Fire Dept. Assists With
Truck Accident
Truck Turns Over on
Curve Leaving Rugby
The Clear Fork Area Volunteer
Fire Department responded last week when a truck turned over on Highway 52 as
it descended the hill going east towards the White Oak River. Tom Howell, Terry Brewster and Gerald
Hanwright assisted with the accident and helped keep traffic safely
moving. The area where the accident
occurred is well known for its curves and is near where a motorcyclist went off
the road and was killed a few years ago.
 |
| Photos by George Zepp |
The truck driver
appeared to be shaken up and after the accident an ambulance was seen going in
that direction.
One of the benefits of
the road construction that is currently underway near Rugby is that trucks will
be a able to bypass the steep curves and narrow roadway on the current Highway
52 into Rugby. Construction is expected
to be completed in 2013.
Author Sharyn McCrumb
Speaks Sunday
New York Times Best-Selling Author
Comes to Rugby
On Sunday, April 22, Sharyn McCrumb will talk about her ballad
novels, including "The Ballad of Tom Dooley." Sharyn is a New York
Times best-selling author whose stories weave together legends, history and
contemporary life in Appalachia. Her presentation is at 3 p.m. Eastern at the
Visitor Centre theatre. She will be available afterward for book signings and will have copies
of her works available for purchase. Watch for other authors in this new
Rugby series during coming months!
There is no admission charge.
Photos from the Weekend
 |
| Musicians perform traditonal music at the Cafe Friday night with variuos instruments including a dulcimer. Author Nancy Jensen signs books while visiting Rugby on Saturday. Hikers listen to State Natural Area representative Lisa Huff discuss the spring used by the Massengale family for water during a hike of the Rugby State Natural Area.Photos by George Zepp |
State Natural Area Speaker Encourages Rugby to Focus on
Eliminating Invasive Plants
Planting Native Plants Encouraged State Natural Area representative Lisa Huff showed photos of a number of invasive plants that we should all try to avoid spreading in our area. Unfortunately, we already have a lot of invasive plants, including cypress spurge, English ivy, miscanthus ornamental grass, kudzu, Japanese wisteria, Japanese spirea, Japanese stilt grass, butterfly bush, as well as others. There is a more comprehensive list at http://www.tneppc.org/invasive_plants
We should make a concerted effort to eliminate
these or control them so that future generations can continue to enjoy some of
the native plants and wildflowers that we still have around Rugby. One source for information about what plants
are invasive and how to control types of invasive plants is at http://www.invasiveplantatlas.org/
Lisa also suggested that we refer to the
book, Gardening with the Native Plants of
Tennessee by Margie Hunter as we decide what plants to plant around our
homes and around the site. Here is the
link to the website for the book which also includes a list of nurseries that
carry native plants. http://www.gardeningwithnativeplants.com/ Some of the
interesting plants she mentioned as possibilities are chokeberry bush, which
has a white flower and red berry, mapleleaf viburnum, native azaleas,
elderberry, sweetshrub and Allegheny spurge.
Looking for Recipes
Cookbook Reminder for Rugby Residents
A new edition of Recipes from Rugby now in preparation will have a
section of recipes from current residents of the village. There's still time
for you to contribute. If possible, please e-mail recipes to bjhowell@highland.net.
Any form is acceptable (in the body of the message, as an attachment,
typed or scanned). If e-mailing is inconvenient, I can work from paper copies.
Vi Biehl Makes the News
I just found this article in The Tennessean about the Herbarium at Sewanee featuring a photo of Rugby's Vi Biehl doing volunteer work. Click on the associated video link and you will also see Rugby's Eric Wilson.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120416/NEWS11/304160032/Pressed-plants-give-glimpses-natural-history?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
BIRTHDAYS
April 22 – Earth Day
April 22 – Earth Day
CALENDAR
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Saturday, April 21 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting at the Community Building. 2:00 p.m.
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.
Saturday, April 21 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting at the Community Building. 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 22 – Author Sharon McCrumb
at the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre Theatre 3:00 p.m. Admission Free
Saturday. April 28 – Opening celebration
Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit – The Way We Worked – Progressive Savings Bank,
Jamestown, TN – this exhibit will continue through June 2. In addition, Historic Rugby’s Visitor Centre
will feature a supporting exhibit of people working in Rugby.
Saturday, May 5 – Community Potluck 7:00
p.m.
Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13 – 38th
Rugby Festival of British and Appalachian Culture
Ongoing Activities
Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church
Rugby Yoga – Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House.
Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern year round; all are welcomed.
Carrie Thornthwaite’s Weekend Wanderings – Saturdays and Sundays – Join Carrie to hike. On Saturdays she usually leaves from the Cafe around 10 a.m. for a 1½ to 2 hour hike in the area. On Sundays she usually leaves, again from the Cafe, about 2 p.m. Note that this is "usually", but not always. If you'd like to join her, please call or e-mail her to confirm that she is indeed going to walk thornthwch@lipscomb.edu .
Historic Rugby Workshops
Honeysuckle Basketry - This is a very popular 2-day workshop. Help collect and process the vines and weave a rib-style basket. . The workshop is on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22 from 9 am – 5 pm Eastern. Instructor Bobby Edwards is an award winning basket maker from Fentress County who has been practicing his art for 15 years in the Southeast. Bobby got his start right here in Rugby making White Oak baskets in a White Oak basket workshop. Workshop fee is $75 ~ register early!
Ongoing Activities
Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church
Rugby Yoga – Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House.
Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern year round; all are welcomed.
Carrie Thornthwaite’s Weekend Wanderings – Saturdays and Sundays – Join Carrie to hike. On Saturdays she usually leaves from the Cafe around 10 a.m. for a 1½ to 2 hour hike in the area. On Sundays she usually leaves, again from the Cafe, about 2 p.m. Note that this is "usually", but not always. If you'd like to join her, please call or e-mail her to confirm that she is indeed going to walk thornthwch@lipscomb.edu .
Historic Rugby Workshops
Honeysuckle Basketry - This is a very popular 2-day workshop. Help collect and process the vines and weave a rib-style basket. . The workshop is on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22 from 9 am – 5 pm Eastern. Instructor Bobby Edwards is an award winning basket maker from Fentress County who has been practicing his art for 15 years in the Southeast. Bobby got his start right here in Rugby making White Oak baskets in a White Oak basket workshop. Workshop fee is $75 ~ register early!
Celtic Knotwork (quilting workshop) - Choose between ancient and modern patterns
suited to one's interest and desired complexity. Variations are simple to
elaborate applique designs, from stained glass effects to mesh work. Celtic
Knot patterns can be adapted to any application that uses fabric. Students are
invited to an additional four hours to work on this project Saturday, April 28
from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Eastern and Sunday (optional for those who wish to continue
on their project), April 29 from 11a.m. until 3pm Eastern time. Instructor:
Joyce Lantz, Fee $45
Mosses and Liverworts Around Rugby Learn about the small plants, which form a
green carpet over the forest floor, the luxuriant mosses, and liverworts. The
workshop is Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m.. – 2 p.m. Eastern. Instructor Dr.
Kenneth McFarland is a Ph.D. Lecturer, Division of Biology, from the University
of Tennessee in Knoxville. His interests are morphology, taxonomy, and ecology.
Workshop fee is $15 ~
register early!
Spring Wildflower Walk and Picnic Lunch ~ On Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, attendees can take part in one of the most diverse wildflower walks in Tennessee, led by instructor Jack Carmen, whose book Wildflowers of Tennessee is a definitive guide. Jack leads field trips and photo workshops for the Gatlinburg Spring Flower Pilgrimage, among others, and has won awards for his wildflower photos. The fee is $25 and includes a plant list of expected sightings. The day will finish with a film presentation and book signing in the late afternoon.
Sun to Shade Design Garden/Cumberland Plateau Garden Tour at Rugby Come spend the day in garden activities including a sun to shade design workshop plant sale, lunch and garden tour. Included in the day’s activities is a presentation including information about Rugby’s gardens, lunch and finishing the day with an Afternoon Tea in the garden. The event is Saturday, June 9 from 9 a.m. Eastern until 5:30 p.m. The all-inclusive fee is $40. Instructor Bob Washburn, co-owner of Wolf River Valley Growers in Pall Mall, will be joined by Rugby’s own Rick Murphy and Barbara Mitchell for this very special event. Register early – this is a day not to be missed.
Show Your Spirit Basket Workshop Create a generously sized Spirit Basket that is perfect for tailgating or carrying with you. This is an intermediate level project. The workshop is Friday, June 22 from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Saturday, June 23 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern. Instructor Beth Hester is the owner of The Basket Maker’s Catalog. She has been teaching basketry workshops locally and throughout the southeastern U.S .for many years. Workshop fee is $99 ~ register early!
To register for
workshops, call toll-free 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Lodging may be
available at 1880 Newbury House and Rugby's cottages at a 10% discount to
students. Food service is available at the Harrow Road Café. Spring Wildflower Walk and Picnic Lunch ~ On Saturday, May 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern, attendees can take part in one of the most diverse wildflower walks in Tennessee, led by instructor Jack Carmen, whose book Wildflowers of Tennessee is a definitive guide. Jack leads field trips and photo workshops for the Gatlinburg Spring Flower Pilgrimage, among others, and has won awards for his wildflower photos. The fee is $25 and includes a plant list of expected sightings. The day will finish with a film presentation and book signing in the late afternoon.
Sun to Shade Design Garden/Cumberland Plateau Garden Tour at Rugby Come spend the day in garden activities including a sun to shade design workshop plant sale, lunch and garden tour. Included in the day’s activities is a presentation including information about Rugby’s gardens, lunch and finishing the day with an Afternoon Tea in the garden. The event is Saturday, June 9 from 9 a.m. Eastern until 5:30 p.m. The all-inclusive fee is $40. Instructor Bob Washburn, co-owner of Wolf River Valley Growers in Pall Mall, will be joined by Rugby’s own Rick Murphy and Barbara Mitchell for this very special event. Register early – this is a day not to be missed.
Show Your Spirit Basket Workshop Create a generously sized Spirit Basket that is perfect for tailgating or carrying with you. This is an intermediate level project. The workshop is Friday, June 22 from 4 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Eastern and Saturday, June 23 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern. Instructor Beth Hester is the owner of The Basket Maker’s Catalog. She has been teaching basketry workshops locally and throughout the southeastern U.S .for many years. Workshop fee is $99 ~ register early!
Spring Hideaways
I keep forgetting to look under rocks, logs, and
other objects lying about on the ground when I go walking in the woods, but I
really should get in the habit of CAREFULLY looking under things. There's no telling what you may find, but one
thing for sure: if you keep looking, you'll find salamanders. Especially if you live anywhere near the
Appalachian Mountains. A few days ago,
Jodye Weiler and I were looking about in the edge of the woods near her
house. She wanted me to take a look at
something under a piece of corrugated iron to identify what was living there.
It was a black salamander with shiny white
spots. It was startled but made no
attempt to flee. That's one of their
defenses, hoping they'll blend in with the background and not be chased. There are several kinds of salamanders that
are black with white spots, so I told her I'd have to look in my salamander
book at home. Salamanders of the Southeast, published by the University of Georgia, is my
salamander bible. Decided the salamander we'd found was a Black Slimy
salamander, a common kind in our area.
Now you may think all salamanders are slimy creatures, but they
aren't. This one wasn't either, in spite
of its name. It puts out a copious
amount of mucus if you pick it up, but it isn't slimy. It's very sticky. Many people have testified that it takes much
scrubbing and maybe a couple of days to get the smelly stuff off your
hands. This mucus is the Black Slimy's
main defense. If a small predator grabs
the salamander, its mouth can be glued shut!So what was it doing, lurking under the corrugated iron? Probably just resting and waiting for dusk. They generally stay hidden during the daytime unless it's very rainy, in which case they will come out to look for a meal, maybe a nice juicy snail or a millipede. Or maybe it has the urge to seek a mate. Spring is their time to mate, but, according to what I've read, our females may only breed every other year. Farther south, they mate every spring.
This salamander belongs to the group of salamanders who are land creatures but have no lungs. Herpetologists from all over the world come to the Southeast to study these forest terrestrial salamanders that live in the woods their whole lives and “breathe” through their moist skins. So, yes, they're worth a look-see. If you're squeamish about looking under rocks, try http://srelherp.uga.edu/salamanders/pleglu.htm.
This Week’s Editor: Rick Murphy
