I’ll choose Frederick Bloy
As part of a newsletter article for the library where I work, I was asked the following question:
If you could have a conversation with anyone (living or dead), who would it be and why?
There are all sorts of interesting people (from history, pop culture, politics, etc.) that I would love to talk to. After thinking about it for a while, I decided I would choose my great grandfather, Frederick Bloy, who emigrated from Germany in 1874.
I’d like to know why he decided to move across the far-reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, away from his family and all of his friends, to live in Wisconsin. Why did he choose Wisconsin? Why did he choose Forest Junction?
I recently packed up my belongings and moved about 90 miles to the west. It certainly wasn’t difficult — moving closer to family members helped a lot. How difficult was the move for him? How long did it take him to “get used to” living in Wisconsin? If he had the chance to do it again, would he do anything differently?
I’d also like to ask him more about our ancestors. How far back does he know about our family? My last name is French (some time ago it was probably spelled Blois, or perhaps DeBlois). Did he know anything about why our name got changed?
Maybe in the life after this one, I’ll get the chance to find out.
