From: Fox Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada
20 October 1930

Dear Staats-Anzeiger!

Today I want to report something that I should have reported sooner, but I did not have the time. Now that winter has set in one has more time to write.

Hopefully “Mr. Winter” will take a break and clear the fields again for a while, because it is still too early for this “pal” to rule.

This year on 12 July, we, namely I, Vinzenz Mueller, Dionisius Wingenbach, Hermann Mueller, son of Vinzenz, Peter P. Harsche, Rudolf Kopp and Reinhold Dirk, son of Daniel decided to travel north and look for a homestead.

On 14 July, we got into the cars of Vinzenz Mueller and Dionisius Wingenbach. We traveled north at a fast tempo. Around 4PM we arrived in St. Walburg, Saskatchewan, which is the end station of a railroad. We had driven 314 miles. Here we set up quarters for the night and the next morning we continued our trip. We still had 35 miles to drive to reach our destination. The area was wooded and the road was bad making this a slow drive. We drove up to a creek and stopped. We evaluated the area but did not find any suitable land. So we started fishing. We pitched tent and the fish we caught were prepared and fried. I functioned as the cook and did my best to satisfy my adult “children”. But soon they started to complain about the portions being too large, others about the fish not being seasoned enough. Reinhold Dirk complained the most about my culinary abilities. So for the next meal Reinhold had to fry the fish and demonstrate his own skills. I have to admit that the fish he fried were quite tasty.

After spending a night in the forest we started our trip home. We were totally disheartened with the thought of taken on land that was covered with shrubs and bushes. An enormous rain surprised us during our return trip. Therefore we stopped at Michael and Belagia Wagner’s place and spent the night there. They were friendly hosts. The woman of the house prepared a good meal soon after our arrival, which we enjoyed very much.

Unfortunately, hail had caused severe damage there. The hail had damaged 75 percent of Mr.Wagner’s crop. The road to Mr. Wagner’s farm was bad. We even had to push the cars for a while. Thereafter the road conditions were better and we drove faster and arrived back home safe and sound.

Mr. Wagner sends his greetings to his brothers Joseph and Simon Wagner and their families in Krasna, Bessarabia. He wants to inform them that he and his family are still healthy. Mr. and Mrs. Wagner also send their hellos to their sister-in-law Martha Wingenbach in Krasna, Bessarabia.

I am asking my unknown friend in Krasna to write me a personal letter and to give me his correct address so that we can converse with each other. In regards to the weather, I have to say that we have a little snow with 10 degrees below zero.

We ask the people in Krasna to write more often in the Staats-Anzeiger. They should know that we are anxious to find out something about the old homeland. Peter Leinz stands out as a very competent writer. He should keep us updated with current events. For instance on how the meetings went, if the accounts are correct and no money is missing. So Mr.Leinz write more often.

Then there is Gottlieb Haag in the lower part of the village who could send news from that corner of the community. Johannes Schlick and Mathias Ternes also reside there. We send them a friendly hello. Lazarus Volk also could be more diligent with writing. Lazarus is a bit lazy when it comes to writing. Therefore, we ask his wife to remind him that his friends in America would like to be kept informed about the old homeland.

In closing, I say hello to all readers as well as the printers of the Staats-Anzeiger.

Anton A. Soehn