In Search Of Love: The Story of A Mail Order Bride (Mail Order Bride Series) Read Free Page A

argument.  She’s been searching my room and found the newspaper I showed you the other day.  She was furious, and demanded to know what I was doing with it.  She said as long as I live in her house, I will do what she says.
     
    “Papa, I’m an adult, working person.  It isn’t much, but I pay to live here.  She has no right to go through my room when I’m not here.
     
    “I told her I will move as soon as I can make arrangements.  I might be able to stay with Berta Sundheim. She was in my class at Teachers College and teaches in the same school I do.  She’s a nice girl.”
     
    “Ach, Gott, please don’t move yet.  Let me try to talk to her again, will you?” her father pleaded.
     
    “For you, Papa, I will do it,” she said. 
     
    Katerina had read and reread the newspaper until it was limp.  She read all of the ads, for both men and women.  She found the ads from women extremely interesting.  Many were from widows, who had lost their mates in the recent war, and having no local prospects for a relationship, went beyond their local borders.  Such courage to do that.  Do I dare take that chance?  I do. I’m going to place an ad.   If I’m going to live my own life, I must take a chance somewhere.
     
    After several attempts at writing the ad, her final composition read:
    “23 year old lady, Height: 5’ 4”, Weight: 110lbs.  She is attractive, has limited means and would like to hear from an educated, established gentleman of same approximate age, desirous of a wife .  She is well educated, a successful teacher and affectionate.”
     
    Read, reread, and rewritten, she placed the ad in an envelope and sent it off to the Kansas City office of The Matrimonial News.  Two weeks later, she saw her ad in the paper and not without trepidations, she waited for the results.
     
    Two more weeks, and she had a letter from the newspaper, with four letters answering the ad.  The first one was from a man saying he was 27 years old, a miner in need of a grubstake, who asked about the extent of her means.  This I’m not interested in, she decided.  Two others were widowers, with small children looking for a wife and mother.  I’m not ready for that kind of burden starting out.  The fourth letter was from a man in his mid thirties.  Too much of an age gap, she decided.
     
    After another two weeks, with no promising results, she decided she might be better off looking at ads advertising for a wife.  She went back to the original paper and carefully read through the ads by men searching for wives.  Many were from widowers, most were from men beyond an age she found acceptable.  One ad caught her eye:  “Poor but honest and lonely farmer, homesteading 640 acres,  age 25, 5’10”, weight 150 lbs  seeking correspondence with a female of same approximate age.  Object: Matrimony, if compatible.  Reference #1892”
     
    This sounds like an honest person might talk .  It sounds interesting, but the paper is so old, he had probably found someone.   The ad was missing from the next 2 editions of the paper, so she assumed his search was over. 
     
      After school, she had gone into Adler’s to see if she could buy the latest issue of The Matrimonial News.  She was pleased it was a different clerk helping her this time.  At home, after dinner, she settled back  to read the ads in the new paper.  Most were new, but she saw the same ad from the person she had come to think of as “the poor farmer”.  He must have had no success so far.  Without further thought, she began to write:
    “Dear 1892, I take pen in hand…”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 4:  A Correspondence Begins
    In spite of the second thoughts she had about the wisdom of what she was doing, Katerina posted her letter to #1892.  After describing herself, and trying to keep it light, she told of her interest in geography and mathematics .  I hope this is not too heavy.  I’ve heard men don’t like