High Hollow Farm - Ron and Joann

This page is a bit heavy with graphics, please be patient while all pictures download. Mostly, they are worth looking at.

We met in Ye Ol' Ale House in Schnecksville, PA and for some reason both quickly decided that we were meant for each other - even though neither of us was particularly looking at the time. We lived in Schnecksville until 1986 when we moved to New England and settled in at High Hollow Farm. In addition to restoring old houses, we also enjoy a variety of other activities together. We spend a lot of time gardening and tending to our yard. There is nothing better than eating fresh fruit and vegetables from our gardens and sharing the bounty with our friends. We have traveled all over the world, mostly business related, and enjoy a very wide variety of cuisine. We try to take many of the best ideas we have found in our travels and incorporate them into both our daily fare as well as into fare served to visitors. We make our own wine, ketchup, jellies, specialty sauces and of course lots of blueberry pies! We frequently receive "Care packages" from home consisting of various processed and smoked meats made in the old Pennsylvania German, hand made tradition to add to the local New England fare - like 3 pound lobsters, Maine clams, and other fresh seafood! We are equally comfortable cooking a completely vegetarian meal with lots of variety.

You may click on any photo on this page to zoom in and get a postcard-size better quality picture.

Many courses to the meal and break time in between leave time for relaxing, drinking wine, enjoying the fireplace or perhaps a soak in the hot tub or a brisk winter walk outside (or a cool evening swim in the summer). We practice our cooking skills by meeting regularly with a group of local couples (we call ourselves the Elegant Eaters) and having a blow out! Nothing like good friends and good food! And, a meal cooked by Joann is truly an experience!!!

We have three dogs and two cats at present. Bear is a 12 year old Arctic Wolf/Timberwolf mix. Chief is an 7 year old black German Shepherd. Charlie is a 3 year old Golden Retriever. They make a good protection squad and welcoming committee to any visitors! Cleo is the only girl. She is a 10 year old, black cat. Snickers is a 7 year old white cat and he is the most finicky of the lot. We have had rabbits, chickens, turkeys, guineas, pigs, sheep and a few other animals along the way and we milked goats for several years - of course making our own cheeses, yogurt, ice cream and other products.

We have been lucky enough to visit a lot of places together including a lot of US cities, Toronto, Tokyo, Munich and other German cities and Paris. We really enjoy San Francisco and the Northern CA area and, in fact, spend a lot of time there! Tokyo is an excellent city in that it is exciting and clean and safe. We have been there 4 times together and Ron has been there almost 40 times in the last 15 years. We spent a very romantic time in Paris in our "youth" - probably all the more romantic in that we had no money at the time and romance was all we had to go on!.

Germany is always great as we can at least struggle by with the language and, given our heritage, we feel very comfortable with the cuisine, mannerisms, accents and attitudes there. We love to keep in touch with people we meet all over the world and many have visited High Hollow also.

We also own a Harley Davidson FXRS Low Rider. It is an '88, 85th anniversary edition. We love to kick back and cruise around the back roads of New England every opportunity we get in the summer. New Hampshire does not have a helmet law, so many people come here to cruise around and feel the wind blow through their hair. We belong to HOG and attend several rallies per year - usually Daytona and always Laconia, which is very close to our house.

During 1998 we will spend a lot of time cruising in CA and attending rallies there. We like nothing better than to park the bike for the night and party with a bunch of other crazies!

We love to go concerts and to see live bands. We also have many friends in the music business and a few who play in pretty famous bands. We have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by other musicians for much of our time together and we really enjoy a nice night of home made music with good friends. Our music interests range from classic rock to blues, bluegrass, country, classical, folk, big band, jazz, etc.

We also enjoy physical activity, like working around the farm, hiking, running, working out in our gazebo gym, etc. One of the best exercises is the yearly cutting, splitting, hauling and stacking of the next year's firewood. We typically use between 5 and 10 chords of wood a year and it is all hand split!

Joann

Joann was born Friday, February 13th. This must have been the lucky day - for Ron at least. In addition to the other activities, she enjoys craftsmanship and pigs. Joann's collection of pig things from all over the world is unequaled by any we have ever seen or heard about. It's funny how those things accumulate after a while! Pigs by the hundreds abide in every room! She also makes many kinds of craft items and sells them by order or at a local craft boutique in Milford. Her workshop is always full of wooden toys, dried flowers, grape vine wreaths, bird feeders, yarn, etc.

Ron

Ron is a total eccentric - just ask Joann!

Ron likes to think of himself as a New Renaissance man - a man who has a wide variety of interests and who is fairly proficient at most of them. In addition to the other activities, he likes to collect and repair antique pocketwatches and play guitar. He has an extensive collection of American timepieces that he sells and trades at various shows, auctions and through other means. He has played guitar in rock, folk and contemporary bands and still loves nothing better than to play "wood" music and harmonize. He is a veteran of the US Army and has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Lehigh University. He is a partner in a company that does laser based manufacturing - PhotoMachining.