The shed and storage building sector is one with many Amish manufacturers.  You’ll often see rows of lawn buildings on display when you drive through Amish communities.  They come in many styles, including Victorian, mini-barns, and dollhouse designs.  Children’s playhouses, garages, gazebos and miniature cabins built to mimic full-size homes are related products in this industry.

I like these photos because they show the nitty-gritty of an Amish shop, down to the power source and distribution system.  Amish shops vary in how they power their tools and you’ll see below that this one is on the more conservative side.

I also love the bare-bones simplicity of Amish shops.  You can see the insulation visible in the interior of the shop walls. There’s nothing pretty about this side of the process, except I suppose as the structure nears completion.

This is a wood stove which Tom says is used to both heat the shop and get rid of waste.

A table saw is among the array of tools found in Noah’s shop.

A radial arm saw.  But where does the power come from?

Tom explains: “Noah was building a new long shaft to run his power tools.  The Amish in this area have a engine in a small room off the shop that connects with belts to a long shaft with different size pulleys that are connected to each tool that they want to power.”

You can see a similar set-up in photos I took at an Amish furniture shop in Ohio.

This is a neat little device.  As Tom describes it:  ”Amish portable drill powered by a gas engine connected to a flexible shaft to the drill bit.”

Here’s a close-up of the drill.

Finally, the engine that powers the entire shop.

And that concludes the tour. Back to work guys!

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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Amish: Out of Order is in the middle of a ten-episode run on the National Geographic Channel.  The series looks at the lives of former Amish as they deal with life in the English world.

In 2010, a similarly-named program Amish: Out of the Order aired, featuring Mose and a number of ex-Amish.  Mose grew up in a Wisconsin Amish community, and first shared his story on the Amish in the City program in 2004.   Thanks to Mose and to Kristin from National Geographic for today’s interview.

Amish America: How does this experience compare with shooting the original Amish: Out of the Order program?

Mose Gingerich: There were a lot of similarities between the shooting of this series and the documentary “Amish: Out of the Order” we shot several years ago. You would think that would have been groundbreaking for filming Amish and ex-Amish, after they had seen that first documentary and realized that it was nothing controversial, but rather an educational film. What I found, however, was that it is and probably will always be hard to find anyone with Amish roots who is readily willing to be in the spotlight.

Why do people leave the Amish?  Are there common themes?

Mose Gingerich: I have found that the majority of Amish leave because they are tired of the strict rules and want to try a life with more freedom. There are some who feel like they have been mistreated and just want out. And there are yet others who believe they can find a better or stronger faith in God in the outside world without the ropes of a community monitoring that for them.

Are there other areas in the country like Columbia, Mo., where ex-Amish tend to gather?

Mose Gingerich: There are many areas of the United States where ex-Amish leave and try their hand in the outside world. However, to the best of my knowledge, there is only one tight-knit community like Columbia, Mo. The reason I say that is because most other communities in the more Eastern states are a lot more liberal and allow their kids who leave to still visit or even live at home with vehicles while they are exploring the world.

Returning home on Amish: Out of Order

This is strongly discouraged in the Midwestern states of Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin (states that Amish communities began moving into many years later).

What makes Columbia, Mo., unique in its own way is that the reason the ex-Amish find a need to form a close-knit community here is because most of them are almost completely cut off of their families. This causes them to form their own community.

There was a scene in the original program where you said you felt you were going to hell due to your decision to leave. Do you still feel that way?

From what I’ve learned and seen, there are Amish who have left and yet maintain closer relationships with their family than what seems to be true in your case. Do you have a sense of how prevalent that going-to-hell message is among all Amish?

Mose Gingerich: In my area, sad to say, a lot of the ex-Amish live and struggle with this exact fear. This fear was instilled in us from a very young age. Ever since I was old enough to listen and understand the preacher in front of church, I heard this message, both from him and my parents. If something like this has been so engrained into a child’s mind from so young an age, it only makes sense that it might take forever, if then, for it to be removed.

Mose Gingerich and brothers from Amish days

Imagine a computer, built in the factory, on which you can install all sorts of software, but every time you reset it, it goes back to factory default settings. It sometimes takes a lifetime or longer, even long after one has been saved in the outside world, for one to fully become comfortable in knowing that there is a full chance at salvation out here.

That being said, I have regretted that comment only about 1 million times, since every email and letter I get has people telling me in various ways why I am a good person, and am definitely not going to hell. I suppose without being in my shoes and having walked my walk, one can never fully grasp where I’m coming from. However, will I stumble across some very important answers for my problems in future episodes? Stay tuned.

How much does faith and God come up in the series?  One viewer noticed that episode 2 didn’t seem to have a lot of that mentioned.  From reader Eli’s comment a few weeks ago: “It wasn’t until the April 24 show was over that it dawned on me.  Through a whole hour of a girl wanting to join the Amish and taking her out and slaughtering a chicken, trying on clothes, and talking to people there was barely a mention of faith or God.  One would think that would be one of the first questions.”

You’ve helped a lot of young people that have left their Amish upbringing. Do you ever come across people whom you feel would be better returning to an Amish life?  If so what would you say to them?

Mose Gingerich: I have for many years been at a place in my life where I, like the Amish taught me, hoped that if I tried very hard all my life, there is a slight hope that I can enter the kingdom of God. However, when I left the Amish in 2002, although I still prayed quite a bit, it seemed a very long shot for me to have a chance anymore. I can say that in previous episodes, I was living on a hope and a prayer that I could make it.

Michaela from Amish: Out of Order Episode 2

For this reason, I was uncomfortable discussing faith. These episodes therefore didn’t revolve around faith or spirituality. Speaking for Michaela, for her it starts as a social Change, but as she gets deeper in her journey the religion becomes more of a question. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you keep watching you will see her ask questions of an Amish bishop and explore the questions of faith and God as they relate to the Amish in a later episode.

What do you hope viewers take away from the series?

Mose Gingerich: It would be hard for me to narrow it down to just one thing that I hope viewers take away from this series. The biggest and foremost, however, is HOPE and INSPIRATION! The story of so many ex-Amish including myself who wanted so badly for so many years to start a new life, and then finally, against all odds, made that leap, on a hope and prayer, has for some reason been a tremendous inspiration for so many people! I have already received countless emails from viewers who tell me how I or the series has changed their lives in a positive way forever!

People who, like myself, have been told all their lives that they are living wrong, to sit down and shut up and follow the teachings of one group or sect. Who are judged harshly and often condemned for their decision to finally break away from this past life. These people need a voice—someone who dares to stand up and tell them there is hope for them. That there is another way to find true hope, and yes, salvation, besides the one they grew up in. And most of all they just need to hear and know that they are not alone in life. That there are a lot of us who are walking in those exact shoes and we are all recovering from the aftermath of an unhappy past.

My goal going into this series was that if I can help to influence just one life, then all of it was worth it. I am very happy to announce that that one person has been multiplied many, many times! Would I do another season? Who knows? What is there to say that this series has not already said? I feel like I accomplished my mission. However, there are a lot more people out there to reach, so stay tuned!

—

Amish: Out of Order premieres new episodes each Tuesday at 10 pm on The National Geographic Channel.  Tonight’s episode will be the 6th in the series.

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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Swartzentruber Amish in northern New York have violated building codes by not installing smoke alarms in their homes, leading to fines and court cases. The core of the objection appears similar to that towards the SMV safety triangle.

Belton speaks with Mose Miller, a Swartzentruber father of 9. The comments he quotes seems to reveal just how offensive the technology is: “I don’t need a devil on the wall to tell me if my house is burning” explains the Amishman.

Maybe nuance got lost somewhere, but this quote implies the speaker views alarms as categorically evil–not just neutral but having the potential to lead to evil (as many Amish might view phones or cars). That’s a pretty big difference and reminded me of the comments of one fairly progressive Amish acquaintance, that in some sense his own plain-dressing, buggy-driving Amish clan was actually closer to the English than to the Swartzentrubers.

“If God does not wake us, well, that must be part of his plan,” Mose explains, echoing what objectors to the SMV insignia often say.

These types of comments are so striking in a world where moderns like to think we can control every aspect of our lives (and not just striking, but no doubt offensive to some). Though I might not personally agree with his approach I find it difficult to object to Mose’s closing comments that “We’re just pilgrims and foreigners, just passing through…This life is just a speck in the sand, compared to eternity.”

Fire alarm photo: hermitsmoores/flickr

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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I don’t recall a lot of cases in which Swartzentruber Amish appeared on camera. Dennis gives a nice interview here; talking about uniformity, he observes that “Maybe that keeps us from wanting to be like the Joneses and we can’t afford it. We don’t try to catch up with the other person. Maybe that helps.”

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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Amish farm, California Township, Michigan

Head west from Branch County and you’ll reach the Amish of St. Joseph County, Michigan’s largest settlement.  Hillsdale County to the east has an Amish population, as does Calhoun County to the North.

So if you’re in Branch County and you’re allergic to buggies, too bad, you’re surrounded. And Branch County itself has not one, not two, but five Amish communities (one “shared” with Hillsdale County).  I visited a couple of them on last year’s Michigan Amish trip.

California Township Amish

On the south end of Branch County is found a very plain Amish settlement of 5 churches.  This group originates from the Swiss Amish communities of Indiana.

On the Amish in this part of Michigan reader Lance writes: “Adams and Allen Cos. have spawned several daughter communities in Branch and Hillsdale Cos. of Michigan. These communities tend to be more conservative. Indeed, the California Amish of Calif. township, Branch Co. are notably very conservative. They also are in a very small area, with smaller than usual properties for such a conservative way.”

The material plainness of this community is obvious as you travel through the region.  Sparse properties, metal roofs, and dirt drives are the norm.

Typical of Swiss communities, buggies have no tops.  I did not see any Slow Moving Vehicle triangles either, and if that is standard practice would make this group one of the few besides the Swartzentruber Amish who do not use them.  Produce was in season when I visited; small stands about in the community.

Lance adds:  ”I have a friend that joined the Amish and he also was much more interested in conservative Amish then the progressive main stream. So he visited Calif. to see if they were for him. He drove his buggy from Allen Co to CA (40+ miles) and when he got there, they searched him! I guess they wanted to make sure he had nothing that would violate the Ordnung and pollute their minds!?”  It appears Amish here believe strongly in a plainer way of living.

Quincy area Amish

Drive north from California Township and you’ll come to another Swiss Amish settlement in the vicinity of Quincy, a small town east of Coldwater.

 The Quincy community is less visibly plain than the California Township Amish.  Buggies are nicer and sport the SMV insignia.   Homes have a more prosperous feel with basketball goals and trampolines not uncommon.

I didn’t see terribly many businesses, but did drop in at the E and A Country Store, (which has a number of signs advertising itself around the area, the one at right includes the helpful “Amish Country” marker) and had a nice chat with the owner.

The Quincy group is slightly larger than the California Amish, at 6 congregations.

Different paths

These two groups living just a few miles from each other show the different paths even similarly-rooted Amish take.  They’ve left behind their large parent communities, likely in search of a more isolated and plainer existence.

It’s probable that for them their parent communities, home to thousands of Amish, became too “fast” as the Amish say, or simply too crowded and expensive.   Both communities have been around for decades (started in the 60s and 70s).  However at least in their material lives, they have chosen somewhat different standards since their founding.

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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If you’re not familiar with cornhole, it’s pretty simple. You’ve got two slightly elevated boards with a medium-sized hole towards one end of each board. You place them some distance apart and take tuns tossing bags toward the target. The surface of the boards is slick enough to allow the bag to slide when they land on it.

You can land the beanbag directly in the hole–a direct hit–or land it just in front, where if you’ve thrown it skillfully enough, the bag will slide forward into the hole. You get 1 point for having a bag anwhere on the board at the end of the round, and 3 for each bag you land in the hole. You can also use your toss to knock your opponent’s bag off the board. Not sure where the name of this game originates, perhaps dried corn was or is used as stuffing for the bags?

Here’s an ad for a cornhole board maker in Indiana (found in The People’s Exchange Amish ad paper). I got a kick out of some of the designs, which you can guess by their themes are marketed to a certain Amish clientele (how about that “Elk Slayer” board):

Any fans of this game out there? And besides Holmes County, Ohio and northern Indiana, have you seen it in other Amish communities?

Cornhole is just one of those pleasingly old-fashioned-seeming pastimes that just seems to fit the Amish. Though I wonder if there isn’t a Cornhole iPhone app yet.

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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Typical of Swartzentruber settlements, it is a farming community supplemented by a lot of small shops and home enterprises. Amish commerce extends off the farm with some selling products off the back of the buggy in the parking lot of a local tourist outlet.

This map of Amish business locations is found in a brochure distributed by the Amish Welcome Center, located off Highway 43 in the middle of the settlement.  It’s pretty useful if you are looking to visit the area’s many Amish vendors.

This map also gives you an idea of the layout of the Ethridge community, with about 2/3 of it west of Highway 43 and the remaining third on the east side.  By the way, if you visit: be careful especially on 43, it is a fast-moving 4-lane highway but you’ll see Amish buggies traveling and crossing it as well.

There are 57 businesses listed on this map. Here is a sampling of what you’ll find:

5. Buffalo Road- tables and chairs, buggy wheels

10. Buffalo Road- clocks, pickled okra, candy, jams and jelly

19. Yoder Road- homemade candles

30. Indiana Avenue- miniature buggy carts, eggs

33. Indiana Avenue- lumber, gourds, candy, molasses, cookies, braided rugs, peanut brittle, buggy shop, firewood, gazebos, treated outdoor furniture

35. Dooley Road- tack shop, molasses

42. Mt. Horeb Road- hickory bend furniture, squirrel corn, stable blankets, hunting bags

57. Bud Taylor Road- cookies, molasses, baskets

You’ll probably also want to stop in at the “Amish Welcome Center” and pick up an original copy of the map.  This one is at least 2 years old, so they may have an updated version by now.  The back of this pamphlet advertises “Hank’s Restaurant” with the tagline “Even the Amish come here to eat!”

The Amish Welcome Center address: 4001 Hwy. 43 N., Ethridge, TN 38456, (931) 829-2433.

I visited the Ethridge Amish in 2010 and wrote this piece, about mega-tourist wagons, Swartzentruber business cards, and the “Love Spell” and “Love Potion” Amish candles:  The Amish of Ethridge, Tennessee.

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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No doubt Colorado being the destination had something to do with their willingness to go. A less picturesque part of America may not have enticed the crew.  As a largely Midwest and Eastern people with a soft spot for the outdoors, the majestic West captivates the Amish imagination. A popular trip for young Amish men involves traveling by bus or train (or car) cross-country. Only a relatively few Amish have ever made Western states home, though (see Amish in Montana or Amish in Colorado for examples).

In the interest of staying close to home Amish builders like to limit their work to about a 2-hour driving range. Sometimes Amish crews do go further, even staying overnight and for multiple days.   For example a northern Indiana Amish acquaintance I spoke with last summer had a bid out on a pretty significant job in Kentucky, a project which would require extended stays away from home.  Amish also consistently volunteer in disaster areas and will be gone for a couple of weeks at a time.  Not being married or having a big family makes it easier.

The three-man crew of State Line Fencing, led by 33-year-old Jonathan Esh, jumped at the chance to do the Colorado job. What is interesting is that this doesn’t seem to be a particularly elaborate job, no offense intended to Esh and Co. The crew built a split rail fence, which I’m sure takes attention to detail, but it’s not like they were restoring a hundred-year-old barn or creating someone’s dream kitchen. I can see getting an Amish crew across the country for a big extensive project; this, not as much.

But I may be wrong on that. The homeowner apparently had a bad experience with a previous company: “It wasn’t that easy to find someone who does this kind of work to the specifications that we needed.” Plus it sounds like this was a chance for a little sightseeing while doing a quick project. Esh called the opportunity “out of our dreams”. No info on who paid travel costs. It sounds like they will be invited back, though.

Casting nets further

State Line Fencing crew did something else that certain Amish would consider “going a long way”–they created a website with the help of a third party.  This Colorado job happened, according to the story, thanks to an online ad the crew had posted.

I don’t have statistics as to how many Amish businesses advertise and sell online.  There are Amish companies who have their own English-run websites. There are also companies who have an online presence by virtue of their products being retailed by non-Amish firms. If we count Amish furniture businesses who sell through third parties, the number could be significant. In this group we would also include Pennsylvania Dutch markets, builders and remodelers, and tourist-oriented businesses. If I had to guess…a fifth to a quarter, maybe?

As Amish advertise online–and competition increases–will the geographic scope of their work continue to expand? This blog and my email inbox often get requests for Amish builders in out-of-the-way places. If it’s the right project, they may hit the road for you, as Esh and Co. show us here.  According to their site, State Line Fencing “will quote on a job in PA, MD, NY, NJ, DE, VA, and WV”.

Any Amish “business travel” stories you might have are especially welcome.

Photo credit: ghbrett/flickr

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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To celebrate the occasion, how about a Mother’s Day edition of Christina Stutzman’s Milroy Musings, from The Connection.

In this 2011 column Christina shares Mother’s Day greetings plus some quirky historical info on a town in her area:

And how about a Mother’s Day poem by Alma Bontrager:

And here’s one more column from a Connection mother, if you missed it.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there!

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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It’s unclear whether this boy was technically Amish (his father is said to have left the community a few years ago; the mother’s status isn’t explained, the home address seems not to be Amish).  The use of non-conventional remedies is common among the Amish.

I have heard good things about the B and W salve, which was invented by an Amishman. However there is a time for salve and there is a time for the emergency room.  For a number of reasons, Amish are less likely to go to the hospital than non-Amish (I touched on this issue recently in a post on the book Grace Leads Me Home).

It sounds like this boy’s case was borderline at best (“severe burns to his lower legs and chest”).  What might be a manageable burn on an adult is proportionally much larger on a child that small.

It seems to me that one problem with relying on home remedies is that you have to rely on your ability to self-diagnose.  Playing it safe sometimes means getting to a professional caregiver.  I can understand reluctance to go to the doctor.  I rarely go myself.  But certain situations demand erring on the safe side.

It makes me wonder–could there be a touch of pride in thinking you can handle your potentially serious medical issue as well as a trained professional?

I don’t mean to provoke–just a food-for-thought question.  As I’ve said before, I’m a conventional medicine person–I don’t intuitively “get” the non-conventional approach.

All that said, I can only feel so sorry for these parents.

More: Is Amish life more dangerous?

To read this post in full, click the blue title link above. Question on the Amish? Try the Amish Online Encyclopedia. Or visit the Amish State Guide to learn more about Amish communities across North America.

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