From: Krasna, Bessarabia
14 March 1931
Dear Staats Anzeiger!
An error slipped into my report, which was published in the 20 January edition of the esteemed newspaper. It was not supposed to read that we have compulsory auctions every day. So far none of these have occurred here. As one hears, our government is supposed to have succeeded in obtaining a foreign loan in Holland, which should alleviate the big money shortage in our country.
A man came to me yesterday and told me that the correspondent Joseph Braun received a letter from the editor of the Rundschau offering Joseph 5,000 Lei annually for his services as correspondent. I doubt that this editor intends to, nor is able to, pay Joseph for his lies, which he serves up to the Americans. This paper is only sparsely read, so its few readers will have to digest Mr. Braun’s lies. My friends and acquaintances in America and Brazil read only the Staats Anzeiger. They can believe without reservation what I tell them in this newspaper, because I do not write for money.
Krasna is known as a large community with over 2,000 inhabitants. Within it prevailed the best harmony years ago. Since the economic crisis reached the highest point, peace in the village no longer exists. Poverty is known to be a reason to quarrel.
The following case will explain it. At year’s end we had an election for a sexton. A sexton, besides his duties in church, is obliged to teach religion in the mother language in school. Two people from Krasna applied for this position, namely the former sexton, Edmund Gansky, and the young Michael Ziebart, who was a German teacher and an organist in Siebenbürgen.
Mr. Gansky only finished grade school, while Mr. Ziebart graduated with six credits from a university. Despite the inferior education Mr. Gansky landed the position as sexton, because he asked for a low wage, and the community wants to save because of the bad times. The church elders bear a lot of blame for Mr.Gansky’s victory. One of them maintained that the educated one could not play the organ, and that he should rather keep watch over hogs and calves instead of taking care of the sexton’s office. These men talk like that about a man who sacrificed his entire youth for the German minority, and speaks, reads and writes real German. That’s how one goes against the other among us, even if they do the most damage to themselves.
The organ stands untouched in our church, because the elected sexton does not know how to play it. Our children have to suffer because of the incompetence of the teacher, because our government officials do not understand our stupidity. When the school auditor found out that an uneducated teacher was employed at our school, he pointed out that this could do harm to the children. Because of this, our children are now without a religion teacher. I know an old proverb: Whoever for others digs a pit, will end up in it himself. But this proverb does not apply to us, because we are all in the pit, and no politician can pull us out of it.
You will now ask why we keep such haughty church elders. Their time in office has long expired. But tradition has it with us that once some one is in office, then you cannot get him out. Maybe now they are embarrassed and leave on their own.
This winter was very harsh: It brought us extreme cold and a lot of snow and rain. We now have sufficient moisture in the ground, and we expect a good harvest. Spring has arrived and in the upcoming days it will most likely be off to the field.
I am informing Gabriel Volk and his wife in Canada that their son Maximilian, whom they left behind because of military duty, has now been discharged by reason that he no longer has parents here. Maybe they are in a position to have their son come to Canada. It is hard for him to be without parents.
Further, I am saying hello to Anton A. Söhn and family in Canada and inform them that I received their letter on 20 February. Many thanks dear friend!
To my Uncle Rochus Ternes and family near Raleigh, N.D., I received the news that his brother-in-law Ignatz and sister Appolonia Becker, my parents, are still alive and in good health. They send you a kind hello and ask that you let yourself be heard from by letter.
In closing, I greet the entire reader circle and also the dear editorship.
Severin Becker
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From: Balmas, Bessarabia
15 March 1931
Dear Staats Anzeiger!
In the night of 3 March, a gale like wind with drifting snow began. It continued the next day without letting up on intensity. The storm tore the roofs off several houses and toppled straw stacks. Supposedly, the gale unroofed over 100 homes in the town Galatz (Galati on the Danube). Two human lives were lost in the storm. The roads are almost impassible because of the piled up snow caused by the violent blizzard. Whoever wants to get to another village has to go on horseback.
The Commune Skroawa is now part of our community. Because of that, new elections had to be held. A mayor and a three-man council were elected in Skroawa and also in Balmas. These eight men had to elect a mayor from among themselves. Peter Ziegler was chosen. Lorenz Meier became his elected assistant.
Spring is knocking at the door, and we do not have a hectar (2.5 acres) of land to seed, nor do we have money to lease any. Conditions concerning Balmas are very sad; the people are all indebted.
Franziska Dirk, the widow of the deceased Romuald Dirk, asked me to please extend a hello to her children Amalia Gross and Eugenia Richter near Raleigh, N.D. Also, to ask them to please be so kind and send their mother some money for a pair of shoes, because the poor woman has to go barefoot. She would be very grateful to her children for this help. Then they also would have obeyed the Lord’s fourth commandment, which states, “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, so that you live long on this earth.” (Editor: Hopefully the children took care of their mother.)
In closing, I greet all readers of the Staats Anzeiger, the worthy editorship and my brother Rochus and his family in Canada!
Sebastian Becker