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Johann's
mill is situated on the banks of a mountain river, isolated
from the rest of the village. It was built by his grandfather
at the beginning of the past century. Since it made very
good flour, it was well known in the area. In the beginning
it had a huge vertical wooden wheel, set into motion by
a waterfall of about 3 meters.
This is something that
Johann could see only in movies, as his father dismantled
the wheel and replaced it with a turbine that drives not
only the mill but also all the other machines in the house,
through a very ingenious system of transmissions; for 20
years, the mill supplied electricity to the entire village.
Johann belongs to a family
of Czech people called "pemi". His family moved
to a Romanian village when the mill was being built. In
fact, the mill is part of the house, and Johann practically
grew up in the mill and learned the trade from his father.Village
people don't call Johann by his name; they come to "Pemu's"
mill.
The communist regime
did a lot of harm to the family. The mill was confiscated
and his family evicted. Later on they were allowed to return
and live there, working for the state, since the villagers
needed flour and there was no one else who knew the job.
To this very day, Johann is still not the legal owner of
the mill. |
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