A Snowy Visit To Amish In Michigan (12 Photos)
Jim Halverson has checked in with another visit to Amish in Clare County, Michigan. This visit took place a few days before Christmas.
There are two Amish communities in the county, one much larger than the other, and a third partially in the county.
In addition to the snow-covered landscape you can see Jim also encountered some fresh snow on his visit. Like in this photo showing laundry drying outside during snowfall:
Let’s see what else is going on in the community. If you look closely, this appears to be a delivery of empty egg cartons, or something along those lines.
Hunting gear dries hung up on this front porch. Some, even many Amish people are avid hunters.
Along the same lines. Rabbits dressed by JR.
Quilts for sale. In some Amish settlements, you just walk up to the front door of some homes to buy their wares right out of the home. I’m not sure if that’s exactly the case here.
I usually go to the front door in any case, if it’s not evident where exactly the store advertised on the sign is located (and depending on the community, that can often be the case).
Farmer at work in cold weather.
Another view. I believe this is the same fellow.
The umbrella comes in handy for wind protection for open buggy riders. Notice that white-looking section?
That’s actually a transparent bit of the umbrella, providing a see-through “windshield” for the driver.
I’m having a bit of trouble gauging the proportion in this photo, but those look like logs, probably for a sawmill operation – based on the quantity and size.
Finally, a horse-and-buggy paused on the roadside. Several details stand out to me here. What do you notice in this photo?
A thanks to Jim for this latest great batch of photos.
You don’t get the whole story of an Amish community from photo sets like these – but you do get a window into what’s going on and how people live in a place. On that note, here are some more of Jim’s photo sets:
- The Amish of Cass City, Michigan (14 Photos)
- A Swartzentruber Amish Barn-Raising (11 Photos)
- Inside Country Corner Bulk Foods (12 Photos)
- Have A Look At Some Amish Garage Sales (12 Photos)
- At A Michigan Amish Auction (19 Photos)
A Snowy Visit to Amish in Michigan
Things I noticed in the last picture was a white horse hitched to the buggy, and the horse and buggy were not in line with each other. I don’t know if the horse backed up causing the front buggy wheels to turn, or if the driver decided at the intersection to make a fairly sharp left turn.
What I Noticed
I noticed a few things I’m not sure about. I don’t think that’s a buggy horse, it does seem like the front buggy wheels are sharply turned, and the buggy has both the reflective triangle and lights or reflectors across the top and two at the bottom sides. And is that lettering in the back window? More importantly, these are wonderful photos giving us a glimpse into the area. Thank you.
Buggy observations
It appears that Denise is more observant than the photographer (me)! The buggy was stopped at a stop sign and then started sliding on the ice when it pulled into the intersection. That’s what got my initial attention and that’s why the wheels are out of whack. But after Denise’s comments I went back and zoomed in on the photo. In the center of the triangle is a sticker for the Browning gun manufacturer. I don’t know what the sticker is in the back window, but I think it’s also some hunting equipment business. In the side mirror you can see the face of the girl driving the buggy as well as her arm sticking out the door. The reflectors are pretty typical for that area. The other comment mentioned the horse. It does look more like a “farm” horse (whatever that is – obviously, I don’t know that much about horses!) compared to the sleeker horses one might see in northern Indiana. Thanks for the comments!
Jim Halverson
Look at rear axle of buggy. Left wheel is far away from buggy, also looks like front wheels are both turning into buggy, like 2 broken axles.
On different subject I was asked to attend Amish school Christmas program in the Bloomingdale , Michigan community. One of the children from family I drive a lot for is her last year in school, and I’ve been a driver a family friend since before she went to school
Horse
I see the white horse which is not all that common in my area either , Belleville( Big Valley ) Pa .
Orange triangle
Orange triangle has a Deer logo on it . Must be a Hunter !