Sunday morning in Allen County, Indiana.
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Lovely pictures
Horses get a well deserved break during church services don’t they!
Uh oh, I hope the people watched their step so to not step in the horse pie in the last picture.
When you where inside each church service where there different styles of sermon delivery?
Free fertilizer!
SHOM, when the rag man (driving a wagon pulled by a horse) would come through our alley (growing up in Chicago in the ’50’s-’60’s), my mom would run out and shovel up the “free fertilizer” which she then spread on her flower garden (postage stamp sized lots in our neighborhood). I don’t ever remember her using commercial fertilizer, and her roses & flowers were always thriving. 🙂 Waste not, want not! 😉
Alice Mary
I actually didn’t attend any of these services Shom…but you made me think. It would be quite a feat to appear in 3 Amish services in one morning, but maybe not impossible 🙂
I like the convertibles with the tops down. I suppose it’s common, but that’s the first time I’ve noticed.
Shom, one horse could use a little more potty training!
Stephanie, I thought it was a buggy cover to keep the seats dry.
In the middle picture, does the tall fence contain deer?
It’s possible it did Linda but I don’t remember noticing any at the time. I spoke with someone about Amish raising deer today. Not something all approve of.
I suspect ...
around them enough you are aware of the piles of “stuff”, but you don’t have to make a concerted effort to avoid stepping in them. You just don’t do it without really thinking about it.
Obviously
I left part of that thought out. I meant to say; “I suspect … that if you are around them …
Amish Church
These were taken in the Berne, Indiana area, south of Fort Wayne. This is the only area where the buggies are topless.
The Allen County (Ft. Wayne/Grabill) and Adams County (Berne) both use topless buggies.
A covered buggy in Berne
That’s right, this was the Grabill community. What is funny is that later in the day I visited Adams County…and saw one “regular” buggy with a top. A friend who knows these Swiss Amish communities a lot better than I do wondered if there wasn’t a medical condition involved that might have led to that one being allowed. That or it was a determined and long-traveling visitor from Ohio, maybe.
It’s also funny but I have started to think of Allen Co as “Fort Wayne”…the settlement really is right on the edge of that city. Sunday morning, we even saw a pony cart parked at the Golden Corral at the interstate exit strip mall, just a short hop from the nearest Amish homes.
Ditto the above about the topless buggies and those being the covers to keep the seats dry. They also have huge black umbrellas to use when it’s raining, snowing, whatever. I always felt sorry for the people huddled underneath them…although I suppose, in a way, they choose to keep on using those buggies! 😉
Mark's answer
I asked Mark about open buggies. He said that Allen County, Indiana and Berne, Indiana both are Swiss speaking Amish and both communities only use open buggies. He said that, recently, two families from Allen County have moved into the Belle Center, Ohio Amish community. Both brought their open buggies with them, of oourse. The family that moved in about three years ago has since purchased a single top buggy and a mini-surrey buggy. Actually, Mark was helping the one family to move in just this past Saturday. I pulled into their driveway because I needed to tell Mark something. My oh my what a beehive of activity. A full semi-trailer load of houseold goods being unloaded. Amish scurrying around everywhere carrying loads into the house or barn or shed. Mattresses being handed up and passed through upstairs bedroom windows. Afterwards in the evening I took Mark out for his birthday supper. His 60th. He told me that he always enjoys helping folks move. But he’s surely glad he doesn’t have to help organize and find a place to put everything away. I say, “Ditto to that!”
Don Curtis wrote:
“He told me that he always enjoys helping folks move. But he’s surely glad he doesn’t have to help organize and find a place to put everything away. I say, ‘Ditto to that!’”
Don Curtis;
I moved on the First of August and I am still working on that. It would be a breeze if I had a church community of eager beavers come and help set things up. no doubt though the family members might have had a few thoughts of “why’d they put that there, I prefer it here”
I don’t plan on moving for a while.
Visit WI. Dalton Kingston Amish area?
Anyone interested in carpooling to this area , for siteseeing , eggs, produce, shopping at Michlers Bulk store?? Milwaukee area to Dalton, Kingston. I have a full size van that would hold 5 people with comfortable seating. We could share gas price???? Tue. or Wed is a good day, Call and let me know , Please leave message , and I will return your call. 262-781-9309 or email at sellto3retire@aol.com
As usual, Erik, you pictures are so nice. You make me jealous when you get to travel around to the different Amish settlements. Would love to have been there with you. I so enjoy visiting Amish areas. Got to Shipshewana this summer for a short visit and stopped in Holmes County on my way back home. October finds me going to the Lancaster area to meet up with family that is traveling to there. Nice place to get together as we can all enjoy the area while visiting with family. Keep up the excellent blog! When do you have another book coming out?
Kathy, thank you…it sounds like you have been getting around though too 🙂 The new book is coming together, I have a crack team of reviewers reading the manuscript now. Due out this fall, stay tuned for more details.
Great pictures Erik. I was around the Harmons farm today which is an Amish family in Crab Orchard Ky. They was very gracious and allowed me to take some photos so I added a few to my flickr page if any one wants to see. http://www.flickr.com//photos/68244668@N06/sets/72157631410858092/show/
I enjoyed your photos Tom, thanks for sharing from this corner of KY. Looks like pumpkins are ready.