What's in a Nickname - Bokky



 Me & Bocka B.
(and her Birthday cake, 24 May 1968)



 

     Her given name was Dorothy Lucille Casper. When she married my Grandpa she became Mrs. Theodore "Ted" Blumenschine. Her siblings referred to her as "Sis" and her children called her "Mother" or simply "Mom."     

     When I was learning to talk (pointing & blabbering 'bokka' to everything in sight), she was bestowed with a unique monicker she fully embraced. Resulting from my baby chatter..."Bokka B." became her nickname among family, close friends, acquaintances & the neighborhood kids in the small town of Kenton, Ohio. In many instances, she wasn't known by any other name. Of course everyone had their own personal variations of sayings & spellings, the most common adaptation being "Bokky." As her firstborn grandchild, it makes me smile knowing my speech impediment became a lasting term of endearment for such a special lady; a gentle, loving & Faithful soul, sensitive poet & writer, who enjoyed a good chuckle!    

     After her death, I found this note she scribbled in one of her many journals: "Babka" the Polish word for cake, word often used for Grandmother.

     Close enough. But makes me wonder about the coincidences... 

     Considering Bokky's heritage was German and Swiss, was I channeling an unknown Polish ancestor?!...
     Her grandfather John Lawrence Casper was a baker before coming to America from Germany in 1871 as a young man...
     One thing I know for certain, Casper descendants inherited a sweet tooth for pastries! 

~~Miss you, Bokky~~

Love, Shanny