When we hit the dog days of summer, there are times I just feel like crawling into the freezer, closing the door and hanging out in there awhile (I guess I’d need a bigger freezer to make this dream happen).

Home freezers are another one of those once-luxuries, now-conveniences which we use, really 24/7, but tend to take for granted.  Not all Amish have such easy access to cooling technology.

Amish people keep food cold and frozen in a variety of ways.  In previous posts we have looked at Amish ice houses in New York, and an automated ice kiosk patronized by Amish in northern Indiana.

Some may also use freezer space provided by English neighbors.  Today a reader in Indiana tells the story of one such creative solution.

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We had a neighbor come and ask if they could put a freezer inside our garage. I suggested that we put up an outdoor shed instead.  I spoke with the bishop and he said it was okay so long as it was on my property.

Amish Freezers

Three Amish neighbors put in approximately $650 each and we put in a little over $800.  We bought a shed from a storage barn builder who lives around the corner, rented a trencher and ran an underground electric cable from the service panel in my house out to the shed.  I purchased an electric usage meter on eBay which keeps track of electric consumption.  My neighbors consume approximately 3000 kw/hrs of electricity per year, costing them a combined total of $336.

Freezer Shed Electric Meter

The neighbors decided they would remove their existing phone shed out by the road, which was on my side of the property line anyway, and move it into the shed. Since the neighbors accidentally built their lane on my property when constructing their house, we were able to place the shed on my property but right beside the lane that runs to two Amish houses.  Phone sheds in our district must be located no closer than half the distance between the house and the road. This rule determined our placement of the freezer shed.

Amish Telephone Shed

Also attached is a picture of the taxi service provider sheet that they have tacked on the wall.

Phone Number List

We currently have three neighbors using the shed and I am about to allow another neighbor to use my share of the shed.  We just added a new freezer today, so soon we will have four Amish families using five freezers.

Amish Freezer Shed

Freezers at home are not allowed in our district, so most families rent a freezer from an English entrepreneur who lives south of us.  My shed is an exception which is allowed because it resides on my property.

Inside the shed they also have a 12v battery charger, an electric fence controller (ie. shocker), and a DC power supply for the neighbors backup power supply / radio unit that he uses while ultrasounding horses.

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