From: Krasna, Bessarabia
20 March 1932
Dear Staats-Anzeiger!
I send a friendly hello to my brothers-in-law Karl and my sister Katharina Wutschik and children, August and sister Scholastica Nagel and children and sister-in-law Helena Volk and children in North Dakota. We would be elated to hear from them again.
I also greet my old brother-in-law Anton Soehn in Canada with the question if I couldn’t soon come to his wedding celebration.
We now have a grazing land committee consisting of Michael Koch, Nikolaus Dirk, Johannes Bachmeier and Valerian Furch. My brother-in-law Koch is the committee chairman. He is 51 years old.
Last summer our government built a road from Krasna to Tarutino. This summer the road is supposed to be paved. Whoever wants to work on this job can earn pretty good money. The government pays 60 leis per cubic meter.
Anton, I am asking you to please say hello to Gabriel and Eligorius Soehn and their families for us. They should write sometime in the newspaper.
Since New Year, the following people have died here: Peter Volk Sr.; Zaelestina Schaefer, wife of Raimund Schaefer; Angela Riehl, wife of Gabriel Riehl and Helena Becker.
Several weddings have also been celebrated. Mr. Becker most likely has already reported about them.
Now I want to switch to Brazil, South America where I have yet another brother-in-law, namely Philipp Soehn. Well Philipp, how are you doing with preaching? Alexius Fenrich wrote that you are a preacher in Brazil. Have at it and preach, but not in vain! I also have several card-playing buddies in Brazil like Markus Soehn, Joseph Ternes, Heinrich Ternes and Johannes Ruscheinsky. I greet every one of you and your families. You all were our buddies, but none of you writes! Markus probably has no time because he surely has to go hunting, but among the rest of you there are no hunters!
Johannes, your neighbor Albertus Riehl sends a friendly hello to you. Please let him know how often you have danced with a monkey already. He believes that all of you in Brazil have turned into monkeys in the meantime. I told him; “They are monkeys just like you are one but with one difference, the monkeys in Brazil have hair and you are bald!”
In the fall, Albertus started building a new house which, because of lack of funds, could not be completed. I too have bought a home. It had belonged to the deceased Georg Schreiber and before that Thomas Ihly had owned it. I do not know yet when I will move in.
I had planned to take this letter to Tarutino today, 22 March, after finishing it. Unfortunately, we have a raging blizzard. Therefore, I have to postpone mailing the letter for a couple of days.
In closing, I greet the editor Mr. Brandt, his assistant C. J. Haag and all friends and acquaintances.
Lazarus Volk