My name is John Peter Blaul. I was born on August 26, 1949, around 10:00 AM. My buddies call me John or Johnny, my kids and grandkids call me Dad or Boompa. My eldest (Peter) when he was going on two years of age couldn’t say grandpa—it came out Boompa. The story was passed on and the name stuck.

My story doesn’t start on August 26, 1949, it dates back as far back as my elders could remember. All of them liked to tell their family history and wanted to pass them on to the next generation. Henry John Blaul, my grandfather, was particularly instrumental in keeping a family tree and history. When I was 24-years-old he sent me a family tree of the Blaul and Farley families. He was 81-years-old at the time.