Rugby Holiday Events Begin Friday

Thanksgiving Marketplace, Silent Auction, and British Tea

Yes, indeedy … the Holiday season officially begins this week.  And Rugby is ready. The Christmas wreaths and sprays were made by volunteers over the weekend and are already hung throughout the village. 

Jim McBrayer's photo of some of the wonderful Greens Workshop volunteers

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, make sure you make your way to Thanksgiving Marketplace. Stop in at the Visitor Centre and the Commissary where craftspeople will be demonstrating their skills.  And stop by all the shops in Rugby. In particular, make your way upstairs at the Commissary to see what items are available in the silent auction and to vote for Rugby’s Council of Curmudgeons.

 Friday afternoon features the Victorian Cream Tea at historic Newbury House – I believe there are still spaces available for the 3:30 p.m. seating (the earlier seating is sold out).

And if you are tired of turkey, stop in at the Harrow Road Café Friday evening for some good food and live music.

 Photos from the Week

Jim McBrayer photos related to greens workshop - top left is Rita Myers, bottom left is Carolyn and Julian Bankston

Joel and Kathy Zachry and friend

Bear Talk

There seemed to be a very interested audience for Saturday’s presentation by experienced backcountry guide and author Joel G. Zachry who shared some of the stories from his book "Bears We’ve Met, Short Stories of Close Encounters."

Joel emphasized that black bears, like the ones we see around Rugby, are normally shy and not aggressive around humans unless they feel threatened. He stressed the need to avoid attracting bears by not leaving pet food, barbecue grills and bird food outside and by keeping garbage inside or in bear-proof containers.

He said deer on the highways are probably a greater danger to people than bear as 1,000 people a day are injured in car accidents resulting from deer on roads in North America.  He said only one person has been killed in the Smokey Mountain National Park as a result of a confrontation with a bear, and there are many fewer bear in the Big South Fork area around Rugby than in the Smokeys.

Recent Bridge work - photo by Carrie Thornthwaite

Bypass Road Work Halted

Villagers may have noticed that there has not been as much noise and traffic from the Bypass construction lately. Blalock Construction representatives said that road construction ground to a halt recently due to environmental concerns.  Apparently more iron and pyrite were discovered than anticipated in some areas that need soil removed.  They said stopping the work puts approximately 30 local employees out of jobs, just before the holidays.

 While the road construction has been halted, work on the two bridges continues.

 Blalock representatives said they hope to get word soon from TDOT to resume road construction  It is not known whether this will delay opening of the Bypass, scheduled for late 2012.

CHRISTMAS AT HISTORIC RUGBY SET DEC 3

Christ Church Choir Performs at 4:30 p.m.

Candlelit visits to traditionally decorated historic buildings; glimpses of 1880s Rugby Christmases, seasonal music, and a traditional Victorian dinner all await visitors to Christmas At Historic Rugby December 3.

A live actress portraying Madame Margaret Hughes, the founder's mother, will greet visitors at Kingstone Lisle. The fragrance of plum pudding steaming on the kitchen wood stove will fill the house.

The Harrow Road Cafe will serve a four-course Christmas dinner by oil lamp light at two reserved seatings each evening - 5:45 and 8:00 pm Eastern Time. The menu includes Prime Rib w/herb roasted potatoes, French green beans, and Cherry Chocolate Mousse & Beverage (a vegetarian offering can be made with advance notice) - For event and dinner tickets and area lodging information, call Historic Rugby toll free at 1-888-214-3400 or locally at 423-628-2441.

Hot wassail will be served fireside at the Rugby Community Room where visitors can take part in old-time carol singing led by musicians Tony Thomas and Judy Carson.  Join Robin Branstetter and Christmas Carolers and The Choir of Rugby who will be caroling throughout the Village.

At the Rugby Printing Works, the 1880s Chandler-Price letterpress will turn out hand-printed hot wassail recipes for visitors.

The choir of Christ Church will also present a short concert of Christmas music and carols at 4:30 p.m. in the church. Everyone is welcome to attend this forty-five minute program.  This concert is free of charge, but donations to support the preservation of the church are welcome.

 

Event hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Event tickets are $12 and can be purchased in advance, or on Saturday at the Visitor Centre. HISTORIC RUGBY MEMBERS ARE $9 and high school and elementary students are $5. Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance and are $29, tax and gratuity included. Call 1-888-214-3400 for event and dinner tickets.

Condolences

We were sorry to hear that Barbara Mitchell’s mother passed away this week. Grace Lorene Shelton, age 94, died November 19. According to the obituary in The Tennessean she was survived by a large family including 14 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren. Funeral services were scheduled for today (Monday) in Dickson.

Did You Know?

A live Christmas tree farm is opening in nearby Allardt on Saturday, Nov. 26,  operating from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends through Dec. 22. Sycamore Springs Farm will have trees and fresh greenery and garlands available. It is located on 2125 Country Club Road. Turn across from Allardt School and follow the signs 1.5 miles on the right. Open weekdays by appointment – 931-879-5526.

Tracey Stansberry on TV

Historic Rugby Board member Tracey Stansberry was on Knoxville TV recently talking about the Scott County theatre group's new space at the old county courthouse.  See her in costume on the video clip at http://www.wbir.com/rss/article/192043/2/Scott-County-theater-group-performs-in-courthouse

BIRTHDAYS

Nov. 25 - Marilyn Young

Nov. 28 - Walter Young

Robin Branstetter and daughters JoBeth and Bobbie Jean last Friday at Cafe

CALENDAR

Rugby is in the Eastern Time zone, just barely.

Tuesday, Nov. 22 -- Noon deadline to nominate yourself or someone else for Council of Curmudgeons election during Thanksgiving Marketplace.

Friday, Nov. 25 – Thanksgiving Marketplace and Victorian Cream Tea (2 afternoon seatings) plus Silent Auction

Saturday, Nov. 26 – Book Club - The next book club selection is the nonfiction book In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Beasts-Terror-American-Hitlers/dp/0307408841. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at Lisa Donegan's house in Beacon Hill.

Dec. 3 – Christmas at Rugby – 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. Eastern

Linda Konig when not thinking of vultures

Dec. 10 – Christmas Home Tour

Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House

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


NATURE NOTES

Vultures Overhead

By Linda Konig

 (Editor’s Note:  If you are eating breakfast, you may want to read this later!)

For the last week or so we've been seeing a multitude of vultures sailing serenely over Rugby in the late afternoons. Sometimes they're called buzzards in the South, but this name was handed down by our English forebears since American vultures reminded our English ancestors of the buzzards in England.  Technically, our vultures are different from European buzzards.  It's hard to tell whether we're seeing Turkey Vultures or Black Vultures as they soar overhead. However, today I saw in Kaufman's Field Guide to North American Birds that Turkey Vultures have rounded tails and Black Vultures have squared-off tails.

At first, I figured there must be some gigantic animal or animals that had perished down in the river gorge or that they might be migrating through, but since we're still seeing them every afternoon, I've decided they may be living down near the river, at least temporarily.  They like to live in wooded areas and make their homes on rocky ledges, laying their eggs right on the ground or on rocks, not building a nest.

Though vultures will never win any beauty contests, they should be high on our lists of birds we appreciate.  The fact is, they eat large amounts of carrion which would otherwise be left to rot. These birds are uniquely equipped to take care of this problem in a sanitary fashion.  Their digestive systems kill any and all bacteria that's contained in the carrion.  A vultures' poop or vomit contains no bacteria.  Since we're talking about a disgusting subject, I'll go on to tell you a unique way that vultures have of cooling themselves in hot weather. They will urinate over their bare legs so that the evaporating liquid will cool their body temperatures.  To each his own!  I think I prefer fans and air conditioning.

This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp