Klara Schneider/death/01-14-1937 - Letter from Marie to Clara
From CowTales
<references/>
Jan 14, 1937
Dear Clara:
Will scribble a line tonight. I started going over to Dad’s this week. Told Fred if I didn’t, I fear things may go into a rut again. As long as he wants to stay here, I’ll go over and take care of him. It would make it easier if he came over here, but he wants to stay there so if he’s happier that way, guess that’s the way it will have to be. He sure appreciates my coming.
I stayed all morning and I can always find things to do. Everything stays so painfully in order now, it gets me too, and then it just seems Mother should be sitting in that big chair watching me work. Fred is very good to Dad and cooks his breakfast and eats with him. Julia cooks it when she is there. I cook his noon meal so we should get him to putting on some weight. He is dreadfully thin, although he is commencing to look better.
Yesterday morning he read the paper nearly all the while I was there and I have never seen him do that before. He always talks of Mother and wishes he could go to heaven too.
He had a nice letter from Gene today and read every word of it to me. Gene’s family are sick with scarlet fever. Looked thru the Bible at folks this morning. Found where Ma had written her family history. She was born in Onen in 1860 and was the fifth child. She had also written a prayer which she must have done recently as it is hard to read.
The card which I’m enclosing was supposed to have been written to you last fall when you sent her those dresses. I always wanted to send it but just didn’t and found the card over there this morning.
Dad sleeps pretty good now. He waits for Fred to build the fires and then he gets up. Sometimes I think he worried over Ma so much, he didn’t realize how he was acting. I really think Dad’s mind is improving.
We acknowledged Dad Baur’s lovely cards. That was so nice of him. Sent it to Sanborn. Is that right?
Page 2 Did some shopping for him Monday. Got a pair of suspenders, shoe laces and garters. He got 3 new shirts for Xmas so think I’ll discard his old ones.
Everything is just as it was when Ma left. I hate to rummage through her things. If she were here I wouldn’t mind at all.
I’ve read and reread your last two letters and each time I find something new. That poem is a good description of Mother, and I’m glad you sent me “Tod who ist dein Stachel Holle who ist dein Secing”. Those lines went thru my brain constantly after Mother’s funeral. She had said that so many times and of course that was all I remembered.
I was so glad your friends were all so kind and considerate of you and Alf’s people were all so good. It certainly means a lot at a time like this and especially when you wanted to come so badly. I wished many a time you could have been here being things turned out as they did. I know Mother wouldn’t have been neglected spiritually had you been here. I’m sure you would have recognized her peculiar breathing in the morning and known it was to be her last day. I can still hear that rattle in her throat. Of course it wasn’t very pronounced in the morning.
I wish you were here so we could talk instead of write everything as one always thinks of more to write after the letter is on its way. I’ll have a picture made for Lydia and I’m going to have one made for all the kids too. I sent them all one at Christmas time when Dad and Ma are on together.
I hope Elsa has written to you by this time. She was thinner than when she was here before, but I think she looked healthier. My we’ve had lots of snow and cold weather is starting to moderate now.
Eugene said in Dad’s letter he hadn’t heard from anyone. I wrote him a long letter and told him everything in detail. Sure would have been a shame if the letter got lost. Say, did you receive the second $5.00 on that coat O.K. Its careless of me to put money into a letter like that.
Lots of love - Marie
Thanks for check and the $$ covered the flowers O.K.
source:Clara Hinderer Baur collection
"Tod who ist dein Stachel Holle who ist dein sieg"
Translation: "Death where is your sting, Hell where is your victory."
I couldn't get an exact translation since we are depending on Marie's memory. The words are from the Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms.
1 Corinthians 15:51–52.54–55 "Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
<ref>http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Ein_deutsches_Requiem,_Op._45_(Johannes_Brahms)</ref><ref>http://www0.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Ein_deutsches_Requiem,_Op._45_(Johannes_Brahms)</ref>
<references/>