Source: Dakota Rundschau, 17 October 1930 · 📰

From: Krasna, Bessarabia
16 September 1930

Dear Editor Brendel:

Again we are having plenty of dust and no rain. The corn harvest is not exactly great. We can be content with the harvest and the rest of our lot here, but grain prices are still rock bottom. Barley fetches 21 Lei, rapeseed 45 Lei, and wheat 60 Lei/Pud. Everything the farmer needs to buy is very high. One Arschin of fabric to sew shirts runs 30-32 Lei. Most businesses except the mercantile are at a standstill.

The widow of Lorenz Riehl is well again, but the old widow of the late Joseph Haag is severely ill now.

A community meeting resulted in the decision to renovate the church. Each farm has to contribute 22 Pud of barley. Gustav Daarnaske from Tarutino took the mortgage for 12,000 Lei. It was also decided to buy a new church bell.

The refugee, Eugenius Bertsch, stayed with me for four days before he was called to Kischinev. Our retired secretary, Albert Jassman, took him there. I will report the result of this matter later. Schmalz is supposed to have two sisters in America, but their addresses are unknown. The pastor of Krasna has received money from America for Schmalz, as rumor has it.

The butcher of Krasna, Elek Rudelmann, who bought many sheep from people on credit, ran off. All his creditors went to this Jew’s house and carried off what they could salvage for their money, wares or whatever to cover a fraction of their losses. Whenever a new Jew comes into the village, he acts as if he has all the virtues in the world, but the minute he has gotten enough in credit, out comes the wolf in sheep’s clothing. However often the people here were swindled by such folks, they tend to forget and trust again!

Greetings to the editor and the readers here and there.

Joseph Braun