Step Inside A Hidden Amish Variety Store Full Of Things You Won’t Find At Walmart (35 Photos)

On my recent visit to the Amish community in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, I of course made sure to visit a lot of Amish businesses.

And I had one in mind in particular – a certain variety store that I remembered fondly from my last trip to the settlement – over a decade earlier.

Variety stores are among my favorites. That’s because, by their nature, they often contain novelties. You go to one almost expecting to be surprised by something new or unanticipated.

Making my way there

After a stop a charming little backroad bakery (Peachey’s), I made my way towards the southern end of the county, heading to Hidden Valley Variety.

I knew the way, more or less. Getting to the actual store would be a bit trickier than I had anticipated, however.

It was easy enough to find the location. I was happy to see Hidden Valley Variety was still there where I left it back in 2015.

Definitely a new sign though. When I was here the last time, I’m not sure the variety store even had a roadside sign (though the greenhouse did).

My issue this time? The store is “hidden” down a long-ish lane on an Amish farm. And I do mean down – it is a solid incline.

Given the snowy and icy conditions from the previous day’s precipitation, I decided leaving my Florida-plated, non-snow-tired, non-four-wheel-drive rental car at the top of the lane – and proceeding on foot – would be the right move:

Walking down the lane, I passed an Amish school.

You can get a feel for why I left my Florida rental at the top of the lane.

It took several minutes to walk down. On reaching the homestead, I passed some of the family buggies parked outside the barn.

There didn’t appear to be any other customers when I arrived (that would soon change).

Inside the Store

Soon after entering, the owner, a middle-aged Amish lady, appeared, and we exchanged some conversation. I remembered her as being quite friendly on my last visit, and nothing had changed in that regard.

I asked if they had one of their community birthday calendars that I had purchased last time and had always enjoyed. It’s a “perpetual” calendar in that you can use it year after year.

Unfortunately they didn’t. But there was another calendar waiting for me in the store, though I didn’t know it yet.

So have a look around the place. Looking down a back aisle.

Lighting is provided by these wide square skylights, allowing ample illumination into the space. Let nature take care of it for you.

Variety stores are perhaps the best of all Amish businesses for getting insights into how the Amish live.

You see the products they use in nearly all aspects of life – kitchen, clothing, home decor, and so on. These next two photos illustrate that especially well.

This store has something I’d never seen before: a “mini-library“. It’s in fact a book rental service. Fees are 75 cents for  weeks, with a 10-cent charge for each additional day.

That gives you a nice chunk of time to finish reading – with the extra day fees motivating you to get the book back in, in case someone is waiting on it. Nice idea! That is important as well, since access to reading materials is understandably more limited in a rural Amish community.

You can see the selection includes a lot of inspirational fiction, some religious reading, as well as a classic – Rosanna of the Amish.

Near the mini-library I came across a book of Amtrak timetables. I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that such physical guides have gotten scarcer in society over time.

But this reflects the reliance of Amish in many communities on the rail system for longer-distance transport.

Another look down the aisle lets you really “feel the variety” in a place like this. You could really spend a while browsing. Note the shopping cart.

Amish recipe cookbook from Wyoming. The state has seen an increase in Amish settlements in recent years. I assume they have some good cooking out there.

Compared to other states though, they have a very small Amish population. So not what you’d expect to necessarily find in a Pennsylvania Amish variety store.

And another. I wonder if this are mainly bought by the Amish community. I would assume so. “Western Amish” recipes has a nice appeal. What different things do they cook and bake out there?

The cookware aisle caught my attention. For the past several years I’ve been on a quest to find another Boontonware bowl like the one I got at this Virginia store a half-dozen years ago.

It’s my favorite bowl. Something between a plate and a bowl, given how wide it is.

Bingo! I spotted the tell-tale blue-flecked pattern, hiding amongst a bunch of others:

But alas, this was a much shallower bowl than I was looking for – a bit too far in the “plate” direction. Still, I picked one up. The quest continues I suppose.

At least I spotted this cool speckled pattern again, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, and feared they may have discontinued.

Some traditional lighting.

The price for the bottom (I’m assuming without the teardrop cover?) is $18.90. This type of lighting is more prevalent in the conservative homes. More progressive Amish homes might have one or two around as well, more as a nod to the past, supplanted in everyday use by gas and battery lighting in many cases.

Bulk foods aisle. The place had a decent selection of foods as well. I picked up some chocolate nut clusters that the owner said were made by her sister.

Tools, stickers, pens, and more clustered in this back corner.

Fifty-pound bags of flour. One type from Lancaster County, PA…the other all the way from Vermont.

Pathway Publishers’ books on sale.

And the coloring book rack.

I’ve been seeing this Amish-themed coloring book around. I bet this would be popular in the non-Amish market as well.

Cooking utensils flanked a store window.

Lovely view onto the snowy hills of Somerset County.

This visit took place in December. I’m guessing that’s the #1 month for calendar sales. So while I struck out on the community birthday calendar, I picked up this one with artwork by an Amish man named Jake Brenneman, for $10. Neat to see Amish art in a calendar, and not too common.

And finally, homemade Christmas cards. Have you looked at the prices of commercial greeting cards lately? You’ll pay ten times as much, as for one of these charming 75-cent homemade cards. I grabbed several.

As I was leaving, I took a shot of the door and store hours. You can see some other customers had arrived by then.

Visit Hidden Valley Variety (& Greenhouse)

So I hope you enjoyed this visit to Hidden Valley Variety. If you’d like to go yourself, here is the address, and store hours:

Hidden Valley Variety
169 Hidden Valley Dr.
Meyersdale, PA 15552

Hours:
Monday – Friday: 8 AM to 6 PM
Saturday: 8 AM to 5 PM
Sunday: CLOSED
“In winter we close at 5:00 or dark.”

You might want to confirm these hours if you can before you go – as things sometimes change, and especially if you’re finding this post long after it was originally published. Note they also have a greenhouse on the premises.

If you go during inclement weather, and your car is not equipped with snow tires or four wheel drive, you might want to park at the top of the lane like I did.

And if you missed it, also check out the next Amish place I stopped at after this visit – a roadside farm stand where you pull a rope for service.