From: Emmental, Bessarabia
16 June 1911
On the 4 July, I received my first edition of the Staats-Anzeiger. Out of joy that now I will receive and will be able to read this worthy paper regularly, I prepared a small report and sent it to the Staats-Anzeiger the other day.
On the 8 July, I received #50, and today #51, from which I gathered that Anton Fettig, son of Napoleon, made a trip to Morton County in June, where my two sons-in-law live. Mr. Fettig most likely visited my son-in-law Ignatz Gross, because the words indicate that Ignatz’s dog followed them and that they sent him back with the address.
If this is the same Ignatz Gross and you, Mr. Fettig, visited him, then I ask you to report in the Staats-Anzeiger on how your visit there went and if the dog got back home again.
I have often been in touch with my sons-in-law by letter, but they have never mentioned anything about the terrain. Mr.Fettig, thank you for mentioning something about the residents of Morton County, because from them one does not hear anything in the newspaper.
The harvest here has been completed without a drop of rain. Because of the drought the Welsh corn suffered so that it will not produce much. Today, the 17th, it rained a little. Tomorrow we have a bazaar in Kainari. Usually it is a lot of fun, maybe unlike in America.
In the report of 5 July, I said that I would bring the story about the hunter and the wolf. Here it is: In the night from the 10th to the 11th of June, the long forgotten wolf made a visit again, and on his expedition ended up in the sheep corral of the local settler B., killing two sheep, one of which he dragged away. Early in the morning the farmer came into the sheep corral and ………… …Text missing…
(Apparently Romuald Dirk wrote this report, because of the mentioning of sons-in-law Ignatz Gross, and Eduard Richter).
From: Brisbane, Post Office Stebbins, ND
22 August 1911
I must post another report from my region.
We have a cold northwest storm today. It will thresh the few heads of grain left before we get to thresh them. It will leave little work for the machine of Johannes Vetter. He purchased a complete threshing outfit from the Beoflewis Company in the spring and just recently he acquired a Case separator as well. The first company is threatening him for not ordering a separator from them.
My father-in-law, Joseph Gross, built a new house. Since there were too many experts involved, he now has no lights in the second story. Anyone wanting to go upstairs has to carry a hat full of daylight.
My godfather, Benedikt Gismak [Cismak/Tschischmak] had the misfortune of his horses taking off on him and breaking his new mower. He had to get a new one. I read the correspondence of Johannes Giesinger in Issue #3 of this publication with the posting of a new birth at his brother-in-law's house, Albinus Mitzel. I want to know if the stork has visited him yet.
Anton Fettig of Logan County was visiting here in Morton County. He had to cross hill and dale to visit all his friends. He lost his overcoat and is lucky he did not need it.
Greetings to Johannes Jegel in Friedenstal, South Russia. If he is not a reader, would a reader please forward the greeting? (*Publisher: We do have a subscriber there named Jegel or Jergel.) Greetings to all readers.
Max Erker,
Son of Philipp