CIMG0177

This pickup-style carriage belongs to an Old Order Mennonite family.  Black-topped buggies in Lancaster County (rather than gray ones) indicate Old Order Mennonites.  There are various church groupings among the OOMs, just as there are among the Amish.  Each day I drive fairly close by the large community of OOMs residing in the northern part of the county.

Amish and Mennonite live as neighbors in these parts and interact to varying degrees.  There are some joint Old Order Amish/Mennonite schools in the area.  Abe likes to get his applesauce apples from a local OOM grower.  Old Order Mennonites use bicycles, while the vast majority of Amish in Lancaster do not.

Tomorrow I’ll be heading off to Holmes County, Ohio, one of my favorite Amish settlements to visit.  I will be there through Sunday and plan to do a few more interviews for my book, see some friends, and attend a church service.

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