From: Krasna, Bessarabia
17 January 1930

Dear Editor Brendel:

On January 4, around six in the evening, a fire broke out in the rapeseed storeroom at the Christian Fleckenstein home. It was fortunately quickly brought under control. Ten minutes later, two more fires erupted and the flames were fought and overcome as well.

The holidays were a simple affair. We had water instead of wine just like the Americans. (*Editor’s note: Dear writer, you are sadly mistaken here. When the American doesn’t have wine, he always has cheap booze.)

Again several families signed up to immigrate to Brazil: Johannes Ruscheinsky, Max A. Sehn, Erasmus Becker, Georg Wuitschik, Joseph Wingenbach, Kasper Weber, Lukas Paul, Anton Wingenbach, Mathias Kuntz, Max R. Dirk, Joseph Ternes, and Vinzenz Fenrich. It is not certain when they will depart, but they anticipate in March.

Today, seventy families, who had applied for immigration to Canada a while back, were called to the chancellery and informed they could get their papers. May God help them all safely across the big water. I will report about the immigrants again at a later date. The reason for this exodus is simple: not enough land, too large a family, inflation and meager incomes, etc.

Here is another version of a simple New Year celebration. We were on our way to the maistube to celebrate the New Year when someone knocked on the window. I opened the door and asked the folks, our neighbors, to come in. To my great astonishment one carried a pot of potato salad, another a large ring of sausage, the third a side of bacon, the fourth brought lard, the fifth brought sauerkraut, the sixth loaves of bread, the seventh had something extra special, a bottle of cognac, pure cognac from the bottom of the well.

We felt happy together and there was music and dance. Something I never would have dreamed of. One of my guests admonished me not to write about it in the paper. Well, I promised and that’s that!

Greetings,
Joseph Braun

• 188. Beginning on the other side of the alley is the home of the widow of Peter Speicher nee Seifert and her son Johannes and wife nee Gedak.
• 189. Mathias Speicher and wife Eva, who do not live together anymore. Her maiden name is Drefs. Her youngest son lives there with his wife nee Wingenbach.
• 190. Melchior Speicher and wife nee Becker.
• 191. Widow of Johannes Sehn, Margaretha nee Wagner and her son Kasper with wife nee Dirk.
• 192. Ignatz Becker with wife nee Ternes, his son Severin and wife nee Dressler.
• 193. Philipp Becker with wife nee Ternes.
• 194. Klemens Ihli and wife nee Schulkowsky.
• 195. Lazarus Folk and wife nee Sehn.
• 196. Anton Gedak and wife nee Sehn.
• 197. Florian Bachmeier and wife and his son Peter with wife nee Hein.
• 198. Georg Ruscheinsky, widow Eugenia nee Becker and her son Justinus with wife nee Koch.
• 199. Hermann Eisenbeis and wife nee Speicher.
• 200. Erasmus Leinz, his wife is from Emmental.
• 201. Joseph Ternes and wife Luzia from Kandel.
• 202. Adelbert Folk and wife nee Sehn.
• 203. Peter Folk and wife nee Hartmann and son Mansuetus and wife nee Ternes.
• 204. Albertus Marthe, widow Dola nee Bachmeier.
• 205. Peter A. Folk, widower, his son Augustin and wife nee Mandernacht.
• 206. Simon Ziebart and wife from Emmental.
• 207. Maximilian Marthe and wife nee Folk.
• 208. Michael Speicher and wife nee Folk.
• 209. Simon Engel and wife from Emmental.
• 210. House of the late Rudolf Boot. A Bulgarian lives there. He is a shepherd of Krasna.
• 211. Kasper Wingenbach and wife nee Dressler.
• 212. Magnus Wagner and wife from Emmental nee Löb, newly weds.
• 213. House of the late Hieronimus Wingenbach, rented by Narzizius Koch and wife nee Sehn.
• 214. Widow of the late Ignatz Folk, Katharina nee Ihli, her son Anton and wife nee Becker. The oldest son lives on the second half of the homestead, Joseph and wife nee Wuitschik, newly built home.
• 215. Johannes Folk and wife nee Speicher, new building.
• 216. Mathias Sehn and wife nee Wuitschik.
• 217. Kornelius Koch and wife nee Steiert, their son Max and wife nee Kuss.
• 218. Alexander Riehl and wife nee Erker.
• 219. Widow of the late Reinhold Steiert, Dinofilia nee Fleckenstein.
• 220. Romanus Ekert and wife nee Zetnik and Heinrich Ekert and wife, a Rumanian who converted, but doesn’t speak any German.
• 221. Peter Müller and wife nee Rückert.
• 222. Gabriel Gedak and wife nee Leinz.
• 223. The widow of Hieronimus Sehn, Leonora nee Ihli.
• 224. Michael Koch and wife nee Folk, the son of Michael, Zeloestinus and wife nee Dirk.
• 225. Johannes Boot and wife nee Ekert.
• 226. Ignatz Wuitschik and wife nee Leinz.
• 227. Ludwig Wuitschik and wife nee Folk.
• 228. Widow of the late Jakob Sehn, Barbara, her son Joseph and wife nee Engel.
• 229. Village Mill.

A new motor was installed in the mill and we no longer operate it by burning straw. The mill farmers are: Rochus Ternes, Korbinian Leinz, Franz Dirk, Isidor Leinz, Alexius Riehl, Joseph Steiman, Joseph Ternes, Georg Schreiber and the children of Karl Leinz.

To be continued ———–