Bio: Bloy, Albert E. (90th Birthday – 1970)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Bloy, McCormick, Grambsch, Zepplin

----Source: Tribune/Record/Gleaner (Loyal, Wis.) 12 Mar 1970

With approximately forty-five nieces and nephews, and his own family, Albert E. Bloy, Loyal (Clark Co., Wis.), celebrated his ninetieth birthday at the home of his daughter, Jeanette, in Fond du Lac. The Richard McCormick's held an open house Sunday, March 15, his birth date.

When talking with Mr. Bloy last week, he spoke with great respect and pride for his father who had come from Germany as an immigrant. His wife and daughter were victims of typhoid fever on the trip. He then married a widow who bore him three sons. When the third son, Albert, was five days old, the mother died. Again the father married a widow, who raised the family.

Mr. Bloy spoke of them as two right brothers, seven half-brothers and four half-sisters. The wife of one brother attended the open house.

He was born near Forest Junction in Calumet County. To attend high school commanded more effort than present day college, and Mr. Bloy earned his way through by taking care of the sheriff's horse.

He enjoyed talking about lively activities of play production which were presented entirely in German. The entire class of eleven at Chilton earned money for their class pictures by giving a play.

During his second year at the University of Wisconsin as an engineering student, he became ill and gave up the endeavor. He did pass an examination to become the instrument man in building the Panama Canal, but was ten pounds to light on the physical.

The he became a cheesemaker with his brother. They tried to observe the "day of rest" by separating cream and then making butter on Monday. The patrons brought jars with a slip of paper to tell how much butter to put in the crock. They made as much as 500 pounds of butter.

Later Mr. Bloy was a cheesemaker in the Stratford and Marshfield areas. He also was northwest of Loyal at the old Chris Josh factory, where he worked for Blodgett. He boarded at a Mrs. Steven's and lived at the factory. That was during 1918-1919. He did not serve in World War I, but was to leave the next call when the war ended.

After his marriage to Esther Grambsch on June 16, 1920, they set up housekeeping northeast of Neillsville near the county farm. In their spare time they would pick wild grapes in the woods on the Oneida Indian's land nearby.

Although he won prizes in the Federation Quality Contest and once got a prize from the Bankers' Association for being one o f the ten best cheesemakers in Wisconsin, he was most pleased when a Lakeshire man asked him to exhibit cheese from the shelf. He knew some made special cheese for this purpose. What pleased him most was winning prizes on the cheese.

When asked about the present times, he stated he objects to the publicity on riots and criticizing the government.

Along with reading each day of devotions, magazines and newspapers, he likes to watch TV, especially football, which he played in high school.

He had traveled some, driving to South Dakota some eyar back. He spoke of his first car, an Overland, as nice riding, but you had to shift on every hill. The next was his "courting car." It was a two passenger Buick roadster. His most enjoyable trip was by jet to the eastern states, where his son James is teaching music in a Presbyterian College in Maryville, Tenn.

His other children are Mrs. Richard (Jeanette_ McCormick, mentioned before, and Mrs. Byron (Ruth) Zepplin of Loyal. There are six grandchildren. His wife died June 3, 1967.

After a life of work from his first job herding 75 geese for his mother to market, to the last eighteen years in a cheese factory near Marshfield, before retiring. Mr. Bloy is an inspiration to anyone he talks to.