PART SEVEN Oral Histories and Family Memoirs - Mountain Light ...

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I knew a lot of these folks here when I was living in Yagada. I‟d see them when I was young. Then I went into the Russian army and when I came back they were all married! I served down by Turkey for three years; worked as a shoemaker and did other things. We were up in the mountains for three months—no roads, just paths and dry rivers. But the people were nice and had vineyards at their places. We earned 75 cents a month and got some tobacco. It wasn‟t enough! Some of the young Russian fellows would say, “Martin, can you loan me three kopecks.” I helped out of lot of those boys. We had to learn Russian—I had to learn it in the Old Country. Had to study the Russian constitution in school. Russian people came through once and a while to work but didn‟t stay. I did start German school but that didn‟t last very long. You were supposed to go till you were sixteen and study the catechism and from the Bible. School started with prayer and singing songs. Not like here with several teachers in one school—we had just one teacher for the whole school! I went once but got a spanking the first day of school because I didn‟t know the lesson. So I didn‟t go back and went to the Russian school and finished there. Everybody made their own things. The ladies could buy fabric in the store to make a dress or suit, but it was all made by hand. No running water in the houses. Everybody went to the well and carried it home. We had a mayor and sheriff and a jail, too. If you had land out in the country away from the village you‟d go and live out there till the work was done. We raised good crops—rye, wheat, and sunflowers to make oil. In harvest they used scythes all day long. Everything was cut by hand. Women and children nine-ten years old go behind and put them in bundles. We had one big church in the middle of town with an upstairs. The men sat on one side and the women on the other. There were two doors for the two sides of town—the Dotten and Galmooka (laughter). If you had to go on the other side you better watch out and stay in your own country! I came home for three months from the service and went over with someone to see about a girl; that‟s how it happened. In courting (die Freien) you take a feller who speaks for you with the family to get the father‟s approval. Someone in her family said, “But you‟re a soldat (soldier)!” Then it is announced three times, three weeks, in church so people know. Then the boys would lead the bride to the church. Most of them got married at Christmas. You stayed married over there no matter what happened and that was a good thing. You go by what the Bible says and do that. The children learned the Bible. On Saturday nights and Monday you would tell the preacher the lesson by heart. (Sings at length in German in a strong and beautiful voice.) That is the story of Matthias twenty-fifth chapter. Read the chapter in German and you see the same is connected with what I sing about the Bridegroom. There were five (virgins) who got oil, and five who did not. And the middle of the night they got up and the Bridegroom was coming and they came up and the ones without had to go out to buy oil and when they came back the door was locked. And they came and said, “Open.” But He said, “I don‟t know you.” There are German, and Russian, and English people but there is only one God of the whole world and He knows whose are his in the Resurrection Book. I‟m ninety-three years old but in the last days everything‟s goin‟ to be new, everlasting life. XV. Adam P. Morasch, oral history, Endicott, Washington, December 27, 1973 (with Delores Mader and Richard Scheuerman). This conversation took place on Adam and Katherine‟s 65 th wedding anniversary! The Morasch‟s granddaughter, Lois Jean, and I were married in 1973. It was a nice day sixty-five years ago. Sixty-five years. [Good years?] Tough ones! We had a big wedding. Two boys and two girls stood up for us. I had John Moore and Mary Fox; Mama had Philli Coona and Lena Scheuerman/Kaiser. The preacher was Dageford. Once in a while when fellow got married they would preach some in German, and some in English. After we got through we had a dance 187
in the evening on top of the hardware. Georgie Litz[enberger], he was the first to dance with Mama— three rounds and then I made one or two rounds. Then they all started dancing. Uncle Coon was a little petrunga. It was nice day, no snow and the sun was shining. We lived at Uncle Coon‟s here in town. I had nothing. We stayed there and then went to Mother‟s dad. Coonie M. then moved down on his place after that summer when George went back to Russia for about three to four months. But he came back about July. Then we moved to the old place by Daubert— that by Jack Schmick, and we started the family. I went off from there and rented that place where Johnnie (Morasch) is. Then we brought that Daubert place where Lee is, and we thought we had plenty— 250 acres. In Russia they always got married around Christmas or New Year‟s. The bride took two boys and two girls. And at the church the two boys walked in with the bride in hand and brought flowers. The girl had two girls behind. When the preacher was through they went back home. Going over (to church) the bride was in front, but going home the bride was in back! Then they all go to the boy‟s house, sometimes for two or three days. Had a big meal, feed the people, have something to drink. The older fellers thirty to forty years, sometimes they‟d have three or four days of celebrating! Around Christmas there was a lot of snow around there all the time. Well, they took rides with one horse and a sled and go around town with a little schnapps. I was best man a lot of times—we had a lot of friends, you know. That‟s the way it was those years I was out there. We had a good time. Yagada—in the Russian language, Yagodnaya Polyana. You know they raised a lot of strawberry at that time, so they named it. Yagada is “strawberry.” They were given so much land and the Russian people promised the Germans lifetime no soldier. The Kaiser married a girl from Germany—Catherine, and she wanted the German people to build up the country and farm. The Russians couldn‟t farm. Yagada, it was the first German people what moved into Russia. So much land was given to them when they come from Germany—ten miles in diameter or maybe more than that. The people increased pretty fast, you know, big families. You see we was ten in the family, my wife‟s folks I think had eleven kids. Some of them died, one of ours was lost. I was the youngest in our family. Then they had to go out and rent some land, maybe twenty-thirty miles away from home. Well, they took a tent you know and worked there, then come back home. Wasn‟t enough land for the people. So we had two places—one kinda‟ north and one kinda‟ south, but our home was in Yagada. When we got through we took the horses and went back home. We had machinery but most of the work was done by hand. Harvest was with a scythe and cradle when it was about that high I‟d cut it my hand. And towards the last two years I was out there they had a big thrashin‟ machine, but not like here. Of course they didn‟t have that here sixty years ago. I had to work damn hard, you know. I had the header as soon as I came here. But now I think the best thing that ever happened was the combine—pull then self-propelled. Ah, it‟s a pleasure! They wouldn‟t let no people go back to Russia to visit. I could have gone if I was young but now I‟m too old. I had three months yet before they draw [drafted] me in the army. So my father was dead, my oldest brother, he says, “Take your choice. If you want to go to America, then alright, or if you want to serve about three or four years in the army for about fifty cents a month!” So we went out and I was ready to go and one of the fellows says, “Stay home,”—one brother, you know. And the other brother says, “Take your choice.” So I kinda‟ went out one day, thrashin‟ by hand, and by God we made one round and here come a big rain. I took my outfit and throw it in a corner and went home! But I had the pass already, from Saratov—about sixty miles from Yagada. I was farming close to where my mother was. So I talked to this fellow, his name was Scheuerman, and was with him and he took me to the depot. That was about five miles from the depot and the conductor was there. And I walked around and he said to me, “Where you going”? I said, “I‟m going to Saratov.” Well, I told him I was going to get my pass. “Komm sa mnoi.” That means [in Russian] “Come with me.” So I went along with him and got to Saratov the next morning 188
Page 1 and 2: PART SEVEN Oral Histories and Famil
Page 3 and 4: there. My cousin, Pete Ochs, worked
Page 5 and 6: night. Aunt Lizzie and I shared a b
Page 7 and 8: IV. Mr. Jack Grove, oral history, E
Page 9 and 10: On a beautiful day in late Septembe
Page 11 and 12: VIII. Conrad S. Scheuerman, oral hi
Page 13 and 14: were border problems in the west wi
Page 15 and 16: ig cellar where they kept all winte
Page 17 and 18: When I started my catechism instruc
Page 19 and 20: spices, salve, and liniment, as wel
Page 21 and 22: 2 Named for the Preston and John Ma
Page 23 and 24: I was fifteen years old when my Gra
Page 25: section, this meant that a family c
Page 29 and 30: potatoes. A wind come along and ble
Page 31 and 32: Uncle Karl Lewis was my godfather a
Page 33 and 34: his wife. And the doors were origin
Page 35 and 36: [Lust] gave us an old horse—Utki,
Page 37 and 38: XIX. Evelyn Reich, family history a
Page 39 and 40: The Litzenberger School annual fami
Page 41 and 42: Grandma (Elizabeth Lautenschlager)
Page 43 and 44: My mother had three months off afte
Page 45 and 46: he would buy me a candy bar or a so
Page 47 and 48: Please give my regards to Lois and
Page 49 and 50: adjacent to it. It was built by som
Page 51 and 52: he passed away cousin Janice gave o
Page 53 and 54: etc., they would take it and leave,
Page 55 and 56: V. Richard Scheuerman, Frederickson
Page 57 and 58: heads past Ed Hamilton‟s, and the
Page 59 and 60: Aerodrome in the 1920s out of their
Page 61 and 62: We pushed over a few out houses on
Page 63 and 64: The city use to use Con Hergerts wo

PART SEVEN Oral Histories and Family Memoirs - Mountain Light ...

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