48 - Sr. Agnes's Letter to Betty 21 June 1936

 Click here to read story from beginning.

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia, after a trip across the continental USA and the Atlantic Ocean. As she traveled, she was writing letters home and others at home were writing to her.

 *****

Not only the letters between Grandma and others, Grandma also included in her collection a letter from her oldest daughter, Agnes, to her youngest daughter, Betty. 

Sr. Agnes was in the convent in Beaverton, Oregon, where she was in the process of becoming a nun. She would take her final vows later that summer. The letter reveals some of what life was like in the convent at that time. 

 Agnes and Betty were Grandma Cecile's only two living daughters. She had three daughters who died in infancy and one who died as a two year-old. Apparently Agnes and Betty were quite close even at this age. They remained close for their whole lives.

Here is Sr. Agnes' four page letter, written on one sheet of paper, folded to create a front page, two inside pages and a back page:

front page of letter

inside - page 2 & 3

back page

Here is what her letter said:

J.M.J. 

St. Mary's of the Valley

Beaverton, Oregon

June 21, 1936

 My dear little sister,

I received your letter last week and did not have a chance to answer sooner. I was surely glad to hear all about Gus' wedding and am anxiously waiting to meet my new sister-in-law. Mamma said they were intending to build a new house on the other farm. Have they started yet? And won't you be proud when you can go and stay overnite[sic] with Gus in his new home? After the wedding you must write and tell me [page2] all the details concerning it, for I'm quite sure that Gus will be too busy.

I received  a card from mamma last week. It was the first time that I heard from her and it was written while she was sailing on the  high sea. I hope that you are writing to her often as she certainly will be looking forward to letters from home.

So you are chief-cook and bottle washer, aren't you? Just as long as you don't use liniment for vanilla, and salt for sugar, and so forth, I guess you will keep them all alive. Are all of the boys at home now or are some at the sawmill? I imagine you [page 3] spend some time in the cherry tree behind the house, playing "birdie" and eating cherries, don't you?

Are there many strawberries and what all have you in the garden? Do you still keep your little corner of flowers? 

Betty, you know I came here with the intention of staying and I hope and pray that it will be so. I am looking forward to August 15th and do you know that after that I can come home once every year? (counting this year - probably late in August or Sept.) I surely know by this time what I'm doing and I also know that it is hard for both of us to be away from each [page4] other. I do remember you every day and pray, pray very hard for my dear little "sis" so that she will be a good, happy and healthy little sister and that some day "maybe" you will be here with me. How do you like the rosary that I sent home for you? I was rather disappointed that you did not come along. Are you still wearing the relic of the Little Flower which Sr. M. Mercedes gave you? Don't Stella and Ruth come and stay with you now and then? Won't you write to me at least every two (2) weeks while mamma is gone and tell me all about everything?? I'm so glad always to hear just what you are doing and how you are. Well Betty, I must write to mamma and Marie yet, too, so must make my ending short - trusting that you will be a real good little girl and never forget to pray for your sister who never forgets you.

With love,

Sister M. Liliosa

Why is the letter signed "Sister M. Liliosa" instead of Sr. Agnes? Mary Liliosa was the name she took when she entered the convent. It was many years later when the nuns made the ruling that they could return to their family names that Sr Liliosa went back to Sr Agnes. Since that is the name I became the most familiar with, that's the one I am using here.

The affection for her little sister really comes through in this letter. The first thing on her mind, however, is excitement for her brother Gus' upcoming wedding on June 30. He was the first of the family to wed. Sr Agnes' final vows would qualify as an equal lifetime commitment, so in a sense, she was second among her siblings to "take the plunge" when she took her vows on August 15. 

Apparently Sr Agnes had not yet met Ann (Krantz) who was to be Gus' bride. When Sr Agnes mentions coming home it becomes apparent that she has not been allowed to visit home for quite some time. I'm not sure how long Gus and Ann courted before the marriage, but Sr. Agnes had not been home enough to meet her. Ann was from Jordan, not far from the Stayton-Sublimity area.

A couple of other references Sr Agnes makes - "All of the boys" means her brothers, John, Tony, Gus and FB. The sawmill most likely was the mill owned by her brother-in-law, Bill Lulay, married to her half-sister, Marie. "...know what I'm doing" referred to her decision to permanently join the convent that summer after having been there for several years. It almost sounds like she may not have been entirely sure. It was a big decision. She did, however, hope that her little sister would some day join her as a nun. That wish would not develop. Betty would marry and have a family of her own.

It is also interesting to note how much things have changed in less than 100 years. If Grandma were traveling today, she'd have a cell phone or laptop and could instantly communicate with everyone back at home. Sr Agnes would probably be texting her little sister several times a day. None of this waiting, worrying and wondering what was happening. 

To complete  the picture of this communication, here are views of the front and back of the envelope the letter was mailed in:

The front of the envelope shows the address, written in Sr Agnes' neat cursive handwriting. The envelope was opened on the side, leaving the ragged edge. The dark "shadow" on the right side is smoke damage from the house fire. The shadow effect traces the outline of envelopes and papers piled above it inside the bag of souvenirs, inside the trunk in the old farmhouse.

The upside down writing on the right side says, "Beaverton" "Stayton" and "Oregon". Probably a "scribbler" practicing his/her handwriting after the letter made it to its destination. It was not meant to be part of the address.

The back of the envelope shows a bit of humor on someone's part. My guess would be between her brothers and Betty, or possibly between the brothers. It simply says, "Bah, you are the flies in mine soup". That is followed by someone's retort, "Oh, yeah". One can only wonder at what was going on. What does it mean? It would be hard to translate, easiest to say - it was a tease.

back of the envelope

For a closer view of the letter and/or the envelope, simply click on any of the images and scroll through them all.
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Story to be continued......  

To read Post "49 - Letter From Weisers to  Grandpa - 24 June 1936", Click here

47 - Val. J. Peter Travel Bureau Letter to Grandma - 31 May 1936

Click here to read story from beginning.

A note to readers of this story, my apologies but we have to do a backtrack here. It's been a while again since I posted, but I had to stop and reorganize my materials so that I could find  my way through them all. I now have a spreadsheet of all that I have, so hopefully that will help. With this exercise I discovered a few things that I had completely missed. One is this letter  that Grandma received.

***** 

A letter, dated May 31, 1936, was sent to Grandma from the travel agency that had made the reservations for her globe trotting trip. The date must have been a typing error considering that she had left on the train on June 1, 1936. Perhaps the letter was written on May 1 or 3? There would not have been time for a letter to travel by mail from Omaha, Nebraska, to Stayton, Oregon, plus have time for her to reply with her final application and down payment in less than one day. She must have received the letter before May 31, because it asks for a down payment. She went on the trip, so obviously she fulfilled all the requirements.

Whatever the case, I had to turn to my friend Al Haunold again for a translation of the letter.  Al translated it as follows:

the letter

31. May 1936

Dear Mrs. Beitel:

Nothing has definitively been settled regarding the 2 cent mileage rate that you read about in the papers. The Eastern railroads resist to implement the 2 cent rate. Regardless, it would not have any measurable effect on the fare, because the longest stretch of your trip is from Oregon to Chicago on the Western railroads where the 2 cent fare already is in force. Besides that, you could also travel by bus from Omaha or from Chicago to New York which would be about half as expensive.

If you would want to wait until after June 1, it might be difficult to get space on any steamer because many steamers are already booked, as you can see from the enclosed brochure. Our suggestion, therefore, is that you might join our traveling group, go by rail to Omaha and from here, if you like, take the bus and thus the trip would not be too expensive. Several other customers are also planning to take the bus. The fare by bus from here to New York is only $ 21.85, or 37.85 for the round trip and the connections are very good.

Please send us your down-payment so that we can proceed with the reservations as long as cabins are available and we can continue to take care of all the other things for your trip.

With German greetings

VAL J. PETER TRAVEL BUREAU

sig. [hand-written signature] Val J. Peter

Grandma must have been checking to see if there was any way that she could get a better rate for her travel. They suggested a bus route for part of the journey, but apparently Grandma Cecile chose to go by rail all the way across the country.

Included with the letter is a clipping with some markings in red pencil:

attached clipping, note paper clip mark

Circled in red on the left edge is "HEAVY BOOKINGS FOR SEASON SAILINGS". The rest is:

Advance bookings for the Summer sailings have been heavy. For June outward and late August and September returning we have many applications for the preferred spaces that we have been unable to satisfy. Requests for berths that we cannot assign at the moment are placed on the waiting list for attention when vacancies occur through cancellation. The waiting list receives careful attention and we do not fail to use every effort.....

At that point the clipping is cut off and there is nothing else. The message is quite clear. If you want to get on the ship, you'd best hurry and make your reservations!

For a closer view of the letter and/or the clipping simply click on either.
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If you have not read the other forty-some posts to the blog, the story would normally continue with Blog Post "14 - Suggested Itinerary - Around May 31, 1936". To read that post, Click Here

Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "48 -  Sr. Agnes's Letter to Betty 21 June 1936" Click Here

46 - Grandma's Postcard to Betty - 23 June 1936

 Click here to read story from beginning.

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia, after a trip across the continental USA and the Atlantic Ocean.  Settling in, she had written some letters back home.

*****

One of the notes Grandma Cecile wrote was a postcard sent to her daughter Betty. The notes that Betty and her cousin Stella Lulay wrote on June 9, 1936, had arrived in Europe, and she was responding. While Grandma did not date the card, the postmark indicates she mailed it on June 23, 1936.

Here is the postcard and its message:

front of postcard

message side

 

The message said:

Dear Betty: -

 

I have received yours and Stellas letter yesterday & was certainly tickled, I had to translate it and read it to both my Sisters & children. They were all interested how american girls write. Keep yourself well & happy till I return. 

Mama

To see the letters that Betty  and Stella wrote, check blogpost 26.

Notice that the card is titled "Grusse Aus Karlsdorf", or "Greetings from Karlsdorf". Grandma must have already visited Grandpa Alois's hometown of Karlsdorf by the time she sent this card. It would not have been hard as it is not far away from Nieder-Mohrau, only a few miles.

A little more about the pictures on the card -

the top picture has the word "Bodega" in the corner, according to the internet, that is a Czech word for tavern

The second scene is labeled as "Villa Olbrich" - Joseph Olbrich (1867-1908) was a famous architect in  then Silesia. My guess is this was a building in Karlsdorf that Olbrich designed.

The third picture is labeled "Schule" - must have been the school in Karlsdorf.

For a closer view of the postcard, front or back, simply click on it.
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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "47 - Val. J. Peter Travel Bureau Letter to Grandma - 31 May 1936 Click Here

45 - Postcard From Johann Schiebel to Grandma 18 June 1936

 Click here to read story from beginning.

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia, after a trip across the continental USA and the Atlantic Ocean.  Settling in, she had written some letters back home but was still a little homesick.

*****

Not all of her siblings lived in Nieder-Mohrau anymore, just her sisters Mina and Gustie. Grandma Cecile had three brothers who lived in the general area at the time. Johann and Hermann lived in Czechoslavakia and Joseph/Josef - in Poland, all within traveling distance.

Her brother Johann, who had met with Cecile some time shortly after she arrived, had gone back home to work. A few days later, he sent her this postcard:

 

Address side of Johann's postcard

 

 

 

Message from Johann

 

Translation of the letter in Gothic German, courtesy of my friend Al Haunold:

Dear Sister, June 18, 1936

I want you to know that I arrived well and am working now since Monday, thus I could have stayed for a few more days if I had known it. I also wrote to Josef, perhaps we can get together again in case you would not come to Teschen. As I see it you would only have the opportunity to cross the border for one day and that would probably not be worth it. However, that is not my business. It could also be different. Let’s hope that you could stay here for a few months so that we can see each other again once more. It is also now very warm here. So, take care and enjoy yourself. If you have a chance, write again.

Auf Wiedersehn (see you again) Br. (brother) Johann

Translation of the address side, also by Al Haunold:

left side: Sender: Joh. Schiebel

Wireworks military installation 130 in Pudland

(Silesia) near Oderberg

right side: postage cancellation stamp: 18. VI. (June) 36-19 

To Mrs. Caezilia Beitel

per address Wilhelm Weiss Nr. 39 

in Nieder Mohrau

Post office Klein Mohrau near 

Freudenthal (Silesia)

From his note, Johann was hoping to get another chance to see her before she left for home.  It's interesting that she was already thinking of leaving and Johann was hoping she will actually stay for several months

An interesting side note - the postmark says  "Bohumin", Johann's written address is Oderberg. It turns out that these are the same town, Oderberg is the German name for the town, Bohumin is the Czech name.

The return address also tells us something of what Johann does for work. I'm not sure exactly what they did  there or Johann specifically, except it must have had something to do with making wire. That is interesting for family history because Grandpa Alois's father, August, worked in a wire factory in the region before he immigrated to America.

For a closer view of a photo, simply click on it. Also, if you come across different color text in a block, it signifies a link. Those links will take you to more information I have discovered on the internet.
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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "46 - Grandma's Postcard to Betty - 23 June 1936",  Click Here

44 - Return and Updates to Story Along with a Photo to Identify

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia. She had crossed the United States by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, had carried her across the Atlantic Ocean. She had reached her destination of Nieder-Mohrau and had written some letters and even had time for a diary entry.

***** 

To quote my Grandmother, "What a pause I left unwritten." (From her diary entry of June 23) It seems that I have done the same thing, except for a much longer period of time! My last post was in June of 2017! Unfortunately, life sometimes interrupts the best of plans, but then sometimes leaves time to return to those plans. My thanks to cousin Linda Koenig, who has gently been reminding me that there are a few people out there who would really like to see the story continue.

So, hopefully, I will be able to pick up the story and keep it going this time. Going through my notebooks, I did find a couple of ticket stubs that I missed in the earlier part of the story.

I have added scans of a Passenger's Check that Grandma had for her travel from Portland, Oregon, to Chicago, Illinois. It shows that she had a lower berth in a Pullman car and was stamped on the back with a date of June 1, 1936. You can see that ticket in Post #16.

Grandma also had a ticket stub for a Coupon Transfer for the Parmelee Transportation Company in Chicago. She used that coupon to transfer herself and her luggage to her train to New York. The Parmelee Company moved people and baggage between the different train terminals in Chicago. That coupon was added to Post #17. There is something stamped on the back of that ticket, but I cannot make out what it says, or what it meant.

Now, before continuing on with the story, this seems like a good spot to enter a photograph that I have added to this collection simply because I hope that maybe someone reading this may know who these people are.  It was not included with Grandma's materials, but it has the look and feel of others in her bag of souvenirs. 

Unknown couple working on a farm

The photo is in a postcard format. There are no markings on the reverse side. On the back is written in what appears to be Sr Agnes Beitel's handwriting, "Joe Schmidt's half sister, Mom's second cousin".

Since they are using a cow (or perhaps an ox?) rather than a horse, it seemed possibly to be more likely to be in Europe. The background does resemble the Nieder-Mohrau region. The Schmidt's and Froemel's (Grandma's cousins) also came from that general area. Of course, it could also be in the Silverton Hills, Oregon, as well. The regions look very similar, which is probably what drew my relatives to this area.

If the people were in Europe, it is possible that they were among the family that Grandma Cecile visited back in 1936.

If anyone has any idea who these people are, please contact me! Thank you. 

For a closer view of the photo, simply click on it.
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Story to be continued......  

To read Post "45 -  Postcard From Johann Schiebel to Grandma - 18 June 1936"  Click here

43 - Bank Transaction For Traveler's Checks - 23 June 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia. She had crossed the United States by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, had carried her across the Atlantic Ocean. She had reached her destination of Nieder-Mohrau and had written some letters and even had time for a diary entry.

***** 

Some time on the day she got around to writing in her diary, Grandma Cecile had time to run to the bank. She had this receipt among her mementos:

The bank receipt

I had to turn to my friend Al Haunold for help with what this document was. Al sent this translation for the receipt from the Deutsche Bank.  

German Bank for Industry, Trade, Business, and Agriculture

Mrs. Cecile Beitel,

Roemerstadt 23 June 1936

We are booking on your account,

travelers checks 714.-

Fees 3.50

7.50

Total: 703. -

Stamp imprint: Sincerely

German Bank

Branch Office Roemerstadt

After the fees of 3.50 and 7.50, she had 703.00 left to spend. Not sure what the currency was or how that would have translated to US dollars.

Included in Grandma's souvenirs was another bank receipt, this one has no date, so I will simply add it here.

Bank receipt - no date

Again, thanks go to Al Haunold for the translation.

German Business-Credit Bank,

branch office Hannover,  1 M Sophienstrasse 6

Exchange Office Bremen, main railroad station

Purchase: America (USA) 10.—

illegible signature and various numbers

including exchange rate (Kurs) 219.10

 While this receipt has no date, the address of the bank is the main rail road station. Perhaps this was for money Grandma received when she first arrived, but that is just a guess. Again, no way of knowing what this would have been in US dollars.
For a closer view of the receipts, simply click on either of the images.
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Story to be continued......   

To read Post "44 - Return and Updates to Story Along With a Photo to Identify"  Click here

42 - Diary Entry - 23 June 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile had reached her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslovakia. She had crossed the United States by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, had carried her across the Atlantic Ocean. She had reached her destination of Nieder-Mohrau and had written some letters back home.

*****

Finally, she must have had a little extra time. On the 23rd of June, 1936, Grandma Cecile sat down and wrote in her diary. Her last entry before that had been June 8! Here is what she had to say:

This is JUNE 23 What a pause I left unwritten. It was just the same till our arrival in Bremen, except for the loss of my glasses. My, how I missed them.

Diary page

I was sitting in the writing saloon by a writing table, when some Ladies called me to come along, they were going on deck. I had just written a letter to Weisers[1] and was taken up with a book in the library, the stewart wanted me to read. I jumped up and of course I couldn’t see unless I took the glasses off, and ran towards those that called me. I thought I had everything but noticed soon my glasses were missing. I went back but they were no place to be found. As a rule, if somebody finds something, it is brought to the chief steward and so I went there and told them. They had several glasses there, but none were mine, and they never were brought there either. They thought maybe somebody had some alike and thought they were theirs, but I don’t believe it now anymore, because by this time, they should have found out. They wanted to send them after me, if they would be found.

And now I want to mark down the most important happenings, that I can remember. At about 8:00 o’clock on the 12th of JUNE we seen BREMEN in the distance. Everybody got excited, and about 8:30 we were there. At CHERBOURG FRANCE we landed just 24 hours before, and in SOUTH HAMPTON ENGLAND we didn’t go in, but a boat came out and got the English passengers. We seen the English coast and some buildings in the distance.

And now Gustie called me for 10:00 o’clock lunch. We had liverwurst and ryebread.[Grandma Cecile must have started writing before lunch then made note of the interruption when she returned to her writing.]

When we arrived in BREMEN, all passengers were called in groups. We were left off into the revision dock, but they never bothered my luggage. I was through in a hurry. I was so dry [thirsty] and drank a glass of bier[beer?], and at 10:30 we left Bremerhaven in the train.

 I guess by this time everybody realized they were no more in America. I was in second class but there was nothing fancy. In my little coupe was a woman from near Prague. She had been visiting her parents in MISSOURI, a thing that was turned around for once. I believe most of the time, rather the children are in America. When we neared Prague, she showed me her place, which was on a hill. She showed me the Wilson bahnhof [train station] and there was her husband dressed in black. He must have been some kind of an officer. She told me her husband was no farmer, she was playing with the farm. I didn’t especially like her because she smoked cigarettes.

I took a little dinner at PRAGUE, which was a big dumpling, vealsteak, and a glass of bier[beer?], with a roll. I figured it out in American money, it was about 75¢, and up to now, I know we can live a lot cheaper in America.

We certainly made good time from PRAGUE to Olmitz then I had to transfer again to the Trappaner Zug [Troppen? Train]. We had a bunch of “Checkish” German soldiers in our car, they were singing because they were going home.

Arriving finally at end station, Grosstohl, it was getting dark. Nobody but I got off and even the little depot was locked already. I was feeling kind of blue, went to a little house next to there and asked if they knew if somebody had a car to bring me up to MOHRAU. They knew of none except one little truck-car and they told me which house I would find the owner. So I went to ask, but left the suitcase by the people I was asking. There was no satisfaction. I was told they couldn’t haul people with their car, it was just for freight, so I left, and went back to the first house, begged them to keep the suitcase overnight and started out to walk.

About 10:30, just 24 hours after we landed, I was by my sister’s house. How tickled my sister was I could see that, and for that matter even the brother-in-law was nothing but gladness. It certainly is more to see a sister after 35 years than when you can see them oftener. I was pretty tired and went to bed just as soon as we could depart again.

When I got up to this room, and that is where I am writing now, I saw some of my mother’s things and felt quite at home. The next day was Sunday and they had a big celebration in the village, so I met some of my school chums and what is the sad thing about half of them are resting on the cemetery already. My sister MINA and brother JOHN I met together and it is a favor from heaven, that I could see them again.

Paragraph breaks were added to the letter to make it easier to read. Grandma Cecile always seemed to write in one giant block of text. Her writing is shown in the diary page included above. The high-lighting in green was probably added years later by Sr Agnes when she was doing the transcription to make the dates more apparent. To view the image, simply click on it.

[1] - Weisers - Grandpa Alois's sister Bertha and her husband Dan Weiser. They lived in Nebraska.

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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "43 - Bank Transaction for Traveler's Checks - 23 June 1936 Click here