Lisa Huff, left, works on trail with Benita and Tom Howell

State Natural Area Event-Walk Saturday

Theater Event at 3 p.m. EST/ Massengale Walk at 4 p.m.

Everyone is invited to a free nature presentation this Saturday, March 9 at the Visitor Centre theater.  Rugby’s State Natural Area representative, Lisa Huff, will show an informative presentation about Historic Vegetation and Restoration Opportunities on the Cumberland Plateau. This will be a great chance to learn more about ways that natural areas can be restored to better reflect the way they were before they were farmed, timbered and otherwise developed.

Following this will be an instructed walk to the Massengale Homesite, which Lisa says is "almost a perfect representation of what is being proposed in many quarters for savannah and open woodlands on the Cumberland Plateau."

Rugby's Benita Howell said it is possible that some early wildflowers may be spotted on the hike as some were seen in the area recently.

Photo above shows Lisa with Tom and Benita Howell during a recent invasive plant removal work day.  Carrie Thornthwaite took the photo and also helped with that project.

Talk and PowerPoint presentation by Lisa Huff, Rugby State Natural Area representative, at 3 p.m. and walk at 4 (for those of you in the nearby Central zone, 2 p.m. and 3).

Ivy Cottage Renovation Prepares for New Executive Director

Ivy Cottage with some siding removed

 

Historic Rugby has started major work on Ivy Cottage (the house next to the Café) to ready it for the new Executive Director, Zach Langley, and his family.  A new central heat and air system has been installed and work has been started on several other features including replacing siding, windows, gutters and kitchen flooring.

Zach is expected to start work in late March. His wife Megan and son Preston are expected to move to Rugby in April. 

HRI staff, board and volunteers have been laboring hard on this project.  A special mention should be made of the work that Steve Logan has done to move the renovation along.  In addition to helping with much of the planning and scheduling, Steve has been doing some difficult hands-on work with Gerald Hanwright and Kares Stonecipher. Steve and Gerald spent some very cold hours under the house making repairs on Friday.  Thanks to them and everyone else who has helped. 

While some donations have been promised to support the renovation work, additional donations are needed.  Please contact Mike Harris at Historic Rugby if you can help support this important effort.

Rugby Season Begins with Lantern Tour -       St. Patrick’s Day Feast

Sat. March 16 

Historic Rugby will open its 2013 season on March 16 with two special events. The award-winning program “Lantern Tour on Stage!” tells the story of Rugby’s past through the words of select colonists and residents through the years. The unique combination of live actors and historic photographs makes for an interesting afternoon.  Added this year to the program are stories of more recent history, including tales of Martin family members who helped revive Rugby starting in the 1940s after decades of decline. 

Lantern Tour on Stage! will be presented in the Rebecca Johnson Theatre on Saturday, March 16 at 4 p.m. Eastern/ 3 Central. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students. Included in your admission will be a special 20% discount card to be used that evening at the Harrow Road Café for one meal (wine and ales not included in discount). Just bring your ticket to the Café for your special discount after the show. Reservations are recommended for the Lantern Tour as seating is limited. Call Historic Rugby at 423-628-2441 or e-mail for reservations historicrugby@highland.net . 

After the program, don’t miss the special St. Patrick’s Day Feast at the Café.  In addition to the usual menu items available that night, we will feature a special dinner of Irish favorites including corn beef and cabbage and flounder almandine. Reservations are not required, but will be accepted.  

Editor’s Note:  Just in time for Historic Rugby’s season reopening, yesterday's Sunday issue of The Tennessean ran an article about Rugby in a special Destinations travel section.

 

“Tales from the Secret City” Author in Rugby March 10

 

Plus Special Sunday Dinner at Café Before Author Event

 

Historic Rugby’s Appalachian Writers Series proudly presents author, journalist, award-winning documentary producer, and historian D. Ray Smith at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time) Sunday, March 10, in the Rebecca Johnson Theater in the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre. A book signing will follow his presentation, Tales from the Secret City, and copies of his books will be available for sale. Admission is free, although donations will be gratefully accepted. 

Ray Smith is an expert on the Manhattan Project in East Tennessee, and currently serves as official historian of the Oak Ridge Y-12 National Nuclear Security site. Ray writes a weekly newspaper column in Oak Ridge, Historically Speaking, has published eight books on East Tennessee history, four photo books of East Tennessee, and has produced 13 documentary videos. His Our Hidden Past series won two “Telly” awards and an international film festival award. Ray produced the four-part A Nuclear Family documentary now being shown on East Tennessee Public Television. 

In addition to all his other commitments, Ray currently is active in promoting the proposed Manhattan Project National Park that is making its way through Congress. He promises an update on progress of the Park, which is expected to incorporate parts of Oak Ridge, Los Alamos (New Mexico) and Hanford (Washington). 

A special Sunday dinner is planned prior to this event at the Harrow Road Café from 1-3 p.m. Eastern.  For more information or lodging reservations, call Historic Rugby toll free at (888) 214-3400 or (423) 628-2441 or email rugbylegacy@highland.net .

Quilt Play – Acting and Volunteering Opportunities

 By Jonell Hester 

Need One More Actor - As most of you know, there is going to be a new locally written play performed during the Quilt Show in April. We still have one role that we need someone to take on. We don't need a few good men, we just need one good 18-20 year old male (or someone who could pass for 18-20) to be in the play. That is the only part that is open.  

Volunteers needed for Clean-up Day. On Friday March 22, the quilt group is planning a clean-up day to begin preparing the buildings for the quilt show. We are going to give the buildings a cleaning. (Not painting, etc. as we did last time) just sweeping, mopping, washing windows, etc.  We will start at 10 a.m. Eastern and meet at Uffington House. Bring cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, vacuum cleaners, cleaning rags, etc.  The buildings really should not need much because we have been using them now and again in recent months. 

 

Late Winter Blues and Condolences

 

I guess there is no correlation, but it seems like while Rugby Week was away for a couple of weeks all sorts of bad things happened. 

It sounds like half the village has been feeling bad. Linda Konig has been laid up quite a bit – she mentioned how grateful she has been for everyone who has helped bring her food and run errands for her. We heard that Carman Roberson has had a rough time and has been in and out of the hospital – we hope he is feeling better. Folks mentioned that usually energetic Jonell Hester has been dealing with back problems, surprising everyone when she showed up in Rugby recently using a walker. I know that Eric Wilson has been dealing with some problems that have caused him a lot of pain and kept him from his usual activities. It also sounds like Butch and Cheryl Hodgkins and Marilyn Hury have dealt with illness. On top of that, Dennis Cribbet broke his arm in a bicycling accident.  And those are just the ones we have heard about. Good grief Charlie Brown! Spring is coming and we hope you all start feeling better soon so you can enjoy it! 

Bert Walker talking with Linda Konig

We were also very sad to hear about the recent death of Bert Walker of Oneida. Bert was a good friend of Rugby and did so much for Scott County, including serving as president of its Historical Society. Here is a photo of Bert taken last year when he gave the Rugby History group a tour of the Scott County Museum.

And speaking of Scott County, we were sorry to hear that the contract for reopening the Scott County Hospital fell through. While Rugby is just as close to the Jamestown Hospital, we know how important the Scott County Hospital is to our neighbors in Scott County both for medical care and for jobs. We hope Scott County is able to work out a new arrangement with another provider for reopening the hospital soon. The region has had good medical and emergency care. We're keeping our fingers crossed that will continue.

 

Birthdays  

March 5 -  Kathy Hicks and Ryan Erickson

March 6 -  Steve Logan 

Calendar     

Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely

 

Sat. March 9 – Presentation and Walk - PowerPoint talk in Johnson Theatre on Historic Vegetation and Restoration Opportunities on the Cumberland Plateau, followed by an instructed walk to the Massengale Homesite, which is "almost a perfect representation of what is being proposed in many quarters for savannah and open woodlands on the Cumberland Plateau." Talk by Lisa Huff, Rugby State Natural Area representative, at 3 p.m. EST, walk at 4.

Sat. March 9 – Dinner and Movie Night – Movie starts at 7:30 p.m. EST at Visitor Centre Theatre. Visit the Café for dinner before the movie!  The movie is My Favorite Brunette with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour.

Sun. March 10 – Appalachian Writers Series – Author and historian D. Ray Smith talks about his book Tales from the Secret City, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the Rebecca Johnson Theater in the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre. A book signing follows his presentation and copies of his books will be available for sale. Admission is free, although donations will be gratefully accepted. 

Sat. March 16 – Lantern Tour Onstage! 4 p.m. Eastern/3 Central, at Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Hear stories of nearly a dozen Rugby residents of old and see projections of the people and places they mention. Live presenters tell their tales in their own words, from archival documents and interviews. Admission $10/Students $5. Call 423-628-7842 for reservations. Theatre seats only 100.

Sat. March 16 – St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at Harrow Road Café. No reservations required.

Fri. March 22 – Volunteer Clean-Up Day – Help the Quilt Group clean the buildings for the Quilt Show.  Meet at Uffington at 10 am. Bring cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, vacuum cleaners, cleaning rags, etc.

Sat. March 23 - Geology Walk -Join Tennessee state geologist Peter Lemiszki as he takes us on a hike on the Meeting of the Waters trail to explore the geology of the Plateau. The day will begin with some classroom overview in our Commissary Classroom, then a hike and sack lunch through the Clear Fork and White Oak gorges. Reservations are required and there is a $20 charge for lunch and classroom materials. Please make your reservations now for this special workshop. Limit 25 participants. (423-628-2441)

Sat. March 23 – History field trip to Wayne County Museum. We'll gather at Christ Church parking area at 10 a.m. Eastern to carpool to Monticello, Ky.

Sat. April 6 – Community Potluck 7 p.m. Eastern/ 6 Central.

Fri. and Sat. April 12 and 13 – Rugby Quilt Exhibit and quilt play premiere

Save the Date – Please mark your calendars – this year’s Rugby Independence Day picnic will be June 29 (the Saturday before July 4^th) at John and Kathy Hicks’ house.

	Ongoing Activities Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church Episcopal. Rugby Yoga –Mondays at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church Episcopal. Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern, year round; all are welcome

 

Nature Notes 

Upland Choruses 

By Linda Konig

 

As you're driving about these days and lucky enough to live in the country, you might want to drive with the windows down, especially at night after a rain. Late winter and earliest spring rains are the prime time for hearing upland chorus frogs.  If you're listening for Ribbit, Ribbit, you can forget it. If there are any frogs that go Ribbit, Ribbit, they aren't found in the Southeastern U.S.

What you might hear is a sound like a thumbnail running down a comb.  If you do, you're hearing an upland chorus frog or, more likely, you'll hear a whole chorus of them.  They aren't nearly as deafening as a chorus of spring peepers, but upland chorus frogs usually start singing before the peepers do. So hurry and hear the upland chorus frogs before the peepers drown out all other natural sounds. 

Upland chorus frog calls are distinctive, unlike any other frog's. I've found that it's a thousand times easier to identify frogs and toads by their calls than by their appearance. If you know the right time of year to listen, and the right habitat to go to, then you'll probably succeed. That is if all the puddles, ditches, swampy areas, etc. haven't been drained or filled, and the frogs haven't all died off from eating poisoned insects. Frogs live on insects and spiders, and if all the creepy-crawlies are full of insecticides. . . . 

One reason that it's hard to see the little upland chorus frogs is that they're so tiny. They're only about an inch long on average. Another outstanding reason is that they're so well camouflaged. If they're sitting in a flooded ditch (as they often are) that's got a lot of floating dead leaves from last fall, well, better luck next time. These tiny frogs are usually clinging to a stalk of grass or a weed with only their head and shoulders sticking up above the waterline. For a couple of good photos of courting Upland Chorus frogs, see www.daviessaudubon.net/upchorus.html 

By the way, the males are the ones who are making all the noise. They're trying to attract females, and somehow these particular females always think that the sound of fingernails going down a comb is so sexy. So they come to the water, too, and, before you know it, we have another generation of upland chorus frogs! The eggs are laid in clusters attached to a stalk underwater. They hatch in only 3 or 4 days, and the next stage of their life, the tadpole stage, takes about 2 months. We'll be hearing them next year.

 

 This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp