The 2013 version of Historic Rugby’s unique Lantern Tour of Laurel Dale Cemetery, this Saturday June 1 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, will unveil several new characters from Rugby’s past.
Hear in their own words
from Rugby’s American belle who married into a wealthy British family, then
regretted her move to London. Hear from the reclusive town “hermit” and from
the bugle-blowing driver of the transit wagon linking the village to its
railroad station at Rugby Road, now Elgin.
Those and others now
dearly departed will tell their tales in Laurel Dale Cemetery where each lies.
Costumed interpreters let each speak for himself in words taken from letters,
diaries and newspaper accounts.
Tickets at $10, or $5
for students through grade 12, are limited to 40 total because of the outdoor
setting on sacred ground, so reservations are required. Call 423-628-2441 or
888-214-3400 to reserve or for lodging information.
“I think spectators will
really enjoy this new edition of the Lantern Tour because of the variety of new
characters in the updated program,” said Mike Harris, organizer of the event
that benefits non-profit Historic Rugby. “The last one in May of 2012 was a
sell-out, and we expect this one will be too. It’s history told in a compelling
way.”
Participants may want to
dine beforehand at Historic Rugby’s Harrow Road Café, with its British and
American dishes. For group reservations, call 423-628-2350.
PHOTO: Rugby’s Sarah Kimber got this London portrait taken in 1909
during her failed first marriage. She’s among the new characters in Historic
Rugby’s Lantern Tour this Saturday.
Breakfast for Annette Caldwell
To honor the late Annette Caldwell and reflect on her memory, Roland and
family will be hosting a breakfast at Grey Gables on Sunday June 23 at 8:30 a.m. Everyone who knew Annette is invited to attend. It will
be a time for fellowship, sharing memories and giving voice to the knowing of a
loving friend and gracious lady.
A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Church, Episcopal at 11 a.m.
Please respond to Linda that you can attend: 423-628-5252
White Oak Bridge Nears Completion
 |
| Carrie Thornthwaite's recent photo of decking metal on new bridge over the White Oak |
Reverse 911 Now Available for Rugby
|
By Tom Howell
We
have no siren to indicate a tornado warning or hazardous materials incident that
might require evacuating an area. Not everyone could hear such a warning if there
were one, and if we did hear, we wouldn't know what the warning is about.
But
we now have something better: a way that our emergency management people can issue a reverse
911 warning to all subscribed telephones, both landline and cell. It is necessary
to subscribe to this service, which is without charge. EVERYONE IN RUGBY
SHOULD REGISTER. You do this by going to this web site:
and
navigate to the CODE RED Emergency Mass Notification System, where you will
fill
in the address that you want covered and the telephone number(s) that you wish
to receive the warning messages. Your phones will be auto-dialed in the event
of severe weather or other emergency.
If
you lack internet access, 346-1003 will reach Morgan County Emergency Management
director
Jody Zorsch and she'll tell you what to do.
I
have been registered with this system for the past week. It works well, though
sometimes
the weather service is a bit over-eager to warn whenever there is a
thunderstorm
But
just Saturday before last we had a gasoline tanker wreck just east of Rugby.
We
were saved from a massive explosion or great fire or being overcome by toxic
fumes
only because the damaged 3000-gallon tank did not leak. I was on that
scene
for six hours.
Scott
and Fentress County residents should check with their county emergency
| directors to find out if such arrangements
exist in their counties. They probably do. |
Rugby Tea Drinkers Wanted
Jessie by
accident ordered too much of a lovely British tea, PG Tips, for the Rugby
Commissary. She's pleading on Facebook and elsewhere for customers to buy it at
her reduced price of 5.95 for a box of 40 bags, fresh until after October,
2014. As of Sunday, she said she had sold a little more than one case
of the six that arrived on her doorstep. Plenty remains for gifts and stocking
tea cabinets, Jessie says, so don't forget her (or the unique little hats the Commissary now offers, one of the more colorful ones modeled here).
-George Zepp
 |
| Charles Gibbs - photo by A. Patterson |
Swarming Bee Hive Found
As you may recall from last week’s Rugby Week Charles Gibbs was looking for a bee swarm to relocate.
Well, apparently he has found one.
A hive of bees took up residence in a cabinet on Donna and Annie’s porch.
They were due for relocation this morning.
Charles prepared the hive yesterday for collection bright and early today. – Annie Patterson
Well, apparently he has found one.
A hive of bees took up residence in a cabinet on Donna and Annie’s porch.
They were due for relocation this morning.
Charles prepared the hive yesterday for collection bright and early today. – Annie Patterson
Birthdays
May 27 -
Don Barkman and Irving Martin
May 31 -
Vi Biehl
June 1 -
Bob Fuchs
Calendar
Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just
barely
Sat. June 1 – Laurel
Dale Cemetery Lantern Tour – 7:30 p.m. EDT. Come meet several NEW characters from
Rugby’s past in their own words. Call
Historic Rugby for reservations at 423-628-2441. Tickets, limited to an audience of 40, are $10/ $5 students through grade 12. Benefits non-profit Historic Rugby.
Sun. June 9 –
Appalachian Writers Series welcomes Sallie Bissell – 3 p.m. http://salliebissell.com/?page_id=12 Free.
Sat. June 15 –
Antique Street Fair – enjoy browsing an incredible array of antiques and
vintage wares in Rugby. This is a new event for Historic Rugby, organized by Cheryl Hodgkins.
Sun. June 23 – Breakfast
for Friends of Annette Caldwell at Grey Gables – 8:30 a.m. A time for fellowship,
sharing memories and giving voice to the knowing of a loving friend and
gracious lady. A Memorial Service will be held at Christ Church,
Episcopal at 11 a.m. Please respond
to Linda Jones that you can attend: 423.628.5252
Sun. June 23 –
Historic Rugby Annual Membership Meeting – followed by a reception on the Visitor Centre porch
for new Executive Director Zach Langley
June 29 – Rugby Independence
Day picnic will be the Saturday before July 4 at John and Kathy Hicks’ house
 |
| Linda Konig |
Nature Notes
By Linda Konig
It's time to be out looking for little Blue Ghosts again at
night on the woodsy edges of Rugby. I've
been reading more recently about the Blue Ghosts (Latin name Phausis reticulata). They're in the firefly group
of insects but are quite different from our usual fireflies. The most obvious differences are that they
glow blue, not white or yellowish as the other fireflies do, and that the males
fly slowly along about knee-high with their lights lit for several moments
before landing again. I've been
gradually learning more about them, for example, that only the males fly.
So I've been wondering about the females. Just Saturday night, I hit the jackpot of
information when I found two websites that had further details about them. Just as with their cousins, the female blue
ghosts wait on the ground to receive their suitors. (However, the blue ghost fireflies have no
signal codes like the usual fireflies.) The female waits in the leaf litter of forests. She is larva-like,
having no wings. She will usually have
her blue lights turned on (she has several tiny ones) if she's in mating condition. They attract the males' attention. Males have huge eyes to see the blue lights of the female below in the
leaf litter. If a male approaches that
for some reason doesn't meet her standards, she'll turn off her
lights. If he persists in trying to mate
with her, she'll dip the tip of her abdomen into the soil which is a definite,
“I SAID NO!”
One of the interesting things about the females is their
transparent carapace (body covering), so that her lights, located underneath
her body, shine right through the top side. You can see her eggs inside!
Well, you've probably already guessed that I'm dying to go out again to
try to see the Blue Ghosts. This year
hasn't been a good year for fireflies in general, however. I'm not sure how the on-again, off-again
chilly weather this spring has affected the Blue Ghosts. I do know that they like damp weather,
however. The females live in moist leaf
litter, so they like to live in woods near streams. The males will not fly when the moonlight is
bright, nor will they fly in the rain. Here's hoping the night this Friday is cloudy and mild, because I would like to lead a group of people down to
Brewster Spring near the Clear Fork (very near the BSF park road going down to
old Brewster bridge) in hopes of seeing the Blue Ghosts there. I've seen them there before at the same time
we were looking at the Fungus Gnat Glowworms (yet another species that glows
blue). So if you'd like to go along, let
me know: cking@highland.net. I'll
have flashlights, bug spray, walking sticks, etc.), and we'll head out
about 9 p.m. this Friday to see some night
wonders.T here will be other things to
see besides the “ghosts,” so you won't be totally disappointed if the Blue
Ghosts don't show up. The walk down to
Brewster Spring is just a few yards.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
