S. S. Fehr's Letters to Mom

Excerpts from Letters to Mom in italics.

The Rose Garden.

03 July 1963
This is a small park where I find myself several times a week. I bought a season ticket ($1) and spend quite a bit of time strolling, reading, or just looking at the Blumen and Mädchen (flowers and maidens). I read John Steinbeck's "Cup of Gold" in one afternoon down at the RosenGarten. It's a nice place to rest, relax and do some thinking. Sure wish u could see all the varied and beautiful flowers.

Isolated in a corner of the RosenGarten was a snack bar restaurant with outside seating that served sandwiches, Sprudelwasser and other sodas, Eis or German ice without the cream, eye catching desserts and bier. They served wine, too, but that cost more. Fehr gravitated to that bier Ecke or corner when bored pretending with the intellectual pursuits to stare contentedly at the Brunnen or spritzing fountains. There is nothing like the sound and sight of a streaming fountain to soothe the beast within. The same effect can be had "im Winterzeit wenn es schneit" to lower blood pressure a good ten points by merely gazing into a fireplace listening to the hiss and crackle mesmerized by the dancing blues flames and glowing coals.

Time Out to Smell the Roses.

Paralleling the south side of the Rosengarten a footpath led to the swimming pool about 600 meters to the northeast. A small brook ran along this footpath called the Guldenweg that separated the rear yards of several blocks of single-family detached homes from the footpath. With the open spaces of the Rosengarten just several feet from the back yards, this was prime real estate. All the back yards were exceptionally well kept and many adorned with colorful flower gardens.

One backyard fascinated Fehr. It had an energy efficient mechanical contraption used to irrigate the gentleman's garden using water-power. When a lever was tripped, water from the flowing brook filled a series of little cups attached to a chain and slowly rose to the top of a vertical pole. Then the life giving liquid spilled into a trough and flowed by gravity to thirsty vegetables below. Fehr always lingered there to marvel at its simplicity. If he had owned a camera, a photo of this device would be featured.