From: Krasna, Bessarabia
10 December 1919
Worthy Staats-Anzeiger!
First and foremost I would like to report something about our situation. With the start of the revolution, we in Bessarabia found ourselves in dire need and had no choice but to turn to Rumania for help, since it has the most original ties with Bessarabia. In response to the plea from Bessarabia, Rumanian troops appeared. We are greatly indebted to them and give our most sincere thanks for protecting us from the Bolshevist hordes and their rage of destruction. Orderly conditions are slowly reappearing. Since nowadays, we in Bessarabia are sitting here like in a sealed bag. We are complaining about not getting any news from the rest of the world, because nothing leaves nor gets in. Before the war we received letters and newspapers from all over, and we knew what all was going on in the world. Now we do not receive either letters or newspapers and have no connection to the rest of the world.
On 6 December, the old bailiff came by and handed me a letter and Edition #30 of the Staats-Anzeiger. I was very happy about receiving a sign of life from over there again. I immediately read the big paper with the utmost attention. I was a little disappointed, however, when I did not find anything from any relative or friend in Canada or North Dakota. I have a sister Theresa with her children and many friends in Maple Creek, Canada. But we do not hear a word from there. (*Editor: Because of the war, the Staats-Anzeiger could also not be sent to Canada at that time, and until the beginning of 1920, all German newspapers were prohibited. Since the beginning of the year the Staats-Anzeiger is being sent there again on a regular basis. Anyhow, you should soon hear from relatives and friends.) …………unreadable text…….. ……still some money in the pocket. (*Editor: Dear friend Gedak, one only sees the high prices but does not think about how much the value of the Russian Ruble has dropped. In comparison to the prior ruble under the czar, the value of the current ruble in reality is worth only 2 to 3 kopecks (Note – 100 Kopecks = 1 Ruble). In relation to our dollar, that amounts to not more than one and one half cents. Now, if we want to figure this thing on this basis then we have the proof that we in this richly blessed country pay a lot higher prices than you are paying, dear friends in Russia. As an example lets take the price for a pair of high-top shoes, which here today are costing us $10. If we convert this price into rubles then it will amount to 1500 rubles. As another example, let’s take a pound of pork, which we buy for 40 cents at the butcher shop. Let’s convert this into rubles, which means that we here pay the equivalence of 30 rubles per pound. In the end this situation appears very risky, but it isn’t so, if you shed light on it. The only evil with you over there is that the wages and income do not keep up with the increase of cost for goods. Here in contrast, one drives the other.)
The crops differ, especially the wheat. Some farmers had a very good wheat crop, while others had only average results. Barley, Welsh corn and wine turned out very well. However, potatoes were weak. The price for wheat is 30 to 35 rubles per pud (1 pud = 36.11 pounds), barley 10 to 12 rubles, oats 16 rubles, and a bucket of wine (1 bucket = 10 quarts) costs 50 to 55 rubles. Over in Odessa and other places in Russia the prices are much higher. You can easily imagine that with these prices not many things can be purchased.
Nobody even thinks of laughing about someone wearing boots or clothes with patches. Almost everyone nowadays walks around with patched up clothing and shoes. But not clothing alone is a rare commodity. The precious salt is running short and soon no longer will be obtainable with money. May the Dear Lord have pity on us and grant us the peace of the world again, so that once again mutual interests can be reestablished, lest we shall perish. Worst of all, you cannot get what you need, regardless of how much money you are willing to pay.
The weather is still nice. It was 6 to 8 degrees Reaumur (10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit). On 5 and 6 November, we had a little frost. Since then it rained almost every day. The winter wheat has grown well, but we have had enough of the mud. Almost all of the straw of Welsh corn is still in the field. Many farmers weren’t even able to bring home Welsh corn because of so much rain.
Now I would like to inform my friends in writing about the names of those killed in action in the war against Austria and Turkey from 1914 to 1917: Mat [Mathew] Koch, son of Jakob; Gottlieb Ternes, son of Peter; Joseph Braun, son of Ludwig; Joseph Hartmann, son of Johannes; Melchior Weber, son of Martin; Eugenius Dirk, son of Peter; Klemens Schlück, son of Joseph; Alexander Nagel, son of Michael; Edmund Ruscheinsky, son of Peter; Rafael Volk, son of Peter; Peter Rühl, son of Christian; Georg Ternes, son of Jakob; Ludwig Lachenmeier, son of Johannes; Theobald Rückert, son of Ludwig; Romanus Ternes, son of Rochus; Theobald Menges, son of Anton; Franz Trefs, son of Johannes; Franz Harsche, son of Peter; Albert Bruschinsky, son of Gabriel; Joseph Leinz, son of Kasimir; Zachäus Ihli, son of Anton; Lazarus Ihli, son of Anton; Zachäus Plotzki, son of David; Georg Dressler, son of Christian; …….illegible text……Joseph Nagel, son of Christoph; Hieronymus Wingenbach, son of Thomas; Peter Both, son of …illegible text…, Romanus Erker, son of Michael.
Many will read this list in deep sorrow, should they recognize a next of kin among the names of the fallen soldiers. ………illegible text…….. (*Editor: You have to find out at a bank about the daily monetary values. Then submit the required amount of rubles (Russian currency) or leis (Rumanian currency) to equal $3.50 including processing cost. Unfortunately, we cannot send any prizes to Russia.)
With deep respect,
Anton Gedak
From: Larga, Bessarabia
1 January 1920
Esteemed Staats-Anzeiger!
In today’s mail I received Editions #31 and 33 through 37. I had notified the Staats-Anzeiger several days ago about the news that mail service had been reestablished between Bessarabia and America. I also requested that the paper be sent to me again. Now the paper is coming again and I will do my best for it. While reading the paper, I noticed that the correspondents in the New World were a little lazy. (*Editor: Today that is no longer the case, because we have so many reports on hand that we can hardly keep up with them.) There will not be a problem on our side. The Staats-Anzeiger is the newspaper that is best suited for the farmer.
If the correspondent “A Farmer” wasn’t killed during the war, then hopefully he will report again often in the paper. (*Editor: He has already written a report.) Although he doesn’t master the pen as well as the sickle or a rake, his reports are interesting.
The dear relatives surely want to find out about all that has happened during the recent years in the old homeland. This they will find out as time goes by. A lot of it will be shocking. Reports arrive from the Cherson region that are unbelievable about how the Bolshevists treated the German colonists. If the borders weren’t closed then we would be able to report a lot more. But the borders are closely guarded and one cannot verify the truth of these reports. We still have to wait. It is said that in Selz hundreds of men were lined up and shot with their relatives watching. A large number of crosses supposedly mark the place today where these gruesome acts had taken place. Many people supposedly had fled and had hidden in the reeds in the Kutschurgan region for 3 days until the danger had passed.
Now I greet my children Ignatz and Amalia Gross, Eduard and Eugenia Richter, the readers and the editorship.
Romuald Dirk
From: Emmental, Bessarabia
2 January 1920
Worthy Staats-Anzeiger!
It has been a long time during which I have not received the Staats-Anzeiger. But now I have found out that mail service supposedly has resumed between Bessarabia and America. After I had found out about this I wanted to write immediately, but then I delayed it until after the Christmas holidays.
However, yesterday evening I happened to enter our village administration building and there I found six editions of the Staats-Anzeiger, namely #31 and 33 through 37. I reached for the newspaper and looked through it with great interest, just as if I had seen my mother’s home for the first time. Today I will send these editions to Larga so that Mr. Romuald Dirk may also read them.
Should my brothers Joseph and Adolf Kopp still be alive in Fox Valley, Canada, then I would like to ask them to please send me the Staats-Anzeiger again. Should they still be readers of this paper, they soon will see this. The Americans surely want to learn about pieces of news from the old homeland too. This time I can’t write much.
During the past years, we experienced so much that one does not know where to begin with writing. About 3 months ago, I wrote to my brother Joseph but I have not yet received an answer. He should have used the address of Mr.August Brauer in old Rumania, who then would have brought me the letter. In the meantime, Mr. Brauer has died. Since I do not know anything further about him, as to whether he received a letter for me prior to his death, it probably was lost. Should my brother read this, then he should write to me at once. I also hope that he will send me the newspaper again.
From the received editions, it is noticeable that the prices in America are still the same as they were before the war. That seems like a miracle to us. (*Editor: No, dear friend, the prices here are also different from what they were before the war. Before the war you could get by on $15 per week, today you need $50 or more. Along with this, the value of the dollar has not declined like the Russian Ruble.) Here everything is a hundred times, sometimes even two hundred times more expensive than before the war. Everybody has money here. Even the poorest have two to three thousand rubles in their pockets. But what can be accomplished with it when a pair of trousers costs 200 rubles?
Rochus Gross, the son of Joseph died on 16 December. He left behind a young wife and 6 children. The oldest is 12 years old and the youngest is 6 months old. He was only 33 years old. His estate was auctioned off which brought in 26,000 rubles. The widow received half of it. Although he had only a small farm, this amount came together nonetheless. The grieving wife sends a greeting to her brother Rudolf Kopp.
I send a greeting to my mother and my brothers in Fox Valley, Canada.
I Remain,
Zachäus Kopp
From: Larga, Bessarabia
2 January 1920
Worthy Staats-Anzeiger!
Today is the second day of the year, and I would like to tell the readers that we celebrated the New Year properly. We drank the red grape juice as a toast to the well being of the readers, our relatives and friends in the New World. We had to crack many a nut in the course of 5 years of war, but I thank God I am back to normal. In the second year of the war I felt horrible, but I did not get scared. I will write about this later on.
The dear readers probably want to know about the weather here in Bessarabia. Up to now, with the exception of a few days, it was mild. We had frost and snow in late fall, but not enough to even think about the sleigh. We are pretty much satisfied with the winter, but the cost of living strikes more and more at our heart and wallet.
If nowadays you don’t have a knapsack filled with 500 ruble bills to take along, then you are better off to stay away from the city or the marketplace. It is a misery and distress for poor people, but life must go on. One poses the question involuntarily, when will the conditions again return to the way they used to be? But since the beloved Staats-Anzeiger appears here again, the grieving hearts are somewhat consoled.
Today, I don’t have the time to report about specific news items, because the road is muddy and I have to ride 15 werst (10 miles) to the post office in Kainari to mail the letter. But I still want to write a few lines since the readers over there have an interest in everything that has occurred here.
During the past 5 years, huge changes have taken place. The following people have died. Anton Baumann, Jakob Volk and Amalia Nagel nee Sale, wife of Johannes Nagel. The mother of Johannes Nagel also entered into eternity. Nine years ago Joseph Volk, originally from Mannheim, died in Larga. He had seven brothers in America - Peter, Mathias, Jakob, Michael, Paulus, Anton and Clemens. He also had two sisters - Rosina and Apollonia. If any of them are still alive, then the children of the deceased Joseph Volk request that they report something in the Staats-Anzeiger. The children are Vinzens, Johannes and Mathias Volk, residing in Larga. The address is: Rumania, Bessarabia, County Bendery, Post Office Kainari, Village Larga.
We get to the post office often since Kainari is situated close to our parish village of Emmental. Two months ago we founded our own parish in Emmental, and Father Johannes Fuchs is the pastor.
There is so much to report, but some of it has to wait until the next time. Also, one’s head after the New Year’s celebration is not quite the way it should be. This time the New Year fireworks were simulated clanging old pots, since all firearms were taken away from the Germans during the war.
In closing, I greet all my relatives and friends in America and belatedly I wish them lots of luck in the New Year.
Romuald Dirk