At A Swartzentruber Amish Auction (10 Photos)
Jim Halverson shares another batch of photos from an Amish auction – this one in Gladwin County, Michigan. Gladwin County has two distinct Amish communities. This is a Swartzentruber group. We saw this community in the recent Amish barn-raising series.
Jim shares some beautiful shots of an event that took place this autumn. In the foreground of this photo, we see a farm implement by International Harvester. It has the appearance of an antique, but I suspect whoever bought it will be getting some practical use out of it.
A closer look shows some wringer washers, baskets, a globe, and what looks like a church pew, among other items.
Auctions are a time for socializing as well as buying. In Lancaster County last week, I used the occasion of a farm auction to meet with numerous Amish friends that I hadn’t seen in a while. Not all Amish people who show up at auctions are necessarily “buyers”.
Here’s more socializing going on, among the younger set by the barn.
This shot gives a nice view of the lanterns used by Swartzentruber Amish.
And in this one you can see an Amish school.
Back to the auction.
You can even find used footwear here.
A given Amish auction will reflect what the local community uses and allows. So the farm sale I attended in Lancaster County last week would likely have some different items for sale than a similar event in a plain community like this Swartzentruber one.
To see examples from another Swartzentruber Amish auction, check out this post on ten household items seen at a Swartzentruber auction.
I enjoyed the pictures and narrative. I was wondering if the auctioneering was in English or Pennsylvania Dutch.
A couple of years ago, I was invited by a very conservative Amish friend who was retiring from farming to his family’s retirement auction. There were so many items for sale that it needed two auctioneers in two different “auction rings”. I stayed about two hours and the auction was still going strong, many items left to sell. And… the entire auction was in Pennsylvania Dutch. A couple of weeks before the auction, the retiring farmer gave me an auction sale bill listing many of the items that would be for sale. It was all handwritten all in Pa. Dutch, then copies made on a copier machine by someone else. I don’t know Pa. Dutch, so needless to say I didn’t bid on anything, worried that I would be bidding on some item I had no use for and not knowing the monetary amount of my “winning bid”!
auction
Very sad to see my close friends spread across your page. Can you imagine if you were put in their shoes? So, here’s a man standing in your front yard taking pictures of your family and friends, home and barns. Now let’s end this day by taking a photo where your children attend school. Now with that being said you would probably have called the police. For a man that writes about the Amish maybe you should get off the keyboard and talk with the people of the community, so you have a better understanding of their culture.
Re.: the Swartzentruber Auction
Oh, Eric, lol, I can’t believe that you didn’t comment on that wonderful ice cream freezer in the first photo, and that you didn’t seem to notice that table full of high-quality, handmade baskets that rival Longaberger baskets! The Troyer Amish of Conewango Valley, NY use many of those same items, wear very similar clothes (although they will be quick to point out the differences), and always, always paint their doors blue as in these photos. Thank you for sharing these.