A really good turnout greeted volunteers for Spring Festival on Saturday. Sunday was a bit quieter as a threat of rain turned into a pretty good downpour in the early afternoon. In between performances by dancers and musicians, the costumed performers were seen mingling with festival-goers perusing the crafts and enjoying freshly made lemonade and ice cream.
Top - Festival-goers at the food and lemonade stand and artist/riflemaker David Ronald Scott displaying a handcrafted rifle. Bottom right: Jody Hester demonstrates how to make a child's toy fly. Bottom middle: Charles and Lavonne Gibbs work at the Hurt Book Sale. Bottom left: Jody Hester again displays the new Rugby t-shirts. Photos by Rick Murphy
Villagers and HRI staff were extremely busy helping with the event – serving barbecue, helping park cars, selling tickets, and giving tours of the historic buildings, among many other things. At one point the HRI barbecue stand had three attorneys dipping baked beans, coleslaw and barbecue. Cheryl Cribbet said she wanted all the volunteers to know how much their efforts are appreciated. Without the volunteers it would not be possible to carry out this wonderfully complicated event.
Various festival-goers, crafts people and musicians enjoy the day. Especially impressive is Historic Rugby interpreter Judy Miller's amazing umbrella. Eric Wilson admires Fuzzy Orange's beard. Photos by Rick Murphy
Lavonne Gibbs said the "Hurt Book Sale" was a wonderful place to spend the first day of Festival. She said the 1977 library in the Community Building was busy as a beehive with people of all ages looking for treasured books to own and share. A total $466 was collected Saturday in a big glass jar with many a thank you even a hug or two. Some people streaming into the room spoke with seeming fondness for the smell of musty books and free coffee. Carolyn Bankston and Marilyn Young helped welcome book lovers and arrange books while several neighbors replenished the plastic shopping bag supply.
Lavonne also said that at the church, Charles Gibbs, with help from Eric Wilson, Julian Bankston and Bob Trumbo, exhausted a two-day supply of bluebird house pieces and stilt sticks by 3 p.m. on Saturday and began more wood cutting for Sunday's expected children.
JOE’S CABIN REVIVED
One really nice footnote to the 2010 festival was that quite a few folks volunteered their time and energies to help make the village look particularly nice. A special effort was made by several people who worked hard in the yard at the small cabin where the late Joe Gibson used to live (across the street from the print shop.)
Joe's Cabin after villagers removed overgrown vegetation. Photo by Jim McBrayer
It is nice to be able to actually see Joe’s cottage again, now that much of the brush has been cleared. I understand that the community has offered to help clean up and paint the cottage and do further cleaning in the yard and the house itself.
THANKS TO TDOT
Last week we reported that a pedestrian crossing sign had been knocked down across from Roslyn. Many thanks to James McAbee, TDOT’s District 16 Superintendent, and TDOT’s statewide maintenance director Greg Duncan for the quick response in replacing the sign before Spring Festival. For anyone interested, the email address for reporting problems on a state highways is TDOTcomments@tn.gov.
Unfortunately, there is already a new sign problem. At the end of the high bridge that crosses the Clear Fork to the west of town, somebody failed to stop at the three-way stop and wiped out the directional turn sign where Highway 52 and Brewstertown Road meet. It’s now been reported, though.
PLAY TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Tickets for the world premiere performances of the new Rugby play, “Emmy and Granny,” are on sale now. The play is expected to be a sell-out so we would suggest that you call as soon as possible and purchase your tickets. At this point, there are only two scheduled performances. The premiere is Saturday June 19 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. There is also a matinee on Sunday June 20 at 3:00 p.m. For tickets call 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Additional details are below in the calendar of events. Cast rehearsals are proceeding on a heavy schedule.
BIRTHDAYS
May 20 -- Charlie Erickson and Vince Neary
May 23 -- Tyler Myers and Louise Brewster
CALENDAR
June 5 – Community Potluck 7:00 p.m.
June 12 - Rugby Book Club selection will be “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte. 7 p.m., at Judy Newport's house, 1043 Range Cemetery Road. Turn off Hwy. 52 onto Sam Smith Road then right on Mt. Helen Road, then 1/4 mile down on the left is her road. It's in Fentress County near Armathwaite. Call Judy for other details at (931) 704-7946.
June 19 – Premiere – Rugby Play - “Emmy and Granny” 7:30 p.m. Eastern at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Adults $19 (65+ $18), K-12 Students $10. Tickets on sale now 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441
June 20 – Matinee Performance - “Emmy and Granny” - 3:00 p.m. at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre. Adults $15 (65+ $14), K-12 Students $8. Tickets on sale now 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441
June 27, 2010 - Annual Historic Rugby Membership Meeting 1:30 p.m.
July 3 - 12th Annual July Picnic at John and Kathy Hicks’ place (Lizzie's Place). 6 p.m.-9 p.m. This will take the place of the first Saturday Potluck Dinner.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
HRI WORKSHOP CALENDAR
For Workshop Registration, contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 – or rugbylegacy@highland.net
May 22 - Gardening With Herbs - From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 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 Washburn always delights the group with having a selection of favorites from his 58-acre greenhouse nursery available for purchase. Bob is co-owner of Wolf River Valley Growers in Pall Mall, this area's largest greenhouse. He has served as the president of the Tennessee Flower Growers Association and past chairman of the Southeast Greenhouse Conference. Workshop fee $15, plus $9 lunch at Café.
June 5 - Crazy Quilting Rugby Style - Instructor Joyce Lantz. Create unique quilt blocks called Victorian Shadows with shared fabrics from fellow quilters. Students can make pillow tops, shams or a wall hanging. Suitable for all experience levels. From 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Eastern. Fee $45
June 12 - Bark Basketry Workshop 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. Instructor: Fuzzy Orange. Fee: $30. Step back to a time when “everyone made and used baskets.” Learn to harvest poplar bark and create an original style Native American basket, taught by one of the Rugby area’s talented artisans.
July 17 - Kudzu Basketry Workshop 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Instructor: Fuzzy Orange. Fee: $30. Finally a use for that infernal kudzu! Learn to weave the kudzu vine into a basket to enjoy for years to come.
By Linda Konig
Various people have been telling me they've been seeing a couple of wild ducks lately at Newbury Pond, either about daybreak or at evening twilight. I've been over there a couple of times, hoping to see them, but so far I haven't witnessed their takeoffs or landings. At first I wondered whether they were Mallards or Wood Ducks. The people who’ve seen them said they were just a blur as they flew in or out. Robin Sexton said he saw a greenish color. If they were spending the night, they were hidden in the cattails. So I consulted my bird books. According to them, we only have Wood Ducks in summer. They're our only year-round resident ducks. So, I assume . . . .
This is the right time of year for Wood Ducks to be mating and laying eggs. Last year, I saw a mother "woodie" leading her ducklings in a swim down on the Clear Fork River near old Brewster Bridge (on the old disused highway strip). Since the females tend to use the same tree holes from one year to the next as their laying sites, the chances are good for me to see them again early some morning if I go down there at the right time. Newly hatched "woodie" ducklings are precocial (applying to birds that are already halfway ready to fend for themselves when they hatch). If the word hadn't already been coined, they would have had to create it for these amazing little birds. After only 24 hours they're ready to leave the nest. Bear in mind their nests are high in trees or especially man-made Wood Duck boxes. Sometimes the hole they're hatched in may be 30 to 50 feet up a tree. Oftentimes, the tree with the nesting hole is over water, but sometimes it's just near the water. Mama Woodie jumps out of the hole, flies down to the water or ground, as the case may be, and calls to her babies to come join her. They spring out of the hole, falling promptly to the water or hard ground.
Why aren't all the ones that fall to the ground killed? They can't fly yet and don't even have all their feathers. But as they jump out, they spread their little wing nubs and splay their feet which seems to break their fall a bit. Eyewitnesses who have seen this say that the ducklings bounce when they land. They must be rubber duckies? Seriously, my guess is that their tiny bones are still somewhat flexible. Very few are injured. Mama then leads them to the water, if they aren't already in it, and they don't need swimming lessons. They never return to the nest site until they're old enough to be looking for a place to lay eggs.
Photo courtesy of http://sdakotabirds.com/species/wood_duck_info.htm
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
