PRESERVING THE HANDWRITTEN LETTER

Lately my goal is to stress the importance of the disappearing handwritten letter.  If you are lucky to have old handwritten letters from family - save them.  When you have a spare moment take time to write a letter to distant family or friends.

Teach your grandchildren to write letters.  My mother told me when I was young, "The mailman won't bring you a letter if you don't put one in the mailbox." 

The written words we pen preserve a bit of our history, our character, emotions, or sometimes simple thoughts that may later be forgotten.  A letter is a small piece of our heart.  How special is that! 

My life has changed greatly since an ovarian cancer diagnosis one year ago.  I've learned to appreciate - every day, every full moon, every handwritten letter or card I receive, and every dragonfly that swoops my way.   ~ Kay Scholtz

Letters from the Krueger Family

Introducing my book...

The Wisconsin Krueger Family Tragedy begins near the end of World War I in west central Wisconsin when a farm family finds their home surrounded and shot up by a small group of lawmen, and a large group of neighbors "posse".  The Krueger brothers trouble began because they were evading the draft and refusing to fight a war in a foreign country.  They took a stance and ended up with much more punishment than they bargained for.

Two Krueger brothers were given a life sentence in prison for a crime I feel they didn't commit after a posse member was shot and killed on the road fronting the Krueger home that day.  Another brother disappeared...  his fate uncertain.

Frank Krueger, eldest brother, dubbed the whole event a "patriotic frenzy".  His German ancestry in a mostly Danish community, at a time when being German was something to shy away from, along with strong religious convictions, jealousy, and his teetotaling ways, aided the fire's fuel.

Caroline Krueger, matriarch of the Krueger family, stood her ground and "held the fort" with undying efforts to gain freedom for her sons and bring them home to the farm and life they loved and lost.

Letters exchanged between Mrs. Krueger and her sons, Frank and Leslie, in prison and insane asylums for nearly 16 years, give the Krueger family a chance to tell their story nearly 100 years after the day of the horrid encounter on their home farm in Longwood Township, Clark County, Wisconsin.