Newbury House in Winter

Grant Awarded for Historic Newbury House

Exterior Restoration Work Will Help Preserve Historic Inn

On Thursday, the Tennessee Historical Commission announced a Historic Preservation Fund matching grant of $20,000 for exterior restoration work at Historic Rugby’s Newbury House, including structural repairs, masonry work and painting, according to the website for station WBIR in Knoxville http://www.wbir.com/news/article/177862/2/Airplane-gas-station-historic-jails-get-state-funding  . 

 The grant was among several awarded across Tennessee. The money comes from federal funds allocated by the Department of Interior under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act. Programs in this state authorized by the Act are administered by the Tennessee Historical Commission. The grants pay for up to 60 percent of the costs of approved project work and the grant recipient must provide the remaining 40 percent as matching funds.

The exterior work at will be a continuation of projects done this year at Newbury House.  Several of the rooms have been freshened up recently and tree limbs too near the roof haved been removed.   

Happenings this Week
From Yard Sales to Poetry

Lisa Coffman will read her poetry Sunday afternoon

Inside Rugby Commissary

Thursday through Sunday –

U.S. 127 Yard Sale – Get in your car and shop until you drop.  The yard sale runs from Hudson, MI, south to Chattanooga, TN, then switches to the Lookout Mountain Parkway, continuing to Gadsden, Alabama, for a total of over 600 miles. The route goes about 15 miles west of Rugby, so it is very easy to access parts of the Yard Sale from Rugby.

Commissary Sale – In the spirit of the the 127 Yard Sale, the Commissary will be having a sale.  It is much more relaxing than the 127 sale.  So, come in and shop, visit the other Rugby shops and stop in at the Café for a milkshake to cool off and regain energy.

Friday Night -

Music at the Café – Butch and Doug perform from about 6:30 – to 8:30 or so.

Saturday Night -

 Community Potluck – 7 p.m. at the Community Building.  This is a great time to share your favorite dish with all those fresh veggies available now.


Sunday Afternoon -

 Poetry Reading. Former Rugby resident Lisa Coffman will read from her newest poetry manuscript, "To the Less Obvious Gods," at the Friendly House behind Christ Church, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Coffman is the author of "Likely," an award-winning book of poetry published by Kent State University Press.

Photo of the Week
The Fungus That Ate Hillgrove

This strange object is a fungus growing in Marilyn and Hadley Hury’s yard.  Hadley provided the photo and reports that it is currently 11 inches by 14 inches. It looks like Giant Polypore (meripilus giganteus) which grows on the ground ususally near stumps or trees. You could try eating it when young if well-cooked, but not too much!

Photos of Bypass Work    

As many in Rugby can hear from a distance most days, work on the Rugby Bypass has continued at a steady pace.  Here are some Sunday photos showing the progress as July drew to a close. (Rugby Week sent scouts to the site through mud and heat to save you from the ordeal. )


BIRTHDAYS

No birthdays reported this week


CALENDAR

Rugby is in the Eastern Time zone, just barely

Saturday, August 13 - Knoxville’s Earl O. Henry was a unique bird artist who would have turned 100 this year.  His son, born just six weeks before Earl’s wartime death, will visit Rugby to tell Earl’s story.  5 p.m. at Rugby’s Visitor Centre Theatre.  FREE. This story has been featured on a television segment and in the press. His son, Earl Henry Jr. of Nashville, will give an illustrated talk on Earl’s life and bird prints.  We’ll also see the episode of Tennessee Crossroads about Earl, presented on Nashville Public Television (NPT).

Saturday, September 3 -  British Cars and Bikes  - Labor Day Weekend's Saturday will bring Historic Rugby's British Car and Motorbike Show. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. IT'S FREE TO SPECTATORS. "People's Choice Awards" will be presented along with prizes for both automobile and bike categories. Registration of vehicles is just $7 during August or $10 starting Sept. 1. Vendor booth spaces will be available for $20. Call Historic Rugby (423-628-2441) to make arrangements or email rugbylegacy@highland.net .

Saturday, September 10 – Book Club Meeting - next selection, “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Reviews of the book, which is set in Barcelona in the 1940s-1950s, can be viewed at http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Wind-Carlos-Ruiz-Zafon/dp/1594200106. The meeting will be at the Beacon Hill home of Debbie Harris at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2–4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House

Rugby Yoga – Wed. 8:30 a.m. Eastern at the Friendly House.

NATURE NOTES

By Linda Konig

Oh, David Attenborough, where are you?  We need you here!  You could bring your BBC film crews and all the paraphernalia they'd need for filming our Cumberland Plateau wildlife at night, and I promise you'd be amazed. You'd love it!

 Where would we start? Well, how about if we started with all the different kinds of fireflies we have here, including the little blue ghosts? And in the same program you could feature our fungus gnat glowworms which entomologists have determined to have the bluest lights of any insect species. Our fungus gnat glowworms, Orfelia fultoni, unlike the glowworms in caves in New Zealand, make minute silk webs to catch flying insects instead of silk fishing lines. Also our Orfelia fultoni use a different chemical base from the glowworms in New Zealand caves.  And speaking of magical lights in the night, how about our firefly glowworms in the grass, the glowing Jack-o-Lantern and Luminescent Panellus toadstools, and the foxfire fungus that people have often taken for ghosts in the forest?

 I must confess, however, that I have a purely selfish reason for wanting you to come and film here.  You see, that would make it possible and even easy for me to see some of the wonderous activities that are going on all around us in the night.  Just about No. 1 on my wish list would be to see the American Water Shrew running upright on top of the water.  They can do this by using their hind feet which have stiff bristly hairs to catch air bubbles, making the shrews more buoyant.  Wouldn't that be a sight to see?  You can find some photos of these shrews at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sorex_palustris.html , though I haven't found any showing one actually walking on water.  I've read that sometimes they'll run up to five feet on the surface.   They can also swim underwater to catch prey. 

Oh, there would be sights to see, all right!  Things like a Bombadier beetle blasting scalding hot acid from his rear guns at some ill-fated insect. Or a Dobsonfly female laying her 1,000 eggs in an egg patch.   Maybe a couple of Carolina Leaf-Rollers mating?  I know you probably have a busy schedule planned for the near future, but couldn't you plan a trip to the Cumberland Plateau?  Please, please, please!

Historic Rugby’s Workshops

Saturday August 27 - Vegetable and Flower Gardening For The Fall ~ 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. EDT. Instructor: Bob Washburn. Fee $15. Planting a fall garden provides an opportunity to garden with fresh vegetables and flowers throughout the fall and early winter. The cool season enhances the flavor of vegetables. You will also learn the varieties and proper times to plant for the best fall garden ever. Bob will have a delightful selection of vegetables and flowering plants from his 52-greenhouse nursery available for sale.

Saturday, August 27 - It’s All Done With Mirrors – “The Kaleidoscope” ~ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. EDT. Instructor: Sara Senft. Fee $65. The world of kaleidoscopes will be explored. This includes various mirror configurations, how object boxes are constructed, etc. Each student will complete a kaleidoscope to take home.

Saturday, September 10 - English Country Dancing For Beginners ~ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. EDT (with a two-hour break). Instructor: Mary Hemminger. Fee $25. Come learn simple historic dances that were written and compiled in England in the 1600s and 1700s, the earliest being published in 1651. The dancing will be to recorded music. Individuals will use walking steps for most dances, as well as some slipping and skipping steps during the course of the day.

Saturday, September 17 - Victorian Decorations ~ 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. Instructors: Beth Hester, JoNell Hester and Joyce Lantz. Fee $25. Using fabric, lace, paper, ribbon and reed, create charming Victorian ornaments. At the end of the day, take home 6-8 ornaments plus many ideas and patterns.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23, 24, and 25 - White Oak Basketry ~ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. EDT. Instructor: Bobby Edwards. Fee $130. This very popular 3-day workshop teaches the art of White Oak basketry from tree selection, splits, rims and handles to weaving a beautiful traditional basket. This is an experience not to be missed even if it does require “hand strength.”

Saturday, October 15 - Autumn Gathering and Arranging ~ 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. EDT. Instructor: Linda Konig. Fee $24. Join us in the fields and roadsides to gather dried wildflowers, seed heads, berries and nuts to create your own fall arrangement. Learn the names of and interesting information about all your “autumn gatherings”.

To register for workshops, call toll-free 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Lodging may be available at 1880 Newbury House and local cottages at a 10% discount to students. Food service is available at the Harrow Road Café.

Historic Rugby’s website at http://www.historicrugby.org/ lists all workshops for the year.


This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp