I took the train to Wavre, Belgium to meet and support a Cornell classmate, Bob Nellis, in his search for ancestors and the history of the area and the people for a book he is writing. The subject is not only his family but of many Belgians who immigrated to the US in the 1800s. He was brought up in a town of Belgian immigrant families possibly from the same general timeframe as his ancestors and even possibly from the same general area in Belgium. He kept repeating the term “Walloons“. It seems that is a term of community, identity and endearment used in reference to the French speaking Belgians. I think reading his book after it is published will give you a much better frame of reference. I will put a reference to his book and where you can buy it after it’s published.
visiting graveyards is a good way to understand the families of the local population. He found many variations of his family name in the graveyards which sparked a lot of enthusiasm which I can understand having done that myself.A local church his family may have attended A memorial to the great war, the war to end all wars Jeff and Bob grew up together and Jeff ventured here from Minnesota (departing from his home in Michigan) with Bob. Jeff was the chauffeur, photographer and bodyguard.Memorializing an industrialist. The grill in the car looks very much like an old RenaultMemorial for the war deadYou have to point at something to show it has value. I can imagine his emotions as he walks through the church and absorbs his ancestors attending a service. A very solemn occasionAgain, it’s important to point These churches were very small so you can imagine the populations were not large and getting smaller as people left for other countries Europeans tend to take their dogs pretty much everywhere they go so the sign is indicating the sacredness of the graveyard and not to bring animals that may not understand the significance of the place. My dog, Mon, was very sensitive to spiritual things so I think he would’ve stayed out on his ownIt was very foggy in the mornings. It reminded me very much of the old movies of World War I and World War II were battles were being fought in the fogWhat was very disheartening was most of the businesses closed permanentlydue to lack of customers. It seems the big box stores have taken away business and hollowed out the old communities. That was very sad to see. So while this is very much a walking town I don’t know how you can commune with people if their meeting place is some giant store where you just greet people in passing if you happen to know them.Our timing was very close to Halloween A very nice mushroom sauce for an elegant dinner Bob treated us to a very elegant dinner at an extremely nice restaurant, a great topping for the day of ancestor searchings.And of course you have to have ice cream and a grappaAnother delicious dessert At the end of the day we celebrate our adventure by admitting we have similar taste in hats, except for Jeff’s Borsalino styleA beer, a glass of wine, a gin tonic or a glass of water; whatever you desireJeff has done the hard work today as the chauffeur in a foreign country so he very much deserves the beerBut it was very tiring for everybody. Let the ancestors come to visit in our dreams
