April 30, 1935
Handwritten letter of John from Saltair to his Scheffler relatives. John reports details about the death of his wife Lina. Now he's sitting in his hut all alone, and the clock is moving along: tick-tock, tick-tock. The funeral was on Sunday, April 28, 1935. What good were the flowers?
Saltair, April 30 - 35
Dear Scheffler Relatives,
I am sorry to report that Aunt Lina died on Friday the 26th, at 5:45 in the morning, after a long illness. She had been in bed for about two weeks; she'd had two doctors come by, but they couldn't do anything for her. She'd been sick for a long time, just schlepping herself around, but she always thought she would get better. She had a chronic heart condition and weak kidneys that were unable to filter out the toxins from her body; so she swelled up and wasn't able to walk. Now I'm all alone here. Nephi is in Altona near Hamburg, Behn Strasse 39#. Please write him; he will probably have need of support and encouragement in this difficult time. I'm totally without consolation here in the front room, all alone; everything is quiet and the clock is just moving along -- tick, tock -- tick tock. Write Ella in Saxony about this, too. I'm completely beside myself; it's taking a great amount of effort just to write these few lines. The burial was Sunday, April 28, and many Germans and former residents of Königsberg were there, people that had known her. She had a lot of flowers, too, but what good were the flowers, they didn't bring back the person... So farewell and write us soon. Excuse my bad handwriting.
John R. Hachen
Saltair, Utah. U.S.A.