From: Elardee, Saskatchewan, Canada
12 June 1920

At the beginning of May our seedlings stood quite nicely. Then on the 16 May, an enormous storm started and raged for over one week with few interruptions. The sun was obscured most of the time. The seedlings suffered greatly from the storm. Then came the drought, which lasted until 10 June. Among the people the hope for a good harvest vanished more and more, especially when the worms appeared to start their destruction. On 11 June, the first rain started and there has been no lack of rain since. Today it is raining again. The wheat is in bloom and the grain is growing well. If the fields are spared from certain harm, then we are still hoping for a good harvest.

In the edition of 6 July, I read a report from my brother Zachäus Kopp in Emmental, Bessarabia, in which he complained about disagreements and disputes in the community. He reports that the people are still leaning toward Bolshevism and everyone wants to have their rights. Dear brother, as far as I know we don’t have any Bolshevists here and we still have great disorder in our community. Everybody wants to be the spokesman, but when it comes down to act, then one shrugs one’s shoulders and says, “I don’t want to hear anything about it. The way I wanted it you didn’t want it, and the way you want it I don’t want it.”

Since February our community of Krasna, which has 94 families, is busy building a new church. Sorry to say that we have not progressed even though our Reverend Father Hart is taking the trouble to get the matter on the right track. Our community of Krasna is one of the oldest and largest in the colony of St. Franziskus. It was founded in 1911 and the same year a not-so-large prayer house was built, which we are still putting up with today. At that time of course we had plenty of room inside. Now since the membership has doubled, the house is a trifle too small. The other communities like Blumenfeld, Kleinliebental, Rosental and Rastatt all have large and nice churches, only we Krasna people are still sitting in the old barn. And yet, Krasna is the mother colony. That certainly is ungodly! Joseph Dirk, who had to undergo an appendectomy at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Minot, North Dakota, returned several days ago to his family. He is on his way to recovery.

I am letting Karl Müller in Emmental, Bessarabia know that his brother Peter Müller resides here. His address is as follows: Elardee, Saskatchewan, Canada. From the reports out of Bessarabia you can tell that the swindling, thievery and murders still continue without interruption, even though Bessarabia now belongs to Rumania. After all, the criminals such as thieves and murderers do not care whether they kill a Russian or a Rumanian citizen or steal from them, since they are still not being tracked down. In this respect it is better in this country. Such riff-raff is fast taken care of.

In closing, I am greeting my brother Zachäus, the editorship and all readers of the paper.

Jos. M. Kopp