From: Emmental, Bessarabia
26 August 1931
Dear Staats-Anzeiger!
After a long silence, I want to once again write in the paper so that our people from Emmental, who live in the praised America, don’t think that we are no longer alive. No, that is not the case. Everyone is quite lively.
Right now we are busy with the building of the church. If it continues like this, we hope to be done with the brickwork and also the tower in two weeks. In one word, our church should be done late in the year. Once done our church will be the largest in Bessarabia. It is a sheer joy to look at this splendid building. If the people from Emmental, who live over there, would now come to their old homeland, they would be amazed at the changes in the village. The mighty and large church, which stands in the middle of the village, is the embellishment of the village.
The new railroad tracks pass close to the gardens. The station is at the place where Dionisius Nagel used to live, namely on the road leading to Kainari. The passenger train always stops for several minutes so that the travelers can get on and off. If now we want to travel to Kischinev or Bender, we no longer have to go to the station in Kainari, which is 2 kilometers away. We get on the train right in our village and we are off!
Last spring a bad accident happened at Rochus Mass’s. He was tearing down his old stable to build a new one and suddenly the gable collapsed burying his daughter-in-law, the wife of Wendelin and a farm-servant. The daughter-in-law suffered external and internal injuries. The farm-servant, a child from Krasna, broke a leg. Rochus took them both to a hospital in Kischinev. Wendelin’s wife left the hospital healthy after several weeks, but the farm-servant did not return until a few days ago. This accident cost Rochus a lot of money.
The son of Linus Moldenhauer, who works for the railroad, had the misfortune to get trapped beneath a railroad car and had his heel torn off. He was in the hospital in Kischinew all summer long, but now he is home.
This is to inform Edmund Huettel in Canada that today his mother went to the doctor again with Faustinus. It is said that the doctor can no longer help him. Both my parents died last year. I already reported that several times. I also reported the names of the people who were married last year. Reimund Arnold died here recently. May the Lord give him eternal rest! Rosa Kopp, daughter of Telisphor Plotzki is sick in the hospital in Kischinev. She is supposed to have surgery.
A certain Mr. Bartel and his family from Selz, Soviet Russia arrived here. He doesn’t praise the Russians much, but I think he will be doing badly here also, since there is no money to be earned here. All people here are poor themselves.
Now I would like to talk a little bit with my former neighbors Joseph and Klara Mueller in Canada. Your parents are still healthy and they aren’t doing badly. Ambrose built a new stable and shed this year. All of your siblings are doing fairly well, only David is not doing very well.
Joseph you will have a hard time getting your money, of which Wendelin Nagel holds 10,000 lei. The revenue officer took his clothes today. He can no longer pay. I send a friendly greeting from all of us to all of you.
Furthermore, I greet Rochus and Marianna Paul in Canada and let them know that Peter has finished his new house. He runs a restaurant, a bar and a sheep dairy. Your mother is still healthy.
I can report to Eugidius and Peter Volk that their brother Philipp is busy building a bridge on the lower viaduct of the railroad, while Theobald Baumann is building one on the upper end. Both earn 2,500 lei per month.
I received Mr. Haag’s letter on 24 August. Thank you very much!
In closing, I greet all readers and also the editor Mr. Brandt.
Adam Seifert