From: Emmental, Bessarabia
30 January 1921

Worthy Editorship!

Again I have to reach for the pen to send you some information for the paper. But to begin with I have to complain about two of my reports not appearing in the newspaper. I do not know if these were lost or ended up in the wastepaper basket. (*Editor: Reports just simply do not end up in the wastepaper basket here and especially not the ones from Bessarabia. The letters therefore must have gotten lost.) If the latter should be the case then I will write less in the future, because paper and ink as well as postage are not cheap.

The weather is still dry here. This week we had a strong gale with very little snow. On Monday evening, we had such a severe storm that all straw and haystacks were blown over. Also many roofs were torn off the houses, especially among the Moldavians which mostly have straw covered roofs.

In Edition #40, I read something from Hieronymus Paul. He had asked me to look after his old mother and find a residence for her in Emmental or in Krasna. Dear Hieronymus, I would gladly do you this favor, but your mother did tell me that she didn’t want to be a bother and that she intends to get by without a house in her old days.

On Monday and Tuesday, we attended a wedding dance at our neighbor’s. The married couple was Alexander Blotzky and Nimfa Engel. The wedding proceeded well. From now on I will not report what is not any of my business. The “A Farmer” says; “If you just once more say a word about me, then I will tell you what you are.”

What I am everyone knows. What he is they even know better. First Thaddaeus Deichert had threatened him, that if he hears just one more word from him, then it’s over. He must think that people are always out to quarrel. If somebody should get too close to me then I will give him answers and will not say any more. I cannot contradict them, especially those who have attended a university. But every rabbit will be hit with a shot. Mr. Strohmeier too degraded everything until two brave men in Edition #26 humbled him. Now he is as quiet as a mouse.

During the coming week, Christian Boehler from Balmas and Lydia Gross will get married. The wedding celebration will take place in Johannes Gross’s house. I will be the best man. Recently, I was in Krasna in the company of the Canadian guests that were visiting here. On the 18 January, Nikolaus Engel and Simon Riehl departed again for their homeland.

The old Jakob Steinke and Romuald Gross are still here. Romuald Gross wants to take his 62-year old mother along. They do not have the passport yet. I don’t know if they are gone by now. They also had encouraged many people, and I believe that when summer arrives, there will be an exodus from here and from Krasna.

While in Krasna I also received two letters from my Uncle Simon, which he had received from his son in Russia. His son is a priest in Katharinental and prior to that he was in Karlsruhe. I will attempt to copy these letters and forward them for publishing. I believe that many readers will follow them with great interest, especially those that originate from that region.

My brother Joseph wrote me that they had many hares now. During the last years, we also had many of those around like never before. When one traverses the fields then one would come upon one on every dessjatin (2.5 acres). A Bulgarian from Kurin had most of them shot by hunters. Also, in our area there are many hunters busy to get rid of the rabbits. Among the hunters are Joseph and Adam Baumann, Coelestinus and Rafael Loes, Dominik Blotzky, Johannes Volk, Anselmus Riehl, Stanislaus and Anselmus Wagner and H. Baumann. These 10 men have greyhounds and are brave hunters.

On 6 January, there was a ball in Kainari. Everybody had to pay a 10 lei entry fee. They knew that with such a high entrance fee they would not sell too many tickets. Therefore they sent some to our mayor Peter Gross with the order to sell them to well-to-do people. But he didn’t want to bother anybody. So he gathered the hunters and demanded that they pay 10 lei for each ticket in lieu of a hunting permit. The hunters complied with this. One day a policeman was riding by and asked the hunters if they had a hunting permit. They answered yes. Then he asked them how much they had paid for the permit. When they told him 10 lei he chuckled and rode off. Besides these 10 hunters there were 2 others that had not bought tickets from the mayor for the dance, because the mayor had only ten. Now the others do not want to let these two participate in the hunt and it causes a big argument. Then these two, Ewald Mueller and Rochus Maas went out on their own dessjatin (acre) and in mockery started dancing.

An accident happened in our village. The watchdog of Karl Hein had rabies and bit the neighbor Leonhardt Blotzky, who through this bite also contracted rabies. His brother Jakob had to take him to the doctor in Balmas. Two days ago he returned home healthy. He too is a reader of the paper.

With a friendly greeting,
Zachaeus Kopp

From: Prelate, Saskatchewan, Canada
9 February 1921

Worthy Staats-Anzeiger!

On 26 January, the 19-year old son of Mr. Wendelin Herle passed away. Father Funke buried him on 26 January. The 13-year old sister is also bedridden with the same illness and there are doubts about her recovery.

Peter Materi passed away on 28 January at the age of 55 years. The deceased had to undergo an operation at Swift Current, which supposedly went well. Two days later he died. He was a well-known farmer in the area of Leader.

Mr. Ludwig Tumbach was suffering from a money shortage. One day he drove to his neighbor’s, loaded up his wagon with fruit and sold it in the city. The neighbor soon found out about it and at the trial Mr.Tumbach was sentenced to 8 months hard labor, which he has to work off in Regina. Now at least there will be peace. This was not been the first visit Mr.Tumbach had made to his neighbor. One doesn’t even have to talk about Europe.

Since my last report, Klemens Ehresmann and Magdalena Bischoff, daughter of Nikolaus, as well as Ferius Hintz, son of Peter and Merzelina Ehresmann, daughter of Johannes were married. The wedding took place at the home of Mr. Ehresmann according to the old German custom.

Max R. Wagner and Undelina Hopfauff, daughter of Ferdinand from Liebental, as well as Joseph Urnold [Arnold] and Josephina Kopp were married. I wish the young couples much luck and blessings in their wedlock. Hopefully, they will also become readers of the Staats-Anzeiger if they aren’t readers yet. (*Editor: We received $4.35 for C. Tuchscherer. You will get the calendar as a prize.)

Today Mrs. John Steinert had to be taken to Swift Current where she has to undergo surgery for a stomach ailment.

I am greeting all readers.

Franz A. Fieger