The nine-year-old daughter of my friends ‘Aden’ and ‘Elizabeth’ invited me to visit her school last Monday. I couldn’t pass that up. Elizabeth and I walked up a few minutes beforehand; ‘Naomi’ was already there, so not to miss out on the half-hour of playtime before the first bell. A vigorous game of six-square was in session when we arrived. The kids let me join. …
I dropped in on Safety Days today, held at the Mount Hope Auction yards. Most of the hundreds in attendance were Amish. People slowly filed by educational booths promoting early learning, fire safety, and eye care. One fireman admonished listeners to ‘label their liquids’ since children could not tell the difference between potables and more lethal liquids such as kero or diesel. Besides the useful…
I happened upon this pair of buggies as they headed to church service yesterday morning. There’s a good chance their occupants were going to Communion. Many Holmes County Amish churches held their bi-annual communion services this past weekend. Some will do so this upcoming weekend. Two weeks before Communion, a church will hold a service called Counsel. Preaching on this special day consists of a…
Last night there was a frolic at ‘Ivan’s’. Ivan is a jolly father of six and one of my favorite people to spend time with here in Holmes County, Ohio. If he were southern, we might call Ivan a ‘good ole boy’. Always a blast to hang out with. When he flashes his trademark grin at you, you know he’s up to something. So I…
WHEN I was in college, I read a book by Sherwood Anderson called Winesburg, Ohio. I remember it as a mostly downbeat collection of vignettes of small town life. As I recall it was firmly entrenched in the university Lit canon. Inspired Hemingway or something like that. This is not that Winesburg. Anderson’s town was fictional. The real Winesburg, Ohio also happens to be a…
My two-month excursion in Lancaster County is over. I’m back in Ohio now. Lancaster was a fantastic experience but now that I’m back here, I’m reminding myself why Holmes County is perhaps my favorite of all Amish settlements. Holmes County is more diverse, (much) more rural, arguably a smidgen more beautiful, and I guess I just have known more people here for longer so that…
An imaginary line runs through Lancaster County. Some say it follows the route of highway 30, the old Philly artery which bisects the county. This theoretical divider splits the settlement’s Amish into conservative and more progressive groupings. The north-south division may not be that cut-and-dry, but it is a real thing. Some say a stricter Ordnung and less contact with outsiders tend to make southern…
Lancaster County has some amazing stone barns. Many of these barns are owned by Amish. One of my customers let me take a few shots of his. I love the scents and sights and the whole feeling of being inside one of these old barns. The pungent hay strewn across the floor; mustiness countered by fresh breeze blowing in through open barn doors. The nooks…
The homes of the Swartzentruber Amish and similar groups tend to be among the plainest. Metal roofs and dirt lanes are characteristic. Usually Swartzentruber yards are a bit scrabbly-looking compared to the typical meticulously-cared-for Old Order front lawn. This may reflect a difference in concern for the material world. While many Old Order Amish will work out on construction crews and in factories, Swartzentrubers tend…
The Amish arrange themselves into compact groupings known as church districts. Each district has its own name, usually a geographically-based one–Lamoni South, Randolph, and Crab Orchard are examples of places providing names for districts, these being found in Iowa, Mississippi, and Kentucky Amish communities. Since the Amish travel by horse-and-buggy to one another’s homes for Sunday service, most districts are grouped together in a logical,…