Reading

A few months ago, the Fab Four, the name of my wife's book club, read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, a work by a British author. My wife laughed a good amount when reading that work of fiction. I decided to put a library hold on that work. I tend to read more non-fiction than fiction, but will intersperse an occasional work of fiction. My wife commented that I need to read more fiction. Since, 2019 I have kept a log of the books I read, by title, author, and if it is fiction or non-fiction. I decided to tally up my findings, and I was a bit surprised at the results.

My wife has been encouraging me to read more fiction. She once said she likes it when I laugh while I read. I guess fiction can provide more opportunity for laughter than my choices in non-fiction. The book I read right before taking on Eleanor, was Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies, by polymath Jared Diamond. This 470 page work was really quite interesting, but does not produce humor. The book essentially traces the geographic underpinnings to why some societies advanced (in Western sense) through technology and advancements in agriculture and others did not. Although trained in physiology, Diamond has also moved into evolutionary biology and geography. This book provides geographic and evolutionary biological reasoning to the fate of human societies. I am not sure that the geographic determinism model is as strong as he says, but he provides good reasoning. This book is in somewhat of a contrast to other books which base advancement more on an economic model. I think the two are tied together. Economies became more specialized and advanced due to agriculture and Diamond's reasoning on the geographic underpinnings of agriculture make a great deal of sense.

Eleanor cover

Eleanor, as a work of fiction was quite funny, even given the rather despondent nature of some of the occurrences in the work. Part is due to the formal language Eleanor uses, and her lack of  a "filter" or knowledge of appropriateness in social settings. In that measure, I am somewhat like Eleanor, but not near as bad. It only took three days or so to read Eleanor;  it was actually hard to put down.

Since, reading Eleanor, the wife and her book club, which she organized and leads, has read two works of fiction dealing with WWII, first was All the Light we Cannot See, and second The Nightingale. She says both are good books, but the latter was much better. I don't recall those fiction works, producing much laughter from her. She really likes reading historical fiction and right now  she is reading a book about female code breakers in London during WWII. I suggested that since she enjoys reading historical fiction about WWII, perhaps she should read some of the many works of non-fiction on WWII. Why read fiction when can get a true in-depth analysis of what occurred?  She could begin with an easy work such as The Longest Winter, about the Battle of the Bulge before working her way to more involved works, such as the Rick Atkinson trilogy on WWII. It is not like I am suggesting she read Clausewitz's tome. I have a number of books she can read that are the real deal. She, not so politely, declined my offer. She is so good at leading her book club I have suggested she run for Village Board or the School Board, her facial expression was more telling than the words she used. Her father was on his community's town board for many years. Red hair in her family is said to skip a generation, her maternal grandmother had it, but not her mom or any of her mom's siblings. Maybe the political gene skips a couple generations. Will Howie be the next politician in the Goff line?

Guns Germs and Steel cover

The statistics I just worked up from my log of 2019 to 2023 found that I read 197 books, with 30 of them, or 15.23% being fiction, the rest all non-fiction. A deeper dive yielded that I read the most books in 2019 when the wife and I were in a book club together, with the book club books being fiction. That was a book a month. That year I read 44 total books, with13 of them fiction. My highest year of reading was 2020 with 48 books, but only five fiction. My reading dropped, to 41 in 2021, with six fiction, only 33 in 2022 with 4 fiction, and 31 in 2023 with 2 fiction (or just .06% of my books read in 2023 were fiction). The pattern shows that perhaps fiction books are generally a faster read. I know in 2022 two of my books were in the Shelby Foote trilogy on the Civil War (the third in 2023), each a rather long book, the last almost 1100 pages. There were other long works in 2023, such as Masters and Commanders. War books do not produce much laughter. 

My current book, which was my wife's brothers, is a work of non-fiction but is funny, called Enslaved by Ducks. Some works of non-fiction can be funny. The wife reads mostly fiction, but does also read non-fiction, she recently finished a book about reducing waste. I wonder what percent of books she reads are non-fiction? She also reads many more books a year than I do. Probably because, as I spend time writing a blog post, she is reading. 

House Heating and Cooling

A year or two ago the wife signed our household up for a program (Smart Hours) through Alliant Energy, our electric and natural gas provider, that allows them to control our cooling and heating during peak demand periods. This is a story of that heat and cooling control.

First off, I am familiar with peak control of electricity, but seldom hear of peak control of heating (natural gas). Electric use is more peak demand problematic than is heating, due to air conditioning use, and the hottest part of the day being the time people return home from work, begin cooking, and doing laundry and other chores. Utilities employ costly natural gas powered turbines and fuel oil generators to meet peak electric demand. Many have a program with private businesses. I am familiar where MGE will provide back up generators to the business on the condition that they can be used by MGE for peak power generation to meet load demand. This program generated (pun intended) a great deal of concern among neighbors of a large data server complex that had several generators. Each addition of servers posed the most difficult of issues of expansion for the data center and the most difficult to manage, particularly sound management. People realized that if the power was out it would be a unique circumstance, but they did not like the idea of large, noisy generators, the size of a semi trailer, running on a summer afternoon. I felt for the homeowners who had no idea such a facility would be placed near their home, but was due to the large influence businesses have on city decision making under the guise of economic development. It is not like they produce a great number of high paying quality jobs, as there are few workers at data centers, which reduces traffic load in the area.

Really, a normal temp of 70 for cooling?

Last week, on Thursday, 15 Feb 2024 we received notification that due the coming cold weather they would control our heat from 6 am to 8am. on Friday, 16 Feb. Alliant indicated they would first heat the house up to a normal temp before setting the thermostat to a lower temp than our normal 67 degrees. I thought they must be mistaken as the outside temps were anticipated to only get down to about 24 degrees, and wondered if they meant Saturday morning when it is projected to be 10 degrees. This made me wonder what kink was occurring in natural gas supply. 

When that large data farm was going in I suggested that they do a cogeneration type of facility, to transfer their excess heat to help heat adjoining buildings. The University of Notre Dame has its own data facility which heat is used for greenhouses owned by the city of South Bend, IN. It is doable, and the technology is readily available (heat tunnels like the UW Campus has had for a century or more). However, the representative of the owner said it would be a tier 4 secure data center, which would not allow the heat transfer. As is typical of business decisions, it turned out not to be a tier 4, but a lower tier 3 data center which has less security measures, and under which they could have done heat transfer. I think they simply did not wish to do it, and came up with such an excuse. Bait and switch tactic. Such co-use of a heat producing source could have benefited adjoining buildings, and reduced both electric, natural gas, and water use. Data centers are cooled 365 days a year, all day long, every day of the week. The large cooling equipment uses a great deal of water, which is not appreciated by the utility, but was appreciated by the economic development coordinator, and one need not guess who won out. 

A homeowner receives notification of an upcoming event

MGE one time owned 80 acres off of Seminole Highway in Fitchburg that was to be used as a fly ash dump. That never materialized, but then they wanted to put some large combustion turbines in, and right across Seminole Highway is the high-end subdivision Seminole Forest. They were in an uproar and MGE eventually pulled the request. I often wondered how many of the customers at that time had the device that allowed the utility to turn off their air conditioning unit as a demand reduction method? We had one in McFarland. A rate payer interested in conservation and reducing peak load would certainly have had that device.

It came to pass that Friday morning arrived and we got out of bed about 6:15 am, Our heat is set down at night to 64, and is programed to be at 67 at 6:45 am. Friday morning the temp stayed at 64, which made us wonder if they ever heated it up more, as they did not recognize that we set our heat back a few degrees at night, which the utility companies recommend, but many furnace manufacturers do not. The heat stayed at that temp until about 7:30 or 7:45 when it kicked in and started to warm up to our standard day time temp of 67.

We have had our thermostat turned up in the summer, but they cooled down the house before hand. This makes me wonder if it saves much electricity (or natural gas) on the customer end?  It reduces peak load for the utility, but does a homeowner see a greater energy expense by the company cooling the house down or heating the house up, and get it back to normal set temperature, or is more energy used to accommodate the temperature fluctuation? Our house temp with the AC is about 76 degrees. The problem is excessive load can cause issues with furnaces and air conditioners. We had an issue many years ago with our furnace when we turned the heat in the house down to about 60. The technician indicated that it is best not to turn it down that far, as it placed too much load on the furnace, to heat up the house at the same time as it is combating heat loss in extreme cold. At times it would have to turn itself off before it would start up again. I suspect the same situation happens with air conditioners. The entity that benefits is the utility by reduction of load. In reducing load for the energy provider are we increasing our costs? 

One week last year we went camping and the forecast was for temps in 90's to near 100. We got to our campsite in northeast WI, and had settled in. I bought a small load of firewood nearby because temps were supposed to be hot in that area of the state too. The fires would be limited for evening cooking and perhaps night enjoyment. The next day I went and bought a big supply as the temps at our location struggled to get to 60 degrees, while 80 miles away it was in upper 80's. It was that way for our whole four night camping trip. We went through all the firewood I had purchased a few miles from the campground. Some days the fire was going most of the time we were awake. It all goes to show how variable the weather is.

Alliant's Qualifications for Smart Hours

I had never expected to get that email from Alliant that they would be controlling our heat for a couple hours, particularly since it never occurred when we had that week of very cold weather in January. The Smart Hours program may benefit the utility more than the customer even though it is sold by the utility and conservation organizations as a cost saving measure to the homeowner. Although saving a utility the expense of large generators helps the rate payer, but its peak production demand measures are borne by all ratepayers, whereas this program perhaps only enrollees of the Smart Hours program bear a burden. The cooling and heating turn down do not bother me, and it makes me think I am doing my part, but I do wonder if it costs us extra. 

Note: Images from Alliant Energy website.

The Exorcist

The Exorcist was released in US Theaters on 29 Dec 1973. Whether or not it was released "In theaters everywhere!" I do not know. Much of the theater viewing occurred in 1974, or fifty years ago. The movie is based on a real life occurrence of an exorcism performed by two Jesuit priests near St Louis, MO. Recently, I came across a letter my mother had received from her brother Joe Sweeney dated 25 Feb 1974. I know my parents saw the movie, The Exorcist, based on the book of the same title. My uncle Joe, had been a Jesuit priest, but left the priesthood, and for a time he was employed in Texas with Amoco. This provides the connection to the real exorcism and this is that story.

Christmas 1972, Uncle Joe was in Kansas City for Christmas with friends from Amoco. Attending the same party was Fr Thomas Bowdern, a Jesuit priest whose brother, William Bowdern, was the lead exorcist in the Missouri case. The book by William Peter Blatty was first released in 1971;  I am not sure if Uncle Joe had read the book at the time of that letter, although he knew of the stor y, probably from the Jesuits and his education at Campion High School, Loyola University, and at seminary in West Baden, IN. Fr Wm Bowdern was asked to consult on the movie, but was forbidden by the Bishop. Fr Wm Bowdern was the rector at Campion, a private Jesuit run school in Prairie du Chien, WI, from 1937-1942, starting two years after my dad graduated from Campion in 1935. The real exorcism was of a boy 13 years of age, now revealed to be Ronald Edwin Hunkeler. At times he was referred to as Roland Doe. Ronald was baptized in the Lutheran faith. His mother was Lutheran, but his father was baptized Catholic, but a non-practicing as were his parents. A great deal of information is in a transcription of a diary kept by Fr Bishop of St Louis. Fr Bishop, consulted with the family after being asked by a cousin of the boy and that is how the whole thing started in St Louis. You can find a copy of the diary here.

Fr William Bowdern, SJ

Fr Wm Bowdern was assisted in the exorcism by Fr Walter Halloran. Halloran graduated from Campion four years after my dad, but also taught at Campion and Marquette University. Fr Mike Montague, SJ, who taught my Uncle Joe at West Baden Seminary in 1957, was with Walter Halloran at St Louis University at the time of the exorcism. Fr Montague had told my Uncle Joe, at a party years before the 1974 letter, that Fr Walt Halloran used to drive Fr Bowdern to a "small home in the country where the boy was kept." Fr Montague had told my uncle that "Walt would show up for breakfast sometimes all scratched up!" Uncle Joe goes on to say that "Evidently he was somewhat of an 'assistant' to the exorcising priest."  Fr Halloran's brother was a classmate at Campion with my Uncle Joe. Who knew that a small school in a small rural outpost in Wisconsin had such a deep connection to perhaps the most famous exorcism in the United States, if not the world.

The boy originally played with a Ouji board to contact a recently deceased aunt who was involved in the occult, and with spiritualists. The tale starts in January 1949. Normal during the day, things took a bad turn for the boy at night. Doctors, psychiatrists and other medical professionals were consulted, but to no avail. Two Lutheran ministers took on the task, along with a spiritualist, but they too struck out The ministers, in a rare bit of ecumenism, recommended a Catholic priest. Fr Hughes of Maryland, did not see the boy, but advised holy water, and prayers. The mother sprinkled holy water in the room and placed the jar on a shelf. Directly after placement on the shelf, she reported an unknown force threw the jar across the room, breaking it and spilling the holy water.

Walter Halloran
1939 Campion Photo

With little luck in Maryland, the family moved the boy to St Louis where the boy's mother was from and had relatives. It would be too lengthy and disturbing to report all manifestations witnessed, but let me review a few, many of which made the movie, some which did not. Scratches on the boy, bed moved violently, guttural sounds and a trance like state occupied the boy, X scratched on his chest, a pitchfork emblem emblazed on his thigh which moved to ankle. Urinating on the bed and in the room. In March 1949 the family was deciding whether or not to take the boy to St Louis, they found St Louis scratched on the boy, and later Saturday, as the day to take him. Why they obeyed such commands is another matter. A cousin of the boy inquired of his teacher, Fr Bishop, who viewed and did consultations with others, leading to the involvement of Mr. Halloran (he was still in formation and not yet ordained) and Father Bowdern. Bishop also assisted and kept the diary linked above. 

My uncle writes to my mother that "it was all hush-hush, and no one in the SJ community knew what was going on. Evidently, Fr Bowdern and "Mr" Halloran were sworn to secrecy ('sworn' at least in the sense of professional ethics prevented any mention of the case.)" My uncle notes that as the news articles say the exorcism was a  success. He goes on to say the "man today is happily married and has no memory of it all."  Ronald would go on to be an engineer with NASA, his name as the one involved only revealed after his death in 2020.

Halloran grave marker, Cavalry Cemetery
 Milwaukee, WI

Fathers Bishop and Bowdern and Mr  Halloran first met and said prayers on 7 Mar. and then again daily from 9 March to 15 March. For the intervention on 16 March, Bowdern had received permission for the Rite of Exorcism to be performed. Ronald decided to become a Catholic and on 23 March began instruction for entering the Church. On Friday, Apr 1, he was baptized, but the devil fought the baptism, which took a long time to complete. Prayers of exorcism continued after the baptism.  Due to the toll on the family it was decided to go back, by train, to Washington DC area. The entourage, including Fr Bowdern and another priest, left on Monday, 4 April, but by 7 Apr they had to return to St Louis due to doctors not wishing his placement in a medical institution run by the Daughters of Charity. Bowdern made arrangements at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in St Louis. Exorcisms continued daily at the hospital until Easter Monday, 18 Apr, when prayers, placement of holy relics and medals on the boy, against the desires of the demon, started to work. Eventually that night, the demon decided to depart the boy. According to the Bishop diary, the most extraordinary event occurred at 10:45 pm that night with the following: "In clear, commanding tones, and with dignity, a voice broke into the prayers. The following is an accurate quotation: 'Satan! Satan! I am Saint Michael, and I command you, Satan, and the other evil spirits to leave the body in the name of Dominus, immediately. -- Now! NOW! N O W!'"  A very violent seven to eight minute encounter occurred and then as accounted: "R, in a tome of complete relief said, 'He’s gone!'"

R, or Ronald, then described the battle that occurred between Michael the Archangel and Satan. Satan called in reinforcements, but the power of St Michael overwhelmed them all. (See p 28 of the above linked diary.)

My uncle, in concluding the section of the letter regarding The Exorcist, would state: "It is a movie of doubtful value, of strong and disturbing imagery ...not for the young and immature. You'd be out of your cotton pickin' head if you let Greg or Tom see it." We were 16 at the time, and certainly my twin brother was of a high level of maturity to have watched the movie, but we were almost a year shy of our 17th birthday for an R rated movie. I suppose it represented a dilemma for our parents as to allow Greg but not Tom to watch the movie. I have seen it a couple times, all on DVD. Uncle Joe also included a copy of an article written by Fr O'Malley, SJ, who played father Dyer in the movie, and was a consultant on the film. 

Ronald, in later life, had told a person he made it all up, he was simply a bad boy. I wonder why he all of a sudden became a good boy that Easter Monday? I don't think bad behavior changes that quickly. The events have several witnesses, many independent from the others, such as parents, aunts and uncles, Lutheran ministers and later Catholic priests. While Fr Hughes had been consulted by the Lutheran ministers in Maryland, he never saw the boy. Actual involvement of Catholic priests with the boy only came upon the family move to the St Louis area to the home of an uncle and aunt. His comment is an easy one to avoid getting involved.

Is not getting involved part of the devil's plan? I participated in five zoom sessions over the past five weeks on Laudate Deum (the Pope's Apostolic Exhortation on climate change), arranged by the Catholic Multi-cultural Center in Madison. It centered on the effects of climate change in various parts of the world, with speakers from Central America, Africa, and the US and the effects and efforts being used to combat climate change. On Monday, 2/12, we had a fifth session which allowed more discussion by the group on the document. During that group discussion, one person relayed the following story: The devil asked three little devils how they would convince people to have their soul destroyed. The first one said to tell people there is no heaven, which the devil dismissed as people have hope; the second said tell people there is no hell, which was dismissed as it would not long last; the third said to whisper to people there is no hurry. Getting over the reticence of climate change in much of the population requires a change of heart. And, perhaps simply saying he was a bad boy was Ronald's way of explaining what occurred, after all, he may have had no memory of it at all.

Evil is all around us today, although it has been common in history. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza are just two of varied ongoing conflicts. There are conflicts in Nigeria, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines, just to mention a few. The boy in Maryland may have or have not been possessed by the devil 75 years ago. If he did not it must have been quite an elaborate ruse given the observations provided by a variety of observers. Today there are many procedures, as well there should be, for an exorcism to take place, at least in the Catholic Church. Exorcisms are apparently practiced in some eastern religions, such as Buddhism. It may be human way of dealing with bad events. I am not sure what really happened with Ronald 75 years ago, but an exorcism was performed, and Jesuit Fr William Bowdern was the exorcist.

 

Censored

On the last Tuesday of January I was at book club at St Ann's in Stoughton, WI. While we normally discuss a chapter or perhaps chapters of a book at each meeting, we read The Giver  over one week and discussed the full book that evening. Before beginning our discussion, the leader of the group read an email she received from a friend of hers. The email recounted how a live stream of a mass for her parish (the last Sunday in Jan) on Facebook suddenly disappeared. Turns out the broadcast had been censored by Facebook during the second reading. 

Scene from Movie "The Giver"
Jonas (r)  and friends Fiona and Asher

At the time, the parish leaders did not know why the feed was cut, and I suppose it took a bit of time to realize it had been cut off. A techie at the parish was able to reestablish a live link before mass concluded. Reasonably, the parish leaders wanted to know what caused the live stream broadcast to be cut off. They discovered that Facebook had censored it due to its content. What content was so egregious to Facebook that it had to censor that mass? The censor, probably AI, got upset and cut off the stream due to the second reading which involved 1 Corinthians (St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians), 7:32-35. The reading goes like this:

 I would like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is concerned about the  things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the things of this world, how he can please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the affairs of this world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction. (Bold by author)

Facebook's censors, although as I said probably AI to catch it even before it aired (meaning their must be some delay), apparently thought the reading too much for their liking. I suppose the use of a husband wanting to please his wife,  virgins, followed by married woman wanting to please the husband was too much for the censor algorithm. The affected Church, in a funny quip, noted that the church was not banning bibles. The person who wrote the email the church sent out had a good sense of humor.

Scene from Movie, "The Giver"
Jonas saving baby Gabe from being euthanized

The book The Giver, was apparently banned for a time in a few states, the first being California. It was banned in the 1990's for its sexual expression and euthanasia of children and adults. There is some irony about this middle school selection being banned and mass the prior weekend being censored. The book is actually quite good, giving a glimpse into what the pursuit of sameness can affect a world or society. They even lacked color, with much in black and white and 50 shades of gray. It is also a movie, available on Netflix. Our copy of the book notes an interview with Taylor Swift and a few other actors in the movie. I did not realize that Tay (we all know Tay as Trav's girlfriend; the NFL is not about to let Tay travel by her private jet back from Tokyo only to see Trav lose in the Super Bowl; a power couple that Roger Goodell seems to love the money they bring) was in the movie, but when watching it a couple weeks ago, she had a fleeting moment playing the Giver's daughter Rosemary. Blink and you would miss her. 

Those who wish to ban or censor material cannot have it both ways--cutting out what they don't like, but keeping what they do. This reminds me of the scene in the move Footloose, where Roger starts burning books. The pastor stopped the book burning, in part by asking "When did you all decide to sit in judgement?" and later saying while pointing to his heart: "Satan is not in these books, it's in here." Would Roger have thought the bible so salacious that it too should be burned? When it comes to censorship, who decides? That was the point of the pastor in the movie. In the US, social media companies now play a large role in censorship. 

Mother in the Parlor

I have mentioned previously that Land Registers from Bohemia often provide some tidbits of interesting information. The Jan 17 2024 post dealt with the Penicka's in our family line and how in 1673 Bartholomej willed a cow to his wife "on account of her long-standing marriage and faithful service at all times."  Today, let me turn again to the Penicka line, which is Konzal through marriage, and deal with the mother in the parlor.

Martin Konzal Birth (1702)

Christina Penicka of Nebahovy, a daughter of Bartholomej and his faithful wife Dorothea (yes, the one who received a cow on her husband's death) married Mathias Konzal of Zernovice on 3 Feb 1692. Mathias purchased his family's farm holding on 19 Feb 1689 following the death of his father. On 11 Apr 1738, one year and four months after his father passed away the holding was purchased by the youngest son of Mathias and Christina, Martin Konzal. His sister Barbara is my 6th great grandmother, making Martin my 6th great great uncle. His handover document is where one starts to wonder about the family dynamic. Martin was the youngest of six children and, being in his early thirties at the time of his father's death in 1736, likely did much of the farm work for his mother until he was able to purchase the holding in 1738. 

Martin Konzal Marriage (1743)

It was customary for a new holding owner to take on not only the cost of the farm, but also providing retirement benefits and funeral expenses of his surviving parent(s). Many farms had a smaller house on the property referred to as the retirement annex. If not used for a retired couple it may have been living quarters for a farm hand or rented out. Although farm hands often lived in the family quarters. Moms or stepmoms often outlive their husband. Grimm tales are noteworthy regarding the prevalence of evil stepmothers. In Martin's situation the document notes the following: "The conditions of the purchase follow that the widow Christina, as the new holder’s mother, should be permitted to remain in the farmhouse parlor for as long as she can get along with her son (italics by author for emphasis), however, should they not get along, Christina is permitted to remain in the retirement annex." For some reason, the mother wants to live in the house and not the retirement annex, but if they cannot get along she has the right to live in the retirement annex. Martin was single at the time, and perhaps desired to keep an eye out for him. Or, she desired someone to talk to. Many widows seem to be lonely, but at that time and culture, the parents were near a son or daughter, at least in the farm culture.

Summary Translation of Provisions for
Christina and Mariana required by Martin Konzal (1638)

This case either upends, or proves what I think I know about mother's and their youngest son. From experience as a child, the youngest son (I am a middle child) of a large family was often the most spoiled child in the family, particularly a large family. I am thinking this proves the point. Christina really wanted to stay in the house so she could continue to dote on her son. He did not marry until 27 Oct 1743, so five years after his purchase of the holding. He may well have needed his mother to help around the house as he worked the fields. His sister Marianna never married, and she, like Christina obtained retirement benefits from Martin. This often indicates some level of disability for a sibling, although there is not indication in the land register summary I had completed that she was disabled in any way. 

Christina Birth (1670)

Records often record a disability and the need for care of a sibling. The purchase agreement contains provisions to provide not only his mother with varied harvests from arable land, straw from certain fields, flax seed, a four beds of cabbage, but also fruit from specified fruit trees and three klafter (just under three cords) of firewood. Upon her mother's death Mariana would receive rye, barley, hay, peas and three field beds of cabbage. Both Christina and Mariana are thought to have died in or before 1767. 

Part of original text of Provisions for Christina and Mariana

When Martin took on the holding, his mother lived in the parlor, or the retirement annex for 29 or 30 years until her death at about age 97. Given that length of time, I sure hope they did in fact get along. There is no available record to indicate if she was pushed to the retirement annex, but Martin and his wife had seven children and so that may well have occurred. For an idea of a typical farm house in Bohemia, please see this post. Life with extended family was common, and so Martin's wife, just bore the load with the mother-in-law in the house, or next door. Martin died in 1794 at age 90, three months and three days after his 90th birthday. He must have had his mother's longevity gene.

I think Christina was a force to be reckoned with as a wife and mother. Two instances in the record show this: first, that she received a cow on the death of her husband (a great gift for a true land girl), and second that she was allowed to live in the parlor, but only for as long as she can get along with her son. It is not her son getting along with her, but her getting along with her son. Maybe it is best to think of her as an 18th century version of Marie Barone, who truly doted on her youngest son, even in a family of two children. Whatever the situation, living to 97 she sure made an impact as the mother in the parlor.

Source: Land Register for Zernovice, Prachatice District, Bohemia, Ord 21 image 11 at: https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/720428/11/2603/2430/18/0

Summary Translation by Richard D'Amelio, 2023.