From: Emmental, Bessarabia
21 September 1921
Valued Staats-Anzeiger!
Once again I will write a few lines to the worthy newspaper. The health conditions are still poor. Most people suffer from the illness about which Mr. Gedak had written. Many little children have died from it, but adults are also being called upon. That is how Mrs. Mathilda Blotzky died on the 17th of this month. Her husband had preceded her in death two years ago. She was 43 years old and left 8 children, two of them are already married. This fall the third oldest will have to serve in the military. This serves to inform their friends Romanus and Joseph Blotzky, Jakob Miller and Lorenz Maas.
Furthermore, the old man Johannes Gross died on the same day at the age of 85 years. Besides his wife he left a total of 69 children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a true German progenitor.
Stefan Rueckert is also down with a severe ailment. One doubts that he will ever be up and around again. He used to be the strongest man in the village, but death is stronger yet.
Otherwise everything is still the same. We have harvested grapes and Welsh corn already. Now would be the time for winter seeding. But this is not possible because it has not rained yet, and the seed cannot be put into the ground.
Recently, I read a story written by Johannes Judt. He reports from Russia that thousands of people there are dying of starvation. Two weeks ago a man from the Cherson region had visited here. He was from the village Selz. Since my brother-in-law Joseph Reiss, son of Franz also resides in Selz, I inquired about him. He was saying that at the time of his departure the brother-in-law was in the field with his family looking for food. To satisfy the hunger they were eating mice, lizards and whatever else they could find; presumably because they had already eaten their grain.
Here among us resides another Zachaeus Kopp, son of Simon. The same is looking for his brother Wendelin who is supposed to live in North Dakota. He does not have his address and would be happy if his brother Wendelin would write to him.
Edmund Hittel departed from here 3 days ago on a trip to Leader, Sask., Canada to visit his grandfather. I wish him good luck on his journey. I am hoping that he also will find my old mother and brothers in good health over there. I have given him a small present to take along for them.
I have not heard anything for a long time from my friend Peter Thauberger. On 11 June I received a letter from my Uncle Johannes Kopp from Richardton, North Dakota, which I answered immediately.
We Bessarabian Catholics no longer belong to the diocese of Tiraspol but to Jasse instead. Our former bishop J. A. Kessler doesn’t know what to do because he cannot get to his diocese. He is staying here right now and is considering going to Berlin. We are sorry he is not doing better in his old age. Just like the Lord who also did not have a place to rest his head. But hopefully God will repay him in heaven for his poverty on earth.
With a friendly greeting,
Zachaeus Kopp