Amish America

Photos from the Martins in Poland

 

It's the 'long weekend' in Poland (a combination of the traditional May 1st communist worker's holiday and Poland's May 3 constitution day), and I've just paid another visit to my friends Jacob and Anita Martin, whom I've written about a few times on the blog.

The Martins, who've lived in Poland since 1993, struggled a bit at first, but have been able to build themselves a very basic but cozy home in a birch forest outside of Warsaw. 
 

Anita says that at first the home was not much more than a kitchen, with she and Jacob sleeping on one end and the kids on the other.  The Martins have gradually added on and now have quite a bit of square footage.

It was not until about five years ago that they got an indoor bathroom, but now enjoy a few small luxuries, including a nice-sized fridge and a washing machine.  Anita showed me her new stove, which she uses to bake bread.

The Martins live simply but happily.  They say they get along well with most of the neighbors, who are a mixture of Warsaw 'city people' and long-time locals.  Jacob has a reputation as a dependable worker with 'farm-smarts'.  He gets called out to deliver calves from time to time.
 
Little Krzysiek (Chris) spent most of our walk yesterday trying to feed my brother and I what he called 'chocolate'--dried-up chunks of mud found by the side of the lane.  This got the other kids worked up into a near riot.  'We want you to try it first,' we told the four-year-old, who adamantly refused.

The Martins originally came to Poland with the intention of starting a Beachy Amish congregation, but soon realized that it would be more difficult than they had hoped. 

Two of the original three families soon returned to the US.  Left alone, the Martins now attend a Pentecostal church in Warsaw.

Photos here are from late April and early March.

Click for more on the Beachy Amish from the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

Late night fun around the Amish kitchen table

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 race to amass a herd of 60 cows. 

'Chance' and 'Community Chest' cards are replaced by 'Farm Income' and 'Farm Expense' squares.  Instead of collecting $200 each time you pass 'Go', here you collect your milk check--$100 per cow you own.            

You can also land on the dreaded 'Pay Taxes--$100 per cow' square, draw an 'Insemination--Breeder's Fee' card, lose bovines to the swamp or careless motorists, or hit the jackpot and inherit five cows from a deceased uncle. 

Daniel's kids took us on and proceeded to deliver a walloping, with eight-year-old Elmer coming out on top at around 10pm, well after the littlest ones and Mary had fallen asleep on the couch. 

The kids were hardly fazed but I think Daniel and I had had enough by then, especially considering Daniel had to return to the task of running a real farm in just a few short hours.

So I stumbled over to Abe's and crashed into my upstairs room,just as Abe and Rachel were returning from visiting his sister in another settlement.

Over at Abe's the game of choice was 'Scum'.  This card game is akin to 'Uno', with the object being to get rid of your hand of numbered cards the fastest. 

The winner of each round becomes President, second place Vice-President, all the way down to 'Scum', affectionately known as 'Scummie', and his right-hand man, the 'Scum Assistant'.

This pair of bottom-dwellers are forced to give up a few of their best cards at the start of each round to the executive team, in effect ensuring that they stay down low on the totem pole for a good while. 

We got in a couple of games on Saturday as well as Sunday night, the second time with Abe's parents and most of his brothers and sisters.  Things got pretty competitive but Rachel generally dominated, holding the presidency about five times. 

I have a feeling that if not for milking the next morning the game would have gone on into the wee hours.  As it was, I was barely standing by the end, and even continuously munching on the heavily-salted popcorn we passed around could not keep me lively.

The challenging thing I find with late nights in Amish homes is the lighting.  Not that it isn't bright enough--usually a single gas lamp will illuminate a kitchen and adjacent living room--but that it heats you up and dries you out. 

In the summer you sort of roast and I usually have to gulp water or end up going hoarse.  But no complaining here--it beats hitting the sack at dusk.      

Interview Excerpt: An Amish builder on working moms, mortgages, and making car payments

One thing that I admire about the Amish is the value they place in maintaining a spirit of humility. 

When the idea comes up in conversation that the Amish are getting something right—for example, by the way that they live or the values they profess and adhere to--they are usually quick to deflect attention, reminding that ‘human nature is universal’, or that ‘we’re human too.’  They have their own problems and many seem to realize it. 

Yet at the same time, many Amish have strong convictions and ideas and don’t hesitate to express them.

In the following interview excerpt, an experienced Amish homebuilder shares a few ideas on home life, family, and money matters.

Workin' Out

‘For the most part amongst the Amish here, the women do not work out.,’ 'Marcus' explains.   ‘It’s frowned upon, and I agree with that idea.’

‘I build houses…all over the area.  And a lot of people, both husband and wife work outside the home.  And if they were satisfied with [it], they could really build themselves a house where they wouldn’t have to.’

‘You have both of them working, and they build a $350,000 house.  If combined they have enough income to build a $350,000 house, they would probably be just as happy with a $175,000 house, and keep Mom at home taking care of the kids.’

‘You know, no doubt in my mind that would solve a lot of the problems.  These kids come home, and I’ve been out there, I’ve seen ‘em.  These kids come home from school, there’s nobody there, they have too much idle time, and there’s nothing to do, and they get in trouble…’

‘Not all the people out there, because we build some small houses, you know, where people are scrambling to make ends meet...but then again, if people were more willing to sacrifice, instead of having two expensive vehicles out there, if they had the minimum they could get, and drive it ‘til it falls apart, instead of ‘til they find the next…’

‘And it’s a dead-end street, because you go out there and you buy a vehicle and you finance it and by the time you have it paid off it’s wore out, or people think it’s wore out.  And they trade it in, and refinance, and they always have vehicle payments.’

‘I think if people lived a little more conservatively, we’d all be better off…as a society,' Marcus summarizes.  'If Mom stayed at home, took care of the kids—less stress because they don’t have the big house payments to make, and lived in a little smaller house, but people tend to build a house as big as they absolutely can handle, and both of them have to work to make the payments.’

Stretched and strapped

‘Why do people build big houses?’  I ask.

‘I’ve built houses that were over half a million dollars, for people that borrowed every penny…yeah, they have the capital and they have the income to do it—the bank wouldn’t have given them the money if they didn’t.  But—two kids, three dogs.  They could have built a house, a real nice house, that cost $250,000.’

‘Why have all the stress of making the big house payment, when you could just as well maybe have, let’s say for example if you build a $250,000 house instead of a $550,000 house, and if you can make those payments, then make the same size payments—have that house paid off in five or six years.’

‘And then, instead of being strapped out for the next 30 years with these huge house payments—it just makes no sense.’

Advice worth heeding

The lanes leading to the homes of the Swartzentruber Amish are primitive.  They are usually dirt, with perhaps a few stones mixed in.  A dirt lane can be interesting after a downpour.

This is the first time I've ever seen this type of warning.  I imagine the families who live on this farm in Ohio have had their share of mud-stuck vehicles.

This reminded me of the time an Amishman rescued me from a ditch in Daviess County, Indiana.  I had unwittingly driven down what I later found out was one of the 'three roads in the county you shouldn't go down after a rainstorm'--after a rainstorm.  Luckily he had a tractor that made short work of yanking my little sedan out and onto firmer ground.

 
But back to the Swartzentrubers, considered to be among the most conservative of all Amish.  Click to find out more about Swartzentruber homes.  Or try this link for more on controversy surrounding members of the Swartzentruber group.