From:Haynes, Adams County, ND
25 January 1912
Dear Staats-Anzeiger:
Time to send in some news here, even if my name is not yet on the reader list. I see the paper once a week at my brother-in-law's where we share it after waiting for it impatiently. The paper grows on you. We wouldn't know what to do without it. It covers the entire globe and there is news of relatives and friends, and the circumstances they are in, good or bad. All my friends know now that I am a reader too, and so I am ordering a copy for myself as well. So please accept my request for a subscription. (*Publisher: Yes, at once.)
Greetings to Lorenz Mack and Daniel Hittel in Canada, whose address I would love to have, as well as the address of my cousin Christian Braun in Morton County, North Dakota. I have written several letters, but they keep coming back so my address must be wrong.
Greetings to all friends in Emmons County, cousin Michael and niece Braun and family, Faustinus Braun, Johannes Braun, Johannes Engel, Kasper Bachmeier and all their families. I have a few friends and I do write ten to twelve letters a year, but receive only one or two in return. Romuald Dirk and comrade Zachäus Kopp are correspondents; they could talk more about new marriages, deaths, etc., and such important stuff. I read of horses being stolen and sometimes not whose horses, that would be of interest, as well.
Greetings also to cousin Valentin and cousin Elisabeth and all the Herrschaft children back in the old country. I would like to read some postings from cousin Valentin.
We have better rabbit hunting here. Thomas Jhli [Ihli], son of Jakob, and I went hunting recently and got 5 rabbits the first day, and 16 of them on the second day. There is plenty of rabbit meat for the taking, only some people don't like it.
Your brother-in-law and Peter Schäfer, and Mrs. Karl Schäfer were with me at the “Maistub” recently. They stayed until the rabbit was cooked, but declined to even taste the meat. They shoot rabbits too, but for dog food. People are all different.
From December 23 to January 20, the weather was quite cold. I don't know which day was the coldest, but the last three days it has been nice. We almost lost some livestock in this cold, since there is not much fodder out there. It will only get worse before spring. I dread the seeding, as I didn't even plow. A few others and I are in the same boat. We will have a rough time until spring.
Greetings to all the readers of the paper, in the New and the Old World.
Philipp Seifert.
From: Fox Valley, Saskatchewan
Parish Krasna
39 (sic) January 1912
Since I have the time and opportunity I would like to let you hear from here. I have read the Staats-Anzeiger for nearly two years now and have not reported very much for the paper, but I will try to write more often in the future. My brother Zachäus Kopp in Zukunft asked about me and thinks that my ink ran dry or if I am too lazy to write, but that is not the case.
Right now we have beautiful weather. The wind has been blowing for some days very soft and tender. If it stays like this the snow will be gone very soon. Last night we even had some rain. Today the sun is shining down from the sky bright and clear and pleases the whole world with the rays.
Many of our people are now busy with gathering firewood, which can be found in abundance in the forest about 12 miles from here. During those journeys some rabbits or prairie chickens will be killed for a meal. For us farmers it is a great blessing to have the forest, otherwise we would have to buy the fuel material, and it is to be assumed that some families would have to suffer badly because of the cold. This year has been a very long and grim winter, snow for three months and sometimes 58 degrees below zero.
Right now we are living very far from the railroad, 45 miles to Maple Creek, our next railroad station. It is certainly difficult to take the grain so far to the market, but now we are hoping that by the end of the year a railroad station will be closer to us. One railway has already been built 35 miles from Swift Current. This railroad will run to Happyland. This new line will have a new station, which is only 25 miles from here.
The railway company has already bought the rights-of-way for the route.
During the last two years this area has become quite densely settled; previously only a few people lived here. We already have a good prayer house in our midst but do not have a pastor, who we need very much and hope we will get one soon.
Our neighbor Melchior Gedak bought three horses and will start farming. Mr. Gedak is quite well off but he lacks a wife, who he will need for a successful farm. Melchior thinks he has so much already and will find a wife after some time. Well, let’s hope the best because bachelor farming is a difficult matter. No offense meant, neighbor!
(*Editor: We don’t take on puzzles anymore because they annoy many readers. The business matters in your letter are closed and we hope everything is clear now. Further messages in a letter.)
Finally I want to greet all my friends and acquaintances in the old and new worlds, especially my brother Zachäus Kopp and his family. I received their letter of 18 December 1911.
Regards to the editing staff and the Staats-Anzeiger circle of readers.
Sincerely,
Jos. M. Kopp