Wiesenmuller Memory:
(Henry Diel)

(I made some Yauk Winnipeg remarks in Red - KJH )

By 1801 all the land of every individual became the property of the colony so there could be no more expansion. The people applied to the government for more land. In 1866, a tract was set aside in the Wiesenseite and sixty-seven settlements were founded called daughter colonies. The Galka and Stephen parishes, of which Holstein belonged, founded  daughter colonies along the Jeruslan river, to alleviate their population and land use problems. Consequently many of the relatives from the original settlements may be found in the daughter colonies.

Robbers & Kirghiz:
The Samaran area is steppe (plains) with no trees except along streams. Seelman was the closest big city. It was a sawmill town on the Volga River south of Saratov. Wiesenmüller was on the Jeruslan River which joined with the Torgun River, then emptied into the Volga at Dobrinka. This was a rich area with many streams and springs. But this new area was the haven of escaped prisoners, bands of robbers, also the "zigeuner" which were nomads living in tents or dugouts. They had herds of camels, horses, cattle, and sheep.

They preferred horse meat and milk to eat. They preyed on the colonists. Also in this area were wild beasts: bears, lynx, wolves. Each family had its own tract of land and more could be leased. The rest was divided into grazing land, land set aside for cutting hay. This land was owned jointly by the colony and divided by lot for cutting grass for the winter feed. They also had a small tract set aside for gardens close to the river so people could carry water for their gardens. This was also divided by lot.
Herds:
The colony hired herders to gather all the cattle and sheep every morning to take them out to graze and to bring them back every night. It was the responsibility of the boys to herd the horses. As many horses were used in the day farming, the boys had to nightherd them at times.

Doctor:
So often there was no doctor handy. Each colony had one or more midwife to take care of childbirths. Some men axquired the art of bone setting. They called themselves "Knochenartz." 
Town Council:
Each colony had its own town council which decided all disputes. They had a town crier who went through the streets crying the news. When they wanted a town meeting, he cried out the news. Only men went to the meeting. If you didn't show up without a good excuse, you fined ten kopec. 

Taxes:
Each village had a "lafka" (trading post) and a church in which school was held. There was a community granary into which it was required to pour one tenth of each family's grain crops. This was later doled out to families in need and for seed the next spring. This had to be repaid the following crop year plus the one tenth required. Because only German was spoken by most of the colonists, communications with the crown were poor.

Land:  ( 1-desyatine = 2.7 acres)
When the Samaran area was opened up the people were promised first 16 desyatine per family, then 8, then only 3. This 3 was for each male child born. In 1900 no more free land. Many of the holdings of families were so far from the village that the farmer camped on his place during planting and harvesting. Some built small shelters, others used tents, some just slept under their wagons. They didn't irrigate, so there were several months between sowing and reaping which was devoted to cutting feed.

Fuel & Oven:
It was the obligation of women and children to provide fuel for winter. There was very little wood. The main fuel was cow chips and manure cut into blocks and dried. They followed the herd every day to pick up chips and bring them home. They also used some tightly twisted straw, also Russian thistle.

Each house had a big adobe oven with a brick floor on which was done the baking. For heat there were two big iron kettles built in. There was a flue to carry off the smoke. You could cook on top too, but most was done on the coals inside the oven.

Winter:  ( The Meadow side is very close to Manitoba both in Weather and Landscape
The winters were severe. So that people wouln't lose their way over the plains, the roads were marked with willows. Also each village had bells which were rung when the storms were bad and if travelers were out on the road. Due to robbers or packs of wolves people traveled in groups. The bells were rung for different purposes. One was rung morning, noon, and night. A bell was rung for fire or when people were to gather. Most villages had three bells which were rung at times.
Preserves:  ( The Yauks made enough preserves to last all Winter, then some )
In preparing for winter the women went out and gathered wild berries and canned them or made jellies, expecially wonderberries which didn't need any sugar. They made gallons of watermelon syrup which also didn't need sugar. They canned or dried pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries and apples. They dried fish which were plentiful. They also smoked or put them in brine. They made alot of sauerkraut, dill pickles, sour wataermelons and apples. Also every house had crocks in which the milk was poured. They skimmed off the cream for butter or just to mix with watermelon syrup to dunk bread in or to pour over foods.
Meat& Drink:  ( Grandpa's Dry Summer Sausage the Best - Yauks made tea from herbs for Colds - wild Camomile )
They killed beef, hogs, sheep, and hung the meat on rafters when it was cold. They smoked some of it. In warm weather they fryed the meat and sausage and put it into crocks and poured lard over it till it was covered. It seems the lard kept it from spoiling no matter how hot it got. From the clabbered milk they made all kinds of cheese. The urn was always brewing. The women went out and dug "Suesholz" roots and dried them for tea. They used real tea also. The coffee was roasted grain and chicory. Each village had a grist mill, either wind or water power. Later some had steam. You could get grain ground for a portion of the grain.

Grain:
Most families only had white bread on Sundays. The rest was rye, barley or millet. In wintertine you had to keep livestock in the barn. The feed was straw, chaff mixed with bran, and whatever grass you had on hand. The family unit stayed together as long as possible for economic reasons.

Bed:    ( We all remember the Yauk's German Comforters ! )
Each had a high bed with a curtain around it. It was high enough to push a cradle under it, or they had a cradle suspended over the bed so the mother could reach up and rock the cradle without getting up. The older children all slept together. They had tick mattresses filled with straw. They used feather beds and quilts to cover up. The father retired at age 55 if he had a son or son-in-law to take over. They had benches along the street where the older men gathered to whittle and swap yarns. He also was the baby-=sitter for his grandchildren while the women went about their work.

Respect:  ( My Grandparents were allways respected by younger people  )
There was great respect for the older people. The younger ones tipped their caps when they met them. The father turned the rulership over to his oldest son. The younger people took care of their parents in old age. The mother was the ruler in the house as long as she lived. Then the rulership went to her oldest daughter-in-law, unless one of her daughters stayed single. If the family got too big, or couldn't get along, the farmland was divided, also the equipment. The older son got a bigger share than the rest of the sons."