Comedy of Errors

The heads are turning, tongues are waging, and the chatter about who has to go has gotten even stronger due to yet another listless performance by the Green Bay Packers. I don't think a comedy writer could have written a script for a movie about how funny the Packers play. They have gone from exasperating to watch, to now being comedic due to their accumulation of errors. The Packers are now tied in their division with the Chicago Bears at 3-4 through a season that is now about 40% completed. 

Brian "Gaff" Gutekunst

After their performance against the NY Jets, I suspect most fans felt the team could not go any lower. Well, it did. It got to the point you just had to laugh at how bad they are. It did not take long to get over my exasperation with the team, about the same amount of time it took for the defense to collapse. Amari Rodgers muffed a punt that was recovered by Washington, on which they scored a field goal. If it had been a quarter later, the Green Bay defense would have given up a TD, but overall the defense plays fairly well in the first quarter. Usually, they drop off in the second half, but this past Sunday, it started in the second quarter. 

A defense composed of high draft picks is not doing its job. It may be the coordinator, the GM who selects, or a combination. Does Brian, Gaff Gutekunst try to outdo his poor draft selections every year? It is also on a team president who has failed in management of the overall football operations. Mismanagement Murphy is more interested in the Titletown District, than in the football core business of the team. 

Mis-management Murphy

The one player people on social media like to blame is the punt returner, Amari Rodgers. He muffed yet another punt reception, leading to a Washington recovery, off which the Commanders eventually scored three points. Many point to that play as the turning point of momentum in the game. The QB play could be better, there have been missed long throws, but there are no good receivers. One GB receiver had a pass interference call picked up because the ball was so overthrown it was uncatchable. In the fourth quarter Aaron Jones, a RB, had a great grab to score a TD. Lucky it was Jones, because the Packers did not have a wide receiver at that point of the game who could have made that catch. Mr. Doubs, a fourth round selection of the GM this year, did not have a reception, seemingly desirous of dropping what came his way. One really has to question who picks up this lack of talent? Last week I pointed out some inconsistencies between the Packer players and schemes, here is another one that points to Mismanagement Murphy: they selected a pass heavy coach in Matt LaFailure, but then they do not provide playmakers at the wide receiver position. The mismanagement of the team over the past several years has now manifested itself in a move to be below mediocrity.

Yet, it is interesting to note that the LA Rams, last year's Super Bowl Champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Francisco 49ers all have losing records. All three head coaches worked together. Perhaps defenses, other than Joe Barry's, have figured out how to attack this offense. It is even worse when you have a coach and assistants, as do the Packers, that really don't know how to make in-game adjustments. Although, the Jets have LaFleur's brother as offensive coordinator, and they did quite well against the Packers. As Steven A on ESPN iterated on Monday, October 24, Matt LaFleur keeps making the same mistakes, game after game after game. Meaning, LaFleur fails to grasp what is wrong and when you cannot figure out what is wrong with your coaching, you have no way to correct it.  

Matt LaFailure

What we now see is a team that has gone below mediocrity. As one NFL coach indicated last week, name was withheld, they are just terrible team--in all three phases. For thirty years we Packer fans have seen a team that was generally pretty good. A few good players made the difference, but now we see one or two good players cannot make less than mediocre team a good team. For those young fans, they now know what it was like watching the Packers in the 1970's and 1980's. As for me, the Packers have gone from exasperating to watch, to being a comedy of errors. Although, when the face the Bills this Sunday part of me hopes the NFL had a mercy rule, as in high school.

Packer Demise

For the past two weeks, the Green Bay Packers, were far more distant in play from the 1960's Packers than they are in years. I think there are a number of reasons for the demise of the Packers. However, in my opinion, part of the Packer miscues has to do with the lack of roster building due to the lack of coordination between the skills of the players selected and the schemes used. The total disconnect is a failure of the president of the organization who, in my opinion, should have been fired a long time ago. As mentioned in other posts, Mark Murphy is more interested in the Titletown District, not to mention that he has forgotten what gave the name to Titletown. Other than the University of Notre Dame, is there any other football team that adheres so much to past tradition to try and keep itself relative today? The demise of the team gets to a simple construct--roster building.

Jet player Sauce Gardner coopts a Cheese head
after the Packers humiliating defeat to the Jets at 
storied Lambeau Field

Let's begin with the offense. The offense has seen little in terms of number one draft picks, in the past several drafts, but the one time they did so the person, Jordan Love, has so far turned out to be a bust. The current old man at QB, since that pick, won two MVP awards, and a large contract. Of note, the Packers, since selecting Rodgers in 2015 have had 18 first round draft picks, three, including Jordan Love (with another wasted pick), were on offense, leaving 15 first round picks on defense. This is why the defense was supposed to shine this year. Like the offense it still suffers from misalignment of talent with scheme. The failures of the Packer organization were clear against the Jets. They spent so much money on a QB, they forgot about the offensive line. Their receiving corps is a mess, against the Jets they may have had more drops than catches. If there is a way NOT to build a football team, I think the Packers are it. The Packer's have two decent backs, but against good D-lines their offensive line failed. Either they never learned or they forgot to pick up stunts by the D-line, with the Jets now showing other teams how to pressure Green Bay.  The failure of the whole Packer organization can be summed up in one play. I can think of no better example. A wide open Christian Watson dropped his first sure TD pass, which would have been 75 yards. Since that easily catchable ball was dropped, long passes, over twenty yards in the air, have been almost non-existent for the team. The catch set the state for the dismal play we see after five more games. This is also a perfect metaphor for the way Brian Gutekunst drafts players--in other words, he (and Mark Murphy) dropped the ball, too. With a four time MVP at QB, one would think the organization would have enhanced their receiving corps over the years. Last year the Packers select some guy tall guy with the dropsies from a college in North Dakota as its top offensive pick, the 34th pick (round two) this past draft. That is the guy who dropped the 75 TD pass against the Vikings. You can tell Gutekunst learned from Ted Thompson, they both excelled at wasting high draft picks.

Running backs can be important in Green Bay weather, but the game, in part due to rule changes, has become the pass league. I should not fault the Packers, I guess I used their model, but based on a suggestion from a friend, to select running backs with my first two picks in my first ever fantasy league. One probably should have been a wide receiver. From what my friend said, I figured running backs must score better in the overall fantasy scheme than a wide receiver. I don't know, nor do I care to know the algorithm for the Yahoo Fantasy League. I trusted my friend's advice.

Brian Gutekunst, Packer GM

In my Fantasy league, I had a player injured and had to make some roster moves. I followed the scouting reports provided by Yahoo and of course my players sucked. So much for playing by the statistics. When you rely on certain stats and money ball, or mathematical procedures to select players, you miss the human aspect, and I think that is what happens with the Packers. Brian Gutekunst is not a Vince Lombardi. He learned under the Ted Thompson draft failure method of building a team--which was a fantasy expectation given their coaching staff makeup. 

Fantasy is what a lot of Packer fans have in mind for this season. While the team sits at 3 and 3, only key injuries on two of their opponent teams kept them from 1-4. Think of the New England Patriots who were down to their 3rd string QB, and Tampa Bay was missing their top receivers. Yet, both teams were in the game. They were in the game to the end thanks to a Packer offense that seems to not be able to make adjustments, or likes to coast on their laurels, and a defense that is just plain easy to beat. The defense falls apart in the second half. Regardless of the new scheme put in place for for the Jets, the defense failed, yet again, in the second half. Different team, different scheme, same result. 

Mark Murphy, Packer President

Misalignment also occurs on defense.  Their two first round picks this year went to a undersized linebacker, and a defensive tackle. Neither have made a good impact. When Dom Capers was the Packer D coordinator he ran a fairly complex scheme, in which they asked young players to master, not realizing it would take some time for the young defenders to comprehend the scheme. There were players drafted and dropped for not being able to handle the complexities of the scheme that, as one writer noted, became good players some where else--Casey Hayward and Micah Hyde. 

The Packer defensive numbers, up to the Jets game, were actually pretty good, but factor in a game against the hapless Bears, and the stats could be a different story. The Packers are terrible against the run, and that is probably due to the defense playing light weight defensive lineman, they lack a man the capabilities of the Gilbert "The Gravedigger" Brown upfront. Their one-gap system places importance on the linebackers, but the large contract receiving D'Vonte Campbell has been a no-show in his play this year. And the rookie may well turn out to be another unsuccessful draft choice. The first round pick linebacker goes for the edge and fails to fill the hole up the middle, which allowed the Jets to score. The Packers select corners that are better at man-to-man coverage, but play zone, leaving them the worst in the league in yards against crossing routes. Matt LaFleur in hiring Joe Barry apparently did not realize what defense he would play, or did not realize the capabilities of his players. Why does that not surprise me? Joe Barry failed at his other D coordinator posts, why did Matt LaFailure select him? I think it is because La Failure did not wish to be upstaged by the D-coordinator, like what occurred with Fangio in Chicago, Buddy Ryan years earlier, to name two examples. A less than middling, one can say failed, d-coordinator would never upstage Matt LaFleur. 

Matt LaFleur

The coming Packers schedule have them playing three away games in a row. The announcers referred to the Jet victory as a signature win at Lambeau. Like many, the announcers were thinking of the old Packers. I mean, how could any one looking at the Packer play this year think they are a formidable team? From the Jets game to the end of the season, I had picked the Packers to go 6-6, I was wrong, they lost to the Jets. The thing is Mark Murphy does not care as along as the seats are filled. LaFailure will, as is his wont, blame himself, but the blame goes all the way to the top of the organization. Quite frankly, LaFailure's shtick of blaming himself for bad coaching is getting old. That old mantra, "I need to be better prepared, we need to execute better." When I ask, will that start to happen? He hasn't and he should be fired faster than you can say Paul Chryst. The Packers were, I heard, two touchdown favorites over the Giants in London. The last time they lost to a team when they were favored by that much was to Arizona, in the year Mike McCarthy was fired during the season. The whole team looks worse than the 2018 Packers--they play without heart, like it is owed to them, and more importantly they lack toughness--mental and physical. They just got plain beat up on the line of scrimmage.

The Packer organization and team have showed how quickly a team can turn to mediocrity. ESPN orders the NFL teams every week. The Packers fell from 8th to 14th after week 6. Their take on the Packers:

Oh, if there were only one thing. On offense, the Packers have the lowest six-game point total in any six games of Aaron Rodgers' career. Even without Davante Adams, this was not the expectation because of guys like Aaron Jonesand AJ Dillon. The defense, loaded with first-round picks and high-priced free agents that had everyone projecting them as a top-tier defense, still can't stop the run. And even the special teams that looked vastly improved reverted Sunday and had both a field goal and a punt blocked. That's how an overwhelming division favorite can recede to mediocrity so quickly. -- Rob Demovsky On ESPN

I don't think Matt Lafou has the answers, and neither do the clueless Mark Murphy and Brian Gutekunst who share a great deal of the blame. The Packers played so poorly on Sunday it became comical. I was laughing at how bad a team they are. Some say they now know how a Bear fan feels, but with the Bears there are few expectations, the Packers hyped themselves up to have many expectations, and they have failed so far--thus Packer fans are in a worse predicament than Bear fans. 

The way the Packers are playing, and being coached
I think this guy, Lafou, is the head coach
Both he and LaFleur are clueless

We Packer fans are like farmers. Farmers always think the following year will be better--better weather, good crop prices, lower fuel costs. Packer fans are always waiting for another championship. Yet, that next year for farmers and Packer fans never materializes. Packer fans have seen failure after failure. To say that the Packer organization has squandered opportunity with two good QB's over the past thirty years is a massive understatement. Matt LaFleur and the Packer organization are no Vince Lombardi. Vince Lombardi lost just one playoff game out of ten played. LaFleur is 2-3. The way the Packers are playing, I don't think we can expect a playoff game this year. The organization needs to be on the same page and they are not. It is time for regime change from the top down. It could also be that Aaron Rodgers, who is paid way too much, either took to much ayahuasca, or he needs more. The Packer demise has been predicted in this blog post before.

Source: https://zonecoverage.com/2022/packers/the-sum-of-roster-building-errors-left-the-packers-with-an-underwhelming-team/

Ageism

On Saturday, October 1, 2022 the Wisconsin Badger football team faced off against the Fighting Illini of the University of Illinois. The game did not go well for the Badgers and they ended up losing 34 to 10. The prior week, Wisconsin lost to THE Ohio State University, (for some reason the emphasize THE, like is there is another university named Ohio State University, or they have a big inferiority complex) 52 to 21. October 2 would mark the end of Paul Chryst's tenure as head football coach for his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. Two main things, in my mind played a part, ageism and money.

Wisconsin Badger fans were livid after the OSU loss, and gained steam after the Illinois loss. After the Ohio State game, McIntosh made the following statement:

The expectation of our program has evolved. That is clear. There have been varying degrees of tough times. But clearly, we all heard that there is a lot of urgency in making sure we push through and get better. Right now, the focus has to be on our season. That is the only thing that is within our control to focus on. That is not a new approach and that has been an approach that has served us well over the course of time.

This had a man named David Hookstad writing, after the OSU game, for some obscure sports web page, question what planet McIntosh was living on. A week later McIntosh would fire head coach Paul Chryst and install Jim Leonhard as the interim head coach. Badger fans were very happy, ecstatic, like they were in December 2014 when Chryst was hired to replace Gary Anderson. Chryst was the local boy made good, a QB guru of which everyone was pleased as punch. That is until the team does not perform the way they want, then they turned on him faster than a congressional candidate changes positions on an issue.

Jim Leonhard

Leonhard is considered an upcoming coach, a football Wunderkind, who played football at Wisconsin as a walk-on and became an All-American. Leonhard is 39 years old, compared to 56 years for Paul Chryst. A couple years ago Leonhard could have had the Packer defensive coordinator position, but turned it down to stay at Wisconsin. I see this as key to what has now occurred, and which I will touch on later in greater detail. Earlier this season, Nebraska fired Scott Frost, age 47, a former Cornhusker QB, who had success coaching Florida Atlantic. There were two main names on the Nebraska list, at least according to the talking heads, for head coach, Jim Leonhard and Lance Leipold, a Jefferson, WI native formerly at UW-Whitewater, and currently at Kansas.

McIntosh (age 45) has not been very upfront about why he fired Paul Chryst and that is major shortcoming as the whole issue lacks transparency, particularly for a man who has given his heart and soul to Wisconsin. In an article in the "Wisconsin State Journal" on Thursday, Oct 13, McIntosh noted he would not say what caused him to fire Chryst, but he went in to the 10:00 am Sunday meeting with no intent to fire him, but at noon, during the meeting made that decision. It is not like Chryst lacked success: he was twice Big Ten Coach of the Year, and three times Big Ten West Champions. He was fired after winning 72 percent of his games, and over 70% in the Big Ten. His Bowl record was 78.8%, or 7 and 2. By comparison, Barry Alvarez had a won under 62% of his games, and was 9-4 in bowl games. Yet, Alvarez retired from football to be the UW's Athletic Director, a position he recently retired from and turned the reigns over to McIntosh. An interesting note, Chryst was on the panel to select the AD. Also, since 2015 Kirk Ferentz of Iowa and Chryst had almost identical win-loss records in Big Ten play, with Chryst having one win more, and one loss less than Ferentz. 

The game of college football has changed in just the last two years, with athletes now able to make money off of Name Image and Likeness. Large payouts to fired coaches are not uncommon. Until he was fired Chryst was the highest paid public employee in the State of Wisconsin. The University did not blink in providing him a payout of about $11 million dollars. Less than what he was owed (reports say it would have been $16 million), but the UW gave up the contract clause that money owed him be deducted if he were to get a job at D1 college or professional. Instead, of installment payments over several years, they will now make a one-time payment, in or before Feb 2023. In addition, neither can say a bad thing about the other, which may be why McIntosh failed to provide reasons for the firing, after only providing meaningless platitudes about Coach Chryst. It is probably this clause as to why McIntosh denied that he got mad and heated during that Sunday meeting with Chryst. 

Jim Leonhard

The firing also affects the culture that is preached to a team. As Pat Ford writing in SI.com wrote on 2 Oct: "The in-season firings also make a mockery of what programs preach about commitment and togetherness during the hard winter workouts, the spring practices, the demands that players stay on campus together through the summer. Commitment and togetherness are disposable if the season starts badly. The transfer portal beckons, and the coaches are sent packing." The Badgers, like other teams, preach about them being a football family. Case in point, senior cornerback Jay Shaw was quoted extensively in the Tuesday, 11 Oct 2022, "Wisconsin State Journal" which is relevant to this particular point, and I quote:

'Here we're very family oriented' Shaw said Monday. 'We like to keep things in-house, we love the brotherhood, we love Wisconsin. We take pride in 'You wore the W.' The power shift was from Coach (Paul) Chryst who used to play here to another coach who used to play here.  So I told them to understand that yeah, even though it's a business, you've got to understand it's Wisconsin, it's a brotherhood we love our people, we're going to take care of each other. So understand it's a shift, but it's still a family shift.' 

 Apparently, at Wisconsin, one can cut out the head of the family early in the season at will, and as long as they are replaced with another Wisconsin product all is hunky dory. I suspect Shaw was given talking points by the UW athletics PR department. I wonder what Paul Chryst thinks of the family mentality now?  All this talk of a football family, is quite frankly, BS. It is about the money not about the family. If it was about family, the UW Athletic Dept. could learn something from Vito Corleone, and Frank Barone. Of course, the firing is to give a trial run to Leonhard, and get a ahead start on the coaching search, since besides the transfer portal, the December signing period also plays a roll. 

Lance Leipold, Jefferson, WI native

Sure, the Badger program is on somewhat difficult times right now, but the man they made interim head coach, and is the heir apparent, Jim Leonhard, had defenses that gave up 86 points over two games! Chryst, people said, had offenses that became stale, he could not recruit anymore, the old QB guru had lost his touch. Pellini at Nebraska had about the same record as Chryst when he was fired in favor of Scott Frost. This whole situation reeks of ageism, getting rid of an older coach in favor of an up and coming Wunderkind, Jimmy Leonhard. Was there a tacit agreement between The UW Athletic Director less than two years ago when he turned down the Green Bay d-coordinator position, that Leonhard would be the guy if Chryst was nudged out? Was Leonhard a poser, hoping to get Chryst fired and himself hired? Maybe Leonhard, from NW WI, is a closet Viking fan, and did not like the idea of coaching for his in-state pro football team.? He was offered the d-coordinator at the pro level and turned it down (now the Packers are stuck with another incompetent at the position). His defenses certainly did not perform well against OSU, Illinois, or even Washington State. Look at the stats for the OSU game. OSU was up on WI by 24 points at the end of the first half, and by 21 to 0 at the end of the first quarter. How does that happen to a defensive mastermind? Did he know the case was lost the minute OSU scored and from thereon became a poser? The loss to Illinois made firing Paul Chryst easier. I see three main reasons why Chryst was fired. First, the UW did not wish to lose Leonhard to Nebraska, and wanted to see how he could do as an interim head coach. Badger fans will be excited that the old Badgers are back after beating poor 1-4, now 1-5 Northwestern on October 8 by 35 points. On Facebook fans were raving about offensive coordinator Bobby Ingram's game plan. The coordinator brought in by Chryst before the start of the season. I am not sure why Ingram's game plans against Illinois and OSU were insufficient, but now is all of a sudden great. Of course, the fan base felt that the Badgers were back after the Badgers beat New Mexico State 66-7 on 17 Sept, what was to be a warm up game for OSU the following Saturday. The UW has a way of playing many lightweight opponents for non-conference games, although being in the Big Ten West it is not like their schedule has many power houses, either. 

Second, I think it was money. I am sure some large donors, probably some who helped provide perks to UW coaches, wanted him gone. Money in college athletics speaks, and it speaks the most when your football coach is the highest paid position in state employ.  Unfortunately, money rules major sports like football. Arguments are made that, at D1 programs, football and basketball fund all other college athletics.   Third, I also think Alvarez was consulted by McIntosh, perhaps he even called McIntosh and suggested him dumping Paul Chryst. I think Alvarez decided to throw Paul Chryst under the bus. After all, many see the football program as being built by Alvarez. McIntosh says he called ALvarez later in the afternoon to let him know of the firing of Chryst before word leaked out. Of course, that will be the mantra, as McIntosh would not want to be seen as being led by Alvarez. Yet, with all this, I think it was ageism. Some commented that the game has passed Paul Chryst by, and he is not a man to lead a major program in an age of extended money with the whole Name, Image, and Likeness issue. In the end, however, I think it was ageism and money second, the desire for a younger man to come in and take control. Face it, D1 athletes are coddled, big time. I recall talking to a parent of a D1 tennis player who had everything done for them. When that person was out on their own, after graduating, the father said hic child did not even know how to call and make a hotel reservation. If tennis players are coddled so much, I cannot fathom what it is like in D1 football and basketball where the prima donna players really shine. 

Brett Beilema

Paul Chryst, in my opinion, did not deserve to fired much less at that point in the season. He was given an annual contract extension earlier this year, or late last year. Five college D1 head football coaches have been fired during so far this season. Chryst was the most successful of the five. The talking heads and the Badger fans are happy now, but as we know they can turn quick. If Paul Chryst was not safe, he the man heralded in 2014 as the one to bring back success after the Gary Anderson years, I doubt few D1 college coaches are safe. Pat Forde had this comment about the role of money in the sport of football: "As for where the sport as a whole is heading? Deeper into the shark tank."

Andrew receiving Scholar-Athlete Award 
from a brother of Paul Chryst

I had the opportunity to meet Paul Chryst's brothers and his mother during a banquet when our son Andrew was selected to the All-Scholar-Athlete football team, so perhaps I am a little biased. The banquet was right before the 2011 WI Badger spring football game. If memory serves me right, Paul briefly stopped up, he was an assistant coach at the tie, but I did not meet him.  Andrew and the other members were introduced at half time of the spring game. 

Andrew being recognized at 50 Yard line
at Camp Randall Stadium

An October Trip

This past weekend my spouse and I went to visit our son and daughter-in-law in the Twin Cities area. It was a short, but nice visit. This post will tell of a few happenings in our trip to the land of 10,000 lakes. 

The question arises since Wisconsin has 15,000 lakes, and Minnesota has just under 12,000, we have more lakes. The problem is the WIDNR and Minnesota use different criteria, so in the end, perhaps MN has more lakes. Wisconsin may have fewer lakes, but perhaps it has more lakes per square mile since WI has 65,498 sq mi of area compared to MN 86,943. 

1 of 12,000 MN lakes

This Wisconsin Minnesota rivalry is quite strong in some cultural aspects. Gophers-Badgers; Packers-Vikings. While visiting this past weekend, I read the local Star-Tribune, and one article noted how Minnesota was rated number 3 for happiness, and of course the writer pointed out that Wisconsin was 21st. If they can outdo Wisconsin, Minnesota apparently revels in pointing that out. Then there was the message board on I-94 we saw on the way out of Minnesota as we were approaching the green pastures of Wisconsin. The changing message board read: "River, 7 minutes." Of course, the sign meant the St Croix River which is the dividing line between WI and MN. Why did it not say State border--7 minutes? Or, perhaps even Hudson, WI--7 minutes? As my wife commented, "What is the big deal of knowing when you cross the river?" Is it a point of no return as one enters Wisconsin? Apparently, it is a big deal for those in Minnesota. 

Cedar Lake, Minneapolis

There was road construction in Minnesota on part of I-94, but I did not pay sufficient attention if the construction ended before the river. There was also road construction further east on I-94 in Wisconsin. Sometimes I think the WIDOT is like my wife, they have make work projects, repaving what looks like totally good pavement to the traveler eye. There is this meme that sometimes shows up on Facebook, it has a photo of an old Roman stone road in good condition, and then one with a typical American potholed road. The caption says something to the effect that "Romans built this road 3,000 years ago...", and with the photo of the US road,  "...and then the engineers showed up." Perhaps, engineers like it that way, it keeps them gainfully employed. I noticed on I-90 near Roberts, WI a section of pavement reconstructed a year or two ago that is already developing potholes. Our road building technique still uses concrete--which was developed by the Romans. Roman roads may not have taken the punishment ours do, but still, we are a few thousand years later, one would have thought our road building would have advanced. For some reason, they are building a second set of lanes by Black River Falls and area between Osseo and Eau Claire. I suspect they are getting ready for a traffic shift for, of course, road construction yet again. They just had construction a few years ago and this year by Black River Falls, so it is probably another make work project. 

View across Highway from T Wirth Parkway Trail

On the way to Minneapolis on Friday we got stuck in a long traffic jam on I-94 where it was down to one lane. The backup, occurred while we were in a construction zone. We got off, not knowing the exit marked the end of the road work, but per GPS, we were only partially through the backup. We figured a crash had occurred ahead, and on the way home figured it was west, and out of the construction zone. GPS is nice, we used it to find the length of the back up, and my navigator, directed me to the onramp just beyond the backup. She did a a super job. This was on top of her normal job as the wife app when I drive. I must have done a pretty good job of driving, because the wife app seldom activated, even when we were in the heavy traffic in downtown Minneapolis. The main activation was, do you know you are doing 62 mph in a 55 mph zone, or the speed limit here is only 55.

Maybe MN wins an award for this burr

On the way home, the wife app checked GPS on her phone to find an ever increasing back up at Poynette, which we maneuvered around by taking Hwy 33 to Portage and then US 51 south to where it meets the interstate by the north side of Madison. WIDOT, had construction in a segment along US 51, which of course is par for the course by not only having construction on the interstate, but also having construction on a logical route to avoid the interstate backup. Apparently, the road building administrators at WIDOT fail to think of such things. 

Luce Line Bike trail

Transportation engineers of course can work on other elements, like rail and bike and pedestrian ways. When I worked as a planner, I had created a concept of what is known as the Heritage Circle Route for Fitchburg, WI. That was in the year 2000. Using old rail rights of way, the E-Way to the north, and along County M to the south, it would go near most of the designated Fitchburg local and National Register historic sites, hence the name I provided to the route. Two legs are complete, the third, I was told was not possible because some rail person said we could not use the rail right-of-way unless we were a good distance, I can't recall the number, from the line and fenced. Well, in the Twin Cities area, I biked on the Luce Line, which for is in a rail right-of-way for a good part of its length. Guess what, there is no fence, and it is probably less than thirty feet at certain points. I think WI Southern and the State Railroad commission simply wanted to make sure it did not happen. Kudos to Minnesota for getting that to work. The Heritage Circle route is mentioned and more fully described in the City's Bike and Pedestrian Plan, which you can read about here (see image 50). The eastern challenge is due to the railroad mandate of distance and fence. The Luce Line trail is 63 miles itself. Wisconsin, however, is home to the nation's first rail to trail project, the 32.5 mile Elroy-Sparta Trail opened about 1965, well before the Minnesota millennials were born. We did, however, see our fair share of OWLS (Old Women wearing Lycra, coined by my wife), and MAMLS (Middle-Aged Males wearing Lycra, coined by a presenter of bicycle planning at a national planning conference) and older men. 

OWL ahead on the Luce Line trail

The Twin Cities has many nice bike paths. The Luce Line route took us to the Theodore Wirth Parkway and a well done route within the parkway. The 740 acre Theodore Wirth Park, is the largest park in the Minneapolis regional park system. That number includes 83 acres of water. At times, as we biked the trail, I wondered if I was in northern WI or in Minneapolis, the nature present was so nice along the trail. There was one thing that made me know I was in Minnesota. They understood public space. On some of the lakes in Minneapolis, streets or public ways surround the lakes, and houses are off the shoreline. Here in Wisconsin, use Madison as an example, much of the lake fronts are almost fully developed as private property. No linear parkways along lakeshores as in Minnesota. The Minneapolis linear parks may not be very wide the whole length, but at least the lake can be viewed by the public as they drive, walk or bike. One could say the lake shore development is representative of the tragedy of the commons.

Luce Line trail. Multipurpose right-of-way
with rail, trail and power lines

We are all subject to what is common. When packing for our trip this week we understood the weather forecast, but prepared for worse weather than the forecast. Being campers we tend to pack for weather worse than expected. Saturday was forecast as sunny with a high near 75, while it began partly cloudy it turned mostly cloudy with a high in the 60's. Pack long pants, shorts, long shirt, and bike clothes, and a polar fleece. Land Girl was wondering if she could wear capris then decided it was no longer capri season. I said wear what the weather dictates. Her response was, "You're a guy." Apparently, being male means you can pay less attention to the commonalities and societal expectations. I just wanted to take clothes in which I would be comfortable, Goldilocks clothes--not too hot, not too cold. I ended up wearing shorts the whole trip. I suppose in Minnesota, other than biking OWLS, most women just simply wear flannel.

Fall colors along T Wirth Trail

In Minnesota they seem enamored with Wisconsin, in terms of disliking the state.  One example, in the first Viking game of the season the coach talked about how he did not want any green in the stands. Second, n the old TV Show "How I Met Your Mother" Marshall was from Minnesota and once stated that elbows off the table are the only thing that separates them from Wisconsin. I think the character Marshall had other comments dissing WI as well. His comments relate to that Minnesota Nice thing, but the more I hear about it from Wisconsinites who lived or live their, the more it is a passive-aggressive action. Don't fake nice, either be nice or be the other way, but faking nice is just plain bad. Funny, thing is here in southcentral WI I seldom hear comparisons to Minnesota. Most complaints in Wisconsin are about the neighboring state to our south, our Friendly Illinois Brethren (FIBs). Perhaps Paul Chryst wasn't fired because the football program was going in the wrong direction, maybe it was because he lost to Illinois, those FIBs, in Madison. A loss to Iowa may have been excusable, but Illinois?  Iowa has such a seemingly level existence that no one makes much fun of Iowa, or its residents. Although there is the acronym, I Owe the World an Apology (IOWA). Perhaps Nebraskans make fun of Iowans. It is just hard to make fun of Iowa when they owe the world an apology. Unless you are a football team, you don't something when they are down. 

Civil War Iron Brigade Historical Marker
at Mauston wayside

State rivalry will always be with us. During the Civil War regiments were raised by state, which reinforced the idea of These United States. In any event, rivalry or not, I certainly saw enough Minnesota license plats on the drive to and from Minnesota to realize there are some cross cultural currents. Minnesota may wish to avoid saying, Wisconsin-7 Minutes, but their River-7 Minutes sign would let any educated person know what that means.

The Bastard

In 1974 American writer John Jakes had published the The Bastard, the first book in his American Bicentennial series. The main protagonist in that historical novel was seventeen years of age in 1770, placing his birth about 1753. Illegitimate children were not unusual at the time, but many, particularly in the lower and working classes were often discarded if not disowned. In upper class households things were often different. This post will be about this situation and the context in which the illegitimate child and the mother were generally treated in the late 1600's and into the following century in central Europe, with a case study. Simon Havel, my 6th great grandfather, had a sister Elisabeth who gave birth to an illegitimate child, Joseph, in about 1693, the only illegitimate child which I recall having located  so far located in the family tree. (Although there are some conceived before marriage.) He was found not in the parish registers, but in a land register. The oldest available parish record of which I am aware and digitized for the village goes back to 1694. What I found is that the Havel family treated Elisabeth's illegitimate child, or the bastard (to be crass), in a charitable manner, much differently than what was the norm of the time for common peasants.

Elisabeth Havel Death Record, 14 May 1696
Trebon Archives, Catholic Parish Registers, Lhenice 1, img 138 

As noted, the norms were different based on class distinctions. The illegitimate son of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor (born to his mistress) was given control of Krumlov domain in the early seventeenth century, and squandered the opportunity such that the emperor sold it to the Schwarzenberg family. Benjamin Franklin, had an illegitimate son, William, who was colonial governor of New Jersey, and was a Tory during the Revolutionary War. William also sired an illegitimate son, Temple, who was Benjamin's secretary in France during the time when Benjamin was obtaining France as an ally and then the peace negotiations. Temple also had a daughter born out of wedlock. It is said, by persons with much more authority than I, that illegitimate children were more common than one would think back in that time. It was also said that illegitimate children also bore illegitimate children, which is clearly shown in the Franklin case. 

One wonders about the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth, and questions arise. For example, who was the father of the child? It was not unusual for a peasant girl or young woman to be posted to a house as a servant, and often a male in that household would be the one who impregnated the girl or young lady. Or, it could have been a farm helper on their own farm. The Havel family farm was small, being a "quarter" farm, so I wonder if they could afford much in the way of a farm hand. I tend to rule that explanation out. It could have been a soldier moving through town (although they often returned to the village to marry the woman, per one Czech professional genealogist). It could as well have been a married, or unmarried a man in the village.  A nonconsensual relationship, that is rape, can not be ruled out, but neither can a consensual relationship. 

Then there are the circumstances of the birth. Many illegitimate children were neglected by mother and family, failing to live beyond a few days. If the mother had wanted to care for the child, she was often sent back to work as if she had never had a child, meaning the care of the child was very limited.  Health care was pretty much non-existent and any care for an illegitimate child was even worse. The mother could have a permanent mark to her name, not unlike the letter A for adultery in Puritan America. There are many instances of an illegitimate child being baptized in Bohemia, as many researchers have noted.

As Elizabeth was preparing to give birth to Joseph, which likely occurred in or near 1693, what were the circumstances?  What assistance did her mother, also named Elisabeth, who would pass away in 1703, provide? Was a midwife used? Were her older sisters supportive? I hope she was not alone. Elizabeth was probably at or near 25 years of age when her son was born. In this case, lacking a record of her birth, I am using a birth year of 1668, as she was recorded as being age two in the 1670 Seignorial Register. Unfortunately we know little of any mental or physical condition, or capabilities. Given the primitive medical conditions, and lack of what we understand today as proper sanitation, it was not unusual for many of our ancestors to have some type of underlying morbidity, even at a young age. For example, she had a brother who was visually impaired and disabled, thus we cannot discount a mental or physical disability. I have a death record for an Elisabeth Havel, daughter of Georgius Havel, having died on 14 May 1696 at the age of 27. While death records are notorious for the wrong age, her age of death places her within a year of the possible birth age identified in the Seignorial Register. How many "Elisabeth Havels daughter of Georgius" could there be in that small village?

Land Register Notation on Elisabeth Havel and
her Son Josef, highlighted is added note on his marriage year.
Land Register, Cesky Krumlov, Ordinal 139, img 69

The Seignorial Registers I have had transcribed for my immediate family lose Joseph and Elizabeth for some years. The first Seignorial record of which I am aware that identifies him is in 1712. From 1712 to 1716 Joseph is identified as  being with Simon Havel in the village, or on the farm, meaning home farm. Simon took over the farm from his father in 1712. Simon is identified as Joseph's cousin, but other Seignorial Records are clear that Joseph is the son of Elisabeth, who is Simon's sister. For a period of three years--1717 through 1719--Joseph is in service to the Plawnitz Meirerhoff, probably a large farm where he is a farm hand. After his three years of service, Joseph goes back to the village and is listed as listed as being with the Havels. In 1722 the Seignorial register note is more lengthy as he is identified as age 28 and is "In the village with the Havels. Has purchased in Ratiborova Lhota in 1722."  The land register has a note, by his name that he was married in 1722. In 1722, it appears, from the land register for folio 1, that he married Ursula Marko or Marek, the widow of Vit Marko (Marek) at a smallholding, which is associated with folio 1 in Ratiborova Lhota.

Joseph's marriage record to Ursula is interesting. Joseph's father is listed as Galli Petr, but the land register records give him the surname Hawle (Havel). Galli, is a version of the name Gall, and which in Bohemia the Havel surname is derived from Gall (think St Gall). The land registers are quite clear that Joseph was born out of wedlock, and in those registers the last name Hawle is used. Was Galli Petr his father, was it a mistake, or was it a clever play on words for the surname Havel by the priest? I like to think it was the latter as to be gracious to his illegitimate birth. Of course that is all pure speculation.

Veit Marek son of Jakub marriage to Ursula, widow of
Matheus Pobera, 29 April 1717. Simon Havel is a witness.
Parish Register Lhenice 1, img 112

Yet, there is more in regard to Joseph's surname. There is a death record for a Joseph in Lhota on 10 May 1729, but the surname is Pobera. Thanks to assistance from Richard D'Amelio, I have a high degree of certainty that this is Elisabeth's son Joseph. Odd things arise, such as payments were made under his name on 30 March 1730. Yet, what Richard found is confusing and complicated, but logical. First, Joseph's wife Ursula was the widow of Veit Marko/Marek who she married in 1717. Veit was Ursula's (at least) second husband, as her prior husband, Matheus Pobera (Wopalka is the surname in the land register) had died which led to her marriage to Veit Marko. As pointed out, when Veit died Joseph married Ursula, although he was identified as Joseph, son of Galli Petr in the marriage record, making him Joseph Petr. The Seignorial Register may be able to provide clarification, but the pages relating to folio 1 (this property) and 2 are missing from the 1702-1756 register. Although, as Richard says, who knows we may have yet found a different surname. The use of the Probera surname likely is what is referred to as an "after the roof" surname, which you can read about here. Essentially, people knew it as the Pobera house, and that surname became attached to Joseph. It does not appear that Marko used the Pobera surname, given other records, and the fact that Ursula is listed in her marriage record to Joseph as the widow of Veit Marko. I have been unable to find a marriage entry for Ursula to Matheus Probera. No one ever said that genealogical research was easy. 

Joseph Havel marriage record to Ursula
widow of Vitum Mark_
 Parish Register, Lhenice 1 Img 122

The land register, ordinal 139 (1707-1882), has a note in regards to Joseph's status. The sidebar notation reads: "In place of Elisabeth, her son Joseph 26 years old who was born out of wedlock, because the siblings have willingly allowed him to inherit--21ſß 40g 3½₰. Enacted on the 27th of March 1719." A second note, added to the first, indicates "married in 1722". Overall, the receipt of a share of the inheritance is a very unusual situation. First, unless released by the domain, the Todenfall rules for the Krumlov domain would not allow an illegitimate child to have claim to an inheritance. There is no mention in the record of Elisabeth being granted release from the domain, and as Joseph purchased a farm in Ratiborova Lhota he was subject to the domain so it is not likely that he was released since he stayed in the village. A professional genealogist on her blog "Czech Genealogy for Beginners" makes this statement: "Having an illegitimate child was a kind of mark. Woman which had such child had to count with different kinds of oppression from the society. First of all, her own family usually cut her off. She wasn't allowed to inherit any kind of property, it was often directly written in the cadastral books that she is excluded from inheritance because of illegitimate child."

Orphan of the late Elisabeth Havel, Joseph 18 years in the village with 
his cousin Simon Havel (Simon was his uncle)
Cesky Krumlov Seigniorial Register, Ord, 231,  Img 362

Yet, here we see the family having agreed to Joseph receiving his mother's share of the estate. I am taking it that the siblings were Elisabeth's brothers and sisters, not siblings of Joseph. In addition, unless there was a release, the domain would have had to also agree to Joseph receiving the share, as the domain, in the Krumlov domain, would otherwise have received Elisabeth's share. It was not the family that lost money, but the domain. Yet, the Havel family must have championed his cause, and given that he lived with Simon, I wonder if Simon was the primary champion for his cause of obtaining his mother's share of the inheritance? If one is released from the domain, they are also released from the Todenfall restrictions of that domain, and here perhaps the heirs of a released person could have had a claim to her share of the estate since an illegitimate child (as Todenfall does not apply to released persons). Joseph started receiving his share of the estate, in 1723. Please remember that Simon was only required to pay 4ſß per year, so some years some heirs received a payment but others in a following year. A prior post detailed that Simon paid his sister Ludmilla to purchase harness tack, and other than that year and the payment in 1719 for his father's funeral expenses, and the final payment in 1736 all payments were at 4ſß per year. 

Death record of Joseph Pobera, likely Joseph Havel, son of Elizabeth
 Parish Register Lhenice 2, Img 285

If Elisabeth or Joseph had not been released from the domain rules, why did the domain give up payments and allow Joseph to receive an inheritance? My theory is that they saw that Joseph could be a productive member of the community by farming in Ratiborova Lhota, even if it was a small holding, which would be better than any small plot of farmland lying fallow until a new owner is found. He married the widow of the prior owner, providing continuity of ownership. A widow could otherwise have been thrown off the farm. Joseph being a productive community member was likely in part due to the gracious manner he was treated by Simon and his siblings, and his cousins. The domain may have weighed the payment they were giving up, with the additional robota labor they were acquiring in a young man. I doubt the domain did it out of the graciousness of their heart, and it was most likely an economic decision.

Birth of Eva Probera to Joseph and Ursula
Parish Register, Lhenice 1 img 87
Eva died on 29 March 1729, several weeks before her father 

Whatever the exact situation was with Joseph and his variety of surnames, I think this was a very magnanimous of the Havel family to assist a child born out of wedlock in a time and age when illegitimate children of peasants were generally disowned. Joseph Havel, the bastard son of Elisabeth Havel, was born about seventy years before the birth of William Franklin. We find that the poorer, illiterate Havel family did something for Joseph that Benjamin Franklin (died 1790) did not do for his only son--provide him an inheritance. 

Sources:

http://czechgenealogy.nase-koreny.cz/2013/04/illegitimate-children.html

Trebon Archives

Somebody

There is a mysterious stranger occupying the space my wife and I inhabit. This stranger, this third person, is at our house, at our campsite, and other places we may be located. The Family Circus cartoon is famous for ghost characters named "Not me", "Ida Know" and "No Body." In our lives we have Somebody. The wife likes to refer to varied occurrences by saying: "Somebody did..." and get into what Somebody did. Most of the time there is only two of us in the house. I don't understand why she would refer to herself as Somebody, and after over three decades of marriage she should know my name. Hence, there is some ghost, not unlike in the Family Circus cartoon, in our lives. Let me share some examples.

Bike Bridge Three Eagle Trail

My wife often comments at home about how Somebody brought in dirt on "my (her) clean floor." She is highly vested in her cleaning and organizing, and hence she likes to personalize what was cleaned or organized. There are only the two of us in the house for most of the year, so there is this mysterious stranger that brings in dirt, not just dirt on a dirty floor, but dirt on a clean floor. I don't think it was me, and it certainly would not be her. At this point in time, I have yet to meet Somebody. Of course, the floor is swept regularly, perhaps once a day, and scrubbed once a week. I like to scrub the kitchen, dinette and front hall ceramic tile. I think the main reason is when the floor gets dirty I can say "Somebody got my floor dirty." It is exasperating for me to see my clean floor get dirty. This past Monday as she went for her walk, she made the definitive statement: "I will clean the house when I get back." I used to start cleaning the house when she would make that statement, but I have learned better. When I got back from my bike ride on Monday morning she had completed cleaning but for dusting and mopping the ceramic tile floor on the main level; she did let me scrub the floor. 

Bog along Three Eagle Trail

The knife block in the kitchen has certain spots for our knives, and she complains that Somebody mixed up the placement of the knives in the knife block. She does most all of the cooking, and to avoid her getting bored, I graciously allow her do the cooking. She expects the knife she wants to be in the correct spot. Now, I know the pots and pans, and knives are normally washed by hand, and I know that they are not dried by Somebody, as I do the drying, and putting away the dried dishes. How they got in the wrong spot, I am still trying to figure out. It has to be the Somebody poltergeist. Then there was the time while camping, that Somebody put something back on the wrong side of the chuck box.

Trail between Boulder Junction and Manitowish Waters

While at a cabin in Boulder Junction last week Somebody got plain creepy and weird. It was a cool night in the Northwoods of Wisconsin and the wife was already in bed with the covers wrapped around up to her neck. She had formed a nice cocoon of heat around her body. I gently lifted the covers to the side to crawl in on my side, when all of a sudden she said, "Somebody pulled the covers back too far and released the warm air." My first question that popped in my mind was, why is Somebody in bed with my wife? Quite frankly, I find disconcerting and upsetting. Somebody can dirty the floor, put the knives in the wrong slot, but get in bed with my wife?? is beyond the pale. I know I had gently moved the covers back to get in bed, so Somebody, who ever or what ever it is, moved the covers back even further, releasing the cool air of the room into her satisfyingly warm cocoon. I certainly don't think it is in my method, or demeanor, to be so crass as to whip the covers back and disrupt her warmed space. 

Too Many Deer, Boulder Junction
The squirrels of medium sized mammals

I certainly hope that someday, somehow, somewhere I can meet Somebody and give them a talking to so it stops mixing up the knives, getting the floor dirty, not to mention to stop getting in bed with my wife. The question is, will it make a difference, or will Somebody continue their mode of behavior?

Funeral Costs--17 and 18th centuries

Regular readers of this blog know that I recently completed a three part post on the 200 year plus Havel family management of a farm in Ratiborova Lhota, Bohemia. The information used for this post was primarily from the land registers for that village which was under the Krumlov Domain. Every now and then you pick up some interesting information in the land registers.  A common piece of information was funeral or burial cost. This blog post will be about the funeral costs of some of my ancestors and what I know about Bohemian or Czech death, burial, and funeral customs.

Once a major landholder passed away the burial costs were paid from the value of the estate. After other debts were paid the net value remaining was then equally divided between the heirs. Inheritance practices in the Krumlov Domain were rather complicated, and hence some people you think may be an heir were not an heir. The intent is not to delve into the complexity of the inheritance practices of the domain, but rather to explore funeral customs and costs.

Simon Havel's spouse, Elizabetha death record.
This indicates she is buried at St Jakub's and sacraments
were duly administered

First, death was a common occurrence for our ancestors. Child mortality was high, with deaths in the first few weeks, months and years of birth being rather common due to disease, lack of hygiene and living conditions. It would not be uncommon for an epidemic to break out. Population decline and disruption due to the plague would lead to German colonization of part of Bohemia in the first part of the 17th century. Most of the Germans in southern Bohemia were from Bavaria settling in territories decimated by the plague. Many parts of the Netolice dominion, as an example, were subject to German settlement. In fact, Dolni Chrastany, where Frantisek, my third great grandfather, would move in 1796 is said to be part of the Sudetenland. As we all know, the ethnic German settlements in Bohemia were of dispute between Hitler, the Czechs, and some allied powers prior to the start of WWII. This led to the Munich accords, under which Neville Chamberlain and others, without the involvement of the Czechs, gave Czecheslovakia to Germany. The Havel family farm in Ratiborova Lhota would be on the other side of the Sudentenland border, just barely.

Changes in demographics could occur due to rampant death. Yet, death was most intensely experienced at the family level. As one commentator has stated, our ancestors saw death as it was, the end of life on earth, and the beginning of something new. To believers, that would be heaven (and hopefully not hell). Given a desire to reach heaven the sacrament of penance and extreme unction (now anointing of the sick), were important with the sacraments often noted in the death record and the name of the priest who provided the sacrament(s). 

Simon Havel death record, sacraments and name of priest

After death, or assumed death, the body was prepared for burial by the family--cleaning and dressing the corpse. However, burial was often two days after the date of death to allow time for examination by the priest, which occurred until the latter part of 19th century as doctors became more common. I think part of this was to assure the person was really dead. There are stories of people being buried alive. The body, in Bohemia, was dressed in what was referred to as grave clothes, and an open coffin display was held at the family home. The family kept watch day and night of the deceased to ward off evil spirits, and probably to assure they were dead. It would be rather unnerving to have a body laid out in the coffin only to hear it sigh. Neighbors would visit, our form of a wake, and bring pictures of saints, a custom that was common until the second part of the last century. 

Burial would usually take place two days after death with the whole village attending. The funeral mass was held and they would process to the cemetery. For the Havel family in Ratiborova Lhota this would be St Jakub's in Lhenice. A mourning period of generally six months was customary. No parties, no large family gatherings and generally no weddings. There were exceptions for weddings for a surviving widow or widower. With young children it was often necessary to remarry  within a couple months to allow the farm work to be accomplished with the raising of children. Farm fields were spread out and a person was required to be home with the children, in case of a widower (which we see in the Havel family), or a widow would remarry to assure that the farm did not pass to the domain and would be farmed and kept until an heir was of age and able to take the farm over. As noted in an earlier post, a domain could claim back a farm for poor management, and it was thought that a farm had to be headed by a married couple to be viable. Again, this occurred with the Havel family.

Matheus Havel (Sr) death 1767 
Died on the 19 Feb, buried 21 Feb
Notes sacraments were administered with name of priest

At this point let us examine what knowledge I presently have of the Havel family in Ratiborova Lhota and their costs for funerals. Overtime, and in varied land registers we see information on some who died, the cost of the funeral, who it was paid by, and the date it was paid. I provide, in the below table, only the year of payment. The registers provide funeral cost information for five persons over a period of 125 years, from Anezka's death in 1642 to 1767 when Matheus Sr passed away. In inheritance cases, which was all but the first, the funds are deducted from the estate value as noted above. In the first instance, the son or stepson of Anezka, Jakub, is deceased and the farm is with Jakub's widow and her new husband Hans. Sometime after Jakub's death, but before 12 Nov 1640 we know that Hans married Jakub's widow Catherina. The 1642 land register notes that Hans paid 2 ſß "against the funeral expenses of the widow Anezka." In this case the payment may have been a partial payment or a full payment. There is not another record of him paying additional funeral expenses for Anezka, so I will leave it at the 2. It may be the year, or because the widow was Catherina's mother-in-law that the cost was so low compared to the other costs. It kind of reminds me of the movie "About Schmidt" when Warren Schmidt's wife dies and he buys her a cheap casket, which his daughter complains about.  Warren did not lack for money, he was after all a VP of actuarial science at Woodman's Insurance in Omaha (a take off on Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co.) I don't think his daughter ever forgave him for what she viewed as a cheap funeral. He defends himself saying it was not the cheapest. She says, yeah, a pine box was the other choice. Anezka, if she had a coffin, was probably a pine box. 

Funeral Cost Table (see below for currency definition)

What is amazing to me is expense. To put it in relevant terms, From Catherina/Hans takeover in 1640 to Matheus Jr takeover in 1767 the farm value is the same--202 Meissen Schock. Yet, with inflation the costs of funerals saw a significant increase over the years. The last funeral cost is about 8 percent of the total farm value. Of course, the farm may be undervalued, but we really don't know. Perhaps land prices were stable in Bohemia in those decades. There were no large moguls buying farm land, or vacation rentals buying houses to skew the market. Perhaps, the farm value really did not change much over that 125 plus year length of time. The cost of Hans' funeral expenses was about 3 percent of the farm value. In addition, the annual debt payment to heirs for the farm was generally at 4 sß per year, meaning that the funeral cost, in all but the first case, exceeded the typical annual heir payment. 

Unfortunately, it is difficult to understand what accounted to the funeral cost. There was likely a cost for the coffin, if there was abought coffin, a stipend to the priest and the church, and perhaps payment for carriage, and other expenses. During this time period families rented their grave sites, so perhaps they made a large payment for a number of years to cover the rental cost of the grave site. As years went by, and grave site  payments ceased, the grave would be used by someone else, often the coffin removed (if still present), but the bones left in place. That is why it is hard to find grave sites of one's ancestors in Bohemia. I had a relative on my mother's side who was head of the Archdiocese of Chicago Cemeteries, and he told me that as land ran out in a cemetery it was not unusual to see caskets were doubled up in a grave. I guess that is not too far off the Bohemian model, although in the US they retained the grave marker. 

Currency Definition:

sß = Meissen Schock Groschen = 60 Meissen Groschen
g = Meissen Groschen = 7 small Pfennig
₰ (d) = Small Pfennig = 2 Heller
h = Heller

Sources: 

Wallish, George Michael 2022. "The Vallis/Wallish Family in South Bohemia: 1623-1901"

http://czechgenealogy.nase-koreny.cz/2012/06/death-and-burial-in-czech-past.html

Trebon Archives Land Registers