Amish America

The cruelest season

The cold weather is starting to kick my tail here in Krakow, Poland.  Some people say November is the worst month--the shortest days (dark at 3:30!), messiest nastiest weather--rainy/icy/snowy mix, and just knowing it ain't letting up anytime soon. Arrgh.

In honor of November and bad weather (and, alas, on account of being a bit lazy again) I have linked to three related posts you might enjoy checking out:

What some Amish do down in Florida in the winter

The Amish and daylight savings time

The Amish on ice--and in the penalty box?!

Gas pains

photo:  Amy Sancetta, AP

The caption accompanying this photo reads:  "Using real horse power to get around, an Amish buggy makes its way through Middlefield, Ohio, unconcerned about the rising gas prices..."

Actually, the Amish aren't as oblivious to rising gas prices as we might think.

While it's true they don't have to worry about filling up a gas-slurping SUV every few days, they do consume fuel, both directly and indirectly.  So no, they aren't too pumped when the numbers on the sign shoot up either.

For instance:

• Amish business people must still ship and receive raw materials and finished products.  Higher gas means higher costs for them and for the ultimate consumers of their goods.

• Amish frequently hire out 'Amish taxis' for whopper shopping trips to the local supermarket or to visit relatives outside of buggying distance.  They also venture further afield--to weddings in out-of-state Amish settlements, on hunting trips, to Florida.   Buggy ride to Sarasota?  No thanks.

• Many Amish men work in the construction industry, or in locations out of walking, biking, or buggying distance.  They'll get a ride with an English driver and contribute to the fuel costs.

• Amish working in industries dependent on fuel prices may suffer.  Heavy, though thankfully temporary, layoffs hit the many RV-industry Amish in northern Indiana last summer, due to a drop in orders for the fuel-gulping monsters.

• Many Amish use gasoline engines to power appliances such as washing machines, as well as farm and woodworking apparatus.

We still like to think of the Amish as living bubble lives, somehow insulated from the whims of the world.  It's a nice idea but not really the case.

Amish in the penalty box

Taxes, puppy mills, cream-cheese muffins--I just looked down the list of posts for the last couple weeks and realized that the Amish have been the subject of a good bit of controversy recently.

Most of it fairly tame.

But this one made me do a double-take.


Apparently tempers got hot at the championship game of the Regency Hockey League in Lancaster County last night.

According to this Lancaster New Era article, a 20-year old Amish player for the all-Amish-and-Mennonite Phantoms delivered a half-dozen punches to a referee in the closing seconds of the match.

The team was upset over what they felt was unfair officiating.

It's likely this was an unbaptized youth, but still represents a very rare instance of violence by an Amish person.

Amish take differing stances on sports--some feel that adults playing sports is unbecoming, while others participate in softball and basketball matches with one another.  Shuffleboard is a hit in Florida's Pinecraft community, which I've covered a lot recently. 

Amish teachers also often join in the games at recess.  One Amishman I met in southern Indiana had a full gym in one of the buildings on his property.

It's probably fair to say that differences in most Amish games are settled a lot more peacefully than in this case!

The Amish on vacation

Amish people often ask a lot of questions when you tell them you have visited places overseas.

I've spent a good bit of time explaining to inquisitive Amish how people live in Poland, or what it's like to climb Mt. Sinai.

The Amish choose to live in a small world, and many are naturally curious of life outside as a result.

At the same time, out-of-state vacations have become more and more popular  over the years.  Some Amish visit Florida, rent RVs (with driver) for long-range excursions, or go hunting out West.

Some even travel overseas, as in this article describing an Amish trip to trace roots in Switzerland.  In this case, the Amish group was made up of both New and Old Orders.  They agreed to go by ship, as the Old Order generally doesn't allow air travel. 

That meant paying $6,000 a head for the Atlantic passage.

Probably the most popular excursion is the trip to visit family in another settlement, perhaps for a wedding or reunion. 

To me, the oddest sights are seeing Amish folks in the Greyhound station.  Especially since these stations are usually found in the most heavily urbanized chunks of the city.  Talk about being a fish-out-of-water.

Unlikely snowbirds

Electric lights, shuffleboard, good eats and visiting to your heart's content.

And:  no messing around with buggies.

It really is a blast down in Pinecraft, especially if you're Amish.

A neat article, just out in the Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette, on Florida's 'Tricycle Amish' , shows the lighter side of the Amish people.

You can just tell by all the wisecracking and excitement in this piece that the Amish who go really love it down south. 

Tricycle Amish

Random fact:

 

The Old Order Amish congregation of Pinecraft in Sarasota, Florida, does not use the horse-and-buggy.  Amish in this congregation get around by way of bike as well as large adult 'tricycles'.

Pinecraft is mostly made up of older residents and seasonal visitors. 

More on this unique settlement at Amish Country News.