At the end of the rue des Ecoles is the "Coin des Pâtres" ("Shepherds' Corner"). This is where the shepherds of the commune lived and herded their flocks. By late summer, the straight streets of downtown and the winding lanes of Bischwiller's Shepherd's Corner were filled with huge wagons with perforated sides swaying on large squeaky wooden wheels, pulled step by step by big horses in a sweat bath. They were loaded with hay mowed in the grasslands around the hamlet, from Obermatt to the marshy meadows beside the Ried. It was the season for second-cut hay in Alsace. These majestic cars would stand motionless for days on the streets of our small town. Sheaves of nearly dry hay, which still gave off a wonderful smell of fresh flowering grass, sometimes reached the height of the windows and dormers of neighboring houses. The light of dusk ignited with its red embers these placid vessels, full of green and living light. Suddenly, moved by the powerful draft horses, they were all shaking together like a fleet moored in a too-narrow harbor, ready to set the anchor and head out to sea.