This electric car was newly built by the talented Julian Bankston of Rugby and apparently took its first trial run this past weekend. We think it was modeled after a 1908-era one early in horseless carriage development. If Julian will send a few details about it and the stats on the secret trials (zero to 15 in XX seconds?), we’ll have more for next week’s edition on Rugby’s newest automotive industry. Zoom, zoom! (Thanks to Jim McBrayer for the unofficial test track photo.)
RUGBY FILM FESTIVAL
By Rick Murphy
In spite of the beautiful weather outside, there was a good turnout for the Short Circuit Traveling Film Festival showing short films by Southeastern filmmakers at Rugby’s Johnson Theatre on Saturday afternoon. As expected with short independent films, they included a wide variety of topics and cinematic approaches. Barbara Stagg did an excellent job of presenting the films in an interesting order – varying between documentary films and more nontraditional pieces. While there was one brief glitch when a film about private lives of night truckers got a little too graphic, Stagg quickly ended the film and moved on to a wonderfully strange piece that appeared to be about the animated lives of creatures of a trash dump! I thought it was fascinating – really.
Filmgoers gather for Saturday's Short Film Festival. Photo by George Zepp
Highlights of the festival included a documentary about a down-home restaurant in Louisiana (which maybe should have been shown last, as it made everyone hungry), a film about stock-car racing preachers and a film about a man in Nashville jumping out of a building and having an extended conversation with himself about his life and goals as the fall progresses in slow motion.
Even with the one glitch, I think most in the audience appreciated the creative effort that went into offering the film festival to folks in Rugby. It was a great way to get into the spirit of things before last night’s Academy Awards.
THIS WEEKEND – EATING AND DANCING
Saturday brings a special St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at Harrow Road Café. Lodging packages are also available. Note to English Country Dancers - come to the dinner early and then go dancing! Contact Historic Rugby for more information or reservations at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441.
Mary Hemminger will be leading another session of English Country Dancers on Saturday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. She suggests that dancers go eat at the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at the Harrow Road Café before dancing! She is checking on the availability of the Friendly House or the Community building and see what works best. 7:00 p.m.
TSRA SEEKS SUPPORT TO PREVENT BIG SOUTH FORK LANDFILL
Steve Logan forwarded the following email that is being sent to members of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association:
“The TSRA, the Big South Fork, the Cumberland River and the citizens of Tennessee and Kentucky need your immediate help. In the last couple of days, I was made aware of a proposal to build a landfill on a tributary of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland. The landfill would be built on, or near, Bear Creek just outside of Oneida, TN in Scott County. Bear Creek flows northwest out of Oneida and meets the Big South Fork between Leatherwood Ford, and Blue Heron. At the bottom of the page, I have listed three links to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website, so you can view the proposals in their entirety.
I will list the highlights of the proposal below, so you can quickly see why we should oppose this landfill:
1. The new landfill will fill in 0.82 acres of wetland.
2. The new landfill will fill in 1,417 linear feet (over a quarter of a mile) of a perennial stream. I assume this stream to be Bear Creek.
3. The landfill will accept the disposal of domestic wastes, commercial wastes, institutional wastes, municipal solid wastes, bulky wastes, landscaping and land clearing wastes, industrial wastes, construction/demolition wastes, farming wastes, shredded automotive tires, dead animals, and special wastes (see #4).
4. The landfill is also being considered as a disposal site for fly ash from the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash spill in Kingston. The proposed landfill is only 57 miles straight up HWY 27 from Kingston. See this article from the USA Today on Friday to see why there is a good chance the TVA will utilize it: http://content.usatoday.net/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=tennessean&sParam=32959265.story
I will spare you the legal arguments and scientific data and instead offer you plain common sense. Filling in a year-round creek with waste is certainly something we should oppose. Filling that creek with the same toxic materials being removed from the Emory River is something the entire state should oppose. Fly ash contains arsenic, lead, and mercury along with other toxic heavy metals. Trash and toxic waste dumped into a tributary of the Big South Fork will certainly find its way downstream into the Cumberland River, where many communities, including Nashville get their drinking water. Please join me in opposing this landfill.
There is an opportunity for public comment at a hearing TODAY: Monday, March 8 , in the Courtroom of Oneida City Hall, 19222 Alberta Street, Oneida, TN. From 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, citizens are invited to inspect and discuss the permit application, draft permit, fact sheet, plans, and other materials with the DSWM and with representatives of the applicant. There will be an opportunity for public comments to be recorded or written and submitted from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The formal hearing will begin at 6:00 p.m.”
NOMINATING COMMITTEE PROCESS
By Jane Logan
Historic Rugby’s Nominating Committee Chair, Jane Logan, wishes to express her regret that the mass e-mailing of the nominating process letter did not reach all Historic Rugby members as planned. It was the first attempt using the bulk e-mailing service, Constant Contact, and it obviously did not work! Another e-mail will be sent shortly. Thanks to all members for their patience.
NOTED ARTIST AT FALL WORKSHOPS
By Mara Trumbo
I have just secured a contract for noted guest artist Darrel Crowe to conduct my autumn fine art painting workshops in Rugby. Here are the names and dates for each workshop:
Horseridge Mountain Landscape - Friday10/15/10
Tall Ships - TheCutty Sark Seascape - Saturday 10/16/10
Arabian Knight” - Horse Portrait - Sunday10/17/10
Classes cost $75 each, $145 for two or $215 for all three. The price includes materials and canvas. Beginners are welcome. Hosted by Mara Yeates-Trumbo, Art Expressions Studio, Rugby, telephone (423) 628-6591 or E-Mail: Cadisama@earthlink.net We would like as many of you interested in art to attend, but if this is not your "bag," please help us by forwarding this announcement on to friends who may be. Thank you. Hope to hear from some of you soon!
NEWSLETTER REMINDERS
Thanks to everybody for your ongoing contributions to this community newsletter/blog. Please email your news by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday evening. Photographs are also welcome – please send them as attachments to emails and not imbedded in other documents. Please write your news entry in the way you would like it to appear – proofreading is strongly encouraged! You should also include contact information for upcoming events in case readers have questions and please check the phone numbers and email addresses that you include. Entries should be about news and events for Rugby and the surrounding area. Unfortunately we will no longer be able to accept entries that are in the format of advertising flyers – they require too much reformatting and rewriting and the information is easy to misinterpret. You need to submit your entry as a short narrative. See any of our weekly newsletters to get an idea of what format is used. thanks
BIRTHDAYS
March 10 – Reg Murphy
March 11 - Michael Buck
March 13 - Hannah Alley, Zach Alley & Darwin Bertram
CALENDAR
March 13 – St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at Harrow Road Café, lodging packages available. Note to English Country Dancers - come early and then go dancing! Contact Historic Rugby for more information or reservations at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441
March 13 – English Country Dancing, 7:00 p.m. Eastern
March 14 – Daylight Saving Time begins
March 17 - Harrow Road Cafe will be closing at noon on Wednesday, March 17 due to the hosting of Appalachia Habitat for Humanity’s luncheon to celebrate the 3,000th Habitat House to be built in Tennessee. This house is to be built near Rugby.
March 19 (NEW DATE) – History Club, 7:00 p.m. Eastern – Mike Harris will discuss the planned Cemetery Tour, reviving a few historical Rugby figures for today’s visitors and residents
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.
March 21 – Open Auditions for New Rugby Play - “Emmy & Granny: The Hughes Women at Uffington House, 1881 – 1887” written by Brandon Daughtry Slocum from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern at the Rebecca Johnson Theater at Historic Rugby. No preparation, resumes or headshots are required. There will be cold readings from the script with 10-12 parts to be selected.
March 27 - Barbecue Night at Harrow Road Cafe with live music by Rugby’s Gerald Hanwright
April 17 – Rugby Book Club at the home of Kit & Candy Howes in Armathwaite. Two popular books about Afghanastan: "A Thousand Spendid Suns" (2007) by Khaled Hosseini (who also wrote the popular "Kite Runner"), and "The Places in Between" (2006) by Rory Stewart. You can read either book or both. The Howes’ house is at 446 Big Creek Road in Armathwaite. Go west on Hwy. 52 approximately 3.5 miles from the Rugby bridge, look for Sam Smith Road and then Noah Buck Road. Scenic Bluff Road (on the left coming from Rugby – its Hwy. 52 gate will be open) is just west of Noah Buck. Take Scenic Bluff to Big Creek Road. Follow Big Creek Road to the end. Their wonderful fireplace will be lit and warming (if needed then).
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
WORKSHOP CALENDAR
For Workshop Registration contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 - rugbylegacy@highland.net
Pastel Easter Basket - Saturday, March 27, 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Veronica Ludlow Fee: $54. A perfect workshop for beginning basket makers. This class makes basket making simple and you will create a colorful Easter basket to use year after year.
Spring Wildflower Walk & Image Show - Saturday, April 10, 10:00 a.m.– 5:00 p.m. Instructor: Jack Carmen Fee: $25. The Rugby region abounds with spring wildflowers, including several rare species. Jack Carman, whose book Wildflowers of Tennessee is a definitive guide, will lead us, by carpool and then hike, to a very special Cumberland Plateau location for wildflower viewing and photographing. Attendees will learn and see at least 30-35 species and attend an afternoon film presentation and book signing. Rugby's rare heirloom gladiolus bulbs will be for sale from Rugby’s Heirloom Nursery & Greenhouse.
Wet on Wet Iris Painting - Saturday, April 24, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Eastern. “Iris" oil painting class in the Jenkins wet-on-wet technique by certified art instructor Mara Trumbo. Step-by-step instructions will ensure you will complete the painting in one day. Cost of $60.00 includes the use of all studio materials and a 16"x20" stretched canvas. Please bring a packed lunch with drinks and a sunny disposition for a fun day!
NATURE NOTES
By Linda Konig
Any day now we're going to start hearing frogs. I know it. I just know it. I've been telling myself that for the last several days, and it's true. It's got to be true. So, just listen for those frogs. Usually by this time we're already hearing Wood Frogs and Peepers. The Wood Frogs can call as early as February and even January if the weather's mild. They usually congregate in the woods around big puddles. There are probably literally hundreds of them on the "old fire road" down from Laurel Dale Cemetery.
Last year I heard some at the little pond across from Grey Gables’ driveway, too. A congregation of them sounds like a flock of ducks squabbling. They'll sing in the middle of the day at times. The Peepers, for me, just mean Spring, and I guess everybody knows what they sound like – a piercing high-pitched peep. They can be quite deafening at Newbury Pond as spring progresses toward summer.
The other two early frogs we hear around Rugby are Upland Chorus and Mountain Chorus. The Upland Chorus frogs usually sing in wet ditches along roadsides. Their "song" is distinctive, unlike any other in our area. It sounds very much like someone running their thumbnail down a plastic comb. I usually hear them driving along U.S. 27 in the Glen Mary area or on Hwy. 52 in the ditch across from the White Oak Circle loop. As for the Mountain Chorus frogs, they like shallow puddles, bogs, ditches and tiny streams. A good place to hear them in spring is along Cumberland Avenue at night as you pass near the entrance to the Laurel Branch trail. You can usually hear them on both sides of the road if we've had plenty of rain. They're the ones that go "Reek!" always followed by "Rake!" What's so cute about this is that the "Reek" and the "Rake" are sung by two different male frogs singing close together. The "Reek" is on a slightly higher note, followed by "Rake" on a lower one. Evidently this is supposed to turn on the females. And it must work because we continue to hear them every spring.
If you're driving, bear in mind that you won't hear any of these frogs except the Peepers unless you roll your car windows down and go slowly. Please let me know if you hear them before I do. Any day now we're going to start hearing frogs. I know it. I just know it. I've been telling myself that for the last several days, and I know it's true. It's just got to be true.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
