It was a most unusual weekend for many in Rugby. A few months ago some of us did not know what we were getting into when we auditioned for parts in the new Rugby play “Emmy and Granny.” We did not understand that a ball-of-fire director named Brandon Daughtry Slocum and a group of wonderfully talented and amazingly experienced actors from Knoxville were going to come to town and take over our lives. And we did not realize how much fun we were going to have.
This is what goes on backstage – Louisa Dyer (Jessie Gully) frolics with Dr. Kemp (Rick Murphy), while poor corseted Mrs. Blacklock (Linda Konig) looks on in shock. Backstage manager Courtney Woolard who also plays Miss Southwick gives encouragement to the actors. Photos by George Zepp
Hopefully the audiences in two packed houses Saturday and Sunday at Rugby’s Rebecca Johnson Theatre had as much fun as the actors have had over the last few months. The actors had an especially tiring past week with three dress rehearsals, two official performances, a cast party that started out at Walton Court and ended up at Laurel Dale Cemetery under the stars in the wee hours of the morning, and a Saturday night post-performance After-Glow Party hosted by Barbara Stagg and John Gilliat. The weekend was brought to a close by very talented Knoxville actor and performer, Mark McGinley, who just had to show us all that he could indeed eat fire (but only after shaving his Hastings beard, for safety reasons).
ON VINEY'S MOUNTAIN
The Tennessee State Library and Archives has selected Joan Donaldson's book "On Viney's Mountain" to represent Tennessee at this year's National Book Festival. The Festival, which will be held on the National Mall in Washington D.C. on September 25, is sponsored by the Library of Congress and is "a celebration of the joy of reading for all ages."
TSLA will create a poster for the Tennessee booth in the "Pavilion of States" at the Festival. The poster will feature the cover of Joan's book paired with photographs of Rugby from TSLA's collection.
Lindsey Wesson, in her letter to Joan from TSLA, says "We very much enjoyed reading your book and think it is an excellent choice to represent Tennessee." She adds that she has been in Middle Tennessee for two years and had heard of Rugby, but after reading "Viney" she informed her husband that they "will be going there as soon as we are ready to leave our six-month-old for an overnight getaway."
BEAR SIGHTING IN BEACON HILL
By Eric Wilson
The bear was back at High Wray last Monday afternoon. Vi heard it crashing around beside the carriage house and when she went out on the back porch it ran off through the woods behind Boyd’s orchard. Vi talked to two people from the Big South Fork who were both concerned. One said that bear sightings in the Park have increased to something like one a day. But both said that there is nothing that can be done unless we want to buy a gun. Coincidentally this happened just one day after I moved our “Bear Proof” garbage can back out of the carriage house lean-to because it was smelling up the whole building, and one day after we had decided to start filling our bird feeders again. So much for those plans.
GARDEN OF THE WEEK
By Charles and Lavonne Gibbs
Here are photos of Robin Sexton's garden on Highway 27 near Huntsville.
These were taken by Robin's wife. Robin has enjoyed a lot of vegetable gardening experience and is a great resource. Rick Murphy told me Robin is his guess for best Rugby vegetable gardener. Gayle Minor and I were making our own little tour of Rugby gardens recently and she and I thought maybe you could picture a garden a week. One of the joys for us recently, has been seeing the growth in gardens around here.
BIRTHDAYS
June 22 - Bethany Jackson
June 28 - George Crabtree
CALENDAR
June 27 - Annual Historic Rugby Membership Meeting 1:30 p.m. followed by Board Meeting
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
August 14 - Lessons with the Mountain Dulcimer. Come enjoy a day of lessons for playing this beloved Appalachian instrument with one of the instrument’s most enthusiastic teachers and musicians. 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Instructor: June Goforth. Fee: $35.
August 28 - Introduction to Kaleidoscope. This class explores the world of kaleidoscopes. Each student will learn mirror configurations as well as construction of object boxes. The final product is a completed kaleidoscope to be shared and enjoyed by friends and family. 10:00 am. Instructor: Sara Senft. Fee: $65.
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
