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Funerals

When a person died, the first step was to dress the deceased in a simple long heavy duty shirt. Once they were dressed, the body was placed in a room on what they called a stretcher. It was essentially two chairs with a pair of boards between them. On top of the boards they placed a few bushels of pure rye straw. When these specific bushels weren't used for such an occasion, then they were hung in the attic. Therefore it was quite possible that such a bushel would be used time and time again and could even be more than a hundred years old.

Next someone had to go see a builder or a carpenter to order a coffin. These coffins were made out of rough boards and treated with a mixture of soot and water. The handles were fashioned from rope and covered with black fabric. 

A request was then sent to the country offices asking for the certificate of death (burial permit) after which they needed a grave dug. 

Order the bell ringers, invite people to the funeral, speak to the priest about dropping dirt on the grave. Paying him for his services and asking him to give a speech at the funeral. 

The quality of the speech stood in direct correlation to the amount he was paid. They also had to request the presence of the headmaster of the school, because he had to come along and sing at the funeral. 

  

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However, he was also in attendance in order to enjoy a good meal and perhaps even partake in a game of cards during the afternoon and into the evening. In the meantime, the coffin was ready and had been delivered. It was half full off of wood shavings and a head support had also been placed inside of it. A sheet was spread over it upon which the body then was lowered into the coffin. The sheet was then draped around the body and they would place a bit of lace over the face of the deceased. The came the headmaster along with another man who were supposed to act as witnesses and were to inspect the body of the deceased and clear them for burial. 

Usually 8-9 days would have passed by now and the invited guests had gathered because the funeral day had arrived. Those who had invited them to the funeral, of which there were twelve individuals, had gone ahead with picnic baskets and the likes in order to prepare lunch. The funeral procession set out, and there were no predetermined pallbearers so all of the men took turns. The men walked and the women drove in wagons behind them. Suddenly the procession came to halt and a wagon that had followed in the rear came up to the front where the coffin then was loaded onto it. It was by no means a proper hearse but rather a regular work wagon. Our community didn't have a hearse back then. We were now only a short distance from the church and once again everyone came to a halt. The bells began to ring and the body was unloaded from