My Blog

Leap Day Origin

Kurt Kraus — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:43:38 +0000

Julius Caesar switched from the Roman calendar to one created by either an Egyptian or
Babylonian astronomer (pick one) in 45 BC that added an extra day every four years to
compensate for the approximate 365 and ¼ days in each solar year. This became known
as the Julian calendar.

Yet, the solar calendar actually has a few minutes less than an additional six hours each
year. Pope Gregory 13th adjusted for the accumulated discrepancy in 1582 by deeming
that any year ending in 00 had to be divisible by 400 rather than just 4. This meant that
1600 was a leap year but 1700 was not. Confused?

The new calendar became known as the Gregorian or Christian calendar, and effectively
replaced the Julian calendar. This once-every-four-years event makes our Gregorian
calendar congruent with the solar calendar.

Good Times

Kurt Kraus — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:51:28 +0000

Most of us have a passion we can only pursue in our spare time. This can be just about
anything, including cooking or grilling. I’ve been blessed to do what I love each day for
almost 15 years, and I could not have done this without your passion for our food.

The world continues to twirl (thank goodness) and nothing stays the same, yet my
passion for providing the best in BBQ, smoked meats, and accompaniments is the same
as it was when Smoker’s BBQ and Catering opened in 1997.

We introduced a few new menu items recently and will add several more this month. Let
us know how we’re doing.

Next time you stop, make sure you enter our monthly giveaway to win a Free dinner for
12. Entering our monthly drawing automatically registers you for our e-mail newsletters
which begin this month.

Our newsletters will feature news about what’s happening at Smokers for the coming
month, plus some local and industry news. And, we’ll include an unadvertised special in
each blast as our personal thank you for your loyalty.

Old man winter rarely disappoints, that’s why it’s a great time to host a get-together
for friends before cabin-fever sets-in. We have several catering plans available and can
customize any one of these to make your event a stunning success. Let us know how we
can help.

It’s not too soon to consider booking for the spring, summer, and fall seasons. We’ll
do our part to ensure your engagement, wedding, anniversary, or graduation party is a
memorable one.

Stay tuned for breaking news on our website and recast Facebook page. Best wishes for
a 2012 filled with lots of love, laughter, and good times.

Thanks again for choosing Smokers!

Kurt and Donna Kraus, Owners

July 4th

Kurt Kraus — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:46:14 +0000

This Fourth of July will be our 14th Anniversary. It’s almost hard for us to believe we
began pursuing our dream 14 years ago. Our dream was simple … we believed then that you hungered for top-quality BBQ, smoked meats, and all the fixings. And you rewarded us with your business.

We started Smokers at Spring Meadow Farms, and catered a number of events
for you that included weddings, reunions, and parties of all kinds. We opened our
Finksburg store in 2007 to meet growing demand for our BBQ any day of the week.
And we continue to cater affairs and events of all kinds, many of which are with existing customers.

Stay tuned for more details about a special surprise we’ll have for you in July to help us celebrate our 14th Anniversary.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you – we appreciate your patronage!

Kurt and Donna Kraus, Owners