a bit of colorful detail. All of them, with the exception of the whitish poison ivy berries, can be gathered for winter decorations.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
