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Alexanderhausen
was one of only 20 villages with a school
attendance record of 100 percent. We can take
pride in not having had illiterates, but we can
be even more proud about the treatment of the
one and only person without reading and writing
skills. We are talking about Pakatzer Hans. His
real name was Johann Taugner, and he was born in
the 1870s. He was a little mentally handicapped, but
not enough to disable him from working. Initially he lived on the Pakatz estate, looking
after the male animals. When the estate was
dismantled, he worked as a herdsman in Lowrin.
The people of Lowrin were happy with this modest
and industrious worker, because he was willing to
work for room and board only. |
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After an
accident while working with a bull, and a stay
at the hospital of Dr. Pauli, who declared him
unfit for work, the Lowriners remembered that he
was actually from Alexanderhausen. They brought
him by cart to the village hall in
Alexanderhausen and handed him over to the
administration with the remark: "His birthplace
Pakatz is within the limits of your village, so
he belongs to you." A humane solution was found:
He was placed into a public house where church
custodian Johann Bettendorf was already living.
[....] A neighboring lady, Kreuzer Lissi, was
paid by the community to look after the two old
men. The community also provided the heating
material, and Bässl Lissi made sure that house,
laundry and clothing of the two old men were
kept clean. As long as Hans was able to walk,
the villagers took turns inviting him for lunch.
There was no formal obligation, but not a single
family refused to invite him. Hans considered
these invitations to be real celebrations,
because every family tried to serve their best.
When Hans indicated to a family that he would
visit, the lady of the house would inquire what
the previous hosting lady had served. After
that, she followed the old Swabian saying: "What
she can do, I can do better." So Hans often
enjoyed the fine pastries served after the main
courses. The host family would make sure to give
him a package with bacon, ham, and bread for his
dinner and milk for the following morning's
breakfast. And Hans made sure to drop in at the
neighbor's house, to announce his visit for the
next day. A family's turn to invite Hans came
only once in every year-and-a-half. Long after
his death, whenever a particularly good lunch
was being prepared, people would kid each other:
"Is Pakatzer Hans your guest today?" |
