From: Krasna, Bessarabia
29 May 1912
In Issue #44, I read the article by Michael Volk. He wrote that a malicious individual with a fake signature had written several things about Michael Volk, which are not true. Dear Michael, I thank you for your greeting you sent me in Edition #41.
Dear Michael, I noticed in your article that you were outraged over the guy who wrote about you and if you knew who he was, you would tear him to pieces. But I tell you this, Michael, don’t be infuriated by that kind. With their writing they don’t hurt anyone but themselves. You are not the first one about whom lies were written. As I see it, only people from Krasna could originate such. Among the people in Krasna, and you know this for a long time, there are plenty of evil ones. Don’t be upset about it, but look at it this way, a rusty pot does not rub off white. If one ignores such individuals and let them write until they realize that instead of hurting their fellowman they dirtied their own pants. Then they will quit on their own.
Look, Michael, at how last year two of them tried very hard in the Staats-Anzeiger to turn Michael Gross and (Romel) Romuald Dirk against each other, and what did it achieve? So much so, that the two are now better friends than before.
This Michael Gross, I don’t know the details, has rented a tract of land the size of 5,000 acres (two thousand desjatine, Russian land measurement), and Romuald Dirk is the manager of it. What do you have to say about that? Look, the two who wanted to stir up trouble, now have to suffer shame when facing an ordinary man. It will always be on their minds that others know that they are two scoundrels. But I say this much, Michael, the editorship should recognize an article that contains something untrue about people and that its writer is a scoundrel. Along with it the paper should state, “‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, and keep your article for yourself as a reminder.” (*Editor: Well, dear ‘A Farmer’ that is not as easy and simple as you might think.)
Now, I just do not have the time, otherwise I would write you how one can detect such a scoundrel and then mark him with the branding iron of truth.
A greeting to the editorship, to all readers, and to my buddy Niklas [Nikolaus] Kahl. I will write him soon.
A Farmer
From: Markarofka, Bessarabia
3 June 1912
The grain on my Oekonomie shows itself splendidly. The winter wheat (banatka) stands 3 feet tall. The barley (white) is only 19 inches tall but is growing densely and evenly. The barley (bogeimka) is a special kind. The condition of the linseed is mediocre. The Welsh corn doesn’t want to thrive this year due to the long lasting cold weather. Today a plentiful rain poured onto my Oekonomie which I have been longing to see for a long time, but it was so cold that families with small children had to heat the stove. We don’t have frost though. Peas are promising a good harvest this year. About the yield of the fruit I cannot report anything as yet, but today I asked my gardener to get the information on how much each species will yield. Currants and raspberries are in multitude. Jasmine and juniper are looking good. There are few roses and few blackberries.
Right now I am not keeping a list of the articles I have sent to the Staats-Anzeiger, and because of that I don’t know if the wastepaper basket swallowed some. I believe I noticed that some of them have gotten lost. I will have to start a journal listing the articles so that I know how many are getting lost. I will have to rewrite those articles and then maybe send them to “West Canada”, whose wastepaper basket perhaps is not as hungry. (*Editor: The honorable contributor may do as he pleases. Up until now all of his remitted reports have been published in the paper when they were appropriate. Because of that his complaints are totally unfounded. As usual we still reserve the right to accept or reject articles based on our judgment. We will not deviate from this rule under any circumstances.)
I am heartily greeting my old colleague Anton Jochim as well as Mr. Jakob Sommerfeld. I am asking my children in Morton County, North Dakota to make me happy with a letter to my new home here.
Respectfully,
Romuald Dirk
From: Raleigh, Morton County, ND
2 July 1912
Hello to all printer personnel, hello to all readers!
Usually, we always get rain here at the right time, though not always in sufficient amounts. Nonetheless, the wheat stands satisfyingly. If we can reap the harvest undamaged the way it is now, then it will not be bad at all.
The construction of the church is nearing the end. Today we were lucky to have Father Gallus from Mott in our midst. He will visit us again on the 27th of the month, and thereafter twice a month. After we used the old school house to hold mass for four years, we hope to have services in our church the next time. Our church measures 28 by 60 feet and costs $2,100 all together and is built out of wood.
If E.Bauer has written in the meantime, then I am sorry to have asked again for him to write more.
Recently, a man sold a cow for $75.00 to a native Russian in town. Since the cow was still at home, the buyer paid only $10.00 cash. On the same day, he went to pick up the cow and pay the balance. The owner was not at home as yet when the buyer arrived, so the farm hand took over the deal. The cow seemed to be as it was described to the buyer. Since it was nighttime, the buyer and the cow had to stay over. In the meantime, two men arrived with a wagon and had some fresh water. One of the men convinced the buyer that instead of the cow, he should ask for the $10.00 back, and so ended up with nothing in the end. This is not the first blow this man delivered onto poor people. How this will end up, remains to be seen. If any reader of this paper in Krasna wants to find out who this man is, he may contact me in writing. This same man has also cheated me.
Hello to the readers, editor and staff.
Nikolaus Kahl
From: Haynes, Adams County, ND
8 July 1912
The weather is favorable here and if the dear Lord spares us from hail and any other stormy weather, we will have a good harvest. Corn and potatoes have grown splendidly.
Anton Fleckenstein has died.
Furthermore, an unfortunate accident occurred to Jakob Bled. He was hauling clay. His two children, 3 and 5 years old, were sitting on a heap of clay as the wagon arrived and the horses wanted water. Right then, the three-year old picked up a small clump of clay to throw at the horse, but came too close. The animal kicked the child in the head. The child’s skull was crushed so that the brain was visible. The panic-stricken man immediately took the child to the doctor in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but the child died eight days later. The poor man paid $250 for nothing.
A fight broke out in Dominik Klein’s store in Burt last week. Two men hurt Klein so badly that he remained unconscious for four hours. (*Editor: Already reported in Edition #49.) The attackers have not as yet appeared in court. I will write about that later.
Recently, when Sebastian Roll and his neighbor drove home in a wagon, a boy on a bicycle met them head-on. The boy demanded that Mr.Roll get out of his way. When Roll did not comply, the boy pulled out a revolver. If the neighbor had not have been along, then possibly there could have been dead people. The neighbor took the reins out of Roll’s hands and continued on driving. The following day Roll drove into town to have the boy arrested, but no one from law enforcement was home.
In the spring my uncle, Michael Braun, started a trip to visit South Russia. The advocate here told him that he would need a passport. But Michael was of the opinion that the advocate just wanted his money, and therefore departed without a passport. After he visited his friends in Germany, he continued on. When he arrived at the Russian border, he ran into difficulties. They asked for his passport. He is supposed to return very soon now.
Mr. Selzler lost two cows and a calf due to lightning recently.
Greetings to Uncle Valentin, Aunt Elizabetha Herrschaft and children in South Russia. Greetings also to Uncle Christian Braun and to Mr. Zachäus Kopp in Emmental, whom I ask to write more often.
Phillip Seifert
Son of Martin Seifert