Hood ornament of Rolls Royce at the show

Rugby’s Car Show Weekend

 

The British Car Show on Saturday turned out to be great fun. A good number of people seemed to have come to Rugby for the show in spite of threatening rain and a brief shower at midday. The enthusiasm of the car owners and the many Rugby volunteers helped make the event a fun experience. Favorable comments were heard. The cars were very interesting too!

Cars from several British car clubs were at the Car Show as seen on the t-shirt above.  The other two photos show people gathering for the awards ceremony.

 

The autos were organized in various categories, based on model and age. Attendees voted on which cars they liked best in each category. 

Bill Compton and Barbara Whiteman from Nashville admire a Jaguar.  People admire two vintage MGs on the right.

I understand that the sale of Historic Rugby treasures (and a little junk) did surprisingly well thanks to the volunteers who handled the display and sales at Ivy Cottage.

Margaret Patterson, Annie Patterson, Jane Fuchs and Benita Howell volunteer at Historic Rugby's Treasure Sale.  Winner of one of the British Car Show categories with his award plaque.

 

Newbury House with new cedar shakes and leveled porch

Newbury Restoration Work

 The crew working on exterior repairs at Newbury House, Historic Rugby’s main lodging facility, is making really good progress in spite of finding many more problems than originally anticipated. In addition to replacing rotted trim boards, jacking up the sagging porches and several other repairs, they have had to replace all of the wood shake shingles on the mansard roof because thick moss on the roof had caused the old shakes to rot. 

 

Steve Logan at top left near pile of rotted wood.  Top right shows crew member working on front porch near where steps had been removed. Bottom left shows pile of rotted wood next to jack being used to get the dip out of the front porch roof.

 

On Thursday there were mounds of rotted wood piled in the front yard and the front porch steps had been totally removed, leading some of us to wonder if it could be ready to welcome lodgers on Friday afternoon. But they got everything cleaned up in the front yard and the new steps were built, so everything was in good shape for weekend guests. 

Steve Logan has been doing an amazing amount of volunteer work supervising the repairs and spending a great deal of time arranging for appropriate materials and even doing a great deal of hands-on work. It is impressive the way he is making sure that the work being done is top notch. Thanks for all your hard labors, Steve.

And thanks as well to Jane Logan for all the behind-the-scenes work she has done to make this project happen, including writing the grant that is helping support the repairs and researching a multitude of issues to make sure they are done appropriately on this important historic structure.

 

Speaking of Volunteers

Print Shop Volunteer

 During the car show I took some out-of-town guests to see the Print Shop. I have mentioned several times before how it is really nice to be able to show the historic print shop with its period printing equipment. The many volunteers who help there should be commended. Rita Myers was welcoming folks on Saturday when we went in.

 

And it was great to see the demonstration of the printing press by Peter Merrill of Crossville. He has been volunteering one day a week at the print shop. Peter is very skilled at using the printing equipment and is doing a great job of telling people about the history of printing in Rugby and explaining the process for setting  type and printing the early Rugby newspapers, The Rugbeian and others.

History Night – Rugby Bachelors and Dyers

Which early Rugby bachelor has a bridge named for him in Sydney, Australia?  Which two Rugby bachelors worked for Thomas Edison and invented the process for micanite insulation, which is still used today in electrical equipment?  And did they profit from it?  Whatever happened to the Dyer family after Thomas Hughes' mother died?  For the answer to these and other questions, come to the Rugby History Night presentation on Sept. 14, the SECOND Friday of September, NOT the first Friday. The meeting will be held in the Friendly House (behind Rugby’s Christ Church) at 7:30 p.m. Eastern/6:30 Central. Everyone from anywhere is welcomed. There’s no membership, no charge and no obligation! There are usually light refreshments.

Mystery Visitor

The village was abuzz earlier this week.  A large private bus, like the ones used by traveling music stars, pulled into the parking area at Christ Church.  A very well dressed mature lady got out, accompanied by a younger man in a black suit with a prominent tattoo peeking out above his collar. They went into the Historic Rugby Visitor Centre.  Later they parked in front of the Print Shop and visited the Commissary Store.

Was she a country singer accompanied by her bodyguard? Was this Loretta Lynn traveling incognito without her wig? Was Nancy Reagan visiting? 

Turns out she is a nice lady from Cleveland ,Tennessee, who is president of a Bradley County-based health care company and was just interested in seeing our little historic village and doing a little shopping. We hope she had a good experience and will be back soon!

BIRTHDAYS

Sept. 3 - Sam Neary

Sept. 9 - Kim Stagg and Harry Hester

Sept. 10 - Robert Walton Crabtree

 

The Cafe was beautifully decorated for the Car Show.  Jessica Erickson did her usual amazing job of arranging the flowers and Barbara Mitchell and her crew found all sorts of car show related decorating touches

CALENDAR

Rugby is in the Eastern time zone, just barely.

Friday, Sept. 7 – Music Night at the Café - Indy Girls performing

Saturday, Sept. 8 – Historic Rugby Board Meeting – 11 a.m. Eastern

Friday, Sept. 14 – History Night – Rugby Bachelors and the Dyer Family – 7:30 p.m. EDT. Friendly House just behind Christ Church.

Friday, Sept. 14 –Music Night at the Café – Butch and Doug performing

Friday, Sept. 21 –Music Night at the Café – 3-D Dulcimers performing Friday, Sept. 28 –Music Night at the Café – Gerald Hanwright performing Saturday, Sept. 29 - Historic Rugby Pilgrimage – This tour is the only time this year that some of some of Rugby’s private homes are open to visitors. Guests will visit a dozen private historic and new period homes, historic museum buildings and lodgings. Come enjoy Morris dancing, music and period demonstrations.

Ongoing Activities

Quilters’ Group - Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2–4 p.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House behind Christ Church

Rugby Yoga – Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, at the Friendly House.

Christ Church Episcopal -- Sunday morning services, 11 a.m. Eastern, year round; all are welcomed.


Historic Rugby Workshops

White Oak Basketry Workshop -September 14-16

This very popular 3-day workshop teaches the art of White Oak basketry from tree selection, splits, rims and handles to weaving a beautiful traditional basket. This is an experience not to be missed even if it does require "hand strength." Fee is $130. Please make advanced reservations. For information about the instructors, go to whiteoakbaskets.com

Victorian Holiday Ornaments Workshop - September 22

Use fabric, lace, paper, ribbon and reed to create charming Victorian ornaments. At the end of the day, take home 6 to 8 ornaments, plus many creative ideas for later! This workshop will be led by a dynamic group of instructors: master basket maker Beth Hester, skilled heritage craft instructor Joyce Lantz and Jody Hester, who is known for her quilts and decorating. Hester has also helped outfit half of the village of Rugby in Victorian costumes she helped make. Fee is $25.

 

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To register for workshops, call toll-free 1-888-214-3400 or 423-628-2441. Lodging may be available at 1880 Newbury House or Rugby's cottages at a 10% discount to students. Food service is available at the Harrow Road Café.

NATURE NOTES

Two-Spotted Tree Crickets

By Linda Konig

 Don't you just love the late summer night outdoor concerts? No, not the human concerts, although they're nice. I'm talking about Mother Nature's concerts. This is THE time for an old-fashioned screened-in porch. You can't miss those rhythmic katydids, my all-time favorites. However, a large proportion of the noise is made by crickets, and a lot of them are tree crickets (as opposed to grass and bush crickets). We have 7 kinds of tree crickets for sure in our area, with the possibility of two more as well. 

Have I been able to distinguish between all these different cricket buzzes and trills? Of course not. When they're all going at once. . . . Maybe it's not too important. What is important is that all the cricket females are able to distinguish the raspy sound of their own particular species. After all, that's what it's all about. The males are trying to woo potential mates. The females don't make night music. 

One species that seems especially interesting is the Two-Spotted Tree Cricket, and August through September is the time for them. They're spread throughout most of the eastern United States. Most tree crickets are green, but the Two-Spotteds are reddish with light brown wings. The females have two large dark brown spots on their backs.  The males usually call from high in the trees, hanging on the underside of broad leaves such as sycamores. First they chew a relatively big hole in the middle of a big leaf. The acoustical hole is thought to make their buzz louder. His hole is always a sort of rounded square and always the perfect size for his wings to fit across.

There's a great picture of a male chewing his hole and also one of a male vibrating his wings beneath the hole at http://www.flickr.com/photos/pcoin/4028133264/
What struck me about the photos I've seen of his clear wings across the hole is that the wings held together like that make a valentine shape. Do you suppose the female notices that?     

When a female comes, she clings on top of him while dining on a secretion that oozes from a special gland on his upper back. How about that? Dinner with night music and a valentine. No movie or dancing, though. So far as entomologists know, this cricket is the only insect in the world that chews a hole and uses it to amplify its song.

 

This Week’s Editors: Rick Murphy and George Zepp