About the time that Wally, Lumpy, and the "Beav" were entertaining America and giving Ward and June fits, my own parents, Charles and Anne, got into the Import business. My Dad had answered an advertisement for a mail order course, studied up in his spare time between working in a machine shop and rasing chickens (and three kids), and decided to give it a try.

Ignoring the smirky skepticism of friends, family, and potential lenders, they unleashed a flood of inquiries to European trade bureaus and chambers of commerce. Sorting through the meager responses, samples were ordered, more letters mailed, phone calls made- a business was born

One of the first products in my memory was "Flexi-Flops", little bendable figures of clowns, animals, and the like. The first order came from a Greenfield, New Hampshire variety store, more products followed, and so on. Soon, "the business" had become the primary means of support. The product line evolved into "fancy goods"- china and glass, mostly from Europe and the UK. Charles traveled New England exhaustively, while my Mom handled the paperwork- accounting, order processing, etc. Over the next several years, the hard work paid off, and the business became firmly established.

And it was a family business in the truest sense of the word. The dining room table was usually stacked with catalog pages to be collated. Child labor laws were completely ignored, and I spent many after-school hours unpacking goods and restocking shelves. We were probably the only family around who said things at dinner like "Pass the 289/10", or, "What’s that stuff in the 67/131?"

The business flourished throughout the 1960’s, largely due to the success of "Thistleware", a Scottish stoneware line that did tremendously well. European travel, a nice side benefit of being in this trade, led to an affection for the Tyrolean regions of Europe, which led to my Dad’s "Glacier tours"- ski trips to the Alps and Dolomites- and "Zahn’s Alpine Guesthouse"- an Alpine style Bed & Breakfast here in New Hampshire.

Fast forward to 1998...

My parents, semi-retired, keep very busy running the Guesthouse, growing Christmas trees, and enjoying the nine grandchildren. "The Business" is still here, albeit in a slimmed down state. Zahn Imports has gone on-line and will maintain electronic operations only. We hope you will enjoy browsing our sites, and that you will find items of interest. To find out about pricing, discount schedules, and ordering procedures, click on Product Page below. As you can see, you can also visit the Alpine Guest House, or find out about my sister Melody's unique "Potato Print" greeting cards. More links to other interesting ZAHNS will follow.

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