Spring is here, and that means plowing and planting time. Most Amish do not use tractors in the field. Some will keep a tractor for around-the-barn tasks, such as filling the silo. Why do the Amish limit tractors? Part of the problem is their similarity to cars. Get comfortable behind the wheel of a tractor, the thinking goes, and it’s a short hop to sitting behind…
‘Made specifically for the plain people by the plain people’. The Classic boasts ‘unequaled safety’. It is ‘Not just a locked computer’, promising ‘No modem, no phone port or Internet connection, no outside programs, no sound, no photographs, no games or gimmicks’. The ad is found on page 3 of this year’s Lancaster County Business Directory, a collection of advertisements of hundreds of (mostly Amish…
Rumspringa: To be or not to be Amish got a lot of attention when it was released in the spring of 2006, with media such as the Wall Street Journal calling it a ‘wonderfully rich portrait and history of the Amish as a people and a faith.’ Rumspringa is also, and primarily, an on-the-scene look at a crucial period of Amish adolescence. Tom Shachtman was…
‘Sylvan’, one of my Amish friends in Lancaster County, runs a scooter workshop in addition to milking cows. In Lancaster County and related settlements, you rarely see bicycles–in Lancaster, for instance, there are only a few church districts I’m aware of that seem to allow them. I’ve also seen scooters in use among the Amish of Allen County, Indiana, and I’d imagine they’d be found…
A quick note on language…as we know the first language of the Amish is Pennsylvania Dutch. Picking up English and learning it from Amish-raised teachers in school means that certain traits of speaking and accent get passed down the lines. I rather enjoy hearing a good thick ‘Amish English’ accent. Sitting with Abe and Rachel in their farm home, I appreciated both the conversation as…
In addition to sports, the Amish also enjoy good old-fashioned family-oriented games that can be played around the kitchen table. Before moving over to Abe and Rachel’s last week, I got in a nice round of ‘Life on the Farm’ with Daniel’s family. The kids love it and wouldn’t let me leave without a game. This neat little Monopoly knock-off pits would-be farmers in a…
Amish also enjoy competitive team sports. This photo, taken by Holly in Mount Hope, Ohio, illustrates one of the most popular. Amish typically play sports as children and as members of the youth. On marriage and having kids, participation in sports tends to drop off markedly. It’s also worth remembering that different groups of Amish may have differing opinions on the matter of sports. Generally…
…is the title of the hymn we sang the other morning after breakfast at Abe’s. Abe and his wife Sarah like to sing a song and read a chapter from the Bible before starting the day. The Amish enjoy music. Last Wednesday, Daniel was out late at a singing at a neighbor’s. Amish men get together, usually once a week, to practice the high German…
Amish school gets the job done. At the same time, the kids have a blast. After hearing about some of the stuff they get to do, I think I’m ready to re-enroll in fifth grade. On Friday Daniel and Mary’s kids had a spelling quiz (not fun), and made gingerbread houses (fun and tasty). An excited Lizzie described an unfortunate scooter collision on the way…
Well, despite the inclement weather, I managed to get up to Lancaster County and to my friends ‘Daniel’ and ‘Mary’, where I’ll be staying the next few days. The last hour-and-a-half or so, from the PA line onward, was pretty hairy, as snow and ice accumulation made driving tricky. I pulled in late Tuesday night to Daniel’s, happy and relieved to see the kitchen gas-lamp…