17 April 1906 - Tuesday
Tues. 17th Just received [a] circular letter from Pres. Serge F. Ballif of an intended Trip through Switzerland, and [a] Conference to
[p. 48]
be held In Zürich [on] May 25th [19]06.80 Received [a] letter from sister Anna [Kramer Schneidt] in [the] evening, stating that she and Lizzie were comming to Germany in the latter part of May.[N9] I am answering her letter now [at] 10 P.M.
18 April 1906 - Wednesday
Wed. April 18th 06 Went tracting to day[. I] am not feeling very well. Visited [the] Ketterers on [the] way home from tracting and had diner there. Met an old gentleman in a park, had [a] conversation with him + gave him tracts which he said he would read. Received the [Der] Stern from Zürich today.[N10] My money is all gone[.] my land lady lent me two Marks.
19 April 1906 - Thursday
19th Did not do anything[.] walked around town[. I] am not feeling very well.
20 April 1906 - Friday
20th Am feeling somewhat better today [and] went tracting to Guttenfingen [Gundelfingen]. Weather is rainy and cold. I have a slight head ache yet.
[p. 49]
21 April 1906 - Saturday
Sat. 21-1906 April. I just received new’s of [a] big Earthquake and destruction by fire of the city of San Francisco[,] Cal[ifornia].[N11]
22 April 1906 - Sunday
Sun. 22nd Bro. [John] Mack called on me in the morning, and we had a pleasant walk together for a way’s in the country. Then we went up town and had dinner togeather. after which we went out to Bro. Ketterers and held [an] after noon meeting, had supper at [the] Ketterers[.] in the evening we all went down to a woods outside of the town where there is a small stream of water, and I baptized Sis. Bertha Ketterer.[N12] I confirmed her the same night in their house. After which we sang a hymn, and Bro. [John] Mack and I went home togeather[.] our room’s are not
[p. 50]
far apart.
23 April 1906 - Monday
Mon. 23rd April 1906. Went tracting, around town. There are a great many students comming into Freiburg now.[N13] Many of the Students have scars on their faces from swords wound received
in fighting or duels.[N14]
24 April 1906 - Tuesday
Tues. 24 April 1906 Rainy and cold[. I] did not tract. In[the] evening went out to [the] Ketterers and held [a] Bible Class.
25 April 1906 - Wednesday
Wednesday April 25 tracted around town[.] Some more students arrived to day.
26 April 1906 - Thursday
Thur. 26 April Tracted in Freiburg[. The] Weather [was] Cloudy + Cold with [a] sprinkle of rain.
27 April 1906 - Friday
Freiday April 27 tracted in Freiburg[. The] Weather [was] still cold and disagreable.
28 April 1906 - Saturday
Sat. 28th Still cloudy + stormy.
29 April 1906 - Sunday
Sun 29th April. Went out [to] the Ketterers and held [a] meeting.
[p. 51]
30 April 1906 - Monday
Mon. 30th April 1906. Went trackting in Frieburg. Also visited a family of friends by the name of Stein. The weather has been a little more agreeable with occasional sunshine[.]
NOTES:
[N9] It appears they arrived in either late May or early June. However, Frederick did not see them until the end of July. See 28 July 1906 entry. I have much of their correspondence during their visit available to post later.
[N10] Der Stern [The Star] was the Mormon church’s German periodical, similar to the British Millennial Star. During Frederick’s mission, it was published semi-monthly.
[N11] The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco and the coast of northern California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total length of 296 miles (477 km). Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and resulting fire is remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire represents the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California’s history. The death toll resulting from various aspects of the disaster reached over 3000, and the damage caused by the earthquake was estimated at $500,000,000 in 1906 dollars.
[N12] Bertha Ketterer was Bro. Ketterer’s daughter. See April 16, 1906 entry.
[N13] Some of these students would be attending Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, an educational institution established by the Habsburgs in 1457. It is one of the oldest universities in Germany, and has a long legacy in the humanities, and the social and natural sciences. Around Frederick’s time it admitted around 3000 students.
[N14] Duels were consentual fights between two people, who fought with matching deadly weapons. Rules of engagement were typically predetermined by the parties before the match to ensure that there was fair sport. Duels usually ensued over offended honor or over the impass of some law. The goal of the duel was not so much to kill the opponent as to gain satisfaction, or to restore one’s honor by demonstrating a willingness to risk one’s life for it. Duels were often illegal, though in most societies
where dueling was socially accepted, participants in a fair duel were not prosecuted, or if they were, were not convicted. Only gentlemen were considered to have honor, and therefore qualified to duel. These students at the universities at Freiburg were probably the sons of gentlemen. By 1906, legalized dueling was extinct through nearly the whole world, so this would have been interesting for Frederick to witness.
