The following article was printed in the "Bote" (Messenger) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States; Issue Nr. 3, 2002. The article includes two photos of Edith Muethel; one which is recent and one which is from the time when she was a girl.

Edith Muethel was born in St. Petersburg in 1919. In 1925, the large Pfeiffer family which had four children, (Margareth age 7, Edith age 6, Friedeborg age 5 and Emil age 3) traveled to their father's distant new place of service.

Edith spent her childhood in the Volga area in the colonies of  Muehlberg and Norka (province of Saratov). Her father Emil Pfeiffer ministered as a pastor in the village of Muehlberg from 1925 to 1927 and in the village of Norka from 1927 to 1934. The most beautiful memories from this time remain engrained in Edith's mind.

Today Edith is one of the most respected congregational members of St. Peter Church (my note: in St. Petersburg). She returned to her native city in 1956 and was confirmed in 1997. The readers of the "Bote" (Messenger) know about Edith Muethel's writings. She had a difficult lot in life but kept her joy of living and the beautiful smile which comes directly from her heart.

Translation - Horst W. Gutsche - September 29, 2002.

The World is full of Your Goodness

Psalm 104:10-12 "You make water gush from springs into the ravines and flow between the hills to let every animal drink, so the wild donkeys can quench their thirst. Beside the water nest the birds of the air, singing among the leaves."

In Muehlberg father used to take long walks with all four children. He often carried Emil when he had gotten tired. He taught us "to see and to hear", to love nature and to take care of it. He pointed out varieties of grass, shrubs and trees. As children we already knew the names of many plants, bushes and trees. He taught us to differentiate among birds by listening to their songs and their names were also familiar to us. We often walked; that is father, Gretchen and I, to the villages which he served.

In this way we became familiar with the fields. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet and other crops were sown. The endless sunflower fields made an impression which cannot be forgotten. During the winter we used their stems as fuel.

 Psalm 104:14 "You make grass grow for the cattle and plants for man to cultivate to get food from the ground: ..... and bread to strengthen him.

Particularly large areas were covered with watermelons, sugar melons and pumpkins. In the fall the watermelons were cut into pieces and juice or syrup was boiled up. The watermelons were cut in two and a wooden spoon was used to take out the fruit inside, the juice was pressed out in the press and then boiled. It produced a syrup which the farmers used instead of sugar.

The farmers kept horses and oxen; the latter probably being the best aid in working the fields. The entire harvest was brought home with the aid of these slow but diligent animals. In the vernacular the entire area was called the land of the oxen.

There were plentious harvests. Bread was always available and fruit was also dried for the winter, boiled and preserved. There were sheep, cows, pigs, goats and poultry on the farms. Every household had its own oil. Butter was preserved for the winter. Everything that was needed was there: the hard labor was worth it.

II Corinthians 9:6 "If you sow little, you won't get much grain. But if you sow generously, you will get much grain."

Many of the houses had roofs made of rye straw. In order to prepare the straw for the roof you had to had to take a good bundle from the sheaf and beat it on a bench on the threshing floor. The bench was lengthy for the many workers. By threshing the grain in this manner the longest and the strongest stems would remain in your hands and they again were bound into a sheaf with which you then covered the roof. This was hard and tiresome work and during the day you had to have a lot of endurance and patience in order prepare the sheaves for a roof.

Psalm 104:27 "All of them are looking to You to give them their food at the right time."

Another kind of work was also carried out at the same time by all of the inhabitants - the boiling of beet juice. After the sugar beets had been brought from the field they were washed, peeled, cut into big pieces and boiled in large kettles. When they had become soft they were put into a press and the juice was extracted and boiled until it produced a dark, concentrated syrup. Large pieces of sugar pumpkins were often put into the syrup which was ready for boiling. This produced jam which was called "Latwerge" in Norka. The beet juice was placed on the table in a dish and cream was added. In the late fall cabbage was salted and placed in large barrels. There were a lot of provisions for the winter: there were casks with preserved apples, watermelons, tomatoes, pickles and cabbage in the cellar. A supply of butter during the winter was also preserved. The large demijohns had sunflower oil in them.

Butchering took place at the beginning of winter. Sausages, hams and bacon hung in the smokehouses. Wheat, rye, corn, oats and barley were milled; animals and people were cared for the whole year through.

Psalm 104:24 "Lord how many are the things You made, You made them all by wisdom. The world is full of your goodness."

During the entire week the farmers worked diligently. On Saturday they cleaned and washed; the bread and Sunday cakes for the coming week were baked. You didn't work at all on Sunday. On Saturday all who could come from the fields came home. The worship service in the church started at 9:00 a.m.. It was always full. Only that which was absolutely necessary was done on this day: you fed the animals and cleaned the animal barn.

The farmers had a restful break from their hard work. On Sunday afternoon they returned to their fields in order to start a new work week in the morning.

Almost every family had a vegetable garden which was situated quite far from the village. This way the farmers had dried fruit and salted apples for the winter. The Sunday meal always had schnitz soup (Schnitzelsuppe) which was not boiled with sugar but with sugar beet syrup. This desert tasted very peculiar with the addition of bay leaves and cream as condiments.

You had to get used to it. There was also a large oak forest, but it was far away from the village. In the late fall, the farmers would drive to this forest with several wagons in order to gather acorns for feed for the pigs.

We left the village very early and came back late at night with the wagons loaded high with full sacks. There were century-old oaks in this forest and they stood far apart from each other. And I have to say that not a single twig was broken, no oak was shaken. Even though it was quite cold already, and we had already spent the entire day working there, no fire was made. The food was not warmed up; we ate everything cold.

Simple folk cared for nature without the knowledge that they were doing so. The only took what nature itself provided and what they needed; nothing more.

Psalm 65:11-13 "You crown the year with Your bounty. From Your tracks the abundance drips, dripping on the meadows in the desert; the hills are wreathed with joy, pastures are clothed with flocks, and valleys wrapped in grain. They shout to one another - yes, they sing.

Thanksgiving

When the harvest had been gathered and was stored away, then Thanksgiving was celebrated. The grain was in the granary, potatoes and vegetables were in the cellar. Syrup and salted down food had been prepared. Dried manure had been prepared for use. The farmers only waited for the snow in order to bring home hay, buy wood and stack it.

A very festive worship service was held. The church was decorated with sheaves of wheat which were placed in the aisle between the pews. The congregation's members wore special festive clothing which was only worn to church. The women had a folk costume which included a black skirt, a dark long-sleeved blouse and a black scarf made of thin wool or of pointed (starched?) fabric. The men wore their best dark suit.

The people knelt in order to thank God for the rich harvest, for his love and care, for his mercy.

The church in Norka which had been built in 1882 was a large church with seating for 2,500. The Lutheran-Reformed (my note: actually more Reformed-Lutheran) congregation consisted of about 17,000 members.

After the Thanksgiving Service the brothers and sisters raced home to the festively laden table. People also visited each other. In Norka, you didn't meet with the youth group or sit down to have a cup of tea (my note: after the church service?).

The church traditions among the Lutheran congregations on the Volga varied.

In other German settlements the festival of thanksgiving was not just restricted to the worship service.

I remember one other custom in Norka. The evening before the festival, the herdsman drove the herd home from the pasture for the last time. A wagon followed the herd. The farmer's wives walked up to the herdsman, paid him money for tending the herd and gave him cake, sausage, bread - everything which had been prepared for the festival. He was also well taken care of for the year.

Marina Chudenko according to the diary of E. Muethel