[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] new email and Küster

[Richard Benert]

For those who haven’t noticed, I have a new email address.  It’s benovich at live.com.  Scratch the old “imt.net”.

On the Küster matter, it finally occurred to me to check out Joseph Height’s “Homesteaders on the Steppe.”  He quotes a document outlining the schoolmaster’s duties in South Russia which I thought would be interesting to repeat (pace, Jerry) here.  It is dated 1819, Kleinliebenthal, a Catholic colony.
1. Teach 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon.
2.Teach Catechism one hour every Sunday.
3. Ring the Angelus bell 3 times a day.
4. Teach the children to read and write German, recite Latin, and do arithmetic.
5. Teach 4 boys to serve mass, and teach at least 6 boys in choral singing.
6. Assist the priest according to custom.
7. Conduct one hour of prayer on Saturdays, and ordinary devotions on Sundays and holy days.
8. Stay away from the tavern, on pain of dismissal.
9. Refrain from reading forbidden books.
10. Refrain from profane language, on penalty of salary deduction.
11. Receive the clerical school supervisors with courtesy.
12. For weighty and approved reasons the schoolmaster can be dismissed with the approval of the pastor.

Dick B.