THE FRANK & BRUNNENTAL VILLAGE NEWSLETTER Volume 24, Number 3 Summer 1995 (August 1, 1995) Circulation 365 --------------------------------- Newsletter Subscriptions- (4 issues) ADDRESSES Newsletter Subscriptions $6 Frank/Brunnental Newsletter: Sherrie Stahl, Editor 4189 NW Spoon Place Portland OR 97229 sherriestahl@comcast.net Frank Data Bank Contact Doris Evans EVANSDFE@aol.com Brunnental Data Bank Sherrie (Gettman) Stahl 4189 NW Spoon Place Portland OR 97229 sherriestahl@comcast.net Website: http://www.brunnental.us/brunnental/index.html ------------------------------------------------ EDITOR's CORNER: Dear Readers: This month we are especially happy to bring you an article written by Virginia West about her BASTRON family from Frank. She had just received family tree information from RAGAS and also from Dr. Pleve in Russia, and I had the opportunity to meet her at "Village Night" at the annual AHSGR Convention in Calgary! I might add that the Convention was wonderful this year!! We finally were able to meet so many of our fine friends from Canada. I was delighted to have Ken & Debbie Hartung and their lovely daughter, Julie join us for Village Night, and we were fortunate to have Alex and Mollie Schauermann and their daughter, Loine (Schauermann) Davis, also at the table. Alexander Schauermann was born in 1911 in Brunnental, and is currently living in Calgary, AB, Canada!! And let us not forget the SHARING of charts!! Be sure to check out the "growing list" of family tree charts from the village of FRANK.....no doubt there is a surname in this listing which will interest YOU! And for those of you on the "internet", please check out the AHSGR "homepage" on the WWW (World Wide Web)....the address is: http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/~feefhs/frgahsgr.html Sherrie (Gettman) Stahl , Editor ----------------------------------- FRANKER STORIES? As always I am "pleading" with all of you to send me your stories, pictures, and other memorabilia for our "future issues" of the Frank Village Newsletter. I'm starting to see the bottom of the basket, and need to hear from more of you. Please take the time to SHARE and make this the BEST village newsletter!! ------------------------------------------ STORIES IN THIS ISSUE: Editor's Corner , News, Addresses.....................................p.1 Village Night - AHSGR Convention _ Calgary, Canada.................p.2 & 3 Gerda (Stroh) Walker Receives Distinguished Service Award !!..........p. 4 Trees Available - Check Out OurListing!!...............................p.5 Obituaries........................................................p.5 & 23 The BASTRON Family from Frank, Russia -- by Virginia West..........p. 6-11 The Founders of the St. Pauls Evangelical Church in Greeley, CO......p. 12 My Trip To Brunnental--by Ken Hartung..............................p.13-15 The History of Brunnental 1918-1941--by Jakob Mohrland.............p.16-22 Die Welt Post Articles --(Brunnentalers) continued.................p.23-24 -------------------------------- UPCOMING ISSUES: The Story of My Life, By Alex Gutmann-Canada Update on the FRANK info coming out of Russia. Germans From Russia in Portland, OR. Update on Brunnental Poem-Who we've found!! Passenger Listing,--"S.S. Stubenhuk" (those from Frank) Story of Anna Marie Hartung, of Calgary, AB, Canada. Escape From Brunnental, by Jakob Hartung, AB, Canada. BAUM family from Brunnental, Russia. Families From Rusajewka & Andrewka, Kazahkstan. Brunnental families in Rhein & Stornoway, Canada!! Steamship Lines, by Jean Roth, Seattle, WA. Picture Postcard of Russia, by Jean Roth, Seattle, WA ------------------------------------ BOOKS FOR SALE German From Russia in Russell County, Kansas 1910 United States Census ---by Betsy Miley Sutton & Susan Beckman Kottwitz This 70 page publication is now available....the pre-publication offer is valid on orders postmarked on or before August 15, 1995 (includes shipping & handling) for the price of $12. Those orders postmarked on or after August 16, 1995 will be at the full price of $15. Send your name and address to: Sue Kottwitz Route 1 Box 50 Falcon, MO 65470-9734 ------------------------------------ VILLAGE NIGHT AT THE CALGARY AHSGR CONVENTION: 2 PAGES OF PICTURES: (Photos by Sherrie (Gettman) Stahl) 1) Virginia West (see her article on p.6-12) 2) Jacob Amendt , Barbara Clausen, and John Wagner 3) Doris (Eckhardt) Evans & Herbert G. Schillereff 4) Rod Uhrich, Barbara (Uhrich) Calkins, & Phyllis Kaiser 5) Lydia Brunz & Gerda (Stroh) Walker 6) Right Photo: L to R, Marie Clarkson, Isabelle (Hoff) Archer, Loine Davis, & Kenneth Hartung. 7) Bottom Photo: L to R, Ferd Hartung, Ray & Bev Harding, & Ken Hartung. As always, the Village Night was a huge success!! It was especially wonderful to finally meet all my great Canadian cousins, and to see the beautiful province of Alberta! I can certainly understand why the Germans From Russia who settled in Canada were drawn to this beautiful land of theirs!!! ------------------------------------------ GERDA (STROH) WALKER RECEIVES DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD! Speech written & given by John Schleicher [PICTURE: Gerda and her husband Dan at the Convention] The following is the introduction speech given in honor of Gerda (Stroh) Walker, at the AHSGR Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on Saturday, July 29, 1995: Gerda Freya Stroh was born on July 4, 1914 in Grand Island, Nebraska, the daughter of John Stroh and Maria Katharina (Borgens) Stroh. Gerda's parents were born in Frank, Russia and immigrated to the United States in 1909. One biographical sketch of Gerda noted that she "has been interested in the history of her people since early childhood." Gerda maintained her avid interest in the history of the Germans From Russia and in genealogy through participation in advanced college courses. During WWII, Gerda was one of the first women weather observers in the U.S. Weather Bureau. While serving in this position, Gerda had the opportunuty to see and meet first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Gerda left her position with the Weather Bureau in order to marry and rear a family. Gerda was married to Daniel Walker, at Scottsbluff, Nebraska on December 24, 1941. Three children were born to this union, one son, Stephen D. Walker and two daughters, Suzanne Walker Nauman, and Sandra Walker Kugler. Gerda has five grandchildren. Gerda moved with her husband Daniel, a lawyer, and family to Colorado in 1951. Gerda has been involved in two business ventures of her own _ working as an Avon representative; and running her own candle making business, Walker's Wax Works. Gerda and her husband Daniel are among the founding members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Denver, where Gerda has been involved in volunteer work, including the design and assembly of banners which decorate the sanctuary of the church. Since none of Gerda's children or grandchildren were able to be here this evening, I must share with you something her daughter Sandy said to me when I was talking with her on the phone a couple of weeks ago _ Sandy said, and I quote, that her mom is, "the most fabulous mother in the whole world." Gerda has been involved with AHSGR on the local and national level since the beginning of the organization. Gerda is a "charter member" of AHSGR, and attended the very first organizational meeting at Windsor Gardens, in Denver, Colorado, on September 8, 1968. Gerda was a member of the first Board of Directors of AHSGR, and has served on the Board several times since. Gerda served as the first Chairperson of the "Genealogy Committee". In this capacity, she introduced the "Genealogy Section" in Work Paper #13 in February of 1970. She published the first Surname Exchange, in its original format, and the first Queries in Work Paper #4 in September of 1970. The present format for the Surname exchange was first published by Gerda in Work Paper #7 in December of 1971. In January of 1973, Gerda edited AHSGR's first issue of its genealogical publication, CLUES. Throughout the years, Gerda has contributed numerous articles published in AHSGR's WORK PAPERS, JOURNALS, and CLUES. These works are far to numerous to mention here this evening. In 1975, AHSGR published posthumously The Czar's Germans, by Hattie Plum Williams. Gerda was Co-Editor of this book, along with Phillip B. Legler and Emma Schwabenland Haynes. This book has become one of the most important sources on Germans From Russia available to researchers today. As a result of discussions at the 1979 convention in Seattle, Gerda developed the program of Village Research Coordinators and was its Director for many years. Gerda is still active in genealogy research, and is a guiding hand in helping others with their research. Her latest major project has been to index Die Welt Post , so that information, on the villages in Russia and their inhabitants, is more readily available to researchers. She has been working on this project now for 15-20 years. And if that isn't enough, Gerda is also now on the "internet". Gerda Stroh Walker is a dedicated genealogist, and has worked hard for the preservation of the history of the Germans From Russia. It gives me great pleasure to present this award to Gerda Stroh Walker-- The award reads, "American Historical Society of Germans From Russia, Distinguished Service Award, presented to Gerda Stroh Walker, July 29, 1995, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This award is given in recognition of the exceptional and meritorious service which Gerda Stroh Walker has given to the Society. And for her positive influence on the Society in the advancement of its goal and purpose of the preservation of the heritage of the Germans From Russia." "American Historical Society of Germans From Russia, Distinguished Service Award, presented to Gerda Stroh Walker, July 29, 1995, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This award is given in recognition of the exceptional and meritorious service which Gerda Stroh Walker has given to the Society. And for her positive influence on the Society in the advancement of its goal and purpose of the preservation of the heritage of the Germans From Russia." (the end) ----------------------------------------- FAMILY TREES AVAILABLE: By Doris (Eckhardt) Evans_ The following listing was put together to aid others in figuring out who has already ordered a family tree chart from Dr. Pleve. If any of these surnames fit into your family, you might want to contact these "owners" of charts, and see if they might be willing to share a copy with you for a donation. The charts were originally purchased for between $550 and $700, so keep this in mind when negotiating the donation. AMEN Chart - Thomas, Dorothy & Lawson, 5700 Mount Pleasant Road, Lincoln, CA 95648-9735 BAUER Chart - Clausen, Barbara, 1116 NE 65th St., Vancouver, WA 98665 BORGENS Chart - Walker, Dan & Gerda (Stroh), 1840 So. Utica St., Denver, CO 80219 DITTER Chart - Ray Koch, 2904 Old Dufer Rd., The Dalles, OR 97058 ECKHARDT Chart - Evans, Doris (Eckhardt), HCR 1 Box 72, Almira, WA 99103, 1-509-639-2284 GETTMAN Chart - Stahl, Sherrie, 1011 N.W. Glisan - #302, Portland, OR 97209-3215, 1-503-224-8875 GRUENWALD Chart - Bandey, Marie Greenwald, 2302 S.W. Chelmsford, Portland, OR 97201 HARTUNG Chart - Ray Koch, 2904 Old Dufer Rd., The Dalles, OR 97058 HERBST Chart - Bauer, Reba, 123 N. 2300 E., St. Anthony, ID 83445 HOFF Chart - Evans, Doris (Eckhardt), HCR 1 Box 72, Almira, WA 99103, 1- 509-639-2284 KISSLER Chart - Kissler, Clarence, 2 Claret Ash, Littleton, CO 80127 KOCH/COOK Chart - Koch, Ray, 2904 Old Dufer Rd., The Dalles, OR 97058 KREITZER Chart - Potter, Louise, 306 N Alder St, Toppenish, WA 98949-1309 STROH Chart - Walker, Dan & Gerda (Stroh), 1840 So. Utica St., Denver, CO 80219 TRUPP Chart - Krieger, Marie (Trupp), 7533 N. Chatham Ave., Portland, OR 97217 UHRICH Chart - Uhrich, Rod, 401 Ivanhoe, Denver, CO 80220 WAGNER Chart - AHSGR, 631 D. Street, Lincoln, NE WACKER Chart - Walker, Dan & Gerda (Stroh), 1840 So. Utica St., Denver, CO 80219 WEIDERMAN Chart - Kissler, Clarence, 2 Claret Ash, Littleton, CO 80127 WEITZEL Chart - (Dan Hoff knows the person to contact for chart) Hoff, Dan & Irene, P.O. Box 431 - 2652 Richard, Cayucos, CA 93430-0431 ZEILER Chart - Walker, Dan & Gerda (Stroh), 1840 So. Utica St., Denver, CO 80219. -------- We also have a "wish list" of charts we would like to order from Dr. Pleve. Several people are collecting "donations" to help defray the costs of these charts. If you are interested in ORDERING charts on any of these Surnames, please write to the following people: 1) HOFFERBER Chart _ Louise Potter, 306 N Alder St., Toppenish, WA 98948- 1309 2) KLEIN Chart - Barbara Clausen, 1116 NE 65th St., Vancouver, WA 98665 or call (360) 750-9817 3) LEONHARDT Chart - Dorothy (Hoff) Thomas, 5700 Mt Pleasant Rd., Lincoln CA 95648-9735 4) SCHAEFER Chart - Dorothy (Hoff) Thomas, 5700 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Lincoln CA 95648-9735 If you have a chart you have ordered, or one you would like to order, let us know, and we will ADD you to our listing!! The End --------------------------------------------------------------- FALLEN LEAVES: CONRAD HEIMBIGNER -- Walla Walla, WA Conrad "Cooney" Heimbigner, 92, of 144 Stone Street, died April 13, 1994 at Blue Mountain Medical and Rehabilitation Center. The memorial service will be at 1PM Monday at Christ Lutheran Church with the Rev. Robert McCoy officiating. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery with graveside services conducted by BPOE No. 287. Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Lutheran Church through the Herring Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder St. Mr. Heimbigner was born April 1, 1903 in Frank, Russia. He was one of seven children born to Conrad and Anna Marie Greenwalt Heimbigner. The family came to the United States by boat when he was a young boy. On August 12, 1935 he married Pauline Hill in Walla Walla. They made their home on Stone Street. She died in 1989. For many years, Mr. Heimbigner owned a coffee shop business at the Eagles Lanes. Before that, he owned Shelton's Restaurant beside the Grand Hotel. He also operated a taxi cab service in Walla Walla. He was a member of the Christ Lutheran Church, a 50 year member of the BPOE #287, a longtime member of the FOE #26, and a president and senior member of the Bowling League. He was a champion bowler and played in various bowling leagues. He enjoyed working in his rose garden. Surviving are a sister, Kate Haylett of Walla Walla; a sister-in- law, Mary Heimbigner of Walla Walla; a niece and nephew of Walla Walla and several cousins. He is preceded in death by a sister Edna Holce and four brothers, Henry, Jacob, Carl and Harry Heimbigner. (provided by Bernice Elledge) -------------------------------------------------------- "KATARINA BOSTRON AND HER FAMILY FROM FRANK, RUSSIA TO AMERICA" --by Virginia Helton West Forward: A couple of years ago, I put in the Frank Newsletter a picture of my grandparents, Heinrich and Maria Katarina (Hoffman) BASTRON with the caption, "Does anyone have any information on these people?" This is a my "success story" to say that I have found their roots through RAGAS. The following is a story of my mother's life. She was born in FRANK, Russia and is still living in Santa Clara, California. She is 90 years old!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * How different it might have been for Katie Bastron if her father did not have the courage to leave home and family and try for a better life! Katarina Bastron was born in Frank, Russia on September 3, 1904 to Heinrich and Maria Bastron. [PICTURE:Henry Bostron & Mary Katherine Hoffman] Katarina had three older brothers, Heinrich, Jacob and Johannes and an older sister Maria Katarina, age 13, who died about 2 months before Katarina was born. Her mother, Maria Bastron was not only overcome with grief over losing her only daughter at the time, but she also had complications with the birth of Katarina. Maria remained ill and in bed for seven months after the birth of her second daughter, Katarina. The care of the new baby then fell to the father, Heinrich. He fed Katarina a porridge similar to our Cream of Wheat and she seemed to thrive. Therefore, there was much more of a bonding between this father and daughter than would have ordinarily taken place. Katarina said her father was a wagon-maker in Russia and of course a farmer. Thus, he did have an occupation he could use at some time in the future. Early in 1906, Heinrich Bastron decided to come to America. His youngest daughter, Katarina, or Katie as she was called, was by then 15 months old and could travel safely. His other children were Johannes 4, Jacob 10, and Heinrich 12. He obtained a passport for his family which indicated he could return to Russia in 5 years if the family so desired. So he left his father and his home in Frank, Russia and arrived in Greeley, Colorado where he had relatives living. They worked the sugar beets like everyone else. At one time, the family traveled to Walla Walla, Washington and lived in that community for a while. He was night watchman at the local fire house for a short time. Late in 1910, the federal census shows the family working sugar beets again outside Greeley, Colorado. Katarina said they lived in a "shanty". Late in 1910, Heinrich Bastron, with his wife, Maria, and all his family of 4 children, traveled back to Frank, Russia. Not only does the subsequent ship's list show he did this, but a letter printed in the Dakota Freie Press from Franker Chutor dated January 17, 1911 stated, "Heinrich Bastron and family have returned from America. He bought the house of Heinrich Schneidmiller who died of cholera. The house belonged to Jakob Bastron, before Schneidmiller. Jacob Bastron came back from America and was immediately drafted into the army." This home was in Franker Chutor. They lived there for 2 years. Most of the stories that Katarina has told must have originated from this two year time frame as she was between 6-8 years old at the time. She told of knowing both of her grandfathers, Heinrich Bastron and Casper Hoffman who lived in Frank. She never knew her grandmothers because they both had died before her parents were married. Katarina had an enjoyable life at this point. She remembers the dogs going out to the field to get the cows at night and marveled how they knew how to do that. Also, when the cows came home, they seemed to know how to turn into the right gate. Katarina has had a life-long love of dogs which probably began in Franker Chutor. She told of how her mother "managed the cow". Maria would make butter in molds and sell the butter at the local store. Katarina said everyone always wanted Maria Bastron's butter as it was the best! The family made sauerkraut in a big barrel. Since Katie was the smallest family member, she would have her feet washed very carefully, then lifted into the barrel, she would stomp around and around. It was a lot of fun. Katarina remembered being very happy and carefree at this time of her life. She said the neighbors were always out talking and there were frequent get-togethers to eat. Her mother was a marvelous cook and many times the events would be held at their home. There was much give and take between neighbors and this is probably why today Katarina always picks out the most unfortunate individuals in her area and concentrates on giving them food, clothing, blankets, etc. In her mind, this is just the way it was done. if you were just a little bit unfortunate, though, she will ignore you. You are to attempt to pick yourself up. In October of 1912, Katarina's father decided once again to come to America. We don't know the reason for the return, but it may be safe to assume that it was to keep his sons from being drafted into the Army. Heinrich's father had been drafted into the Territorial Army at age 21 in 1874. He had to leave his wife, Christina, age 21 and son Heinrich (Katarina's father) who was only one year old, born January 24, 1873. Heinrich would have heard of this incident all his life. In any event, Heinrich Bastron took his family once again on the long trek to America - the third trip across the water for this family. His sons were now ages 18, 15, and 10 and Katarina was now 8 years old. When the family arrived in Bremen, Germany, they were to sail on a beautiful German ship, the Kronprinzessin Cecilie to America. [PICTURE: SHIP -Kronprinzessin Cecilie] It was set to depart on October 22, 1912 from Bremen. (Remember the Titanic had just went down in April of 1912. Katarina has carried a dreaded fear of the water with her all her life.) All family members were listed on the ship's manifest and then Jacob, age 15, had his name crossed out! Under "health" there was something written which is intelligible now. They had to leave their 15 year old son, Jacob behind in Bremen! Can you imagine the family's turmoil? The trip on the beautiful ship certainly would have been an anxious one. The ship arrived at the port of New York City on October 29, 1912. Upon arrival the remaining family was processed through Ellis Island and then took a train to Greeley, Colorado to join Heinrich's relatives. What had Jacob done, all alone and probably ill in a country certainly not his own? We don't know, and he never mentioned it to his only daughter, Alma, now married to Kenneth Follis. Two and a half weeks later, on November 9, 1912, the Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm sailed from Bremen with Jacob aboard. [PICTURE: SHIP -Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm ] The ship arrived at the port of New York on November 18, 1912 and Jacob took a train to Greeley, Colorado to join the rest of his family. Had Jacob not lived in America from 1906-1910, he might not have had any command of the English language. But, he did, and somehow he managed the trip to Colorado entirely by himself. Heinrich and family once again worked the sugar beets in Greeley, Colorado. At nearly the same time frame as the Heinrich Bastron family was coming to America, Maria Bastron, 17, and her sister Natalie, 16, also from Frank, Russia, sailed on the Kronprinz Wilhelm from Bremen on October 29, 1912. The two sisters traveled all by themselves and they were going to Fort Collins, Colorado. One year later, On December 29, 1913, Heinrich's sons Heinrich married Maria Bastron from Frank. They said they were not relatives and probably were not close relatives as it has been noted there were already 62 Bastrons in Frank in the 1834 Census. Henry Jr, as he was now called, was 19 and Mary (formerly Maria) was 18. The surname was officially changed to Bostron upon their return to America the second time. On June 5, 1917, Henry Bostron Jr. was obligated to register for the draft for World War I. He was 22 years old, living in Greeley, Colorado, employed as a blacksmith and had a wife and 2 children _ which probably kept him out of the U.S. Army. Henry Bostron Sr. was involved in other activities in Greeley. In February of 1916 a group of people from the community formed the third "Volga" German church in the State of Colorado. They named it St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church and adopted the Constitution on February 28, 1916. Henry Bostron is proudly listed as one of those founders in a 50th anniversary book published in 1966 for the Church (now called St. Johns United Church of Christ). In the unbelievably short span of three months, the building of St. Johns, which has a seating capacity of 250 persons, was completed. This church was located just a block behind where Henry Bostron lived and Katarina remembers her father working on building this church. [PICTURE: St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church ] Also in the "50th Anniversary Book" of the Church is a photograph of the 1917 Confirmation Class (the first Confirmation of the Church). Proudly shown is John Bostron, Henry's youngest son and Katarina's brother. (See page 9 top for the picture of the 1917 Confirmation Class!) She was very fond of this brother, since he was closest in age to herself, and he would always protect her from the other children's' ugly words. John is almost 93 years old now, and living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin being cared for by his daughter, Iva Zimmerman. Katarina's own Confirmation would come in April of 1919, at this same church. In November 1916, land records in Greeley, Colorado show Henry H. Bostron Jr., (newly adopted initial) purchased property at 510 Tenth Street, right in the heart of the German-Russian community. Henry Jr. almost immediately sold this property to his father _ in December of 1916. They now had a place to live in town. In January of 1919, another piece of property was purchased at 418 Tenth Street by Henry Sr. Katarina has told of how her father purchased this old home, tore it down and built a new brick home for the family there. She told of how he dug out the basement by shovel, one scoop of dirt at a time. He probably had plenty of helping hands from the children. The bricks for the exterior were laid very carefully _ new on the outside and used on the inside of the home. Katarina said the house was trimmed in a cream color and he put a light green picket fence around the outside of his home. He was very proud of it and always used cream and light green on the trim of his homes everywhere he lived. It still stands today and looks elegant. [PICTURE: House At 418 Tenth Street, Greeley, Colorado ] Life was not without turmoil. One day Henry Sr. was coming home from the grocery store on a bicycle, which was his usual form of transportation. Someone on a motorcycle ran into him and then left the scene. Another good Samaritan loaded Henry up in his wagon and brought him home. Of course, he did not see a doctor. Besides, it was an expense they could do without. Henry was hurt quite badly, but recovered. The dreaded flu came also. Katarina remembers a number of relatives across the street dying. They referred to them as "cousins". Her family did not get it except for Henry, her father. He got very sick and said he was going to bed to "sweat it out" which he did. It took him about three days and he was back on his feet. The Volga German Russians must have had some marvelous kind of immune system. The family was growing up and beginning lives of their own. It was not possible to work the sugar beets any longer because the helpers were gone. Henry Jr. had moved away to Alliance, Nebraska to work on the Burlington Railroad as a shop foreman. He encouraged his father to come to Alliance. Jacob had been drafted into the U.S. Army and had safely returned, but would work for himself. John had married Emma Kunzman in 1918 (she came from the Volga town of Bangert). Katarina was the only one left at home. But Henry Bostron was not sad that the sugar beet harvest would no longer be his way of life. He must strive for a better way. He had his carpentry, had acquired workable English, and was ready for more. Back in 1917, Henry had applied for Naturalization for himself and his family (there was a 5 year waiting period after entering the U.S. and he applied as soon as he could). Even then, he was preparing for the time he would be able to move on to work at a carpentry job. Things got serious in the winter of 1920. Henry sold his beloved home on February 12, 1920. He rented a home owned by the Eckhardt's just two doors away for one month. Henry had expected to be Naturalized by the time his home sold, but was requested to attend a hearing at the schoolhouse located close to their home before they would grant his naturalization. Finally, on March 6, 1920, he passed _ and the Naturalization was granted to Henry Bostron and all of his 4 children. he immediately moved to Alliance, Nebraska where a job was waiting for him as a carpenter on the hand cars for the Burlington Railroad. Henry Jr. was instrumental in getting his father the job. Henry Bostron Sr. worked at this job for 17 years before retiring. John and his wife had already moved to Alliance, also. They were to move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin later, where John became a pattern maker for candlesticks, and other items. Katarina changed her name to Katherine. She said she did not want to be teased any longer that her name was CAT. Jacob, known as Jake, meanwhile was working in Loveland, Colorado and was attracted to a young lady by the name of Katherine Miller. He married her on September 10, 1922. (This Katherine Miller is the sister of David Miller who was a co-founder of AHSGR.) [PICTURE: Jake Bostron & Katherine (Miller) Bostron] Now most of the family is in Alliance, Nebraska living the American homestyle. Katherine, becoming of age, began to see a German gentleman. He was 10 years older than she and her mother encouraged her to marry him. Katherine must have been rebellious and decided she did not want to marry a German and gave him a newly purchased pocket knife to cut the relationship. Katherine visited a fortune teller and this person told her that she would meet a dark and handsome gentleman soon. She would marry him and have 3 children. She would never have much money, but she would not want for anything either. Finally, she was told that she would live to be 97 years old! So far, all of this has happened. Katherine met her supposed English gentleman within a few months. (Sounds like SECOND HOEING.) She dated him for 6 months and eloped in February of 1926. She had three children. She is 90 years and a half old and currently resides in a rest home in Santa Clara, California! Of course, there are a few twists. Katherine's supposed English gentleman with the English name of Helton (variation of Hilton); is really more than 3/4 German. His mother is all German (names Eurich and Dorman) and his father is from two families that settled in York, Pennsylvania. (Names are Winkler and the prestigious German family named BOTT that started a town in Pennsylvania which was annexed to the city of York, PA.) So Katarina really married German, after all. The 1930's came and Jake Bostron and wife moved to Portland, Oregon, working for Dohrnbecker's Furniture Company for many years. Some of his wife's sisters were there also. Katherine Bostron Helton and husband, with two children, Caroline 9 years old and Virginia 15 months old, decided to move there also in 1936. Within the year, Katherine's parents, Henry and Mary Bostron, moved to Portland. They lived in the Northeast section of Portland (Albina) were many other German Russian families resided. Thus, we have the parents and two grown and married children living in the same town again. Katherine's beloved father, Henry, was ill with stomach cancer. They spent much time together, but the end would come soon. One night, Katherine tells that her father entered her room, walking through the closed door. She sat up in bed. He came over to her and said, "Katarina, I must leave you now." And he was gone. Her father died in August of 1938. Life goes on. A third child was born to Katherine and Purl Helton, a boy this time- Roger Helton in 1944. The same year, Purl was injured in an accident helping someone unload sugar when he was at an extra job as an accountant. He was out of work a number of years and lived on insurance settlements for a while. The fortune teller's prediction had come true that Katherine would not ever have a lot of money, but that she would not want to anything either. In about 6 years, Purl was able to work and moved his remaining family to California. He died in 1969. Brother John Bostron was still very close to Katherine and began to visit her from Milwaukee, Wisconsin almost every summer for a couple of weeks. He admitted once that he like to come see his sister because no one else could make potatoes and dumplings the old way. She also made him fruit dumplings boiled in water with thick cream and butter poured over the top. Yum, yum! [PICTURE: John, Katherine & Henry Bostron (taken 1968)] In the 1960's, Henry Jr. and John made the trip from Milwaukee and Alliance to California to see Katherine. They then drove to Portland to see Jake. The family had gotten together again just one more time. Henry died in June 1969 just a day after John and Katherine visited him in Alliance. Jake died in February 1980. With all the struggles and striving for a better life the main legacy the Bostron family has left its descendants is that hard work and honesty really do pay off with the enrichment of the human spirit. ______________________________________ Postscript: Through the RAGAS organization, I have been able to find my ancestors back to 1775. Through the sheer luck of being one of the families on the translated 1798 Frank Census, recently published in the Frank/Brunnental Village Newsletter, I have further found my ancestors back to 1740 including the first one to come to Frank, Russia. I would encourage anyone to use the RAGAS service. It takes a year or more after you send in the initial application, but the results are very satisfying. I was charged $441 for the research and translation. AHSGR has forms to send to RAGAS and you send them to a PO Box in Maryland. Not all research will be available. My grandmother surname of Hoffman was in the 1834 Census, but there was no more recent information, so I cannot find her proper family. It's worth a try. The records in Russia are apparently open now __by Virginia West ------------------------------------------ The BASTROM FAMILY TREE: Johan Ludwig Bastrom, b. 1740 Henrietta Lang, b. 1740 (wife) Bernard Bastrom, b 1775, d 1829 Elisabetha Weitzel, b. 1777 Bernard Bastron, b 22 Jan 1816, d 1883 Christina Elisabetha ?, b. 1853 Heinrich Bastron, b. 27 Sept. 1853 Maria Katharina Hoffman, b. 17 Mar 1871, d. Nov 1949 Mary Katarina Bastron, b. 1891, d 1904 Heinrich Bastron, b. 21 Jul 1894, d 7 June 1969 Jakob Bastron, b 27 Nov 1896, d. 18 Feb 1980 Johannes Bastron, b. 4 May 1902 *Katarina Bastron, b. 3 Sep 1904 [*Virginia West's mother] -------------------------------------------------------- [See the following article for a listing of founders of the St. Pauls Evangelical Lutheran Church in Greeley, Colorado] FOUNDERS OF ST. JOHNS EVANGELICAL CHURCH IN GREELEY, COLORADO This history and listing of names was taken from the Saint Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church (United Church of Christ), Greeley, Colorado - 50th Anniversary Booklet (1916-1966). The Founding of St. Johns Church: In 1874, when the Russian government broke its promise in the German settlement, of libertion from military services, and drafted the young German colonists into its army, many Germans were opposed and began to emigrate to the free world. From then and up to 1914, the beginning of WWI, many of these German people who had been born in the Volga colonies, South Russia and Siberia, came to the United States. Many thousands settled in Weld County, Colorado, as hardworking farmers and laborers, enjoying the blessings of liberty in this country. In February of 1916, a group of these people gathered in a widow's home on 10th street in Greeley to discuss the founding of a new congregation. Reverend Paul Jueling, at that time pastor at Windsor, Colorado, and Reverend J. Jans, President of the Academy at Ft. Collins, CO, were the advisors and were in charge of placements until Reverend Baumgaertel was called as the first pastor. Mr. Conrad Herbst and Mr. Conrad Sitzman contacted an attorney named Tom Nixon who helped with the legal organization of the congregation, and thus it was that the third "Volga" German church in the State of Colorado was formed. Since no other church was as yet named St. Johns, the name St. Johns Evangelical Lutheran Church was adopted, as was also the Constitution, on February 29, 1916. Fifty families formed the foundation of this congregation and in the unbelievably short span of three months, completed the building of St. Johns, which has a seating capacity of 250 persons. The records show that on March 8, 1916, the N 130' of Lot 1,2, and 3, Blk 137, Greeley, Colorado was purchased and recorded by Warranty Deed for $200 from Amanda Alber. The house that was situated on the property was sold to Alex Bender and moved onto the lot immediately south of the church property. These families were extremely poor in terms of cash money, property and things of material values; their "riches" being in their religious beliefs and the determination to have their own church. Every member gave unselfishly of his time and talent to build this House of God, worshipping in the meantime in a hall. On May 14, 1916, the dedication was held and on July 15, 1916, the congregation was accepted into the Colorado District at the District Conference in Windsor, Colorado. Old church records were at times incomplete and at times illegible. Without doubt, the listing below is incomplete. The anniversary committee wishes to thank the many people who contributed information for the below available listing of those who "organized and built St. John's Church." Henry Altergott George Bauer George Bernhardt Jake Bernhardt John Bernhardt Conrad Benzel Henry Bostron John Brehon George Brungard Conrad Ditter John Ditter Conrad Eckhardt George Eckhardt Conrad Flot George Flot Henry Flot Conrad Foos John Foos Jacob Frank Chris Gies Henry Gies Fred Gettman Goerge Gettman Jacob Geisick Conrad Hartung Conrad Herbst George Herbst Henry Herbst George Hoff Henry Hoff George Kammerzell Ed Kobobel Henry Lapp Alex Mitchell Conrad Reiter John Reiter Jake Rohn Oscar Hohn G. J. Rosenoff, Sr. G. J. Rosenoff Pete Schlagel Conrad Sitzman John Sitzman John Schneider Peter Schnorr Henry Steinmark Henry Strausheim George Stroh Jake Stroh John Thiel George Thoutt Jake Troupe Henry Uhrich John Uhrich, Sr. John Uhrich George Uhrich Conrad Walters Henry Walters Jacob Walters John Walters Alex Wilhelm George Wilhelm Henry Wilhelm THE END ------------------------------------------------------- VISITING BRUNNENTAL -- by Ken Hartung, Vulcan, Alberta, Canada (....continued from the Winter 94/95 issue) [....with the editors sincere apology!! Seems that I overlooked this in the last issue, but better late than never.] Our next visit was the German cemetery on the east side of town and south of the dam. The cemetery had thousands of unmarked mounds. My grandfather was a carpenter and made many of the markers, but they have all been destroyed. On the east side of the cemetery were two marked graves. These were Russian individuals who had committed suicide. The Russians feels that anyone who takes his life is not worthy to be buried in their cemetery. So they were separated from the Russians and buried with the Germans. Just to the north side of the cemetery were several unusual patterns in the grassland. There were large round mounds and depressions possibly twelve feet in diameter. I am very familiar with native grassland and I've never seen anything like these. It is my feeling that these were locations of mass graves. During the early twenties, when starvation was so widespread and people were dying daily, I'm sure many were buried in mass graves. I have no other explanation for these unusual patterns. After our visit to the cemetery, we parked our taxi on the dam and had lunch. The dam is a large body of water that covers approximately 60 acres. This is a wonderful water storage facility and a good supply of water for the town of Brunnental. Next we drove back into town and visited the "Lafka" or the general store. This was the old Hardt/Hart store that is still in operation today. The building is divided into two shops today. On one side you can buy clothing, linen, and boots and on the other side you can buy some canned goods, pop, candy, Vodka and fresh baked bread. The taxi driver and interpreter purchased for each of us a fresh load of warm brown bread. We had fresh baked bread from Brunnental. Delicious! We then drove to the west side of town. Just west of the churchyard, the old German homes have been replaced by a large white brick building used today as a cultural center or theater. Brunnental has a small river that flows west along the north side of town that is fed by the dam on the east side of town. It also has a small river that flows west on the south side of town and the two rivers join at the west side of town forming a fairly large body of water. Brunnental translated means "well valley". So the two valleys with flowing water and possibly some wells give the town it's name. We crossed Bridge #8 which was located on the west side of town. This must still be the old original bridge. The taxi driver made us get out of the car and walk across while he braved the bridge by himself. We continued west approximately 1/2 mile. Here we found a very elaborate set of irrigiation gates which at one time controlled the flow of water into a large canal flowing southward. I'm sure this water gate system was built by the Germans in the mid 1800's, but it is no longer in use today. (note #2). Below this dam is a network of small irrigation arteries used by the Germans to water gardens and an apple orchard on the south side of the dam. The apple orchard is very broken down possibly due to livestock rubbing and breaking down the trees. We left Brunnental around 5:00 P.M. Just west of the village is a state farm repair shop; so being a farmer, I needed to check out the equipment. Here they use the caterpillar track tractors instead of wheel tractors. This surprised me as the land here is very flat and ideal for wheel tractors. While we were visiting, two combines came to the shop from a hay field. They were using these combines for cutting their hay into windrows. The combines were only used as power sources to operate the headers that laid the windrows to the left side of the machine. Their grain planting machines were of great interest to us. To our amazement the machines were an exact duplicate of a seed drill that was engineered in southern Alberta. The machine was developed by Nobel Industries in Nobelford, Alberta and they manufacture equipment that is used in North America. I've used the machine myself. What a surprise to see southern Alberta technology manufactured in Russia. It was even more surprising that I saw it in the area where my father came from. Brunnental seems to be one of the best villages of any we visited. The streets were upgraded and fairly well maintained. Some bridge crossings have been redone with dams and culverts. Many homes have renewed exteriors with brick. After the Volga tour, I felt the development in the village seemed to be moving along better than many of the other German villages we visited. They told us the population of Brunnental was about 2,000 people. This surprised me as I felt it was less than 1000. On the west side of town is a new German housing development. The German government is providing some new instant housing for German people returning from Siberia and Kazahkstan. How many German people were living here, I was not sure of. Even though my cultural heritiage is fascinating to me, there is another one I received from my Russian-German family that is far more significant. This is my spiritual heritiage. Many changes occurred in the lives of my family, but their faith in Jesus Christ was the one constant that never changed. Although the Bolshevik Revolution and Communism intended to extinquish the Christian faith of my ancestors, the persecution and devastation they faced only make their conviction stronger. I believe it was the hand of God that preserved my family through their afflictions and brought them out of Russia and into North America. I feel the most valuable heritage I can pass on to my children is the one I received from my parents, and that is to personally know their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe the most exciting thing about my family's history is knowing it will extend far beyond the temporal realms of this earth into eternity with our Lord. PICTURES: 1) German Cemetery Facing East 2) (see Russian graves in the distance) 3) N. Side of the Cemetery Facing North Towards Dam 4) The Lafka In Brunnental Today 5) Inside The Lafka in Brunnental 6) Taxi Going Over Bridge #8 7) Irrigation Gates or Dam 8) Track Tractors Used in Brunnental Today 9) Combines Used in Brunnental Today 10)Bridge #4 Looking North (picture probably taken from the upper school windows) 11)Streets In Brunnental Story and Pictures by Ken Hartung Vulcan, Alberta, Canada -------------------------------------------- POEM SHARED BY MARIE (GREENWALD) BANDEY from Portland, Oregon-- Isn't it strange that princes and kings, And clowns that caper in sawdust rings, And common folk like you and me, Are builders of eternity. To each is given a bag of tools, A shapeless mass, a book of rules. And each must fashion, ere life has flown A stumbling block or a stepping stone. Author Unknown ------------------------------------------------------------------- THE HISTORY OF BRUNNENTAL 1918 to 1941 --- by Jakob Mohrland Once again I would like to THANK those who undertook the "translation project" of 78 pages of German text: Jo Ann Kuhr --Pages 1-2 Marie (Trupp) Krieger --Pages 3-40 Donald Herzog -- Pages 41-78 As you remember from our last issue, Jakob Mohrland was just starting to tell us about the early 1930's. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...The MTS workers endured a very hard time during 1931 & 1932. It came to pass that the workers could not work their eight hours due to hunger and fatigue. But even more difficult times were ahead for them in the latter part of 1932 and 1933. The report of 1931 has now ended and I will tell you about the year of 1932! The year began with a greater privation than that which existed at the end of 1931. As I said before, the first of our people died of starvation in February and March of 1932. Now, in the time of our greatest need at the beginning of 1932, it so happened that those who had betrayed us, also suffered. The proletariat, the spies, and the search teams were also starving. During the previous two year period, when they spied on us and betrayed us, the families had to suffer need and hunger. Nobody gave the spies and traitors even a crumb of bread. Now the spies and traitors remarked too late, "if the wealthy have nothing, then the poor hadn't had anything for a long time". The hungry villagers longed for spring. I must also say that not only did the villagers die of starvation, many froze to death. Everything that they had possessed, had been condemned and taken from them for the Collectives. Due to the fact that the people did not have any livestock, there wasn't any manure to burn for fuel. The stalls and barns had been dismantled and taken by the Collectives and also given to the villagers for fuel. Very little straw was available to use as a fuel. The Collectives needed the straw for the cattle. Now, after a great longing, the expected Spring of 1932 arrived with the hope of improved conditions. But how could conditions improve? The government never gave a thought about helping the starving population. The only improvement was that the people would not have to freeze to death. It was said that the only help will come from God. He allowed an abundance of grasses to grow. The people cut everything that was green and ate it either raw or cooked. Hunger is painful!! But this time again, on or another would hike some of the seed in order to save those families that were near to death due to starvation. There was little opportunity to do so. The privation of the villagers was worse at the end of the 1932 planting than at the same time in 1931. Now the Stalinists were placing the claim on the Collective's inefficiency and the cause of the privation. Of course, the Communists could not admit that they were to blame for the starvation of the Collective farmers. Now they searched out among the Collective farmers, those that knew all about agriculture and labeled them as saboteurs and enemies of the State. They were removed from their jobs, and condemned. Those jobs were now given to the Communist party members who understood very little about agricultural matters. Now, agriculture went into reverse gear! During the winter months of 1932, the tractors were repaired at the MTS with whatever spare parts were available. There were some tractors and thrashers that were delivered during the winter. The spring planting was accomplished mostly with tractors. The tractors were assigned to the field brigades. The planting was strictly observed. From the time of the spring planting until the harvest, the Brunnentalers were in greater need and suffering than in 1931. Nothing could be done to provide nourishment to the starving people. In spite of the adverse conditions existing at planting time of 1932, the crop didn't turn out too bad. Due to the designated amount of grain demanded by the State to fulfill it's quota in the overall agricultural plan, there was nothing left over for us. For all their labor, the Collective farmers received very small amounts of grain in 1932. Shortly after the fall harvest, the few kilograms of grain that were allotted to the farmers, were taken from them. Now the people had nothing! There was quite an amount of vegetables and white cabbage that they had gathered from the gardens and they preserved them in crocks. Some people didn't manage to do that. Now the Brunnentalers were facing a catastrophe of starvation never before occurring since the founding of Brunnental in 1855. The management of the Collective farms were now the members of the Communist Party. They new nothing of agricultural matters and thus the misery and want of the people was perfect! In November 1932, many people had swelling in their legs because of lack of nourishment. In December of 1932, people began to die. During January of 1933, entire families would starve to death. There were mass graves and no coffins. The relatives and friends of victims were so weak that they were unable to dig graves in the frozen earth. The dead would have to be buried later. In 1933, the piles of straw would again be threshed as in 1932, but that produced pitifully little grain. One could hardly save those poor souls from starvation that had thrashed the straw. The winter of 1933 was very cold. I took a spade and went to the garden and shoveled the snow away from the area where the cabbage had grown in the fall. Under the snow, I found frozen cabbage leaves and the cabbage roots from which the cabbage heads had been cut. My mother washed everything clean and then cooked it with salt ...there wasn't anything else! In this manner, we clung to life _ in other words, we saved ourselves from dying of hunger. My twin sisters, who were 1 1/2 years old, died of starvation by the end of February. The children could not be saved by the cabbage roots and leaves. My oldest sister, who was assigned to feed the cattle and milk them, occasionally could bring a few kernels to the house. These kernels were the leftovers of the sunflower oil press, that we used as cattle fuel. The seeds were so hard that a hammer had to be used to crush them. Small loaves were made of this crushed kernels of grain. The skins of the kernels were included. The skins did have some fat and whoever was hungry would eat it and keep chewing so that the last bit of fat was extracted from the skins. The skins of the kernels were then spit out. I will tell you that this small amount of nourishment, that was initially intended for the cattle, in some small degree saved some people from death. There were times that the cattle were fed straw. It was expected that the cows would produce milk. But they were just as hungry as the people. The Party always knew better! By the end of March, we had survived starvation because of the cabbage leaves and cabbage roots, and an occasional loaf made of the leftovers of the sunflower oil press, but each day we heard of more deaths. As it happened in 1921, many people left the villages and went to the larger cities in 1932, so that they would not die in Brunnental. At the end of March, the snow suddenly began to melt and in a short time the fields were cleared of snow. As I mentioned so many times, God had sent a lot of ground squirrels - more than usual. He certainly was aware that we were starving. I would like to say something about the ground squirrels. These animals live out on the steppes. They feed on grass and grain. They were destructive to agriculture, and before the grain ripened, one either had to control them or capture them. These squirrels lived to eat the grain and caused a lot of destruction to the fields. The best time to catch them is to pour water into their tunnels and nab them as they jump out of their burrows. Normally, the farmers would catch and kill the squirrels to prevent damage to the crops and fields. If the farmers controlled the squirrels each year, then the problems they created for the farmers would be in acceptable limits. The ground squirrels dig deep holes in the earth where they can hibernate and be protected from the cold. These animals weigh about 300 to 400 grams, have a smooth fur that can be used by the furriers. Normally these animals are not eaten, but in the spring of 1933, they were all that stood between life and death for many Brunnentalers. I, too, went out to the fields one day in March 1933 with two buckets and drowned out three squirrels, took them home, dressed them out, and then ate them. It was terrible for the people that due to weakness from hunger, some could not carry the buckets of water to flush out the ground squirrels. In all events, one had to admit that these little animals rescued the lives of many Brunnentalers, including me and my family. During the starvation years of 1921-1924, aid came from Germany, America, and Canada. From 1930 to 1934, Stalin would not allow any aid from foreigners. He just allowed the people of Brunnental and the entire Volga-German Republic to starve without giving them any consideration. Considering all of the conditions, the crop in 1933 wasn't too bad in the fields. The crops seemed to be rather good; the Communist Party gave less thought to the starving people than that of fulfilling the quota of grain to the State. Up until harvest time, the villagers fought death from starvation until the crops were harvested. As the crops matured, the fields were guarded. The hungry people would sneak into the fields and separated the kernels from the stem by rubbing it between the hands, and then eating it immediately. Finally, when it came to the job of harvesting the crop, the people were much to weak to work. It was some time before they were able to work up the energy to go to work. The Communists were now compelled to allow some of the grain of the new harvest to be milled so that the people had something to eat. And again, as in the years 1931 & 1932, the Collective farmers were given a small portion of the harvest, in payment for their labor. Several months later, the people began to starve again. Only the workers that operated the thrashers and tractors received more grain and some cash. The Party leaders realized that the reapers and tractors could not operate without "living" people. The party did not want to let them starve. The thrasher operators were paid high wages for each hectare of grain, and the tractor operators asked for more pay and grain, and they received it. The rest of the workers hardly received anything. Those who were able to stand up had the chance to survive, but few had the inclination to do so. The majority of the Brunnentalers had to contend with hunger through the winter of 1933-1934. During that long cold winter, many more starved to death. I will relate to you as to what happened in 1934. Up until the harvest of 1934, conditions were the same as in 1933, with the exception that the harvest was better than 1933. The people received more provisions than in the previous years. Now none in Brunnental were starving. But one should not believe that the need and privation was over. Conditions had only slightly improved. For some families, conditions improved. A few of them had acquired a few chickens or a goat or two; at the most, a steer or a cow. Above all, the tractor and thrasher operators were paid extra. And it was soon realized that there was not a crop that could be expected to be harvested, without the services of the people that operated those machines. For example, the thrasher operators received high wages and special privileges. The more hectares that he thrashed, the higher his privileges & awards - such as the Order of Lenin that also included a cash reward. Now we go to the year 1935. During the winter months, the tractor and all of the farm implements were thoroughly reconditioned and repaired. The spring planting proceeded without a hitch in the plans. The Collective farmers had recovered somewhat and had enough to eat during the planting season. On the average, the harvest of 1935 was rather poor. The thrasher machine operators received high wages and premiums, and in addition to that they received coupons that entitled them to buy clothing and other goods that were in short supply at that time. Even the tractor operators received more money and grain, and even the field laborers received more labor coupons than they had received the year before. In 1935, a new thrashing machine was introduced with the name of "Stalinetz". This machine had a cutting edge of nearly twenty feet and had a much better motor with more horsepower than the smaller thrashers which had a cutting edge of only eight feet. The new thrasher was not self- propelled, and had to be pulled by a tractor. This system of thrashing, using two expensive thrashing machines with a four man crew, was a wasteful arrangement for the Collective. It so happened that in order to harvest the meager crop, the Collective had to use four tractors to pull the 8 ft. thrashers, and six tractors to pull the 20 ft. thrashers. In addition, four wagons were dispatched with the smaller thrashers, and six wagons with the larger thrashers. The grain fields were very large and the wagons had to follow the thrashing machines both coming and going. The thrashers did not stop at all when they unloaded the grain into the wagons. the field brigade leaders were responsible to see to it that the wagons were always ready and in place in order to harvest the grain without stoppage. Since the beginning of Collectivization, the meager harvest now had to be placed out in the open in huge piles. The storing of the precious grain, wheat and rye was a difficult problem and a tempting one at that. Before Collectivization in 1929, the storage of grain was no problem at all. All of the farmers had plenty of room to store the grain in the silos. Because Stalin's people were so short sighted, and because the silos were 90% filled, the Collectives immediately dismantled the silos that were in the farm yards. After Collectivization, the grain had to be stored in the open fields, where a 30% loss could be expected. Even at that, they always placed the blame on someone else. Now I will tell you about Stalin's greatest mistake. At the beginning of the 1930's, Stalin put a lot of pressure on the foreign manufacturers to complete and deliver the tractors and agricultural equipment hat he had paid for, so that he would be able to mechanize the agricultural industry as rapidly as possible. With the intention to do so, many farmers starved to death in the years 1930-1934, and endured the worst period of starvation of all time. In the meantime, in 1935, agriculture was mechanized and the horses only played a minor role. New tractors and agricultural equipment arrived, and the mechanization continued. Along with the complete mechanization of agriculture, the Communist Party officials and the planners, planned for reality to take place in the future. Stalin and his cohorts had already told the Collective farmers that they would have a given number of hectares of land to farm, and were expected to harvest a given amount of grain per hectare, and deliver the prescribed quota of grain to the State. For example: The Brunnentaler Collective farmers had about 12,000 hectares of land to tend, and would have to deliver a given amount of grain to be delivered to the State. But for the masses of people that worked for the two Collective farms, there were just a few silos that were expected to ensile the grain. What should we do with the harvest? Of course, we know that if the grain were gathered in an open field, as in previous years, that we could expect a 30% loss. Yet if a hungry Collective farmer could take a couple of trouser pockets full of grain during those starvation years of 1930-1934, he would be severely punished. But who was to be punished now for the terrible loss of grain when it was gathered and stored in an open field? Certainly not Stalin and his Party people. They were innocent! The same mistakes were made by the Party concerning roads and transportation. Stalin's factories continued to build much larger tractors and caterpillar tractors, as well as thrashers and other agricultural equipment, but nobody gave a thought as to trucks and other means of transportation. Their highly touted 5 year plans were carried out. After all, the Party knew what was best. They didn't think to build enough of the two types of trucks we needed, one for 1 1/2 ton capacity and the other for 3 ton capacity. Remember, by 1935 there were no horses, and the agricultural industry had already been mechanized. Up until 1941, the two Brunnentaler Collective farms were only assigned eight light trucks with a capacity of 1 1/2 to 3 tons. That was not sufficient for the Collectives. We needed more! The worst part was that there were no spare tires. When a truck wore out a set of tires, the truck was just abandoned. The officials of the Collective had to find a way to provide tires. It was possible to buy truck trailers with new tired. The trailers were purchased just for the tires to place on the trucks, and the trailers remained unused. I will not repeat about the consequences of the high percentage of spoilage of the grain in the fields, but this mis-planning concerning the roads and trucks added to the damage done by the Collective farmers. At that time in the Collective farm system, a strict amount of grain was to be delivered to the State according to the number of workers assigned per hectare. When the debt of grain was delivered to the State, according to the Plan, the remainder of the grain would be apportioned to the farmers. That's the way it was. If a lot of grain was left over, then a lot could be distributed to the farmers. In other words, the State was responsible for the crop damage because of their faulty management, but would not admit to their failure. The Collective farmers had to bear the blame for the loss. That is what happened in the years 1931-1934, when the Collective farmers received very little or nothing at all. The State's plan had to be satisfied first and nothing was left over for the people. Nothing remained for them whenever the damage and waste was excessive. To Stalin and his cohorts, it didn't make any difference that so many of the diligent and hard-working farmers starved to death, or that his agricultural plan brought about the worst famine in history. Now I would like to tell you about the problem with the roads and the modes of transportation in Brunnental and the surrounding areas. I am of the opinion that if a government wants to fully mechanize its agriculture, it has to build roads. As I have reported earlier, Brunnental was a large village of about 5,000 inhabitants and located about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Seelmann. A lot of goods were transported from Brunnental to Seelmann and back. This had been done since the founding of Brunnental, and was accomplished by use of wagons drawn by horse, oxen or camel. Seelmann is on the banks of the Volga River and has a harbor so that goods can be traded and sold. There were large silos filled with grain in Seelmann. The farmers from the surrounding villages, some as far away as 25 miles, would come to Seelmann to sell their grains. There were many markets in Seelmann and there were many businesses to handle the daily trade. The ships on the Volga River carried grain both up and down the river to the larger cities. In short, Seelmann was a business center for the surrounding villages, but the roads, or better described as "country lanes", that led to Seelmann, were always in bad condition. In the heat of the summer, the lanes were very dusty with many pot-holes; and in the rainy season, the lanes were muddy and often impassable. These bad roads were always time-consuming and costly to the farmer. In the best of weather during the winter, one could transport goods by sleigh. Even at that, there was the terribly cold weather and often times snow storms that made the journey very unpleasant. During all this time, the highly praised mechanization of the agricultural industry (1929-1941), did absolutely nothing to improve these roads. It was torture for the trucks to make the trip in the summer through the dusty pot holes. One could see the clouds of dust from a distance of a kilometer or more. During the rainy weather, automobiles remained stuck in the mud or else had to wait until the roads dried up. I, myself, often made the trip from Brunnental to Krasny-Kut. In the 35 kilometer stretch of road, there were many deep depressions that filled with water and mud in the spring. Since there were no bridges, the truck drivers had to muscle the trucks through the depressions. With a lot of luck and skill, they usually managed to drive through. Sometimes the mud would be to the top of the wheels. Then one couldn't move forward or backward. Broken springs and damage to the trucks was often the result. The driver had to seek assistance somewhere. Sometimes there were tractors in the nearby fields that could help them. I must, to this day, take off my hat to those drivers for their ability and nerve. Due to the bad roads, the trucks had to be repaired very often, and there were never enough spare parts. A lot of time and money was spent repairing the trucks. Because of that, the life of the truck was unimportant. Thus, the productivity of the trucks and drivers caused a high overhead. I would venture to say that if a truck loaded with goods were to make the same trip today, it would be in 2 hours or less for the round trip. At that time, it took 6 hours on those bad roads, and sometimes even longer. This is why I have reported to you about the conditions of the roads and the connection with the mechanization of the agricultural industry in Brunnental from 1929 to 1941. Now I will report on the year of 1936: The spring planting was accomplished on time in an efficient manner. Agriculture, at that time, for all practical purposes was completely mechanized. Horses seldom were used as draft animals. Everything was done using tractors and all other kinds of mechanized equipment. Even in Brunnental, the MTS to which the villages of Streckerau and Marienberg were assigned, had improved working conditions over the year of 1935. The wages weren't always regular, but the workers were able to buy groceries. The MTS workers had now withstood the great privation of the starvation years. Some of the people, who had moved away during the years of 1931-1933, returned. But many of those that had moved away had not survived. In any case, the starvation period of 1931-1933 had severely reduced the population. In 1934, Brunnental initiated the name of the street and assigning house numbers. During that time I was employed by the MTS and therefore I was well aware of the conditions of the MTS Station. The foreman, Heinrich Meier, gave me the job of making the house numbers. I made the plate numbers of tin by hand. They were about 4 1/2 inches by 6 inches in size, then painted and the numbers added. At that time, there were 403 houses that were occupied in the village of Brunnental. All of the outbuildings had mostly been dismantled. They were either taken over by the Collective officials to be used as lumber for the Collective farm; or in time of need, they were used for fuel. The general condition of the villagers had improved in 1936. Even the harvest was very good and was finished on time, although, again with a lot of waste. The waste was because there were not enough silos available to hold the grain. I have often reminded you that nearly all of the silos had been torn down in 1930. Now the Collective was compelled to place the grain in huge piles in the open fields. This was done by means of a shovel-like piece of equipment pulled by horses. There were two kinds of trucks _ the 1 1/2 and 3 ton gasoline powered Fords. These trucks were driven day and night. But there weren't enough trucks, and they could only carry small loads. With such a small load, the farmers could just not accomplish much. The State's share of the grain had to be transported to Seelmann some 35 kilometers away. That is where the huge silos on the Volga were located. For that reason, the piles of grain which were lying in the fields, became larger and larger. They just couldn't get it all transported to Seelmann. After harvest time, there were usually some rainy days, which sometimes lasted for extended periods. That's what happened in 1936. After these rains, then came the frost! The huge piles of grain remained in the fields. With the frost, the west layers of grain were frozen in a layer of about 1 1/2 feet. One could say that the grain had a frozen "roof". During the course of the late harvest, the grain under the "roof" was hauled away, but the waste was terrible because the frozen "roof" of grain was spoiled. Now the Party officials were searching to place the blame for this disaster. But the Party, as usual, didn't blame themselves, although, they alone, were to blame. They placed the blame elsewhere. In 1936, it was the Trotsky-ites that were entirely to blame. The Trotsky-ites were identified as people that formerly had foreign connections or who were still receiving letters from abroad up to 1930, or men who had returned home after being German prisoners of war during 1914- 1918. All of these people disappeared overnight. These were the people that had common sense, and who understood something about business. They were but a thorn in the side to the Party functionaries. They had to be done away with. Since the 1936 harvest was good, the members of the Collective received quite a bit of grain and also some money. There was so much that people had enough bread and also some money. Nobody had to steal anymore! The people could also obtain more clothing and buy small livestock such as calves, goats and sheep. In all cases, everything improved for the Brunnentalers. The terrible times of famine and death were now at an end. 1937 also began very well, and the people were hoping for a continuation of the improvement of their living conditions. It was hoped that if 1937 had a good crop, then the people would have a better income and be able to acquire even more goods and animals. In 1937, there was more Kg. of grain per person and also more money. Many families had received more grain than they could even use, and so the State purchased the excess back from the families. With this money received from the grain, the people were able to buy necessities, which were still in short supply. The problem of the storage of grain from the 1937 harvest, remained a problem. And again, there were thousands of tons of grain of premium quality lying in huge piles in the open fields. As it was in the previous year, the loss in 1937 was just as great. But again the Party searched for and found the "guilty parties". As always, the innocent ones had to take the blame because the Party was never wrong. Now a "cleansing" action took place. One now mostly blamed the old people as enemies of the State and as saboteurs, as well as anti- Stalinists. These people were then taken away and imprisoned. At the end of 1937, there was hardly a soul more than 45-50 years of age in the village. All the old people were taken away whether they were teachers, tradesman, farmers or doctors. The Party didn't want anybody around that could report or know anything that had happened in the previous years. During the famine years of 1930 - 1934, I would say that they were worse than the earlier years of 1921-1924. Since Stalin did not permit any help from foreign countries during the 1930-1934 famine, many more people starved to death than in the earlier famine. Stalin never gave a thought to helping the hungry people. Many people in Germany have asked me why there was such privation in Brunnental in 1930-1934. Everything was going well for the farmers. I've already mentioned the dispossession and dispersal of the richest farmers in 1929 as well as the terrible conditions in 1930-1934. Many can't understand why the farmers allowed Collectivization to take place? The people that ask these questions did not know about Stalin's power. Yes, the people that ask these questions are the lucky ones. The German POWs that had been in Russian POW camps don't ask that question! Now I will try to explain why the farmers had to yield to the pressure of Stalins' forces, or to give into them. I can say with certainty that the farmers had struggled a long time against dispossession and Collectivization. But the farmers were worked day and night by all kinds of methods. They had weekly meetings in the farm houses at which all the farmers and their wives had to attend. These meetings were organized by the Party and at first led by the school teacher with the goal of convincing the farmer with promises to step into the glorious future of the Collective system. The teachers had little success in convincing the farmers, for the farmers were distrustful and did not believe the propaganda of Stalin. The farmers resisted the pressure from 1917 to 1924. How right the farmers were! Since the teachers didn't get the expected response at these meetings, young Party members were given the task to try again. But the young party members didn't have anymore success in spite of their zealous proposals and rosy promises of the future. They promised that the farm wives would be free of the kneading trough, the feeding of the chickens, of the milking of the cows, from the need to use the sewing machine, and various other heavy chores. There was no response! Stalin's aides were so correct in saying that the farm families would be free of all of this! Yes, so free that some people starved to death in 1932! I often listened to those meetings in my parent's home. At first, when the teachers conducted the meetings, there would be lively discussions between the teachers and the people, above all about the "wonderful promises". When the young propagandists conducted the meetings, not one farmer was brave enough to protest. That would be dangerous! The Party had announced the program, and nobody opposed it. The program that was presented had bad consequences, which I will explain more fully, later on. Since things were not going too well in the mid 1930's, they used other methods to bring the farmers into the Collective system on a volunteer basis. The independent farmers were punished with a high tax on grain and other property. Of course, the Stalinists had long before confiscated the last pound of grain and goods, so there was no way a farmer could pay these fines or taxes. The Stalinists knew exactly that the farmers hadn't had any grain or good for a long time. There was a lot of pressure placed on my father to join the Collective. He and many of the other farmers did not immediately join the Collective. The Stalinists knew that my father didn't have any grain on hand, and that he didn't have any money. But they presented my father with the following facts: they demanded that he deliver to the State a prescribed amount of grain and money within 24 hours! Since my father had no grain at all and no money, they sentenced him to 10 years in prison. He was sent to the Ural Mountains to fell trees, and within 3 months he had died of starvation. That happened often during these times, to many people. I hope that maybe this answers the question of why the farmers did not resist. In 1937, the older generations had for the most part been removed by Stalin's friends. Now the youth and the younger generation were in the grip of the Party. Nobody could or dared step out of line or even utter an unkind word. At that time, such an act would be a great danger to one's well being. On that note, 1937 came to an end. As to 1938, things went along just like the year before. The harvest was bountiful. The members of the Collective received a sufficient amount of grain to sustain themselves and their families, although there was less money. There weren't too many people sent away in 1938. Nothing of an unusual nature occurred in Brunnental that year. The year 1939 _ The Collective farmers again had a bountiful crop, and the conditions in general, again improved from the previous year. The year 1940 _ Again, there was another bountiful harvest! Nothing much had changed with the farm's administration. They did, however, acquire some additional trucks. There was still a lot of waste of grain with the huge piles of grain lying in the open fields. The general condition of the Brunnentalers was improving and the agricultural industry had recovered. The State's Plan could now be readily fulfilled. The Collective farmers now had enough to eat and had recovered from those terrible years of privation and starvation. How often had these farmers, throughout their entire 178 year history in Russia, never had given up the battle in spite of their being blamed time and time again for the crop failures, the imposition of high taxes, and even lastly, of being disposed of their belongings due to compulsion to join the Collective farm system. How did they survive all of that? Yes, the Brunnentaler farmers had resurrected the agricultural industry by means of hard work and diligence, and were able to produce an abundance of grain for the State after having endured those two periods of privation and hunger, 1921-1924; 1930-1934. Stalin and his functionaries were satisfied with the amount of grain produced. Now the farmers believed that the time of privation and oppression had now passed. As often happened, the farmers reckoned without considering Stalin! Stalin had other plans for the industrious Volga Germans. The outbreak of the war in 1941 gave Stalin the upper hand to send all Volga Germans to Siberia according to his plans that had been formed years before. In Aug./Sept. 1941, all Germans living in Russia were shipped overnight to Siberia under the most pitiful conditions. The dispersal of these industrious people, that had produced so much for the Soviet State, was indeed a disappointing and humbling experience upon these people. I cannot report anything to you about the dispersal since I was not present. I do hope that perhaps a Brunnentaler may do that someday. One can't say anything more about Brunnental. I have not received any news, since 1966, that only about 50 houses are remaining of the 408 that had been inhabited in 1934. Even the few remaining houses are in sad state of disrepair. The church is gone. Part of the school had been dismantled. In short, for the former villagers of Brunnental, it no longer exists. I have the map of the village that shows it's condition in 1940. Jacob Mohrland, born 30 March 1918 in Brunnental, lived there until 1940. --------------------------------------- TO ORDER MAP # 57 OF BRUNNENTAL: please send *$5.75 to: AHSGR 631 D Street Lincoln, NE 68502-1199 (If you are NOT a member of AHSGR, the price for each map is $6.75 which includes postage) ---------------------------------------- Comments on village map: When I had to leave my home village in 1940, I knew 80% of the owners of the homes and farms. But when I looked at the village map in 1957, after 17 long years, I had forgotten several of the owners' names. That's why I could not identify all of the owners. In addition to that, there were several home that were unoccupied. I'd also like to remind you that the list of names of the house owners are on the left of the page and continuing with the name from top to bottom are correct. And in closing, the Public Buildings, and farms are: 205. Church 206. School 207. Hospital 208. Physician's residence 209. Residence of hospital personnel 210. Boarding school 211. Teacher's residence 212. Village magistrate (formerly Alexander Hart's house) 213. Administration building and farm of the Collective #1. (formerly owned by Konrad Lobsack). 214. Administration building and farm of Collective #2. (formerly owned by Friederich Stroh). 215. Cattle barns of Collective #1. 216. Cattle barns of Collective #2. 217. Mechanized rolling mill (former owner, Alexander Hart) 218. Mercantile business (former owner, Heinrich Hart) 219. Station (former owner, August Wacker) 220. Dairy 221. MTS Station--The MTS tract of land consisted of 10 hectares in size and had the following buildings: 1 Mechanical repair shop 1 Spare parts building 1 blacksmith and joiner's shop 2 large garages 4 large barns for tractors and thrashers 1 a building for combustible materials. 222. MTS office - formerly owned by Heinrich Stroh. 223. MTS residence formerly owned by Konrad Voelker 224. MTS residence formerly owned by Loebsack 225. MTS residence - formerly owned by Schauermann 226. MTS residence - formerly owned by Wilhelm Loebsack 227. MTS residence - formerly owned by Schauermann 228. MTS residence - formerly owned by Loebsack In closing I will again mention that the public buildings, with the exception of the church, school, boarding school, the two teacher's homes and all the buildings that were owned by the rich farmers, they were branded as Kulaks in 1928 and dispossessed of their property. In March of 1929 they were banished to other forests of northern Russia where they perished. My story of the 86 years existence of Brunnental, from it's establishment in 1885 to it's demise in 1941 is hereby ended. I will never forget by beautiful home village. I send greetings to all Brunnentalers in Russia, Germany, America and Canada, and everywhere that any might yet be surviving. THE END (by JAKOB MOHRLAND) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FALLEN LEAVES: Alex Nagel--The Oregonian, Wednesday, July 12, 1995 A service will be at 11AM Wednesday, July 12, 1995 in Willamette National Cemetery. Mr. Nagel died of congestive heart failure July 8, at age 82. He was bon May 1, 1913 in Portland, where he grew up. Mr. Nagel was a U.S. Navy veteran of WWII. He worked 25 years for Simpson Door Co., retiring in 1975. Mr. Nagel married Lillian Wolski on Nov. 6, 1970; she died in 1993. Survivors are his daughters, Ivy Mae King of Aumsville,OR; Sandra Wilson of Springfield, OR; and Carol Jean Boyce of Minot, N.D.; son, Robert of Portland; and sister Rosie Schwartzkopf of Portland; 10 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild. Remembrances: American Heart Association or American Cancer Society. Arrangements: Bateman Carroll Funeral Chapel in Gresham, OR. ---------------------------------------- FALLEN LEAVES: EMMA M. (EHLENBERGER) DANIELS -- The Oregonian, Sunday, July 2, 1995 A service has been held in Ross Hollywood Chapel. Mrs. Daniel died June 25, 1995 at the age of 99. She was born Nov. 2, 1895 in Brunnenthal, Russia. Her maiden name was Ehlenberger. She lived in Oregon since 1908. Mrs. Daniel ran a restaurant until she retired. Her husband, Leonard E. Daniel Sr., died in 1953. Survivors are her son, Floyd R. of Seattle; two grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and five great-great grandchildren. Interment in Skyline Memorial Gardens in Portland, OR. Remembrances: charity of choice. ----------------------------------------------- DIE WELT POST ARTICLES (About Brunnentalers) The following is a continuation of a "listing" which was put together by Martha (Krening) Schafer & Beverly Ruhl, of Denver, CO. They found all of these articles in the German newspaper Die Welt Post, which was read by many Brunnentalers during the early years, both here in the U.S. and abroad. These articles now give us much wonderful information about our relatives during the "hunger years" in the early 1920's. I would love to hear from anyone who finds "new" information on their family from these listings. And I would again like to THANK Martha & Beverly for sharing this information with the readers!!! 1 Feb 1917: Letter from Kriwacher, Russia to Jacob BREHM of Hastings, NE. Your letter to Russia was half torn away. Your brother went into the military. Greetings from your mother and also your sister, Marie Katherina HOFFMAN. She's well as are her children. Also greetings from your sister, Anna Margarethea BECKER, who is still well. Uncle Wilhelm's sons are still in the military. 7 Aug 1916: Letter of 7 Aug 1916, from Kriwacher, Russia to Jacob BREHM of Hastings, NE. Dear Brother: Your parents send their greetings. Also brother, sister and children. You wrote to sister, Marie Kath HOFFMAN and it wasn't received. Now Dear Brother & Sister & children, from sister Amalia BREHM. Just to let you know, brother Ludwig is visiting. (possibly home on leave). In 3 days he will have to leave again. Milton HEINRICH (evidently died), he fell. Greetings from Mother, Berta, and her Johannes. 29 Jun 1917: Letter of 17 Mar 1917, from Brunnental, from your parents Mr. & Mrs. Ludwig BREHM and all our children, to Jacob BREHM & children & grandchildren of Hastings, NE. Your sister Amalia, has been feeding the animals. Greet John, wife & children and also Alex, wife and children. 12 Jul 1917: Letter of 26 Mar 1917, from Brunnental, from Maria Kathrina HOFFMAN, to Jacob BREHM of Hastings, NE. Dear brother and sister-in-law: To let you know my child and I are still well. Also all who are in the house. Only it's not so good with my husband. It's 4 months since I heard from him. He was having trouble with his legs. He was sick in Baku and was to go to Serwnoi Kalkov. 19 Jul 1917: Letter of 30 Mar 1917, from Krisim, from Jacob FLOTH to Jacob BREHM & wife. Dear brother-in-law & sister, I have been gone from home 2 years and 3 months. 13 Sep 1917: Letter of 2 Jun 1917, from your father, Andreas FLOTH. To Jacob BREHM, Hastings, NE. Dear children, Jacob, Maria Katherina & children: First be greeted from your parents and grandparents. Also your sister-in-law, Maria and your brother-in-law and brother John. Your sister, Anna Marie, received your letter. Thank you for remembering her. She and her 3 children are still well. Of the 10 letters we wrote your brother, Jacob, 9 were lost. Dear Son-in-law, your brother Ludwig was on leave for 7 weeks. He's still well. But our Jacob is now in the Clinic. His lips are swollen and his teeth are all loose. When the lips swell, they are black spotted. He's hoping he'll come home. Many with this ailment have come home and many have died from this. Also from heat (or fever) sickness. Dear children, I'll write of your brother, Jacob. When I had the letter closed, your brother or brother-in-law, Jacob, came to visit. He's on leave for 1 month. He'll go to a new town when he's well again. The way his legs are, he may not have to leave for 2 to 3 months. Anna Margaretha and children send their greetings. Also the daughter-in-law with her whole family. Andreas is supposedly still well, as Jacob was to see him on his trip home. 5 July 1917: Letter of 12 Sep 1916, from prisoner Camp in Danzig, Germany, from John Brehm, to brother Conrad Brehm, Lincoln, NE. Our brother, George Brehm's wife died. 4 Oct 1917: Conrad BREHM of Lincoln, NE, went to visit friend John BECKER in Sutton, NE, who is ill of cancer of the stomach. His brother, Henry BECKER lives in Lincoln, NE. 12 July 1917: Some who were to be drafted into the U.S. Army were: Conrad BREHM, 732 W. St., Lincoln, NE Henry G. BREHM, 715 Z St., Lincoln, NE Henry P. BREHM, 1044 N. 7th St., Lincoln, NE George John BREHM, 1044 N. 7th St., Lincoln, NE Peter Geor BREHM, 1123 N. 7th St., Lincoln, NE Henry Geo BREHM, 834 Y St., Lincoln, NE John BREHM, 703 Pike St., Lincoln, NE George BREHM, Weatherford, NE (OK?) Anyone not a citizen was released 4 Oct 1917: Katherine, Henry, John and Peter BREHM and Mr. & Mrs. Friederich REEGERT, went to Sutton, NE last week in Mr. BREHMs new car to visit John BECKER. They also went to Harvard, NE to visit Mrs. H. P. TROUDT and others. 12 Jul 1918: Katherine BREHM, born 18 Feb 1887 in FRANK, Russia, died 24 Nov 1918. 31 years, 9 months, and 6 days. She is buried in Culbertson, NE. 17 Nov she became ill. She is survived by her husband, 5 children, 1 brother in the US, and her Mother, Step-father, 1 brother, 2 sisters in Russia. 12 Dec 1918: Letter of 14 Jan 1918, from Samara, Russia from your father-in-law, Andreas FLOTH. To Jacob BREHM, wife Marie Katherine & children: Be greeted from your parents, your brother & sisters-in-law and little Jacob. Here there is strife between the Bolsheviks and Cossacks. Many towns have been burned down. Almost all soldiers are back home. Also your brother, Ludwig and your 2 brothers-in-law, HANSCH & KERNER are home. They send greetings. Waiting for an answer. 19 Dec 1918: Letter of 14 Feb 1918, from Brunnental, from your sister, Marie Katherine HOFFMAN, to Jacob BREHM of Hastings, NE. Dear brother and sister-in-law, received your letter of 23 Sep 1917 on 13 Feb 1918. Father and Mother are well. Brother Ludwig is home. Of all the relatives, I'm the only one whose husband hasn't come home. There are 23 men still missing and 3 who died in the war. They are Konrad Knopf, and John HANSCH, Katherine Elizabeth's husband. The other is Grukup, Jacob's youngest brother. The others died in the hospital. To let you know, Alex BREHM's wife (Amelia) died, leaving 3 children and tomorrow Jaschke will be buried. He danced at a wedding on Sunday and died Friday. 2 Apr 1917: Mrs. Adam BREHM (nee Scheierman) of York, NE and 2 daughters went to Sutton, NE. to visit her parents and sister married to H. Starckel. 27 Sep 1917: Letter of 7 Jul 1917, from Brunnental, from Maria Kath HOFFMAN to Jacob BREHM, Hastings, NE. Dear brother Jacob and sister-in-law & children: Writing to let you know my child and I are still well. Your letter written 6 May, I received 6 July. We have had our meetings by Michael Bekersch. We have 30 members. I am now a Church Sister. Also my brother's wife, Fetterson's Amalia. Anna Margaretha is also a Sister and many others. I have not heard from my husband for 7 months. We heard he died, but that's not certain. He was having trouble with his legs. You wrote your 3 oldest children are going to school. Now dear sister-in-law, your brother Jacob was home for 30 days. He is well. Also your parents and brothers and sisters are well. Dear brother, your parents are also well. Dear brother, your brother was also home on leave for 7 weeks and all your brothers and sisters are still well. Mother was so happy she cried, when she heard you were converted. She said, now she has 4 children that belong to the Lord. 15 Nov 1917: Letter of 1 Jul 1917, from Brunnental, from your parents, Andreas FLOTH. To Jacob BREHM of Hastings, NE. Dear children in America: Jacob was just home and had to leave again. ...continued in next newsletter... --------------------------------------------- THE END of the Summer 95 Newsletter!!