From: Emmental, Bessarabia
16 November 1921
Worthy Staats-Anzeiger!
Even though I have become a little lazy in writing, I still have to report something to my friends and acquaintances from here.
On the 9th of this month, the long awaited rain finally started. It is still raining today and people are happily driving to the field to take care of things. Since the days are already shorter they can’t get much done in one day. On top of that, it’s still raining, which makes it hard to seed. The saying is that after a job is done you can rest, but here it is the other way around. Here you have to finally work again after a long idleness, because you can no longer put off the seeding. It is already late in the year and winter could be here any day. Because of the long drought, people couldn’t sow.
Last week my brother-in-law Joseph Reis, his wife Genofeva and their 4 children came from Selz, South Russia to visit with us. Franz Schwengler and family came along with the Reis family. I can’t report everything they told us from there. It would take up too much time and paper. But they reported more bad things than good things. I don’t want to say anything further. Russia is not going to get any better or worse if I talk about it.
I had to take a break because the mailman came in the meantime and brought the mail. We now have a post office branch in each community and I took over the one in Emmental. When I looked through the letters, I also found one for me from the Staats-Anzeiger. I was happy to read the letter and to find out that the misunderstanding I wrote about a while ago has been cleared up.
The readers are certainly interested in hearing that the two brothers Mathias and Peter Seifert who lived here have departed for their brother Rochus in Colonsay. I wish them a happy journey and hope that they will soon arrive in the New World.
Joseph Miller and Elias Maas have already sold their land and hope to receive their passports in the next few days. Then they will auction off the house and farming equipment. They hope to leave here at the beginning of December. If that is not possible, they are planning to postpone the trip until March of next year. A lot of people are still waiting for free tickets, but their good American friends aren’t able to keep their promises due to the failed harvests.
This week Thomas Kopp received a letter from his brother Daniel from Argentina. The letter is dated 1 February 1921 and it just now arrived here. Presumably, because the address was written in Russian, the letter was delayed. We now belong to Rumania, so it is not worth it and there is no reason to write in Russian. Of course, the brother is going to answer right away. Hopefully, the answer will arrive at the destination a little faster.
Adam Seifert, son of Anton was married to Pelogia Tirk, daughter of David. Also Reimund Arnold and Monika Wagner, nee Krenzel from Krasna were married. Next week Jakob Kopp, son of Thomas Kopp and Ottilia Nagel, daughter of Mathias Nagel are planning to get married. After New Year, Jakob has to go into the military. He might be sorry for marrying so young, but a done deed is hard to change.
Recently, I visited Krasna and there I found that some people are going crazy with compassion for the poor people and are asking why aren’t France and America helping these unfortunate people in Russia? But they are not even giving an old raincoat to their dearest friend so that he can go to the neighboring village, even though he stands naked in front of them, having returned 2 days before from Russia. Their passionate hearts go all the way to France, but it passes their generosity. Such rich people are equal to the rich living the high life.
I don’t want to go on judging them. Someone else is going to do that on judgment day. He is also going to judge this pretense of compassion.
In closing, I am greeting Mr. P.[Peter] Thauberger. I am letting him know that his brother is still alive and healthy. I am also greeting my old mother and my brother Joseph.
Respectfully,
Zachaeus Kopp