When I start writing off of this portrayal of life is at the invitation of the Danish National Museum and also strongly encouraged by my eldest son, who feels great interest. As for writing about my profession, cooper profession, I must say that I am so far from feeling like the right to tell about it want me because of this bay declining at a fairly early stage so I had to go down in timber at sawmills, whose specialty was the manufacture of smørdritler. My father was a smallholder Rasmus Olsen Holck, born July 6, 1830 in Vigsnæs parish Lolland. My mother, Anne Marie Olsen, born Jacob's daughter, was born September 21, 1840 in Majbølle city and parish.

My parents owned an old cottage in Horeby, which heard three acres rural land, and they moved there in year 1872 from Majbølle. We were nine brothers and sisters, whom I was the second youngest, was six girls and three boys, namely Marie, Meg, Christine, Hannah, Peter, Karen, Carl, Oluf, and Bertha.

My father was married two times and had five children with his first wife and when she died he married my mother, who bore him four children.

It is my understanding that my parents had good relationships, and my older siblings, as my mother was step-mother to come with us and felt at home, and we've really never felt as half siblings.

My father participated in the war in 1864 and had been wounded, not seriously far, I only know that he had been hit by a bullet in his head, but he had not taken much attention harm them and felt it was only when the bad weather. When my father died so early that I can hardly remember him, I know just what I vascular been told. There was in those times, no help or pensions for war wounded, but a company the Danish arms brothers provided, however, if a benefit, it was probably such that they were most affected, f. example had lost an arm or a leg, was fitted with a barrel so they could go around and play for people and thus earn a living. The less severely affected, however, and there heard my father could get a passport that gave them the right to operate a commercial example of pottetøj or the like, or for the purchase of rags and bones. Such passports had my father and with horse and cart he drove around and bought old rags, were taken home and placed in a room which we called rag-room. Here, it was so ordered woolen separately cotton and linen for themselves when there was total a sufficiently large portion was late for a manufacturer in Copenhagen. An original settlement from that time can be attached in addition to trade and the care of the three acres rural land, my father also operated a little haulage traffic and trade in peat from Horeby heather, which was sold to Nykøbing F, and it was this company that was his fate . Den27 April 1883 (when I was in my fourth year), he was bound for Nykøbing with peat at two bonded trucks. On a somehow he fell down and come into one of the cars that are passed over him and damaged his chest so badly that he died a day after that, there was then no hospitals or hospitals, and he was brought home in a ordinary vehicle. It is not so many memories I have of my father, but I still remember quite clearly that when he was dying was run over in front of our door, put a chair to the cart as he descended from which he was put to bed 0.24 hours after August 28, 1883 he died. it is also quite weak to me that when he was put in the coffin, it was put out in salary and a Danish flags put together over there with a sword from Arms Brothers. About the funeral, I can not remember but it has been said to me that Arms Brothers was present with the tab and make sure there was a great coral.

It is my understanding that as long as my father lived my parents had it pretty well also in economic terms, but when he died came to Poverty Flats. My mother sat as a widow with five children ukonfirmeret which only the eldest was in confirmation of age, the four aged 20-10 years. As long as my father lived, he was a small pension from the brothers in arms 20 or 30 dollars a year, but when he died fell pension away and now there were particularly badly need it.

Help for widows and children were not the only help was poor service which was my mother's horror. Rather she would suffer than to go the heavy time for this. I remember that in some years up to Christmas was pastor big and broad and delivered various goods such as rice, coffee, sugar and flour wrapped in cones and even came there also a two-krone with probably have been a Christmas gift from the church gays.

It was a great sorrow for us children to our lovely horse (castles) which we loved, now sold together with the vehicle but there was not need it anymore. I can see myself inu stand pat of bad temper, when my father got a ride home and I had not come to meet him and have had a ride with him.

As it would mean a customer was my and my sisters' childhood right poor but despite this we had it anyway well and we had a good home and has never suffered any hardship, we can thank our industrious and hard-working mother. From field and garden, we had potatoes and corn we always had a piece of land with rye and mother baked our own bread and brewed beer. In addition, each year brought up a pig that was slaughtered for Christmas, and when we had a cow and some chickens but we also milk and eggs.

Thus we were fairly even supplied with food much worse it was when there was cash used for example for plowing to earth servant, to clean money each futures and some clothes. My mom even churned butter which she sold also sold her eggs but it was not at the big things. I remember there was established a cooperative dairy where we delivered milk and although it is not found so much there was however a small fee to download each month. I remember that we once would have replaced the cow because it had become too old and was not with calf, but a second cow would cost 120 kr. and we got probably 60 kr for the old man at the butcher. Anyway we got at least one new cow probably hire.

Our fuel as in the most essential consisted of heather peat we got from Horeby heather which belonged to the klassenske fidekommis had an arrangement that neighborhood, residents could build up the peat and therefore allowed to retain one-third while fidekommiset (the gentlemen) retained the legal two-thirds .

This system was extensively used by neighborhood, neediest residents and summer unfolded there is a life and move on the large extensive heather and where you looked you were going to cut and process peat. Each participant was assigned his piece where the peat could be cut and set aside for drying. Cutting was done with some spade-like tools and peat was so solid that you could take them with forks put them in wheelbarrows and run them on the dry site and pass them on without being broke, When peat had lain for some time and had begun to become dry, they were first put in some småhobe and when they were completely dry they were put up in some pyramid-shaped stacks when this had happened came heather bailiff and distributed them two-thirds of heather owns and third to the consumer and in the presence of this. There was so put a tuft of heather party consumer himself had had. A special tip by stacking it was when you could get 10 ½ or 13 ½ stacks out of the consumer was always sure to get the half and was therefore always been very good which was not so difficult since they were put up in pyramids, We were like one of the neighborhood, farm owners to run peat home and when it was done we have enough fuel for the coming winter.