Wow, it's "Nicht zu Laut"!

The human brain is a great toy, and a most amazing storehouse to boot.  Just this week, Larry was thinking about questions we've drummed up but didn't find answers for over the past 794 posts (since January 2009).  One that came to mind was the odd bit of "German" that great Uncle Math Hesch recorded in his notebook in the end of May 1914, when their big trip to Poland was almost over.

"Well, we are in RHEINE now.
Just heard a tune. It sure is a nice one

Zum Lot means crap en can.
I sold my shoes for one mark. Hard times.

Bought a pair for 12.50.

Was to confession today in Rheine.

There it goes again. Some one else is playing the machine, same tune".

At the time we were posting about Math and Theo's adventures in Europe,   Larry and I talked about how "Zum Lot" sounded familiar to me--it had to be an expression I'd heard, ya know?  But it didn't translate.  It was spelled wrong, for sure, and probably was oddly abbreviated via Hesch humor, not to mention the mix of two languages. We worried the question for awhile, then dropped it...sigh.  We figure, if it really wants to be deciphered, it'll pop up again.

WELL!  Evidently, the phrase "Nicht zu laut" drew Larry's attention somehow yesterday. He googled it, and a book from 1915 called "Russia and the World" came up. Page 304 relates an incident from a theater in Germany:

Ahhh...(I expect Grandpa muttered "Nicht zu laut!" in the kitchen in Royalton when we kids tore out the door).  I'll BET Math wrote it down in the abbreviated version they used at home, just like we used 'ferschtay' for "Verstehen Sie?"  

So, a possible interpretation of the incident with Math and music in Rheine, Germany was that he heard the song once too often there on the street, and commented that it was nice at first but now it was a can of crap...☺

When we find an audio file of Nicht zu laut, we'll post it here.  You'll be honor bound to play it at least ten times in a row, full blast.  Uncle Math would want it that way.  Full circle, ya know.

....................

Ahh, it took the man overnight to find it!  WOW, huh?

Johnson & Dean

When Larry and I were researching great uncle Math's diary of the trip he took with his brother Theo, there were a few intriguing episodes we intended to re-visit in the future.  We've realized over and over that new info pops up online regularly...OR, that our own awareness has changed...so it's worthwhile to check back on earlier stories.

One such episode was Math's notes about meeting black people from Minneapolis in Berlin, in 1914.  They were performers at the Wintergarten. Part Six of the diary says "Met 2 coon's. They are from Minneapolis. One sings here in a show house, the biggest in Berlin. Have heard him sing cause I have been to the show". 

So, we researched what had to be a very small subset of singers (black) from the US (Minneapolis) who played Berlin (the Wintergarten) in 1914, and we found a likely couple called Johnson and Dean.  (...An act with two people, neither of whom was known as a good singer, so it's probable Math's 'singer' was someone entirely different). Here's their resume for those years from a book called Notable Black American Women, on Google books:

We also found that Johnson and Dean broke up in the summer of 1914, and each went their own way for the next 20 years.  But in Berlin, in May 1914, Math could very well have talked with Mr Johnson and another man hired to be in the act (see below).  (Ahem...knowing Uncle Math, if he'd met Dora Dean, he would have mentioned it!)

In another place in the diary, Math says there were four black performers...hmm.  Possibly two different acts?  But then, our Master Researcher found this item in Minneapolis' African American newspaper, the Appeal ►.

And look, we hadn't found any mention of a son before, but checking Family Search for a Herman Johnson who was NOT from Norway or Sweden, we found:

 With that configuration of first names, the "White" was most likely a mistake, but "Adopted Son" would make some sense--as they were able to leave him in Germany at age 8, and bring him back to NY for more school in 1914, when he was only 13.

Anyway, none of this proves they were on the Olympic with Math and Theo Hesch in April 1914, or that they met in Berlin.  After all, they were from provincial  Buckman, Minnesota...would Math have approached an unknown black man?  We think so, because as Larry pointed out, Math and Theo would have known Schmolke's chauffeur Wilbur Nevils, who was listed on the 1910 Federal census for Buckman.  I suspect Math felt pretty cosmopolitan...lol

 Added over a year later:  two mentions of Wilbur Nevils in the Pierz Journal, but look, both in July 1910.  I suspect Mr Nevils wasn't all that comfortable in Buckman.  Larry found him living with his wife and kids in Minneapolis in the 1920 census.

The German pages from Math's Diary

Funny, a straight translation of these pages makes no sense; they're evidently the words to an old German song only it's messed with, and there's other handwriting besides Math's.

But imagine if you were young and trying to seem cosmopolitan in a foreign city. What if you found yourself doing something that would NOT be permitted at home (girls in your rooms at night with no chaperone), while being a little in love with one of those girls...who starts singing...? It's a song about injustice, written by a student who was executed in 1820. We think they played at translating the song literally, with Math saying, "I've gotta write that down!" and Lena, reading what he wrote, saying, "No, that's not right!" Much laughter and suggestive looks...
I sent the pages to Michael Hortsch, who graciously translated them (see below).

++++++++++++++++++++

May 24/14 from Lena Wisiak
Zu spät kommt
oft die Reue ein
Herz vor Gramm
vergeht das kleine
Word verzeihe kommt
leider oft zu spät
Regret often comes too late
Sorrow breaks a heart
The little word "sorry" often comes too late

Zu spät kommt oft die Reue, ein Herz vor Gram vergeht.
Das kleine Wort "verzeihe" kommt leider oft zu spät.
http://wollmeise.blogspot.com/

"The following "poem" in Math’s diary is partially based on the poem attributed to Sand. However, there is no punctuation and the line breaks make little sense. After a few lines Lena’s poem deviates more and more from the original".

Ich verfolge dich noch
als Leiche wenn du meiner
je vergisst und im Toden
kleide schleiche ich beständig
wo Du bist. Hast Du mein Eid
mir vergeben Fluch sei mag
dir kein Gl¸ck Pein und
Selichkeit verloren wenn ich je
Vergesse dein. In Liebe lernt
lernten wir uns kˆnnen (Should read "kennen") ach
es war nur ein kurzes
Gl¸ck. Wie oft hast du
aus falscher Liebe einen
Ku_ auf meinen Mund
gedr¸ckt wenn du hinter
dustre ("d¸strer=dunkel") Mauer oft mit eine
andere geht so bedenke du
mit Trauer das du deiner
Leichen Herzens brichst!
Nun so ? und las
und scheiden ohne Kus(s)
und Druck der Hand
dem ich glaube von uns
beiden hat die Liebe sich
gewandt!
Helene Wiciak
Wenn ich mu_ gestorben
??? geh zu meinem Grabe
hin schreibe leise in den
Sand diese hast du geliebt
Und gekannt
Helene Wiciak
Berlin dort?? ??49
den 24 Mai 1914

[Translated:

I follow you still as my body

when you ever forget and deaths

I slip resistant dress where you are.

Do you have my oath forgive me is like a curse

Gl ¸ ck you no pain and

Selich lost if I ever Forget you.

In love, learn we got may submit (Should read "know")

ach It was only a short Gl ¸ ck.

How often have you from false love

a Ku_ on my mouth

Something Gedr ¸ if you get

behind dustre ( "d ¸ strer = dark"),

often with a wall others go

so you think with sadness that you your

Corpses heart breaking! Well, then?

reading and excrete without Kus (s)

and pressure of the hand

I think we two, the love is turning!

Helene Wiciak

If I died mu_ ?? go to my grave

write down softly in the Sand these loved you

And known

Helene Wiciak

Berlin there? ? 49 the May 24, 1914]

"This is the original version of the poem:"

DER SCHWUR
Als sie naht, die Abschiedsstunde,
Die uns hier so schmerzlich trennt,
Noch einen Ku_ von deinem Munde,
Der auf meinen Lippen brennt.
Treue hab ich dir geschworen:
Fluch treff mich und ewige Pein,
Heil und Seligkeit verloren,
Wenn ich je vergesse dein!
Sollst du je meineidig werden,
So treff dich des Rächers Fluch,
Dich verfolgt mein Dolch im Leben
Und mein Geist im Leichentuch.
Dich verfolg ich noch als Leiche,
Wenn du meiner je vergi_t,
Und im Totenhemde schleiche
Ich dir nach, auch wo du bist.
Nimm zum Liebesunterpfande
Dies, mein dunkel Lockenhaar
Mit dem schwarzrotgoldnen Bande,
Das an meinem Busen war.
Nimm sie hin, die dunkle Locke,
Ewig, ewig lieb ich dich!
Horch, wie tˆnt so dumpf die Glocke,
Lebe wohl und denk an mich.

(Deutscher Liederhort II Nr. 760 (ohne Melodie);

Handschriftliches Liederbuch eines Soldaten;

Arnstadt, 1848 geschrieben.

"Attributed to Karl Ludwig Sand, who murdered August von Kotzebue. Supposedly written to his lover before his execution in 1820.
Karl Ludwig Sand (Wunsiedel, then in Prussia, 5 October 1795 - Mannheim, 20 May 1820) was a German university student and member of a liberal Burschenschaft (student association). He was executed in 1820 for the murder of the conservative dramatist August von Kotzebue the previous year in Mannheim. As a result of his execution, Sand became a martyr in the eyes of many German nationalists seeking the creation of a united German national state. The events of Sand's life are narrated in the story Karl Ludwig Sand, part of Celebrated Crimes by Alexandre Dumas.
The imagery in the poem is typical German romantic period. After the liberation from the Napoleonic rule a strong nationalistic and democratic movement developed among German intellectuals, leading to the revolution of 1848/49. The lock of hair in the poem is bound together by a black/red/gold ribbon, which represents the colors of today’s German national flag. These colors were originally the uniform colors of the "L¸tzowsches Freikorp", a Prussian military unit fighting in the liberation war against the French 1813-1815".

See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BCtzow_Free_Corps

++++++++++++++++++++++

If you compare the script in the diary with Michael's translation, you can discern who wrote what...but they were just being silly and euphoric that night, I think.

Visiting with Adeline

OMG, today was FUN!

Joanie and I went to Pierz to see her mom, and the talk just FLEW...lol Part of what's so fun is that almost anything can surface when you're talkin' family--for instance, did you know that Grandpa's brother Math was an Excelsior Motorcycle Dealer? Or, that Huntzie Hesch was an accomplished whistler? (That tidbit came from a gentleman who grew up on a neighboring farm. He said when conditions were right they could HEAR him, almost a mile away! lol)

We shared pictures and stories, and we laughed. A lot!

:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::

This pic is one I've waited for. Remember in Math's Diary, when he said "Annie Klein is here with us now. We're going to have our picture taken..." ?
I think THIS is that picture:

Do you think Annie was a relative of Max Klein who married Lucy Hesch?

:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::///:::

Later, Joanie and I had supper at the Old Bank Cafe. As we were leaving, a woman walking by looked at me and said, "Aren't you a Hesch?" LOL

THAT felt great!

Original pages from Math's Diary

Like most travelers, Math Hesch collected addresses of people he met in Europe in 1914, but he seems to have forgotten the most obvious ones like Franz Hortsch, the Otrembas in his mothers' hometown, and Lena Wiciak. Still, the names that are here tell us something, too: that he didn't think of getting addresses till they were in Amsterdam!

When he says in the diary, "Am using Van Belles pen"...we see who that was now, and the person who gave them tickets to the theater in Amsterdam was probably "R. Underberg". Was 'Wm Morgon' from Chicago the third American in the photo taken in Berlin?

MORE about Math and his diary

Sue just sent this :

"So How and why did I stumble across the Hesch history blog?

Why was I googling Sister Laura Hesch when I already know tons about her?

Because I have treasures that you need and someone wants you to have them."

WOW

Here's the photo of Math and Theo brother Frank shortly before Math & Theo left for Europe.
And HERE 's the picture they had taken in Berlin, with "his girl" Lena. That's Theo, with the mustache. Woo-hoo!

It's amazing that this card survived, isn't it? Sure, it's addressed to Sue's great grandfather, so she's most likely to have it 95 years later, but even Math's daughters weren't aware it was still around. Wow.

To Mr John Hesch & Co. R. 4, Pierz, Minnesota USA North Amerika
..................

June 5th Hello John give me a box of layers snuff I am dieing for just on bite We are in Amsterdam but had this card taken in Berlin. The other boy on here is an American as well and she is my girl Lena Wiciak I'll tell you all when we blow in...from Hesch bros, wrote by M.E.

THANK YOU, SUE!

Math's Diary--Part Ten--June 17th to 20th, 1914

(This is the final part of a notebook diary kept by Math Hesch during a trip he took to Europe with his brother Ted in the spring of 1914. Click DIARY on the sidebar to see only the diary entries. Enjoy!)

June 17--Tuesday--We are in New York. Maybe we ain't chewing snuff.

As I am writing this, I am sitting along side of the Olympic and waiting to be taken to the Kesselgarden.

It is a nice place. Can see the men working & so on.

8 P.M. we have been through the immigrant house on Ellis Island. Some fun there.

(Larry found that Math and Ted are still listed as 'immigrants' at Ellis Island when they returned home in June of 1914. "Some fun there" must have been messing with the officials...lol )
(This is how Ellis Island looked from an arriving boat. It opened for business in 1900, and accepted over 12 million people before closing in 1954).

(The Immigrant House between 1907 and 1912. Math and Theo would have passed this way on a lark. As citizens, they could have avoided it altogether, but pretending to be German was probably WAY more fun! )

(A bit more ELLIS ISLAND HISTORY here.)

We are on the train and will soon leave for Chicago.

June 18--Wednesday--We traveled all night on the New York Central. Will soon be in Buffalo were we change cars.

Here we are in Buffalo N. Y. watching em switch.

Will soon leave for Chicago.

This town has 600 & 50 thousand living in it. Nice town.

Well, we are going out of Buffalo now 2 P.M. & are due in Chicago 12:25 it is 524 miles to go. We have 2 locomotives on here & 16 cars--some run & drag.

June 19--Thursday--Well we went along some all night and are in Chicago, but we'll leave again.

10:15 A.M.--Am on the train now for Minneapolis. Nice depot here, the Northwestern.

We are in Wyeville, Wisconsin.

(Wyeville was so-named because two train tracks crossed there, creating a "wye", or a sort of triangle of tracks where a whole train could reverse direction or make a right-angle turn. Think about it--the whole train could go past the triangle, then back up onto the second side, and proceed via the third side back the way it came or, in the Wyeville scenario, a north-south train could go east-west from there. Pretty cool!)

It is June. Has some ice cream, the first for this year. It was good junk.

The water around here is all red. Can't tell why--river, creek, & all look red.
We are in Hudson now 9:15 P.M. & on the St. Croix River.

(I really REALLY wanted to find an old picture of the Hudson depot, but the best I could do was take a current photo I found on flickr of the depot, and "fix" it by replacing the new train with an old one...lol Don't look too closely, it's amaturish, but it gives you an idea. To the left of the picture is the St Croix river, just down the embankment. If the passenger cars were farther back along the train, they would have been parked over the water, I think).

The train stands on the bridge. The depot is standing here & water all around it.

We got to Minneapolis at 10:35.

June 20--Friday--Are now in the little Soo depot & ready to go home. It is raining hard now.

And that's the end of Math's Diary.

You know they remembered the trip all their long lives.

It was a record of something amazing. International travel for two farm boys from Buckman had to be a stunning experience.

And now, 95 years later, we descendants got to re-live it with them here, on a medium they couldn't have imagined....which is something amazing in OUR lives.

Math's Diary--Part Nine--June 10th to 16th, 1914

In which Math and Ted again take to the sea....

(This is part of a notebook diary kept by Math Hesch during a trip he took with his brother Ted in the spring of 1914. Click DIARY on the sidebar to see only the diary entries. Enjoy!)


An ad for the actual trip they were on...see where it says "SOUTHAMPTON" near the middle, there?

June 10--Tuesday--Well we left London at 8:30 this morning & are now again on the Olympic.

For the last 2 hours, the sea is not smooth, a little rough. Now we are in Cherbourg, France, took on near 300 passengers.

June 11--Wednesday--We will soon be in Queenstown, Ireland to take on mail.

We are now one day on the water.

She is slipping-along as smooth as joint oil.

So far only a little foggy, aint bad.

Had a singing bunch on here from 2nd class, sang all the songs you can think of.

Mostly Sweden & dagos on here. They act good so far yet, but all look tough.

We have been sailing along for the past 3 hours, but we still see the land of Ireland.

Many sea gulls can be seen now. One man had his watch stole this morning.

The Pacific Ocean 70,000,000 square miles;

the Atlantic Ocean is 25,000,000 square miles;

the Indian Ocean is 17,000,000 square miles, so they say.

We made 511 miles so far.

I never seen the sea as smooth as it is today.
It is as smooth as you can get it.

A few are sick, maybe 5 in all.

Seen a few fish.

Gum is only 10 cents for 5 sticks. Real cheap it is. (YAY!)

Very windy now, still the waves don't act bad yet. Still, we have a storm coming.

It is lovely now.

We are having a heavy fog.

Ship is going 5 or 6 miles an hour, the fog horn a going all the time.

The engines just keep a moving and that is all.

All is so quiet, only the horn hollers out over the sea in the pitch dark night.

It all looks like a tunnel to me.

Played poker and made 4 dollars.

June 13--Friday--Nice hot morning today.

Seen an oil ship with the smoke stack on one end.

The sea is fine and we are plowing right through for New York.

We made 511 miles the 2nd day and 519 miles the 3rd day.

We had a heavy rain today.

The sea is smooth yet & are going along nice.

Seen many sharks this morning.

June 14 Sunday--Nice day.

They say all you can see is 8 miles or 10 on the water.

The funnels or smoke stacks on here are 150 feet high and the mast over 200.

We have 63 life boats and they hold 48 passengers in each one.

Was all over 2nd class last night. A man showed me around. Aint bad.

We had about 5 sick the first day but none sick now.

Made 65 cents on poker this morning.

Morocco is the name where that old money is used.

It is in Africa.

We are having a storm today.

Still, the boat don't swing, and it blows a man away from the rail.

Worst wind we have had so far.

Had another bad fog. She went so slow could hardly see her move.

June 15--Sunday--She is swinging nice this morning. Still, there aint a bit of wind, can't see why she rocks.

The band is playing now, but I have enough.

One is called the Mad Musician. He looks it too, with all those notes on his clothes.

I know none of these people have "notes on their clothes", but it's the only "Mad Musician" photo we could find, and Vasco probably WAS on the Olympic, but hopefully looking happier than these folks.

Just had a man to show the boss how fast he could close the doors in case he would have to.

He aint slow.

Meet a few ships, still I did not see any.

Just got some news:

last night was Sunday, and it was on a Sunday when the Titanic went down.

That is why she went slow.

From THIS WEBSITE :
"As a result of the disaster, the first International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea was called in London in 1913. The convention drew up rules requiring that every ship have lifeboat space for each person embarked (the Titanic had only 1,178 boat spaces for the 2,224 persons aboard); that lifeboat drills be held during each voyage; and, because the Californian had not heard the distress signals of the Titanic, that ships maintain a 24-hour radio watch. The International Ice Patrol also was established to warn ships of icebergs in the North Atlantic shipping lanes".

(The Olympic was equiped with the required number of lifeboats).

We come near having a wreck!

Another boat was running into us and we were backing up as fast as the Olympic could go.

Still the other one come straight for us till she was so close that they come near hitting.

Then they seen us and of course stopped.

We did not like the news a bit.

Many were up and on the deck waiting for the hit, which did not come, thank God.

They say the other boat was a big one too.

Baltic, a 25,000 ton ship was the one that near struck us.

A postcard of the S. S. BALTIC from oceanliner.com. Both of these ships were owned by the White Star Lines.

And we near struck a tramp ship, it was very dark.

We made 438 miles today. The close wreck put us behind.

It is 8:30 P.M. now & a raining as hard as it can & hot. Oh jee, I am sweating as I never did.

The smoke goes straight up. Not a bit of breeze.

Still, the sea is not calm. The boat swings real slow & nice.

They have 8,000 mail bags on here--seen a pile of em. Big as a house.

June 16--Monday--We went through the vaccination room this morning but they only got about 10 of em. The rest had theirs, or were Americans.

The sea is nice this morning. We made 521 miles today and are 4 hours late.

One anchor is laying top of the ship, weight 17 tons.

I seen him--some hook--they just pulled out 1,200 feet of 3 inch rope.

There are 1,000's of feet in the rear end of the ship yet.

We have many Sweden girls on here that can't speak a word but Swedish.

Good looking.

We'll get to New York Wednesday.

Am in the dining room & the tug boats are pushing us in, a dozen or more.

Yeah, Math lost his enthusiasm for note-taking on the trip home, but you would, too...lol Their amazing adventure was almost over, except for the train ride from NYC to Minnesota....but that'll be Part Ten.

Stay tuned!

A few extra pics

We were speaking of Online National Treasures, right? Well, besides Larry and me (wink, wink), there's also a pretty good one called The Library of Congress. It's searchable digitized material (pictures...lol)

When I was searching for pictures to illustrate Math's Diary, I entered 1913, cuz with 1914, you get mostly WWI pictures. For instance, this is a photo of a street in Berlin in 1913--no wonder Math remarked on the noisy "honk-honks".

And here's the Olympic, being towed into New York harbor in 1911. It's pretty much exactly how it would've looked in 1914...lol

I also found photos of farming in Europe at the time, since Math and Ted would have noticed the methods used, and since Math mentions it often in his notes.

(Incredible to be haying or plowing in a long dress!)

Math's Diary--Part Eight--June 8th and 9th, 1914

In which you can tell how IMPRESSED Math was with London...lol

(This is part of a notebook diary kept by Math Hesch during a trip he took with his brother Ted in the spring of 1914. Click DIARY on the sidebar to see only the diary entries. Enjoy!)

June 8--Sunday--Will soon be in Harwich, England.

Had a nice ride on a good boat over from the Hook.

6 hours & a half. St. Pettersburg is the name of this ship.

Things haven't changed much: "Port of Harwich Ferry Routes and Cruises: Harwich to the Hook of Holland, Holland - Harwich, Essex, England, UK There are multiple crossings every day between Harwich and the Hook of Holland, operated by Stena Line. The sailing duration is approximately 3 hours, 45 minutes on the Stena HSS and 6 hours, 15 minutes on the daytime superferry and the overnight ferry". I assume it works the other way, too...lol

Well we are in the biggest village of the world--London-- and are drinking good old lager, 6 pence per glass.

Am getting hungry. Have tried all they have in London, but England don't agree with us.

Well we are paying 1.25 each for bed & breakfast...not so bad, but it is a rotten room.

June 9--Monday--Seen a good part of London so far- seen the mayor of London this morning.

Sir Thomas Bowater, Lord Mayor of London in 1914

(And now YOU'VE seen him, too!)

London has 6 million living in her. We rode ten miles on the tram this morning to get out of the smoke.

Seen a great big church.

(Shown is Westminster Cathedral, but you can take your pick HERE)

.

.

.

.

.

Just had a shave & hair cut for 12 cents. Cheap here.

Seen a big bridge & lots other things.
(Probably the Tower Bridge, finished just 20 years earlier) 
(Added April, 2011: a panoramic view of the Tower Bridge--WOW)

TOWER BRIDGE

Ok, the big trip was practically over, and our travellers were jaded by now, but there's STILL more excitement to come on the Olympic...

Maths Diary--Part Seven--May 29th to June 7th, 1914

Now they're leaving Europe behind.....

(This is part of a notebook diary kept by Math Hesch during a trip he took with his brother Ted in the spring of 1914. Click DIARY on the sidebar to see only the diary entries. Enjoy!)

May 29--Friday--We are in Hanover now, 200 miles from Berlin.
It aint much of a town, but we never had so many brag up their land as right here- we are getting mad.
Jee, if we had them in the states, we would show 'em a thing or two.

This was the end of May, and WWI was definitely brewing. Math and Ted left Europe only 20 days before Archduke Ferdinand was shot in Sarajevo on June 28th, and war broke out only a month after that.

" Strong feelings of nationalism fed the fires of hatred in pre-war Europe. It turned Frenchman against German and Russian against Austrian. Nationalistic speeches and writings (especially in countries like Germany) hastened the war by painting it as the best test for proof of national superiority"... from THIS ARTICLE. about the causes of WWI.

We are on our way to Rheine now.
This is May 30--Saturday--Rye is all headed out.
Still, they won't and can't cut it till August 1.
The crops are ahead of O — sh.
Here read about a ship going down, don't like it a bit.

The Empress of Ireland was a Canadian Pacific Railway steamship in active service from 1906 until its collision with another ship in the early hours of May 29, 1914.
SHIPWRECK

Hannover is a good for nothing town. Rye is all laying flat around here.
Had rain for the last 7 or 8 days.

Are in MINDEN now, 9:50 A.M. Just left Lohne.

East of Hannover, heading to Amsterdam... I seen some wooden shoes, first ones we seen in this land.
Well, we are in RHEINE now.
Just heard a tune. It sure is a nice one.

Zum Lot means crap en can.
I sold my shoes for one mark. Hard times. Bought a pair for 12.50.
Was to confession today in Rheine.

There it goes again. Some one else is playing the machine, same tune.
Bought a pill holder for 50 pfennig, a razor for 2.50.

May 31--Sunday--Some finofftner--are still in Rhiene.

Were to communion this morning & nothing to do but lay around.
The big day is over.

We seen the Ems River, a nice falls and some locks and such junk.
My feet sure hurt some from the new shoes.
I have never seen so many drunk as in this town. All drink cognac--no account junk. Rina.

June 1--Monday--1:30 P.M. We are now in H-O-L-A-N-D.

Holland & lost--can't speak it.
Seen some turf piled as big as Kinzer's barn.

Just left Amersfoort.
Seen some Holland Deserts--sand for miles and miles, and not a house.
This land around here is poor.

Only a few houses, same as in the states, but there are more cattle here than can be seen back in the states.
We are in Amsterdam in the Union Hotel. Two gulden sleep and breakfast.
Nice town, as much as I have seen so far. We get along good in talking mostly English.

June 2--Tuesday--Just had a shave for 10 cents. Best I ever had in my life.
4 cents of our money for a shave, 5 cents street car ride. 2 cents of our money & they go as smooth as joint oil.

Broodge mit Kaas 10 cents here, two and a half cents at home. Great town.

Broodge with Ham and a glass of milk 2 cents, our money.

Trying to translate "broodge"doesn't work. I think he meant bread with cheese or bread with ham. Otherwise, they were selling 'bridges'...

Meet "Van Belle" Worr, Belle Browers relation.

He is a real nice man. Has a small dump and pays 160 gulden rent per month. Got some good wine from him so far. We will leave Thursday again. Seen Mrs. Browers' sister, has a good looking daughter.

I sold my shoes for 4 gulden and got new ones for 7 and a half. The other ones were too small.
There are no trains running in the night in Holland, only till 12 & 12:30, not later.

June 3--Wednesday--We seen the museum, the thing where one can see all the old things of 1500. Some Junk.
Probably The Ryks Museum, or state museum, the first in Holland. It is a large, handsome and finely situated building designed by Dr P. J. H. Cuyper in the Dutch Renaissance style, and erected in 1876-1885. The exterior is decorated with sculptures and tile-work, and internally it is divided, broadly speaking, into a museum of general antiquities below, and the large gallery of pictures of the Dutch and Flemish schools above...lol

Were down to Lamberman for dinner. Nice folks.
Seen where they are building a ship. Some noise. (See the film, below, to see the shipyards in Amsterdam). Things are nice here so far.

Sat up till one last night, drank beer & had Holland cheese.

3 Juni 1914 ________(GERMAN)_____ We were to the show.
It was a good act, but we could not understand a word.
A man gave us free tickets to it and the best seats at that.

Just had our picture taken 10 for one gulden.

June 4--Thursday--nothing doing yet.

Seen more push carts here in Amsterdam then I have seen in all my born days.
And holler, you can hear em all over the town.

THIS FILM FROM 1914 , especially the first few minutes, will show you what he meant.

Here in Holland, a man can piss right on the street.

Funny thing, life in Holland. There are 6 hundert & 50 thousand living in Amsterdam. All the houses here stand on posts cause the ground is so soft. There are 13 thousand & 659 under the kings house.

Here we seen the 'first painter' of Holland in a park.
All nice to see here- am now using Van Belle's pen.

The name of this painter is Rembrandt.

The REMBRANDTPLEIN, with a monument (1852) to the painter by Lodswyk Royer.

June 5th--Friday--We were in a house & drank wine. The house is old.
Since 1671 all the kings go there when they come here so we had to go in too.

The 'house' is still standing, called the "De Veer Heemskinderen" (The Four Brothers).

Seen the Jewtown and the place were they used to hang the men.

Was out with some girls. Great fun to talk Holland to em. Still we got along good.

June 7--Sunday--Theo's birthday. Was to church. It is raining all the time for the past 3 weeks & cold. The houses are narrow & rather high.

As I am writing this we are bound for the Hook of Holland.

The Hook of Holland, a district of Rotterdam, located on the North Sea, is less than 80 km / 50 miles from Amsterdam.

It is 10 in the night, first night riding since we left home. We are in a town now, but can't get the name cause it is dark.

In Amsterdam we had the best farewell we have ever had. It was great the way they did treat us to the last. Sure good.

We are now in Haarlem, Haarlem Holland.

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NEXT PART--THE BOYS TOUR LONDON!

Maths Diary--Part Six--May 16th to 28th, 1914

or, BERLIN on 40 cents per...

(This is part of a notebook diary kept by Math Hesch during a trip he took with his brother Ted in the spring of 1914. Click DIARY on the sidebar to see only the diary entries. Enjoy!)

May 16--Friday--12 A.M. we are now 135 feet in the air looking at Berlin. We are in the Zoo garden. Lots to see , meet some English folks.
THE ZOO



(The "Neu" Aquarium opened in 1913).

(The Elephant Gate at the Berlin Zoo).




May 17--Saturday--Just come out of the St. Hedwigs church in Berlin.
ST HEDWIGS CATHEDRAL

Nothing extra, are living cheap now about 40 cents per & good feed at that. Rye bread is all you get in this part of the ball but it is better then the rye in the states.

May 18--Monday--Am sitting in Berlin under den Linden & watching the Honk Honk's go by.
(Unter den Linden is the street under the Brandenberg Gate--a main thoroughfare in Berlin).

May 19--Tuesday--Were out to Wannsee ( two nearby lakes, the Grosse and Kline Wansee, were the local beach); took a bath & had our back sun burned. Seen many there.

(He wasn't kidding this time!!...lol)

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This sounds like a stock yard to hear all those autos roar.

May 20--Wednesday--Meet our neighbor, he plays fiddle & his daughter piano, sounds good.

May 21--Thursday--Well this is Fensoffen, some holy day (probably Ascension Thursday).

Was to church in Berlin.

Will teach a roman girl English tomorow. (Just like that!)
Were in the Hotel all day. Theo is laid up with a burned back.
That is all so far.

May 22--Friday--Just now seen a air ship going about 500 feet in the air.

A great big one, made lots of noise.

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(In 1914, Zepplins were about 490-520 feet long and powered by 3 engines, cruising at speeds up to 50 MPH--impressive even today!)

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(Can you imagine their amazement? Standing on the street, looking up at something so monstrous...

Dirigibles were being developed as 'reconnaissance vehicles', but when WWI started later that summer, they were outfitted with bombs).

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Met a girl friend tonight named Lena. Some gal. She will come over the pond next year.

Sat in the park till 12, cost not a cent. She is 19 years old weight about 140, good looking.

May 23--Saturday--Well, I was out in park, meet a woman with a baby. I gave the kid milk out of a bottle and then pushed it home in a baby carrage, about 1/4 mile. Great fun.

Met 2 coon's. They are from Minneapolis. One sings here in a show house, the biggest in Berlin. Have heard him sing cause I have been to the show.

This troup is "Vasco the Mad Musician" from 1914--it's possible they played the Wintergarten since we think they returned to America on the Olympic with Math and Ted).

(This couple JOHNSON & DEAN may have been performing at the time, too).

There are 4 coon's in there in all.

Winter garden is the name of the place.____(GERMAN)____

(This poster wasn't from their time there--but it gives you an idea of who played the Wintergarten!

We haven't been able to pinpoint who the black singer was, but there were a few possibilities from Minneapolis in those years. We'll add info if we discover who they were).

May 25--Monday--Had a great time last night. Those 2 girls were here visiting till 12:30, singing songs & having other pass time. (ahem!)

(Wintergarten ad from the Berlin Adressbuch, 1914).
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It is raining hard today. Got a hair from a girl**.

Best singer on the ball she is.

May 26--Tuesday--Am worrying a little about my girl.

Seen a small man with a good crop of beard on his face.

Met another coon, been all over the ball. Nice man.

They, he says, try to clean the black off his face, so he cleans em.
Many have there face cut. To him, this land comes from devils.

(Man, reread that last paragraph...a decent, well travelled black man who fears having his face cut by Germans. It had to be awful).

May 27--Wednesday--Well, we ain't doing much these days--too much rain. Bought some cherries. They aint bad.

May 28--Just seen old things of 100 years of war, kings & bad girls, 100's of em on wax statues.

(Wax Museums in Berlin were popular--the city center, the Kaisergalerie, had at least two--the Passage-Panoptikum and Castan's Panoptikum.

CLICK HERE FOR A PDF FILE ABOUT IT )

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**(We don't know why Math and Ted were in Berlin for 10 days, but they were. Maybe they intended to stay longer, but there's a Family story: the "hair he got from a girl"? Math told Joanie that it was a lock of hair (significant in 1914!) and that when the girls' father found out, he was furious. Math and Ted had to leave Berlin in a hurry!)

NEXT, MATH AND TED HEAD TO HOLLAND, BY WAY OF HAMBURG...STAY TUNED!