Jakob Bergen, Elvera (Bergen) Goerz’s father, worked as bookkeeper, buyer and sales clerk at the Blumenort General Store. The store was owned by Gerhard Klassen and managed by Jakob’s brother-in-law, Martin Duerksen. In this photo Jakob Bergen is presumably on a business trip for the store. He stands at the front of the sleigh, holding the horses’ reins and behind him seated are Jacob Dyck at the left and Gerhard Duerksen to the right. The sleigh stands in front of a Russian style wooden house with a woman looking out of the window. A man in uniform stands beside the sleigh and salutes. The words on the back of the photo: “Gruss aus Gostovskaya” (Greetings from Gostovskaya) indicate that Jakob Bergen sent it to his family in Blumenort. See also Goerz-8.

The words written on the back of Goerz-7: “Gruss aus” meaning “Greetings from” and the place name written in Russian. Gostovskaya is the way it might be written in English. Jakob Bergen sent this photo to his family in Blumenort, presumably while on a business trip for the store where he worked in Blumenort.