If you go
› What: Cottage Tour & Bazaar.› When: Friday, July 22; bazaar 9 a.m.-4 p.m., tours 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Ralph Null demo 1 p.m. (all times Central).› Where: Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, 1 Assembly Ave., Monteagle, Tenn.› Admission: $15 in advance, $20 day of.› Phone: 931-924-2286› Website: www.mssa1882.org.
The Monteagle Woman’s Association will offer a window into the world of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly with its 53rd annual Cottage Tour & Bazaar on Friday, July 22.
Patterned after the Chautauqua Institution in New York, the nonprofit MSSA was granted its charter by the state of Tennessee on Oct. 31, 1882. Its purpose: “the advancement of science, literary attainment, Sunday School interests and the promotion of the broadest popular culture in the interest of Christianity without regard to sect or denomination.”
It held its first session in the summer of 1883 and has continued every summer since, making this year its 134th anniversary. It fulfills its original mission through a variety of educational, spiritual, cultural and health development activities for all ages.
The annual cottage tour provides the following year’s budget to operate Winfield House, home to the library, the Woman’s Association and various activities during the summer.
Six cottages, all built around the turn of the previous century, are on the tour this year: The Corner Cottage (owned by Mel Barnes), Idlehour (Katie Trahan), Garden Paths (John Haley), Everbright (Celia Delaney), Camelot (Gray Campbell) and Cumberland (Bill and Betty Phillips). Visitors also may tour the auditorium and gymnasium built in 1883.
Hours are 11 a.m.-4 p.m. CDT. A bazaar offering arts, crafts, jewelry and home decor will open at 9 a.m. Renowned floral designer Ralph Null will demonstrate his secrets for gorgeous, easy arrangements at 1 p.m. in Warren Chapel. His creations will be auctioned off at the end of the program, with proceeds benefiting the Woman’s Association.
For lunch, visitors may partake in the Dining Hall buffet from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fresh summer fare will feature hot entrees, soups and salads, burgers, grilled chicken and hot dogs. Cost is $12.50. Reserved box lunches and tea punch may be picked up at the Winfield House beginning at 11 a.m. A bake sale, supplied by the assembly’s best bakers, will offer additional refreshments; and the Snack Shop in the auditorium has soft drinks, popcorn and chilled candy bars. Visitors also may happen upon lemonade stands as they explore the assembly grounds.