From: Agua Limpa, Brazil
10 January 1927

Dear Staats-Anzeiger!

The New Year’s wishes will arrive late for all friends and reader’s circle of the paper including the editorship; however, wishes are just as sincere. For this year I wish everybody a bountiful harvest. For editor, Mr. Brandt, I wish a heap of readers of the Staats-Anzeiger. Many thanks for the beautiful 1927 calendar, which I received on New Year’s Day.

Dear readers, every one of us who is healthy, has two eyes, two ears, two arms, and two legs, all of which we need very much. We have heard and seen a lot, and had to endure a good many things. That is how it is with me today. Where should I start with my first report in the New Year? A few or none at all, want to hear the truth. One may not, and shall not, lie. One could precisely weigh every word, and still one could not please everyone. Therefore I will write about something this time that will be of interest to the readers more so than the quarrels over the conditions here and other places.

On Christmas, my wife and I, along with Dorothea Schäfer nee Kupfer, wife of Anton Schäfer, took a walk of the three kilometers (about two miles) distant to the plantation Notal, west of here. There we visited our uncle and aunt, Anton and Elisabetha Föth; also, our people from the old country, Emanuel and Juliana Dutenhöfer, Anton and Barbara Schäll and their old father Sebastian Schäll. Everywhere we were received in a friendly manner and were well taken care of. There were excellent talks and kind faces everywhere. Many nice Christmas carols and folk songs were sung.

Anton, Barbara, and also Father Schäll complained however, that they could not in any way get the addresses of their relatives in North America. As a last means, they would like to try it through the Staats-Anzeiger, which is read all over. Sebastian Schäll is looking for his three brothers, Kaspar, Joseph, and Georg. Kaspar is supposed to be living in Canada, and Joseph and Georg in Minnesota. Anton and Barbara Schäll are looking for Uncle Daniel Lacher and Nikolaus Schäfer and Cousins Anton and Elisabetha Hintz nee Schäfer, supposedly live in North Dakota. All letters to them at the old addresses remained unanswered. (*Editor: Daniel Lacher is in Aberdeen, South Dakota and the others will probably also respond.)

Anton Schäll would really like to get the Staats-Anzeiger. He asks that one of the many friends order it from the editor, Mr. Brandt, who also knows the address. They also send many greetings to Joseph Völler in Spokane, Washington. They ask him to please let something be known about himself through the paper.

On New Year’s Day our friends visited us. Uncle Sebastian stayed home. We could receive our guests only poorly, since we just recently arrived at the new plantation. We then took a walk together for four kilometers east to the Sitso Mundobello [Montebello]. It was an unfamiliar trail for us. The women got tired and wanted to turn back because amidst the coffee plants and the Welsh corn, which grows up to 4 meters, one can easily get lost. (*Editor: 4 meters - about 13 feet.)

Finally, around 1:00PM, we arrived at our destination. First, we stopped at brother-in-law Denisius and Barbara Nagel. This was the first time that we had seen each other since our farewell from the old country. Tears of joy were flowing. Living there, besides my brother-in-law, are his brother-in-law, Anselmus Wagner, Anselmus Riehl, Paulus Bauer, Jakob Dutenhöfer, Joseph Bender, and Joseph Kupfer, whom we all visited one after the other. It was a happy reunion everywhere, and we sang many songs from back home. Too bad the time was short. Heinrich Ternes and I had to return home in the evening, since on 2 January we had business to take care of on our plantation.

The return walk took only an hour. During the visit I was overwhelmed with tasks. These folks would just love to make contact with their friends through the mail. The Staats-Anzeiger is the only rescue for this.

My brother-in-law, Dinisius Nagel (son of Jakob Nagel) would like to hear from Uncle Elias Nagel, Uncle Peter Gross and his son Romuald Gross. He would really like it, if someone would send him the Staats-Anzeiger that arrives here pretty much on time. I assume that all the sought-after are readers of the paper.

Joseph and Legatha Kupfer send their hello to brother-in-law and sister, Daniel and sister Rosa Hüttel, and their cousins Joseph and Mathias Miller, all in Canada. …………..text missing…………… They had the addresses and sent mail to them, but remained without an answer. It seems that the old addresses are no longer valid. The addresses of all the people here are in the Staats-Anzeiger.

Brother-in-law Kupfer also asks his friends to please send him this paper. Anton (son of Aloysius Schäfer) would surely like to receive a sign of life from his godfather Anton Schäfer (son of Johannes Schäfer). However, he doesn’t know if he is still alive or not. Here is what Anton told me, “If he is still alive, then a heartfelt hello to him with the news that I, along with mother and brother Wendelin and sister Martha had left the old country on January 10, 1926. Our mother, Angela Schäfer nee Dutenhöfer, started her return trip in November, and hopefully is back home in the old country by now. It also would be very nice if my godfather, if still alive, would order the Staats-Anzeiger for me from Editor Mr. Brandt.”

Our sister-in-law, Franziska Ziegler and my wife Dorothea nee Kupfer say hello and would like to know if the child of the deceased brother Joseph Kupfer is still alive. Should she not be a reader, then perhaps readers in Canada could provide some information.

(*Editor: To inform the sender that this is the report #16, and that we still have six more on hand. None may get lost, or just a very few; but we have so many from foreign countries that we cannot keep up. Especially because many are too long, even after we have shortened them!)

In closing, it should be noted that I made a mistake in my letter in Edition #27 of the paper. It should have read that we new immigrants have the right to own a rifle or revolver; however, most of us do not have the means to buy such.

A friendly greeting to all,
Joseph Föth