BREWSTER AND HANWRIGHT RECOGNIZED FOR SERVICE
The rescheduled Morgan Co. Fire Rescue Association meeting finally was held at Friendly House Thursday night. The photo on the right below shows CFAVFD chief Gerald Hanwright receiving a certificate from FRA president Bear Jackson for five years of service. Terry Brewster is shown in the photo on the left below receiving a certificate for more than twenty years of service as a firefighter and member of the county rescue squad.
HISTORY CLUB FRIDAY NIGHT
By Linda Konig
The History Club will meet at the Friendly House, Friday, Feb. 12 at the Friendly House. Linda Konig will speak about the George Berry family. There will be Berry family artifacts and photos for "show and tell." Barbara Stagg will be bringing a secret Berry artifact, and we will have to guess what it is. She says that it's something we've all seen; it's in plain sight in Rugby. She thinks George knows what it is, but he's supposed to keep his mouth shut.
I can't imagine. . . . I'm going to bring a prize for someone if they can guess what it is.
RADIO STAR
By George Zepp
Donna Heffner of Glenmary (and Rugby’s own gourd artist at the Spirit of Red Hill shop) was heard on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation” Wednesday, telling a national radio audience about Mark Twain’s ties to Jamestown, TN, where his conception is said to have occurred. Her unmistakable voice startled one motorist listening via Nashville station WPLN as he exited Interstate 40 in Cookeville. She was introduced only as “Donna in Glenmary, Tennessee,” but when she spoke it was Heffner loud and clear. The topic was Twain, or Samuel Clemens, because of a new book out detailing Twain’s later years. The author was being interviewed. The book is Mark Twain: Man in White. Author Neal Conan said Twain once donned only a bathrobe in London’s fashionable Mayfair area to stroll down the street to a Turkish bath establishment. For a transcript of what Donna said, or to listen to a recording of the whole segment, go to: http://www.wbur.org/npr/123336585
SPIRIT OF RED HILL OPEN THIS WEEKEND
By Annie Patterson
Having survived the snowy, blowy, icy January of 2010 mostly intact, Donna and Annie of Spirit of Red Hill announce that they will once again venture off the ridge to hold the SECOND ANNUAL VALENTINES DAY WEEKEND SALE AND HOT CHOCOLATE?COOKIE FEST on February 13, 14 and 16. The shop will be open 10:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Saturday; noon to 4 p.m. Sunday; and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. All books are still 10% off, many others 30% off , and again there will be "new" vintage books on the shelves. Many other items will also be on sale, and if you're looking for a special Valentine's Day gift, stop by and check out some new products and vintage items that just might fill the bill!
As always, we look forward to seeing you!
BIRTHDAYS
February 12 - Barbara Stagg
February 13 - Butch Hodgkins
February 14 - Marilyn Hury
CALENDAR
February 12 – History Club 7:00 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
February 13 - Valentine High Tea Dinner – Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast Inn. Special dinner plus a program of Christian gospel music. Lodging package also available. For details and reservations, contact Linda at 423-628-5252 or email greygablestn@highland.net
February 13 – St. Valentines Dinner at the Harrow Road CafĂ© – four-course dinner and special gift. Reservations required. Lodging packages also available. See details of menu and rates at http://www.historicrugby.org/. For reservations contact HRI at 423-628-2441 or toll-free at 888-214-3400
February 14 – Valentine Sunday Brunch at Harrow Road Cafe - Served 11:00 a.m. To 2:00 p.m. Eastern
March 20 -The Wild Thyme Players and The Silver Stage Players present an original production of “The Way the Story Goes” a collection of true stories written and performed by artists ranging in age from 10 to 85. 7:30 p.m. Eastern, Historic Rugby’s Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Contact Historic Rugby for more information or reservations at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Admission is free, but donations to Historic Rugby and the Players will be appreciated.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
NATURE NOTES
By Linda Konig
Usually I try to keep my weekly "Nature Notes" current with what I've been seeing lately, but today I just had to think about spring and write about something to look forward to. I've been learning a lot about dragonflies this past week. One of our most common ones and most easy to recognize are the male Common Whitetails. Their name is a perfect description, and, relatively, they're a good size. Their four wings each have a broad black vertical band across the middle. The mature males have a white powdery surface over their wide abdomens, and you can see them anywhere in mid-summer all over the U.S. I have a perfect dried specimen I found last summer. Of course, there are many, many more kinds of dragonflies and damselflies to be seen. One of the Websites I looked at said that between 31 and 40 different species of dragonflies have been seen and recorded in Morgan County.
Can't wait till about May when dragonfly nymphs (larvae) will be crawling from ponds all around here. Their dramatic emergence from their nymphal shells is somewhat similar to the cicadas' emergence from their old shells--but not in epidemic numbers fortunately. The dragonfly nymphs usually emerge from the water at night when they're safer from birds and other predators. Some emerge in early to mid-morning, however, and, of course, those would be easier to watch. It takes some time and patience to observe these creatures struggle out of their too-tight shells to change from an ugly voracious underwater monster (albeit small) to a legendary beauty, flying off to aerial derring-do and adventure. It must be a magical sight.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp