Old family letters. Do you have any?

[bertha katzenengel]

I am very new to ancestor research - I started two days ago, in fact. Last year my dad sent me a cd full of photos from a distant cousin in OK. It contained some letters. Here is a letter from my paternal grandmother's mother, Katherina Janzen nee Peters. I transcribed it exactly as she wrote it so it's a little hard to read.

July 8, 1941

Dear Sister & Brother:

As we want to send Papas papers to you when we have "rat our name" on the papers as the others have. I want to write a few linens to let you know about us, We are all well, have been very busie Harvest is over and evry one is busie plowing and it is caning time too, we have cand mostly vegetabl's so far. We have real summer weather now. So far is hasen't been very hot, had a big rain a week ago and than it was quit cool till yesterday. In and around Weatherford {Oklahoma} they had a terebil hail storm when this rain came. hail stons as big as soft balls and some 17 in around. So many houses had as good as no roof left and now they are busie reshingeling, also many windows were shattered.

Yes Margret the real thing I'm writing about I havent mentioned yet. I don't know well how to write about it but you'll know how that is. O Im so lonsome when I think about my poor dear parents Papa so lonsome and mother dead, I can hardly realise she is gone from us and we’ll never see her again in this life. She looked so nice, as if she just slept there! I guess you know by this time, that it was posibill for us to go to the funeral. Edna & Irvin (Warkentin) and there 2 year old son Aunt Lizzie Newfield and my John and I went all in The Childrens Car. We got ther 1 hour befor the funeral started, but it still was in time I was afraid that Sunday we wouldnt get there, we went day and nite going there. and we left here {Corn, Oklahoma} Fri. morning 4:30 ocl. a long long trip! We got mixed up in our devotions sunday morning and drove a ways out of our way. we went 1900 mil. going ther. Well evry boody was there and waiting for us. Pet and Frank even waited on the street in Chinook {Montana} for us and ther they catched us. Mama died of a heart atact. She had been feeling allright and she had done her work all day in between she had crocheting on Agathas table spread (it is just half finished) Papa walks on crutches he is taking aspereans all the time. Now he and Jessie are at the Liggoin pool. He baths 3 times a day a few hours evry time Sun. the 7th Arnie wanted to come and then Jessie wanted to go home. Alvin got married the 6th of June with a Dolores someboody. Well I’ll have to come to a close hoping to hear from you soon, I would like to here a lot about evry one of you. Hoping you are all well. I wrote most of this letter driving in the care so it looks kind of shaky.

Lots of love to you and yours.

Katie and John Janzen.

[CBHagman]

1. A family treasure, that.

It takes you right into the midst of their lives! You'll want to preserve that.

There really is no substitute for letters, is there? The oldest one I have is a Christmas letter from the early 1960s, but in it my grandfather talks a lot about my grandmother, who had just died, and their courtship. My brother and I have read and re-read that letter over and over again, and it makes me laugh and cry simultaneously.

[bertha katzenengel]

2. I have some from her husband, but they're in German!

I don't speak German. I know a few people here at work who do, though. Hmm...

These letters are a treasure, CB. We're lucky to have them.

[CBHagman]

3. The handwriting can be an added challenge.

I speak and read German, but I've always found that European handwriting was a challenge to me. My family used to take turns attempting to decipher letters from our European neighbors. Even if they were writing in English, we had trouble understanding! :-(