Since I am presently concentrating on the RUPP, RUPE, ROOP, ROUP, ROOPE, ROUPE, RUPPE families I thought I would share heirlooms that are still in the family only not in my possession.
My great-grandfather Walter F. ROOP was a blacksmith, coal miner, artist, poet, photographer, and cartoonist. He left us precious memories including this photo of the Gauley River. Walter took three photos at Jodie in Fayette County, West Virginia, in 1921, tinted them by hand, and put them together to make this panorama view.
His granddaughter Peggy Jean Ramsey Baker recounted how the Panther and Deer and The Grizzly drawings were copied from pictures in a big book. She saw the pictures which were approximately 2×2.5 inches in size in the book that may have been a history book as a child. She believed there was a third drawing of “some sort of cat in tall grass.”
When I wrote my post on Walter in 2014 my cousin Linda Roop let me know she has the third drawing and shared a photo of it. It’s in the original frame made by Walter F. ROOP but she was not able to get a good photo as it is behind glass and large.
Isn’t it wonderful how the three drawings are now united even though they are in the homes with Walter’s descendants through his children Edith Estelle, Myrtle Hazel, Walter Gordon, and Alfred Lee?
Click here to see a list of other bloggers doing the heirloom posts.
© 2016-2022, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.
Share this:
Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
Nice review of Walter Roop’s artistic talents. Would be nice to see the frame on the “Leopard” picture to see if it is the same as or similar to the other three pictures you have shared.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Robert. Linda took the picture with her phone and couldn’t get it with the frame.
LikeLike
Walter Roop would be pleased, I think, to know that his artwork is shared among family members and remembered as well through your writing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Kendra.
LikeLike
Talented guy! I love that you were able to track each of those items down.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Amberly. Now I would like to track down some of his cartoons and poetry he submitted to miners’ publications.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooooh! That would be awesome. Best of luck! I hope you find them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a talented man – making the panoramic photo was quite interesting! Even though they aren’t in your possession – they are preserved by family and united through your story.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Jeanne.
LikeLike
Those drawings are wonderful. What an artistic man! Did the talent for art show up in his descendants (and ancestors)?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Amy. I know of one distant cousin, a descendant of Walter’s great-grandfather, who paints. We have some musical talents as well: Earl Scruggs, the bluegrass banjo master, and a family or group of sisters who sing but I can’t remember the name right off.
LikeLike
Cathy, I have one maybe two poems he wrote about his wife Rebecca. I believe her wrote them after she died. Will look them up and e-mail you a copy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Janice, I have some of his poems too. I’ll send you a list of the titles so you can compare.
LikeLike
I was just recently looking at the picture of the Panther and Deer, hanging on the wall here at home. As of last month, it is 100 years old.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s hard to believe. Nice hearing from you, Robert.
LikeLike