A Snowy Visit To Amish Country in Missouri (16 Photos)

Many of you probably recognize the name Don Burke as someone who has provided many wonderful photos for the site here over the years – as well as a number of excellent guest posts about visits to Amish communities. In today’s post, Don shares with us how he first came to visit one of the Amish communities he grew to know well – that of Jamesport, Missouri. The photos and text which follow are all Don’s. 

My First Visit to the Amish of Jamesport, Missouri

Over the course of the past nearly-thirteen years I have made approximately 25 visits to Amish Jamesport in the northwest corner of our state (Missouri).

During that time I have visited in a number of homes, sat in on a handful of Amish auctions, attended an Old Order Amish church service, was filmed in a Dutch documentary of Amish life, was asked to be the official photographer for an Amish-ish wedding of a once-Amish couple – and greatest of all, made life-long friendships with some of the dearest people on this planet.

And of course, along the way I have taken lots and lots of pictures. And the first of those pictures were taken in February 2013.

As I’ve described before, my interest in the Amish came second-hand as my wife and I decided to pursue her long-time desire to visit Amish country. The first trip in 2010 took us to Holmes County, and then to Lancaster County. And while I started that trip as simply the chauffeur, I returned as a fellow Amish enthusiast. A repeat trip two years later only increased my enthusiasm.

As months passed I began to become aware of Amish settlements much closer to where I live in Missouri, and in fact I noticed that many communities were located right here within our own state.

As winter 2012-2013 began to set in I got in mind to do a photo set with the theme of “Amish in the Snow,” and started paying close attention to wintery weather forecasts. In the second half of February the weatherman announced something promising, and within hours I had reservations for my first stay in Jamesport and was on the road.

I arrived in Jamesport that evening, and the next morning went out into a wintery cold to drive around and familiarize myself with the area.

By mid-morning the air had turned hazy and the forecasted white stuff began to fall.

One characteristic of Amish Jamesport that I have come to greatly appreciate is the sense of balance I find within this community. Maybe due in part to an early history where for some years the Amish attended public schools along with the “English” students, there is no prevailing sense of us-vs.-them between the two cultures, but rather open neighborly acceptance.

Also, the Amish here have been largely cooperative with tourism that brings outsiders (and their spending money) to the area to view and appreciate the Amish way of life.

Yet while accepting of others, the Amish here haven’t given up elements of their lifestyle to become overly touristy as some of the larger communities have done. So while friendly, they are still genuine to their Amish roots – and that sense of raw rural Amish genuineness seemed to season the scenes that I found on that trip.

Snow fell so hard at points it severely impacted visibility.

It eventually drove me back to the inn where I was staying, and I was limited to taking pictures from there or within walking distance.

I got up the next morning to a total of 14 inches of snow that had fallen within the past 24 hours. Roads in the region were so covered that I could not attempt the trip home, so I stayed an extra night.

But snow or not, the Amish and their buggies still pushed through.

And that is the trip where this fun all began.

More from Don Burke

• A First Visit to Amish Ohio (24 Photos)
• A First Visit to Amish Pennsylvania (23 Photos)
• An “Amish-ish” Wedding (Part 1)
• Picturing The Amish – Q&A with Photographer Don Burke (Part 1)
• 20 Photos From An Amish Pumpkin (& Mum) Auction
• An Amish “Buggy Race” (12 Photos)
• A “Virtual Visit” to a Small & Plain Amish Community (35 Photos)

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