The Friendly Frenchman

Modern home outside of Viethorey

Street in the village.

Above: Stan and Linda by the monument.

Below: Another view of the village.

Right: land outside the village - rolling hills.

Okay, I know what you have heard about the French -that they aren't particularly friendly to us Americans - and some cases, that does in indeed apply. However, after we left the cemetery in Viethorey, we drove back by the church in hopes of talking with a village resident. As we approached the church, I saw a man coming out of his house, which was next to the church. We stopped the van and I approached him with "parlez-vous Anglais?" (One of the few French phrases I know which translated is "do you speak English?" ) He shook his head and laughed and said "No, no." About that time Stan was walking towards us and I motioned for our nephew, Jack, to join us as well. I asked Jack to tell him who we were and that we were trying to find information on the Girardots.

The Frenchman said Girardots were well-known there and that there were some Girardots who lived nearby. He gave Jack the directions to their farm. He also said there were about 110 villagers there in Viethorey and that the church there was closed except for a prayer service once a month. He also said he was not surprised we were there as a year or so ago some people from the US or Canada had also stopped there seeking information on the Girardots. That was the main information we got from him and even though he was friendly, having to communicate through a translator isn't the easiest!

As we talked to the villager, several men from the village walked over and stood by our van. The Frenchman pointed out that one man there was the "mayor" of the village. It was still lightly raining, so we thanked the man for his information and help, then got in the van and drove to the Girardot farm. Of course, as soon as we left we were disappointed that we didn't get the Frenchman's picture with us, but at the time, we were a little "gob-smacked" (as the British would say) to be finding out all this information and also, it felt a little strange that the group of men were gathering and just watching us all. Anyway, the Girardot place was very nice, and looked like quite a successful operation, however we could not find anyone at home. : - (