Namur (Wisconsin – United States)

There is a small area of ​​Wisconsin near Green Bay in the United States where Walloon is still spoken due to a significant wage of immigration in the 19th century. This is where “Namur” lies, an unincorporated area of ​​the municipality of Union.

The first real awareness of the existence of “cousins” in Wisconsin dates back to 1944-1945, a time when, participating in the liberation of Belgium, a few American soldiers from the Green Bay region had the opportunity to speak Walloon with the local population.

Since Walloon had no standard written form in Wisconsin, and letters in English were rarely understood in the Walloon countryside, it was not until the end of the 1960s and the wider availability of cassette recorder that families communicated again and breaking the community’s isolation on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Currently, the Walloon heritage is reflected in the annual Belgian Days (organized by the Lions’ Club), a celebration where we enjoy Belgian tripes (sausages) or Belgian pies, where we play couillon (card game) and where we exchange authentic Walloon “Bond’jou” greetings.

We must also emphasize the desire to preserve the heritage of immigrants. The recent purchase of Namur’s chuch by a foundation is proof that preserving ancestral identity remains important. Culinary traditions are very often the part that persists the longest.