It is raining again today. We desperately need moisture so hopefully it will rain for a few more days. We must hire someone to prepare our lawn and flower beds for the summer. At our age, it has become more difficult to do the spring cleanup ourselves. My sanity seems to be intact at least I think it is. I have finished translating 47 pages of a 62 page document. The document tells another story about life in the former Soviet Union. I have enclosed a short excerpt from a letter written by Jacob Schöder which I translated.

Our Uncle Wilhelm, the youngest child of Wilhelm and Anna (nee Peters) was conscripted into the army from 1937 to 1938. He lived with Aunt Katharina in a German village near Omsk. Uncle Wilhelm and Aunt Katharina had no children of their own. They had an adopted son who was conscripted into the Trudarmee during the Second World War and was never seen or heard from again. Aunt Katharina came to Slavgorod in the 1960s to live with Isaak Zacharias. She died there at the age of eighty years.Wilhelm and Maria moved to Siberia in 1913. In 1921 Wilhelm and Katharina adopted a three-year-old boy, named Willi. Willi was serving his compulsory term in the army when World War Two broke out. Willi was sent to the front where he lost his life.Wilhelm was arrested in 1934 and sentenced to 10 years. He engraved his name on the wall of the Slovogorod Prison in Siberia. Being dragged by a team of horses through the village was the final punishment for his so-called anti-soviet activities. The result of this horrible inhuman treatment was death. This is just one of the many family stories on the https://zachariasfamilytree.com site.

Wilhelm and Katharina Zacharias with their son Willi.

I am still waiting to find out the results of my Bronchoscopy.  Hopefully no news is good news.  The breathing issues I am experiencing need to be resolved.  I find that the episodes of shortness of breath leave me exhausted.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that the Bronchoscopy will provide the answers I need.

On May 9th I have a “telehealth” appointment with my Hepatologist.  These ‘telehealth” appointments are so convenient for us.  (Telehealth is the delivery of health care services through live, interactive videoconferencing. Telehealth allows you to see and speak to your doctor (or other health care service provider) without you having to travel away from home). The appointment takes place at the local hospital.

Our next Club 48 get-together will take place on May 15th.  This will be a lunch meeting.  If you were born in 1948 and grew up in Steinbach or the surrounding areas you are most welcome to join Club 48.  There is no fee involved.  Participants need only pay for their order.  Santa Lucia has been so gracious and helpful.  The tables are always ready when we get there.  They certainly have impressed me with their service.

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Down Memory Lane 

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My dad making rope at the Museum.