Monday
6:30 a.m. Early Monday morning it appeared that Rugby had received at least four or five inches of snow. The temperature was 15 degrees and it has been very windy most of the night. Monday's high was supposed to only reach the low 20s. So, I guess winter has officially arrived early in Rugby this year.
8:30 a.m. I just went outside and some of the areas of snow are 10-12 inches, probably because the wind has been blowing and it has drifted in certain areas. It is still snowing. There are a some tire tracks on Highway 52 but the road is entirely covered by snow and it does not appear to have been snowplowed yet. The road looks pretty bad - I would not suggest getting out on it. It looks like a good day to stay inside, do some Christmas cards and get in the Christmas spirit!
Photo showing a snow covered Highway 52 in front of Kingstone Lisle
READYING FOR THE BIG SNOW
By Rick Murphy
Saturday afternoon I came through Cookeville and stopped at Krogers on my way back to Rugby from Nashville. You would have thought the world was about to end. They were about out of shopping carts and there were long lines to check out. Everyone was getting ready for the big snow.
It was good to get back to the relative quiet of Rugby that evening, but there sure were a lot of cars as I came through the village. It seems folks were in town for the Christmas bluegrass concert, and a business was having a Christmas party in the large dining room at the Cafe. Of course, it was also the last chance to get out before the weather turned rough.
I went to the Café Saturday night after I thought all of the theater guests would have left, but it was still busy. The other guests seemed to be having a good time. There was a lot of conversation. I overheard someone say how good the raisin sauce was. Someone else asked “have the road crews salted the road yet?”
The group in the large dining room was a bit noisy; they had brought a ton of presents for their employees and families. One thing that may have helped them get in the spirit of things was that the Café staff looked really good - Sheila, Bobbie Jo, Jessica and Teresa were wearing their new period outfits, with their little white hats and their Christmas broaches. When I went to check out at the cash register, Shelia leaned over and whispered to me, “is it really supposed to snow 10 inches?”
Sunday morning I walked to the Café for breakfast before nine… and the white stuff had just started to fall. There were a surprising number of cars in the parking lot for that time of day. I went in and sat down with Linda Konig. Linda has breakfast at the Café so much they let her keep her own private stash of preserves there for her biscuits. Anyway, Linda said that if it continued to snow she might just write her Nature Notes column about snowflakes. She did not seem too worried about the snow. She just had to go a block down the street to church and then a few blocks in the other direction to get home.
The snow continued to fall and by early afternoon the temperature had dropped ten degrees - down to 22. George and I walked back through town and it was very quiet, with very little traffic. All the businesses were closed, except the Commissary.
We went in to say hello to Rita and to get warm, as she had the wood stove going. Rita and George talked about ways to keep your pickup truck from sliding around in the snow. George puts old bags of cement that have hardened in the back of his truck to give it more weight. Rita said bags of cat litter are also good to use – they add weight and can be spread for traction in case you actually get stuck. George got home and put out more seed for the birds, since they have a rough time when it snows.
Well, the salt trucks have been through and it is Sunday evening. It’s still snowing. There might not be much news, but, we in Rugby have been very, very busy… getting ready for the big snow.
NEW YEARS EVE EVENTS ANNOUNCED
Dinner at the Harrow Road Café
Historic Rugby will ring in the New Year on Friday December 31 with a New Year’s Eve dinner at the Harrow Road Café.
Guests can choose from carved roast beef w/creamery horseradish, chicken stir fry or pan seared salmon with honey Dijon sauce on a bed of wild rice. All dinners will be served with tomato basil soup, garden salad, choice of white or sweet baked potato, cheddar garlic spoon rolls, homemade dessert and beverage. Diners can bring wine or champagne, with $2 per bottle charge for corkage/glasses. Reservations are required.
Full dinner prices are from $17.95 to $22.95 plus tax and gratuity. Seating is from 5 to 8:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Call 423-628-2441 or toll free at 888-214-3400 for dinner reservations or more information on lodging in historic buildings.
Grey Gables
Celebrate the ending of the year and the expectation of the year to come at Grey Gables Bed and Breakfast Inn. There are two menu choices: Cheese ball and mulled cider, herb tomato soup, green salad with homemade French dressing, prime rib with mushroom sauce, or chicken marsala over rice, roasted potatoes, green beans with pimento, bananas foster and rich butter horn rolls.
$145 includes lodging, dinner and breakfast, double occupancy**prime rib $20 per person** chicken marsala $15 per person**tax and gratuity not included
Reservations Required: 423.628.5252
FOOD COLLECTION FOR THE NEEDY
The staff of Historic Rugby will collect food items and prepare food baskets (goal of five) for the neediest in the area. A collection box is in the Harrow Road Cafe as well as the Commissary for non-perishable food items.
BIRTHDAYS
Dec. 15 - Matthew Stagg, Rita Myers and JoNell (Jody) Hester
Dec. 17 - Barbara Mitchell
Dec. 19 - Mary Hemminger
CALENDAR
Friday, December 24 – Christmas Eve Service at Christ Church, 5 p.m. It will last about an hour and will be followed by a potluck. All are welcome. Special Christmas music will be performed at the church on Sunday, December 26
Friday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve Dinners at the Harrow Road Café and Grey Gables. Both require reservations.
Saturday, January 1 – Harrow Road Café remains open for New Years Day
Saturday, January 8 – Community Potluck, 7 p.m. followed by Neighborhood Watch meeting – Community Building
Saturday, January 15 – Book Club at the home of Kit and Candy Howes. Book selection is AMERICAN LION by Jon Meacham
January and February 2011 – Historic Rugby Winter Hours: The Schoolhouse Museum will be open Monday – Saturday for tours. The Post Office will be at the Schoolhouse Museum on normal winter hours (closed Tuesday and Sunday). Lodging will be offered on a self-catering basis only. The Café, Visitor Centre and Commissary will be closed for repairs. Normal operations will resume in March.
January and February 2011 – Grey Gables will be open for meals Friday and Saturday nights in January and the first two Friday and Saturday nights in February. A limited menu selection will be offered, but they hope it will give you a choice for food service during the time that the Harrow Road Cafe is closed for rejuvenation. Reservations are not required, but appreciated.
Quilters Group - Wed. and Sat. 2-4 p.m. Eastern at the Friendly House
By Linda Konig
Well, we seem to be having our first real snowfall of the season today as I write this. So this afternoon, I took the opportunity to run outside and catch snowflakes on the sleeve of my dark-colored coat so I could quickly study them with my magnifying glass before they melted. Some of the flakes were actually agglomerations of fragmented flakes which are soft and fluffy and relatively bigger than their single comrades. We often see these, but this afternoon I was seeing more of the single 6-pointed flakes which are indeed exquisite. The 6-pointed beauties don't accumulate as rapidly as the larger agglomerated snow wads, but no one should pass up the opportunity of admiring these tiny flakes--each one unique, fragile, and heartbreakingly ephemeral. If only they could be captured and saved forever, I thought.
Actually they can be, in a sense. You probably don't own a photomicroscope and neither do I, but some folks do. They've immortalized many snowflakes for us by taking photos, studying them, publishing books of them, and putting their photos on the web. Thanksgiving week I happened on a small book called The Little Book of Snowflakes by Kenneth Libbrecht. I learned that some snowflakes are rod-shaped with caps on either end. This was really something new to me. Some even look like hourglasses. I've never seen these, but I'll be looking out for them. There were also some photos of somewhat triangular snowflakes which are rare. You can see some of his snowflake photos at http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm .
Or better yet, get out there when snow is falling and find your own flakes! Who knows? You might find one of those triangular or rod-shaped ones! They say that every snowflake is unique.
"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives." -- Albert Einstein. Amen, brother, and here's to childhood!
This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp
