Michaelmas Festival. Saturday was especially busy during the annual Michaelmas Festival at Christ Church. Many volunteers were handling sales at the booths, helping entertain children with games and activities, and running the tea event. While visitors meandered among the outside booths, English Country Dancers entertained on the church lawn. A huge effort goes into this event. It appeared to go very well with lots of visitors. The busy weekend was also experienced at the Café where it is my understanding volunteers helped out at various points.
Benita and Tom Howell take time off from their many volunteer activities to attend the Michaelmas Festival in period outfits. Tom devotes countless hours to the community through his work with the volunteer fire department and his music for Christ Church. Benita serves on the Historic Rugby Board and is currently leading the book cleaning project at Rugby's historic library. That's just a partial list for them both.
Benita and Tom Howell take time off from their many volunteer activities to attend the Michaelmas Festival in period outfits. Tom devotes countless hours to the community through his work with the volunteer fire department and his music for Christ Church. Benita serves on the Historic Rugby Board and is currently leading the book cleaning project at Rugby's historic library. That's just a partial list for them both.
Scenes from the Michaelmas Festival include the Hat Ladies from Fairfield Glade, the English Country Dancers with Mary and Bob Hemminger in the foreground, John Hicks' antique car and Rugby artisan Ron Jackson's jewelry he crafted displayed on a bed of beans. Photos by Rick Murphy.
Café Repairs. Numerous volunteers continued work on repairs and painting of the exterior of the Harrow Road Café with the help of organizer Steve Logan. The community seems very enthusiastic about this welcomed effort. Countless hours have gone into replacing rotted wood, sanding and repairing siding, priming and painting.
Café Repairs. Numerous volunteers continued work on repairs and painting of the exterior of the Harrow Road Café with the help of organizer Steve Logan. The community seems very enthusiastic about this welcomed effort. Countless hours have gone into replacing rotted wood, sanding and repairing siding, priming and painting.
Library Book Cleaning. Work has been proceeding for several months now at the historic Hughes Library where quite a few volunteers work three days each week cleaning, documenting and stabilizing the books. The work is being coordinated by Benita Howell.
Adopt A Room. In spite of tight financial times for Historic Rugby, work has begun on upgrading the lodging facilities, largely with the help of volunteers. Several people have agreed to “adopt a room” where they will help freshen a space in the Historic Rugby lodging facilities. Work began this week at Percy Cottage with the help of Jody Hester and several other volunteers. While work continues, the cottage has already been transformed with improved lighting, seating and furnishings throughout. If you are interested in helping with the “adopt a room” effort, contact Cheryl Cribbet at Historic Rugby.
Community Building Cleanup. Most of the old musty books have been removed from the community building. The community building volunteers have worked very hard at this project. The building already smells a lot better and I am sure work will continue in making the rooms in the building more inviting for future uses.
Fall Decorations. The Decorating Committee has been busy spiffing up many of Historic Rugby’s old and new buildings to reflect the fall season. It takes a lot of work and creativity to gather all the decorations and to turn them into something interesting every year.
COMMUNITY POTLUCK MARKS 10th YEAR
And speaking of volunteer efforts, at the potluck Saturday night Julian Bankston mentioned that it was the 10th anniversary of the beginning of community potlucks in Rugby. The monthly potlucks have become a wonderful meeting place for the community and have helped neighbors feel more connected with each other. It is a great testament to Julian and his band of faithful volunteers who have helped keep the potlucks on track for all these years. Many thanks to Julian and all of the potluck helpers!!
RUGBY BEGINS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
By Jessie Gully
The next meeting will be announced when law enforcement agents are available to talk to us. It was agreed that an effort is needed to get in touch with interested persons in the larger community toward Brewstertown and Robbins.
Tiffany Terry leads the discussion at neighborhood meeting. Below, particpants listen and contribute.
TEA TIME AND TUSSIE -MUSSIES
By Linda Brooks Jones
Wednesday, October 6, 2010. One to Three in the Afternoon Eastern Time at Grey Gables Bed ‘n Breakfast Inn. The Victorian love of flowers and plants found its prettiest expression in the posy, nosegay or as most popularly know Tussie – Mussies. Elegant journals of the day showed designs and color schemes of posies to suit all manner of special occasions. It was the custom for ladies to take one to their hostess when they went out to tea.
Enjoy our display of Tussie – Mussies as you partake of our monthly Theme Tea. Autumn Quiche, Baked Fruit, Green Salad, Pumpkin Bread, Pineapple Bread Pudding with Whipped Cream. $10 plus tax and gratuity. Reservations required. Linda Brooks Jones, 423.628.5252. Email: greygablestn@highland.net
HISTORY CLUB TO VISIT PLEASANT HILL
By Linda Konig
Our History Night club will be going on a field trip to Pleasant Hill, TN (south of Crossville), on Saturday, Oct. 16. We can carpool, leaving from Christ Church parking lot at 10 a.m. (9 a.m. Central), eat lunch at Pleasant Hill or in Crossville, and return to Rugby that afternoon. The director of the Pleasant Hill museum will give us a personal tour through the original main building, relating the fascinating history of Pleasant Hill. A Congregationalist school there was attended by Anna Joyce Walton Herr of Rugby, born 1920 and now of the Philadelphia area, in her teen years. The community also boasted a pioneer doctor -- Dr. May Cravath Wharton, whose story is told in the book "Doctor Woman of the Cumberlands," her autobiography. She first came to the Cumberland Plateau in 1917 as a young bride who fell in love with the people here and made the Cumberland Plateau her home till she died. The hospital in Crossville is a direct result of her work in our area. If you'd like to read the book, Linda has a copy to lend. Please let Linda Konig know whether you plan to go by Oct. 12. e-mail -- cking@highland.net or by phone -- 423-628-5243.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR GHOSTLY GATHERINGS
By Cathy Hannaway
Historic Rugby needs volunteers to help with the two nights of Ghostly Gathering, Saturdays, Oct. 23 and 30, from approximately 5:15 p.m. Eastern until around 9 p.m. (perhaps earlier) to help as food servers, in directing folks and with clean up afterwards. It is a fun event so please the staff know if you can help. They can be reached at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441.
BIRTHDAYS
October 8 - Chip Elliot and Mara Trumbo
October 10 - Teresa Coker and Tom Lee
FALL FLOWERS
Below are some flowers still blooming at Walton Court, including Michaelmas daisies and other flowers on the left and Grandmother's Rose on the right. I guess we should enjoy them while we can as the typical freeze date in Rugby is less than two weeks away.
CALENDAR
October 16 – History Club Field Trip to Pleasant Hill, TN, returning in plenty of time for Book Club. Please let Linda Konig know whether you plan to go by Oct. 12. e-mail cking@highland.net or by phone -- 423-628-5243.
October 16 – Rugby Book Club at 7 p.m. in the home of Jessie Gully. Choose one of the Stieg Larsson books for discussion. (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Girl Who Played With Fire, Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest). For more information, contact Jessie Gully at 423-628-6090 or jessiegully@hotmail.com
October 30 - Halloween Ghostly Gathering. A Calling of the Spirits of Rugby's Past..... Award Winning Chili Dinner... Lantern-Lit Tours to Historic Buildings..... Story Telling, "Ghost" Film..... More Stories at the Druids' Bonfire..... 6 p.m. Advance Reservations Required. (Oct. 23 event is SOLD OUT) Contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441
November 6 - Lantern Tour. 4:30 p.m. Stories from Laurel Dale Cemetery. Colorful residents will be brought back to life briefly by costumed players telling their stories. Tour only, $15; tour and dinner, $28 (tax and gratuity not included). For reservations, contact Historic Rugby at 888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441
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 – or email rugbylegacy@highland.net
Linda admires a dried arrangement at Saturday's Michaelmas Festival.
November 13 - Contemporary Potlatch Pouch - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Instructor: Judy Zugish. With design choices of twill or braid weave, simple or bold, subtle or refined, this class will engage all experience levels. Students will have a chance to explore working with cedar bark and hickory with the surprising twinkle of copper strips. In every case the results are smiles of the heart and a basket to treasure for years. Fee: $75.
NATURE NOTES
By Linda Konig
This is the right time of year to look for Carolina Leaf Rollers, an unusual kind of wingless cricket that lives in the Southeast. They're only active at night, so you might think the chances of finding them are slim (although I read something that led me to believe they may be drawn to porch lights at night).It is also possible to find their daytime rolled-up beds made of tree leaves.
Each day just before dawn, each C. Leaf Roller finds a tree leaf, cuts a line in the leaf, then rolls it forward over its body, and "stitches" the edges of the leaf together with silk which it spins from its mouth, thus creating a roll. Next he or she weaves a silk web to close up the end. Then it rolls its long antennae back over the top of its body and sleeps the rest of the day. These leaf rolls look somewhat like the rolled-over leaf tunnels which some moth caterpillars make in which they spin their cocoons. The Leaf Rollers make a new bed each morning.
These little 1/2 to 3/4 inch-long crickets are yellowish or reddish-brown. Their flexible antennae are about 5 times longer than their bodies. They look a lot like Camel Crickets. To see a good photo of a female Carolina Leaf Roller, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/8343980@NO6/2776713874/in/photostream/ . Or I have an old Life Nature Library book on insects that has a wonderful 2-page spread with a photo of a Leaf Roller making his bed, if you'd like to see it. . . . Unlike ordinary crickets, however, they have no "song" and are unable to hear. Although I haven't found any Carolina Leaf Rollers yet, this is my first autumn to look for them. They like to live where there are plenty of trees, and their favorite food is aphids.
I've learned that they are a particular prey of one of the solitary digger wasps -- the Sphex nudus (black with red legs). I've seen these wasps occasionally. Sphex nudus wasps dig tunnels in the ground into which they lay their eggs. They paralyze Carolina Leaf Rollers and stuff them, still alive but paralyzed, into the tunnels, then lay their eggs on the Leaf Rollers. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there, or should I say a wasp-eat-other-insects world!
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
