Zeppy Snow

My great-grandmother's brothers were a little odd (see pic below); Clifton and LaVerne Zepp were both artists -- photographers and painters -- and they lived together in Taneytown in a big yellow house on Mill Avenue until they died. For a long while their mother Lizzie lived with them too and at some point their grandmother also. I'm not sure if the house was originally one of their parents'; I'll have to research that a bit more.
The house is now apparently owned by Antrim 1844, a fact I discovered this week when I was looking through their website to prepare for a stay there in February after the 2nd Annual Tanner's Touch Valentine's Day Gala. As I was looking at their rooms, I happened upon The Zepp House, which according to the map, must be their former house.

Both brothers were painters -- I believe they favored oil -- I clearly have more research to do in that area. But I remember that I was so proud that my elementary school had a huge purple and pink colored mural of a pond and swan scene in a stairwell that one of them had painted. I can't imagine it's there any longer. But our family does have many of their paintings -- most of them are Impressionistic in style of farm and woods scenes. I remember at least one of Antrim and another of Crouse Mill. I'll post photos of those in another post with more details about them. But today I'll share two photo slides of theirs; I'm not sure which took them. The first is of Antrim, likely from their house, in the snow.The second is of an unknown creek, I'm sure in the Taneytown area.My grandmother, their sister Gladys, also produced hundreds of photo slides -- I have many of them in my basement. Her favorite theme was clouds.

The siblings got their talents honestly; on the 1900 census, their father Edward Peter Zepp describes his occupation as "artist." He had a professional photography studio above the square in Taneytown. He was also a local band leader and music teacher.

Ancestry: Beth-Judy-Charlie Null-Gladys-Edward Zepp

Blog Ideas

We have a 2 hour delay this morning, and even though I'm supposed to be at work on time, I have to go in late and take personal or vacation days (accumulated) because there's no before-care at school for Sylvie (and George leaves for work in the morning before our system even makes the call) . . .Anywho, I've been sick with a nasty cold-turned-sinus infection for about a week now, and I spend hours on end at night trying to get back to sleep. Instead of counting sheep, I've turned to thinking about all the stuff I need to do and want to do -- one of them being blog more often about more interesting stuff. So, here's the list of topics I'd like to dip into if I ever find the time:

• my artist great-great uncles, the Zepps
• the Salty Dog Tavern across from Harpers Ferry
• the Poole's Store at Seneca
• my grandmother Helen Null
• Tanner and his battle with cancer
• Is Frog Hollow really a hollow?
• more on morel mushroom hunting
• the C&O Canal around these parts
• Antietam Ironworks in more depth
• moonshine-making past here
  
• Bernie Adkins
• the building of Michael's Home
• Michael's Home and the Civil War
• my grandmother Ann Ziegler
• George's great-grandmother Cordie Otzelberger
  

Do you have any ideas for me to explore? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

First Snow Days

Yesterday we saw our first significant snowfall of the season. George measured 10" of the white stuff late last night. It fell in two shots: a few inches in the morning and then a fast heavy 7 more right at rush hour. The second fall created absolute chaos on the highways. Route 70 finally opened back up this morning around nine. Many drivers were stuck for 11 and 12 hours. But we stayed safe and sound at home; we lost power last night around nine, but it was back on around midnight. Today, our wonderful Antietam neighbors came over to play. A great time had by all!

EGGS!

We found out today that SG is no longer allergic to eggs! Dr. Hash told me to take it slowly and to start with eggs in baked goods. So, SG got to choose our first snow day lunch menu, and, of course, she chose PANCAKES!

The Red Byrd's Back

I don't typically do restaurant reviews as restaurants in general are slim pickins' down here in South County, but today we celebrated the re-opening of the Red Byrd -- actually, Bonnie's at the Red Byrd.

The place felt quite a bit cleaner with a new coat of paint. The menu seemed to be slimmed down a bit, but there were some delicious breakfast specials and the same familiar faces serving us. According to Channel 13's site, the current owner has operated Bonnie's Country Kitchen in Lovettsville, VA, and took up the opportunity to run this venue with some of her own recipes and 3/4 of the original Red Byrd staff.

This morning, George enjoyed the special omelet, Sylv and I shared the yummy chocolate chip pancakes, and SG got a sausage patty sandwich made just like Micky D's . . . Nice portions, kids' drinks in covered kids' cups, and hot coffee offered often -- a perfect breakfast out for a family.

You can find their well-maintained Facebook page here. The website they have posted doesn't appear to be working yet.

Fire on the Mountain

I got a call from George when I was still at work yesterday that there was a house fire across the mountain on Hawk's Hill. Indeed there was. He and the girls took some photos and video while they watched the black smoke roll from the trees. The Herald Mail's article claims that the fire started in a wood pile and that the tankers had a difficult time with the narrow mountain roads and getting enough water to the scene. Clearly, the photos show that the fire destroyed the entire house; we can't even recognize what kind it was. Here is the paper's video.

A Few Seasons Later

Summer, autumn, now winter . . . been way too long, I know. These two are keeping me busy. But I have high hopes of writing again soon. In the meantime, for all my friends who haven't ever read my silly ramblings, check out my posts from what seems like eons ago!