From: Krasna, Bessarabia
6 October 1928
Dear Staats-Anzeiger!
I would like to report about a theft of chaff, that occurred at Erasmus Schreiber’s place. Mr. Schreiber’s son had noticed that chaff was being stolen. He informed his father about it and also told him that he already knew the thief. Mr. Schreiber however did not want to know anything more about it and told his son to remain quiet. The son assured his father that he soon would catch the thief.
I want to inform my old neighbor Joachim Koch in Shields, North Dakota that I have read his report in the Staats-Anzeiger. I was very happy, Joachim, to have heard from you again. You write that you enjoy reading my reports over there.
This is to inform Mr. C. J. Haag that his old mother and his siblings are all alive and healthy.
With a greeting,
Anton Gedak
From: Konstanza, Dobrudscha, Rumania
8 October 1928
Dear Staats-Anzeiger!
While I was in Cogealia protecting my vineyard from thieves like people, dogs, ravens and starlings, I met a colleague from Karamurat, namely Georg Gunst, who was employed as a guard. We talked about a lot of things.
One day I told him that Jakob Merklinger had asked me in the Staats-Anzeiger to report something from Karamurat. Mr. Gunst told me that Mr. Merklinger is an old comrade of his and he was going to tell me the latest from Karamurat and for me to report in the Staats-Anzeiger.
Three of your comrades are still alive, namely Georg Gunst, Mathias Drescher and Mathias Marta. Marianne Mueller, nee Ternes died in Karamurat. She reached the great age of 80 years. The husband of the deceased, Karl Mueller, who died two years ago had once lived in Argentina but returned to the Dobrudscha. Of their children the following live in America; Katharina, Mathias Mueller; Marianne, Anton Gedak; Kartulla, Thomas Gedak; Johannes Mueller; Angela, Reinh.[Reinhold] Goetz; Math.[Mathias]Mueller; Clestina, Hyronimus Schnell and Rosina, Ludwig Mueller. Ida, Johannes Ternes; Benigne, Josef Ternes; Zachaeus Mueller and Appollonia, and Jakob Bachmeier are still living in Karamurat.
This past winter there were many items stolen in Karamurat, and since it happened at the Germans’ and no one was caught, the Rumanians were gloating and saying; “One always says that the Rumanians are thieves, but now one can see who the thieves are.”
From Anton Gedak, they stole the halters of 4 horses; from Willibald Soehn - a 30 kg can of lard, 3 halters and 4 geese; from Mathias Martha - harnesses; from Magnus Soehn - 2 butchered pigs out of a barrel; from the widow Faustina Heidrich - a sack of flour, for which she had worked hard all day; from Amalia and Blasius Mueller - all their chickens; from Rochus Ternes - a small barrel of liquor out of his cellar; from Josef A. Ternes - several harnesses and finally from Blanginus Fenrich - a breast-piece and a halter.
You can see that the thieves don’t scorn anything. They can use all of it. We believe that the thieves were from the neighborhood that had buyers in another village. Besides these thefts, the crooks had a habit of waiting in the nearby forest for passing loaded wagons. They would then pull a full sack of grain off the wagon in the dark of night. They did this only once in a while so that the police were never able to catch the evildoers.
Michael Reinhardt from Bessarabia married Pauline Krueger, daughter of Michael Krueger. Samuel Jasmann, son of Ferdinand Jasmann married Wilhelmine Unrath, daughter of Jakob Unrath.
Emilie Kraus, wife of Jakob Kraus died in Fachria at the age of 30 years. The deceased was a daughter of Gottlieb Rauser.
Friedrich Ulbricht from Cincurova found a partner for life in Cogealac, namely Lydia Schon, daughter of Mathias Schon.
In Cogealac, Daniel Isaak, youngest son of the deceased Daniel Isaak had bone cancer in his right arm. In Schaessburg, Siebenbuergen his arm was amputated up to the elbow. The doctor operating on him could not explain the strange illness, since the bone in his arm started getting larger and split apart. After the surgery he started having stomach problems and started coughing. His recovery is doubtful. The following couples were married here.
The widower Wilhelm Gutknecht, son of Christof Gutknecht married Martha Scholpp, daughter of Emanuel Scholpp. Wilhelm Kraus from Tariwerde married Lydia Gutknecht, daughter of Christof Gutknecht.
The following incident happened 27 years ago in Mamuslia. Karl Baier, a middle-aged man, left his wife and eloped with Gottlieb Kraus’s wife to Bulgaria. Gottlieb Kraus was already an older man and so it was an easy job for Mr. Baier. A short while ago the second wife of Mr. Baier died from a hemorrhage. Since now he was lonely, he returned to his first wife. “Fidelity is no empty delusion,” one could say in this case, but there is a reason that the woman and the children took the faithless husband and father back. Mr. Baier used to be and is still today the owner of the farm and the 25 hectares of land, which he had left to his family during his absence.
With a greeting,
Johann Straub