Amish America

Reader photos and links

I've been getting some interesting photos and information from you guys and am really enjoying it--keep it coming!

On the ongoing topic of Amish phone booths, here is a photo of one from Wisconsin, sent in by Eric:

Eric says that phone booths in his area of Wisconsin tend to be larger than ones in places like Pennsylvania, with room for a bench and a small writing desk inside.  He also points out that the booths in his area are never found on Amish property, but always on a neighbors'.  That is interesting.  This one is apparently nearly invisible from the road during summer.

Eric also writes that an Amish family he buys wood from was busy harvesting ice on the day he sent this in.  It's apparently a bad season for ice in his area--the ice on the ponds is apparently on the thin side.  Some Amish get ice in this way, or have it delivered by the ice-man.

Scott shares a picture of a new Amish buggy in Wayne County, Ohio:

 

Scott points out that these newer buggies are more modern than those of yesteryear and incorporate conveniences such as LED lighting.  Lighting on buggies actually originated in some Amish communities pre-WWII, though a number of Amish groups still refuse any sort of electric illumination, using basic oil lamps when traveling in the evening.

And John points us to an article of a few weeks ago which included mention of an 'Amish keynote speaker', David Kline.  I was pleased to read this as I know David and his family and had a very enjoyable talk with him in Ohio last September. 

David's books--Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer's Journal, and Scratching the Woodchuck: Nature on an Amish Farm are supposed to be good reads--though regrettably I haven't had a chance to dig into them yet.  David is big on sustainable agriculture and spends a lot of time writing about it and discussing it.  He's not your typical Amishman, as you might guess.

Thanks to everyone and feel free to send in anything of interest you find out there in Amish America to my email address, would love to hear about it.

Buggy-friendly America

Across America in places where the Amish have set up shop, local businesses and government authorities have had to adapt some practices to accomodate the preferred Amish mode of transportation. 

Traffic Jam off County Road 77 in Holmes County, Ohio

Sometimes an Amish group showing up in an area can lead to disputes with locals over horse mess or hoof damage on roads.  The smarter businesses, or at least those that hope to attract more Amish customers, usually get a hitching post up in front as soon as possible to make themselves buggy-friendly.

Wal-Mart in Millersburg, Ohio

Road signs warn drivers of the presence of buggies.  The designs of such signs are specific to state and even individual community.  Stephen Scott's Plain Buggies contains photographs outlining the differences in buggy warning-sign design in states such as Ohio, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania.  Generally they all consist of black silhouettes on a yellow background, but with different artists' renditions of the vehicle.  Why the difference?  Perhaps due to the fact that they are maintained by state and local authorities rather than a federal body which might be expected to produce more uniform signage.

New Bedford, Ohio

In certain Amish communities, such as that of Allen County, Indiana, the buggy silhouette on local signs is a crude approximation of a topless carriage, as Allen County Amish use only this type.   

New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

Most Amish conform to law by utilizing some form of reflectorized material or lighting to warn drivers of their presence.  Most find this to be a sensible compromise--they allow their transportation to be adorned with a man-made symbol, yet benefit from increased safety, while promoting the safety of car-drivers as well. 

Swartzentruber Amish, Wayne County, Ohio

Interestingly, the Swartzentrubers are among the only groups which refuse to use the familiar slow-moving vehicle triangle, while the 'white-top buggy' Nebraska Amish, considered by some to be the most conservative of all Amish, choose to use the triangle.  The Swartzentrubers have been criticized for this not only by outsiders but by higher-order Amish as well. 

Nebraska Amish, Northeast Ohio

At night, bicycle riders will often trail directly behind buggies to benefit from the safety offered by the buggy's size and blinker system.  Some of these buggies are extremely well lit up.  Yet lights are not a foolproof measure of protection.

Holmes County, Ohio

I recall stopping my truck at dusk to offer help to an Allen County, Indiana family whose battery had gone out.  I had barely seen their darkened open carriage and suggested that I drive behind them to give them a little bit of protection until they reached home.  They kindly refused, as apparently they were already near their destination, and the road was just a secondary gravel road.  Good it wasn't a main one.

Near New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

Despite driver awareness, lighting and reflectors, buggies are still frequently involved in accidents with automobiles.  I've had a few close calls myself.  The trickiest thing is underestimating the speed at which they travel. 

Buggy lights appear quite similar to car lights--which is good and bad--good, as you realize that something is there, bad in that you often expect whatever it is to be traveling as fast as a car, until you realize that it's not a car at all.

Pony Cart: the Amish ATV

Driving the backroads of Amish America you find yourself passing the horse-and-buggy in miniature, with little Amish pilots egging on their diminutive yet sturdy ponies, whipping across front yards or up the shoulder and down to the neighbor's, perhaps to collect a missing ingredient for the casserole mom is working on back at home.

Photo:  Randall Persing

The pony cart serves a useful function in certain parts of Amish society, allowing their 'owners' to practice the skills needed to handle an animal-and-wheeled-vehicle combination.  You don't see them in all places, but they tend to be popular especially in the larger settlements, places such as Holmes County or northern Indiana. 

To be honest, I am not sure if the presence of the pony cart is dictated by the local Ordnung, or more by a particular family's finances and/or sensibilities. 

In a sense, the pony cart is the All-Terrain Vehicle of Amish society--not that the pony cart can go just anywhere (though Amish youth may wish it were so). 

Rather, just as modern country kids tear around on their ATVs, the pony cart is a fun ride for Amish youngsters, and at the same time a fairly hefty expenditure--a luxury item that not all Amish kids will get.

Were I an eight-year old Amish boy, however, I would really be hoping for one of these.  The kids always seem to be having a blast.

'sheep cart' courtesy of Bill Coleman

Vandalized

Here's a pretty mundane news story about Amish buggy warning signs being painted over with big red X's in Minnesota.

This sort of thing goes on to greater and lesser degrees in many places where the Amish live.  Could the culprits be English bigots, kids out for a prank, Amish youth even?  Does it matter?  Just a dumb thing to do.


More interesting was the comment of a local highway engineer, who described himself as being 'sickened.'  The general rational-thinking public seems to react pretty strongly whenever it seems the Amish are being picked on.  And perhaps even moreso today, post-Nickel Mines.  It's true this could have potentially endangered some buggy drivers.

Why do some non-Amish come out so strongly for the Amish?  Some English idolize the Amish, perhaps having a misguided, false-nostalgiac view of them as representing a lost, purer past.  Some idealize them as innocent, more virtuous than the common man, even helpless to a degree, and thus deserving of extra protection.  That's a pretty condescending viewpoint to take.  Most Amish certainly don't see themselves that way, or wouldn't want to be viewed in that manner anyway. 

In any case, it often works to the benefit of the Amish, from the times of conflict over schooling to the present day, seen in the support given after the shootings.  Yet as the story shows, some seem to have quite opposite feelings towards the Amish.  It's funny how a group that claims itself to be not of this world can in fact be so polarizing among those of this world. 

Reader Photos of Pennsylvania Amish

Thanks to Bill for sharing a few photos of two Amish settlements in Pennsylvania.

The first shot is from the Smicksburg community, and the second two were taken near New Wilmington.

These two communities are about the same size, around 15 to 17 church districts.  Smicksburg is actually a Geauga County, Ohio daughter colony, hence the Ohio-style buggy, not too often seen in Pennsylvania.

If anyone else would like to share photos or anything Amish-related, please do, either in the comments section or to my email.   

Blue doors, brown buggies: The Amish of New Wilmington, PA

'In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were:  Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section.

In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley.  He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68.  He also made the trip once since.  There were quite a few who walked out and back after the Lawrence County Settlement established allowing 5 or 6 days for the journey.'

The Valley that Eli J. Byler writes of here is the Kishacoquillas Valley, also known as the 'Big Valley', of Mifflin County, PA, home to Nebraska Amish, Renno Amish, Byler Amish and a host of higher-order Amish and Mennonite groups. 

The Amish surrounding New Wilmington, a quaint college town in northern Lawrence County, about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, have a few customs not commonly seen elsewhere in Amish America.  One is their use of reddish-brown-topped buggies, which Byler describes as 'yellow-top'.  He writes that the Byler Church of Mifflin County also uses yellow-top carriages, as do a few other settlements that have split off from the New Wilmington group.

The Amish here seem to be pretty big on the color blue.  Nearly every house-door is painted a light sky-blue.  I also noticed stairs leading to a front porch, and the door of a milkhouse painted in the same shade.  A woman I asked ascribed this practice to tradition.

   

The New Wilmington Amish tend to stick with shades of blue when it comes to their shirts and dresses as well--navy, sky, royal, turquoise.  I got to visit on wash day. 

This community is perhaps the eleventh or twelfth largest of all Amish settlements.  The 2003 Church Directory gives the following statistics:

Families: 439 more or less   

Widowers:  6

Widows:  28

Children:  1220

Total Population:  around 1693      19 couples moved out

People I spoke with in this settlement mentioned trips to, family in, and business connections with the Lancaster settlement.  I didn't have a chance to ask, but there's a decent chance they'd be back-and-forth with Amish in Mifflin County as well.  Farming and sawmill work seem to be two of the most common occupations, as well as other types of woodworking and carpentry.

(Quote Source:  Pennsylvania Amish Directory of the Lawrence County Settlement, 2003.)

There's a reason for the sign

I'd actually planned to post this photo today anyway.   

As I drove to an appointment this morning I came upon a slowdown on Highway 39, the main thoroughfare through Holmes County.  Turns out it was caused by a head-on car-buggy collision.  The remnants were still in view by the roadside.

As I arrived at my 9 am meeting at the home of an Amish business owner, I found that he had just returned just a few minutes previous.  Turns out he's also an EMT, and was on the scene.

Of the three occupants of the buggy, the parents are apparently okay, but their 17-year-old daughter might not be. 

There's a reason for the sign.  It's so easy to get distracted and not see a little pony cart on the side of the road, or a group of kids walking back from school, just tucked away out of sight over the ridge. 

Holmes is hilly and that makes it dangerous.  Especially for the little walkers.  But even in plain daylight, on a completely flat stretch of road, and with a full-size buggy lane, this stuff happens.

The EMT was very matter-of-fact about the accident--was it because of his EMT training?  Or because he is Amish?  Probably a bit of both.

If I was to apply the term 'stoic' to the collective Amish, I would use it to describe their approach to death and accidents.  It's all a part of a plan.  We can be taken from this earth at anytime. 

Maybe that will be the case with this girl.  The classic Amish response would be to accept it as something beyond our control.  Getting angry about it or questioning make no sense.  Though many close to a death still do those things. 

I don't know who she is, but I still hope she makes it. 

And two suckers for the kids, please

Have you driven a Ford lately?

Sugarcreek, Ohio: Accommodative Parking