Headline: Letters from Russia
Norka, December 26, 1923
Dear uncle George H. Mueller (Miller) in Portland, Ore.:
Your dear letter of 7 November of this year I received with great pleasure on the 24th of this month. In spite of all the troubles that have beset us, we were already in the Christmas spirit where the best of all gifts is Christ, whom we deeply love. But think of our joy to also receive an earthly gift during this time of great shortages and in such a wondrous way!
Uncle, we herewith say to you our heartfelt thanks and Vergelt's Gott (God will reward you), because without your efforts the overcoat would have wound up in the hands of strangers. We thought it was from the relatives of our Vetter (cousin/uncle/elder) Ludwig Weber who lives in Sutton, Nebraska. The prize was not credited to an actual relative but to a spiritual sister. Little aunt Lisbet had heard from some relatives that among the things sent for general distribution there would be an overcoat for Magdalena Weber. I had some trouble when I went to see the overcoat. Of course the Pastor was not at home just then and his brother demanded that I first bring the address of the person who had sent it, only then would I be allowed to see it. These words angered me a little and I answered: "You need not be concerned; we do not want a single thread that does not belong to us, much less an overcoat." It worked, I got to see the coat. I noted the name and address of the sender and left. At home I related everything that had gone on and described the good and new coat to my aunt and also the approximate value of the overcoat. We were all certain that the coat belonged to us and 3 days later my aunt Katchen went again to speak to the Pastor, but lo and behold, the address which was sewn on the coat was gone and turned into dust. How it had happened, he (the Pastor) did not know. There was no Madalena Weber in our family nor in all of Norka, so my aunt Katchen went a few more times and was finally told that he (the Pastor) would consult with the Commission and then let us know.
After this answer in the month of June I immediately wrote to brother Ludwig abut the affair of the overcoat but the letter went missing and so a few months later I repeated the same request. It was to our good fortune that the consultation lasted for such a long time because the letter stating that the overcoat belonged to our family arrived. Since I had just caught influenza and could not go out into the air, aunt Katchen went to the Pastor and immediately got the coat. For our family it is such an expensive coat that we could never even think of buying.
You believe, dear uncle, that I only know you from hearsay. No, I still remember the time when you were with us in Saratov when you were going to America, of course, I was a very small toddler sitting on my dear grandmother's and aunt's lap. We are all thankful for your loving letter. What you told us about my brothers and cousins was said honestly, diligently and without wasting words, which is a rarity these days. Aunt Katrinmarie, your sister-in-law, also came to hear the letter and tears of joy were running down her cheeks; yes, God love her, and may she in her old age live to experience even more joy in her children. We also laughed a little when we read about the comfort of the housewives and I said that I wished that I were in America because the water and heating questions make for a lot of problems for us here. Mainly, life here is very hard, we are always astounded at the willingness of our brethren in America to make sacrifices. First Russia, then Japan, and indeed now Germany may also experience your brotherly love.
Today I also wrote a letter to sister Margaret Claus (Klaus) so that the overcoat affair is straightened out. I will give the note you enclosed for the Pastor to him tomorrow. We are all, praise God, healthy and wish you the best of health and everything good and send our most affectionate greetings to you and Pastor Hagelganz from all the Weber sisters and myself, your friend,
Marie Traut (Traudt)
Also your sister-in-law, Katharinamaria and nephew send affectionate greetings.
Your dear letter of 7 November of this year I received with great pleasure on the 24th of this month. In spite of all the troubles that have beset us, we were already in the Christmas spirit where the best of all gifts is Christ, whom we deeply love. But think of our joy to also receive an earthly gift during this time of great shortages and in such a wondrous way!
Uncle, we herewith say to you our heartfelt thanks and Vergelt's Gott (God will reward you), because without your efforts the overcoat would have wound up in the hands of strangers. We thought it was from the relatives of our Vetter (cousin/uncle/elder) Ludwig Weber who lives in Sutton, Nebraska. The prize was not credited to an actual relative but to a spiritual sister. Little aunt Lisbet had heard from some relatives that among the things sent for general distribution there would be an overcoat for Magdalena Weber. I had some trouble when I went to see the overcoat. Of course the Pastor was not at home just then and his brother demanded that I first bring the address of the person who had sent it, only then would I be allowed to see it. These words angered me a little and I answered: "You need not be concerned; we do not want a single thread that does not belong to us, much less an overcoat." It worked, I got to see the coat. I noted the name and address of the sender and left. At home I related everything that had gone on and described the good and new coat to my aunt and also the approximate value of the overcoat. We were all certain that the coat belonged to us and 3 days later my aunt Katchen went again to speak to the Pastor, but lo and behold, the address which was sewn on the coat was gone and turned into dust. How it had happened, he (the Pastor) did not know. There was no Madalena Weber in our family nor in all of Norka, so my aunt Katchen went a few more times and was finally told that he (the Pastor) would consult with the Commission and then let us know.
After this answer in the month of June I immediately wrote to brother Ludwig abut the affair of the overcoat but the letter went missing and so a few months later I repeated the same request. It was to our good fortune that the consultation lasted for such a long time because the letter stating that the overcoat belonged to our family arrived. Since I had just caught influenza and could not go out into the air, aunt Katchen went to the Pastor and immediately got the coat. For our family it is such an expensive coat that we could never even think of buying.
You believe, dear uncle, that I only know you from hearsay. No, I still remember the time when you were with us in Saratov when you were going to America, of course, I was a very small toddler sitting on my dear grandmother's and aunt's lap. We are all thankful for your loving letter. What you told us about my brothers and cousins was said honestly, diligently and without wasting words, which is a rarity these days. Aunt Katrinmarie, your sister-in-law, also came to hear the letter and tears of joy were running down her cheeks; yes, God love her, and may she in her old age live to experience even more joy in her children. We also laughed a little when we read about the comfort of the housewives and I said that I wished that I were in America because the water and heating questions make for a lot of problems for us here. Mainly, life here is very hard, we are always astounded at the willingness of our brethren in America to make sacrifices. First Russia, then Japan, and indeed now Germany may also experience your brotherly love.
Today I also wrote a letter to sister Margaret Claus (Klaus) so that the overcoat affair is straightened out. I will give the note you enclosed for the Pastor to him tomorrow. We are all, praise God, healthy and wish you the best of health and everything good and send our most affectionate greetings to you and Pastor Hagelganz from all the Weber sisters and myself, your friend,
Marie Traut (Traudt)
Also your sister-in-law, Katharinamaria and nephew send affectionate greetings.
Sources
Die Welt-Post, March 20, 1924, page 3.
This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
This translation provided courtesy of Hugh Lichtenwald.
Last updated March 7, 2016