German Farm Town (1960)

[Music] in the midst of fertile farmlands in Bavaria Southern Germany lies the old town of nerdling it is a town of tradition hourly from dark till Dawn the nesdale the night Watchman in the stle of St George's Church sings out his password and when it is answered from the town hall down below it means that all is well the view the Watchman has today differs little from that of his predecessors 3 or 400 years ago the town huddled around old Daniel as the nerdling as call their main church and enclosed by the same medieval defense walls even the houses have changed little although some date back to the 30 years war in the 17th century or even longer people still live in them the Fortified walls and the towers are almost 600 years old they served a useful purpose in the days when nerdling and was important as frad a free Imperial City today it is just a quiet Country Town in Tanner Street for that trade once prospered there is only one Tannery left in operation and that may close soon for lack of demand today nerdling and is more important as a market Town once a month the farmers from the surrounding country bring in the cattle they wish to sell the animals are tied to bars set up on a wide Street and the Traders walk around and make their appraisals and offers when a sale is completed all concerned combine efforts to get the animal onto the buyer's truck the monthly hog sale is held in the Market Square buyers check pigs for liveliness as a sign of he they will buy them by the litter or in small lots and make their offers accordingly there are still oldtimers in their traditional garb to be seen they like to watch the bargaining and the longer it takes the [Music] better they say a true Bavarian farmer doesn't budge and before taking a penny less he would rather carry his pigs back home the country around nerd lingan is a wide shallow Basin with well tended Fields rimmed by gentle Hills and dotted with small villages where the farmers live this is the village of holim it has a population of 300 the typical Farm dwelling is built around a yard with a small duck pond in the center is the manure pile barns are attached to the living area this is farmer abrahart his big Watchdog Rex has been guarding the farm all night during the day he stays locked in his kennel because he likes to roam around life on the farm runs on a strict schedule even the Ducks seem to know when they feeding time is at hand after farmer abrahart has opened the gate he will look after his cattle in the meantime his wife feeds the Ducks and the chickens and gets the two children ready for school the village of holim is much too small to have a school of its own so Riner abart and his friend helmouth must go to another larger Village 3 miles away where there is a rural School another boy Balter joins them on the way often after a heavy rain they are slowed down by muddy roads but they still prefer bicycles to walking of course in Winter they must hike there are two classrooms in this Schoolhouse one for pupils 6 to 10 years of age the other where Riner and his friends go for those 11 to 14 their teacher had simmerman places Great Value upon the development of memory po Gant is NE foress well memorized is never forgotten he says and if his pupils learn to recite long poems they will be able to keep other subjects such as history dates in their heads as well hery merman doesn't even mind a little quiet prompting as long as they all do their best while the children plow through their poems their parents plow through the fields farmer abart and his wife prepare the ground for seed potatoes helmut's parents are planting a field to wheat in Germany the farmw woman must help her husband in the field more than ever because Hired Hands are hard to find horses and cattle are still commonly used to pull farm implements and tractors are still rare because many small farmers can't afford them this farmer works alone seeding his potatoes it is a slow process one by one they must be tossed and then pressed into the ground the aarts have more acreage and have hired some women to speed the work even the children join the after school and they like it they can't learn it early enough they'll have to do their homework after supper other children have to work much harder spreading manure with a heavy fork for a couple of hours is a hard task for this boy but his father works at something else and this is important and must be done too and it's for him to do it so he does it everyone must work only the very aged May rest and watch the summer come Harvest Time starts a new round of work late in summer in the apple orchards ladders are propped against heavy branches and everybody gets busy the children consider it a lot of fun at least the first day who wouldn't like to pick apples right from the tree their parents are used to it they have done it for many years but even for them the first day of the Harvest means something special now they begin to see a reward for The Season's labor if the weather stays reasonably dry until the whole crop is in they can hope for a good Market some small farmers grow certain field crops just for their own needs and to fill small local demand harvesting beets in this manner may not seem very efficient but it is a task an elderly person can still usefully perform after all a cartload a day is all that is needed speed is not so important it is different with farmer abart who owns 50 acres a large farm for Germany his 30 acre potato crop must be dug up quickly when the market is just right so a harvester is a good investment the dried cuting have been piled up to be burned then with a smoke from many little fires drifting across the field the abor hearts and their helpers gather the dug up potatoes into baskets and buckets there will be a ready market for them the average German consumes 360 lbs of potatoes a year one woman has brought her small boy who learns what to do by watching Riner for a while when the baskets are full they are dumped onto a trailer that will take them to the Farmhouse even with the crop all gathered the job is not finished the field must be raked clean so it will be ready for recultivation the fires will burn for some time yet but nothing must be left for tomorrow tomorrow it might rain the potatoes have been weighed and put into sacks at The Farmhouse the next day they are taken to the farm Cooperative office in nerdling where they are checked and her abart receives proper credit and with it he may purchase supplies or he can take the cash now that fall is here and the weather quite unstable the farmer must be on guard mature crops must be brought in before they can be DED damaged by a sudden rainstorm a good supply of feed for the cattle has been cut it must be under the roof before the day is over left in the field overnight it might get wet and rot Rex has been waiting for his master he knows he will get some attention now abrahart always has a few moments for his dog when he comes home the women drag the cart with a corn into the barn the day's work is over Rex has been let out of the kennel and has found some milk at the cat's milk that is but the cat doesn't mind they're on friendly terms here abart has received official plaques attesting to the good health of his cattle this is important for now he may freely send them to the market in nerling for sale the whole region had been under quarantine the two previous years when some cattle were found to be diseased but now that this is over trade is brisk because of higher local [Music] demand the hog market is doing well too the Germans are prosperous and they spend more than a third of their earnings on food thus more money gets into the hands of the [Music] farmer it is supper time at the aarts Ruth and Riner help their mothers set the table their food is simple but plentiful and it is all from their own Farm the tomatoes and the smoke cured ham the sausage patties and the pickles riner's favorite only the bread was bought because there is no time for baking bread the play settings are simple a small wooden serving board and a knife for each person every morsel of food is carefully cut and thoroughly [Music] savored if Riner would only stop eating so many pickles his grandmother Just Smiles she is contented her daughter has a nice family life is good to them yes for the Abra Hearts all is well [Music]