There was a really good turnout for the barbecue dinner at the Harrow Road Café Saturday night. Singer/musician Gerald Hanwright performed in the large dining room and had folks dancing between the tables. A group of about a dozen teenage boys from McCallie School in Chattanooga got to share in the fun. They are in the area helping Habitat for Humanity.
Photo by George Zepp shows Gerald Hanwright performing at the Cafe
HUGHES, DICKENS AND TWAIN
By George Zepp
With the satirical American author Mark Twain's 100th death anniversary coming up next month (April 21), groups across the country are celebrating Twain's life. Rugby has its own connection with the late Charles Dickens, another noted author (this one British), thanks to our own British literary founder Thomas Hughes and his brother, Hastings.
Here's an item taken directly from Rugby's newspaper, then called the "Plateau Gazette," dated Feb. 14, 1884:
"A reporter of the New York Evening Telegram has been interviewing Mr. W. Hastings Hughes anent (about) Mr. Foster's statement that Charles Dickens was subject to periods of mental depression. Mr. Hughes, from his intimate acquaintance with Dickens and the members of his family, says Foster's statement in his "Life of Dickens" is quite wrong. Mr. Hughes further says about two months before Dickens' died he -- Mr. H.-- was a frequent visitor at his house, and took part in the rehearsal of some parlor theatricals, wherein Dickens was stage manager. He last saw him about three weeks before he died, but never saw any mental depression, but quite the contrary.
"It is interesting to know that Mr. Hughes when a boy of five years of age took so much interest in 'Nicholas Nickleby,’ as it came out in parts, that he dictated a letter to the author with some suggestions about Squeers, Nicholas, Smike, etc. Dickens sent back a very kind and appreciative reply."
John Foster's six-volume "Life of Dickens" was published in 1872, two years after the author's death.
As for Mark Twain, Thomas Hughes had a connection. In 1891 the American author -- real name Samuel Clemens -- met Tom Hughes while on a trip to England, something mentioned in the "Autobiography of Mark Twain." Too bad Rugby's newspaper was no longer publishing then for another account.
HISTORY CLUB DINNER
By Linda Konig
The Rugby History Club will enjoy its annual dinner on Saturday, April 10th, 7 p.m. at Grey Gables. Howard Ray Duncan, local historian and Big South Fork ranger, will be the guest speaker, reenacting a member of the "Home Guard," in one of the local Union guerrilla units. The dinner will be $12 plus gratuity. This will include a salad, main course, dessert and drink. Be sure to make reservations by calling Linda Jones at 628-5252 by Wednesday, April 7. All are welcome. See you there!
SPRING VINEYARD DINNER
By Linda Brooks Jones
To welcome the warm days of Spring, we at Grey Gables Bed ‘n Breakfast Inn offer our Spring Vineyard Dinner. Our five-course dinner complimented by Highland Manor Wines and the music of David Howard's light mix of acoustic original music with Folk Rock, Americana and Bluegrass will help us shed the seasonal winter chill. Make your reservations early for this Grey Gables Special Event. Saturday May 1, 2010 at 7 pm Eastern. $160.00 includes: Vineyard Dinner, Lodging, Country Breakfast, double occupancy (Does not include tax or gratuity on dinner) - $30.00 per person plus tax and gratuity. For Reservations: Linda Brooks Jones, 423-628-5252.
HOUSE FOR SALE
Joe Reed is selling his home on Brewstertown Road about three and half miles from Rugby. It is 1,950 square feet, four bedrooms and two baths, with five acres. Free gas for heating comes with the home. $140,000. Contact Joe at 423-628-2769. For more info go to:
http://www.movoto.com/tn/494-brewstertown-rd-sunbright/572_702542.htm
BIRTHDAYS
April 2 – Carman Roberson
April 3 - Luke Martin
April 4 - Tom Howell & Judy Newport
April 5 - Anna Joyce Walton Herr
CALENDAR
April 3 – Community Potluck Dinner – 7:00 p.m. Potluck will be at the Friendly House.
April 10 - History Club Dinner Meeting at Grey Gables - Howard Ray Duncan, local historian and Big South Fork ranger, will be the guest speaker, reenacting a member of the "Home Guard," in one of the local Union guerrilla units. The dinner will be $12 plus gratuity. This will include a salad, main course, dessert and drink. Be sure to make reservations by calling Linda Jones at 628-5252 by Wednesday, April 7. All are welcome.
April 17 – Historic Rugby Board of Directors Meeting – time to be announced
April 17 – Rugby Book Club at the home of Kit and Candy Howes in Armathwaite. Two popular books about Afghanistan: "A Thousand Spendid Suns" (2007) by Khaled Hosseini (who also wrote the popular "Kite Runner"), and "The Places in Between" (2006) by Rory Stewart. You can read either book or both. The Howes’ house is at 446 Big Creek Road in Armathwaite. Go west on Hwy. 52 approximately 3.5 miles from the Rugby bridge, look for Sam Smith Road and then Noah Buck Road. Scenic Bluff Road (on the left coming from Rugby – its Hwy. 52 gate will be open) is just west of Noah Buck. Take Scenic Bluff to Big Creek Road. Follow Big Creek Road to the end. Their wonderful fireplace will be lit and warming (if needed then).
May 1 - Grey Gables Bed ‘n Breakfast Inn Spring Vineyard Dinner. Five-course dinner, Highland Manor Wines and David Howard light mix of acoustic original music. 7:00 p.m. Eastern. $160.00 includes: Vineyard Dinner, Lodging, Country Breakfast, double occupancy (Does not include tax or gratuity on dinner) - $30.00 per person plus tax and gratuity. For Reservations: Linda Brooks Jones, 423-628-5252.
May 15 & 16 – Spring Festival
June 19 – Premiere – Rugby Play - “Emmy and Granny”
June 20 – Matinee Performance - “Emmy and Granny”
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
WORKSHOP CALENDAR
For Workshop Registration contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 - rugbylegacy@highland.net
Saturday, April 10 - Spring Wildflower Walk - 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. Beginning at 10 am, attendees will caravan a short distance from Rugby to a very special Cumberland Plateau location for wildflower viewing and photographing. The fee is $25 and includes a picnic lunch and a plant list of expected sightings. The day will finish with a film presentation and book signing in the late afternoon.
Saturday, April 24 - Wet on Wet Iris Painting - Students will learn how to master the principles of the Jenkins “wet on wet” oil painting technique by following her personal step-by-step instruction. Instructor Mara Trumbo was born in Italy, raised in Southern Africa and now lives in Rugby. She has studied and acquired various techniques, which reveal themselves in her romantic paintings and pottery creations. Mara is a member of the Cumberland Art Society and displays her work in Crossville and Cookeville galleries. The fee is $60 and includes all materials and canvas.
Saturday, May 22 - Gardening With Herbs - From 10 am to 2 pm Eastern. Learn to plant an herb garden to be used for your culinary delight! A garden will be planted for the Harrow Road Café. Following the class join us for an herbal luncheon tasting some of the varieties used in the workshop. Bob always delights the group with having a selection of favorites from his 58-acre greenhouse nursery available for purchase. Bob Washburn is co-owner of Wolf River Valley Growers in Pall Mall, this area's largest greenhouse. Bob has served as the president of the Tennessee Flower Growers Association and past chairman of the Southeast Greenhouse Conference. Workshop fee $15 - $9 lunch at Café.
Saturday, June 5 - Crazy Quilting Rugby Style - Instructor Joyce Lantz. Try your hand at this Victorian and Appalachian patchwork pastime in your own style--silk, satin or velvet, cotton and denim, plain or fancy! Make a pillow, a picture, a wall hanging or a quilt. This class will start you off.
By Linda Konig
Today I want to sing the praises of Lonicera fragrantissima, better known as "Christmas Honeysuckle," "Sweet Breath of Spring," "January Jasmine," "Winter Honeysuckle," and probably many more names. Though it can and does bloom during winter warm spells, it's in its full glory right now in Rugby. Yesterday, Boyd Mitchell planted three little stalks of it in my front yard. Thank goodness, it's easily propagated and easily grown and maintained. No, it isn't invasive like the common honeysuckle vine we're all familiar with, though birds will occasionally eat the seeds and accidentally "plant" the bushes.
http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=D970
An old-fashioned Victorian favorite, it was discovered in China by Robert Fortune in 1845 and known as a "pass-along" plant that neighbors and friends gave to each other, usually by rooting stems in water. They like sun and will grow in just about any soil as long as it's well-drained. I can just imagine Nelly Brooks arranging a late winter bouquet of them (they fill the room with a sweet lemony scent) and later passing on the rooted stems to other ladies in Rugby. Yes, there's a big Winter Honeysuckle bush at Uffington, but I don't know how long it's been there. There are two at Martin Roost, one on Old Central Avenue, one at The Lindens, and a few others scattered about, thriving with benign neglect.
Beekeepers take note: honeybees love them! When the bush blooms in the middle of winter, tiny wild bees come out to enjoy them. Their dainty white-with-touches-of yellow-and-pink blossoms don't last long, so get out there and breathe in their perfume while you can!
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
