Amish America

Amish trivia

Amish folks, like the rest of us, enjoy hearing the odd bit of trivia or unusual fact.  Hence, three tidbits of Amish trivia, taken from Brad Igou's compilation The Amish in their Own Words:

1.   Quilts.  The Amish are well known for their proficiency in the quilting realm.  Some of their pieces fetch upwards of $1000.  The average quilt takes around 250-350 yards of thread.  'The Shetlers' of Glasgow, Kentucky, hold the record--using 1,270 yards for a 'big ocean wave' quilt. 

photo courtesy of Bill Coleman

2.Old Age and Kids.  The oldest Amish person was Salina Stoltzfus of Lancaster County, who passed away in 1981 at the age of 108. 

John J. and Lydia Miller of Danville, Ohio had 100 grandchildren by 1986--an even 50/50 girl-boy split.

Bennie and Annie Fisher had a 22-year gap between their first and second child--Noah came in 1924, John appeared on the scene in 1946.  Two more children were born after John, when Annie was 45 and 47 years old.

3.Circle Letters.  Some Amish participate in what are known as circle letters, whereby a group is formed and each person adds a letter to a pack of letters that goes around and around a circle of around a dozen people, each adding his own and sending it on. 

Circle letters are popular among different groups-- spread-out family members, groups of teachers, wheelchair-bound individuals, organic farmers, and Amish bishops, among others.

There is also the Ohio-to-Ontario 'Andy Mast Circle Letter'--consisting of 14 Amish with the same name.

Settlements that failed: The Amish get 'nuked'

The Amish settlement at Piketon, Ohio was an odd one to begin with.

A few things made the Amish who settled here in 1949 different from most.

One was their evangelistic emphasis.  Amish traditionally do not try to convert others.  Piketon, Ohio was begun by a minister sympathetic to the idea of spreading Amish beliefs.

Secondly, they were the first Amish congregation ever to publish their own rule book, otherwise known as the Ordnung, and traditionally existing in oral form only.  Far more copies than were necessary for the congregation were produced, which hints that they were meant to be used as an evangelical tool.

Finally, the Amish of Piketon promoted the idea of assurance of salvation.  Most Amish take the approach of 'the best we can do is follow the Lord's commands and hope we make it'.  The Piketon Amish, however, followed a doctrine that stated that they could be certain of their fate beyond the grave. 


The settlement was comprised of settlers from various communities, who started up a close-knit farm community in the rolling hills of Pike County in southern Ohio.  Interestingly, despite the fact that they supported quite an unorthodox approach to the faith, the were 'in fellowship' with a number of other Amish communities, having preachers visit from Indiana and Ohio, including from the giant Holmes County settlement.

According to David Luthy, the Amish who settled there appreciated the sparsely populated rural setting, and got on well with non-Amish neighbors.

So just what did this settlement in? 

Word came in 1952 of government plans to built an atomic energy plant within a few miles of the settlement.

 

This messed up the Amish on two counts:  the massive influx of government workers and associated people would destroy the rural calm and make buggy-driving, for one thing, much more dangerous.  Secondly, the fact that a power plant would be located nearby would denote the area as a military one and a potential bombing target, and with the Korean War going on, this weighed heavily on Amish minds.  Soon after getting the news, the local Amish were looking for fresh pastures.

The facility which resulted, containing 'some of the largest industrial structures in the world', made nuclear material for both weapons and commercial plants.

The setlement itself was relatively tiny, maxing out at seven households.

The fate of the families? 

Most of them ended up moving to the Amish settlement in Aylmer, Ontario, at least partially to protect their sons in the face of the US military draft.

The Piketon plant, one of only two uranium enrichment plants in the country, stopped production in 2001.

(Source:  David Luthy's The Amish in America: Settlements That Failed, 1840-1960.)

Amish technology and 'friendliness'

Diversity in the Amish world is a common theme in this blog.  Ever wonder how different Amish groups use technology?

Judging by the chart, it can be seen that the most conservative groups include the Swartzentruber Amish, Nebraska Amish, and the Amish of Buchanan County, Iowa (the three of which Amish historian Steven Nolt groups together under the ultraconservative label, referring to the Buchanan group in particular once being seen as 'almost a conservative conscience within the larger Old Order world), as well as certain segments of the Adams County, Indiana settlement.

Often within the same settlement, there will be differences in what is allowed.  For example, in the northern Indiana settlement, churches on the west side of the community allow gas-powered lawnmowers, while those on the east tend to stick with those old-time rotating-blade pushmowers.

Holmes County, Ohio is a very diverse Anabaptist area.  Donald Kraybill says that there are nine distinct Amish groups living in this, the largest of all Amish settlements.  The four most significant, in order of increasing conservatism, are the New Order, Old Order, Andy Weaver Church, and the Swartzentrubers. 

Speaking from experience, I have found that this gauge of openness to technology is also a fairly good gauge of how open the Amish groups are to contact with outsiders. 

For instance, in Holmes County, I generally found it much easier to approach members of the Old and New Order churches.  People from those churches were fairly open and talkative.  I got a slightly colder though not unpleasant reception from Andy Weaver members, but found it most difficult to connect with people from the Swartzentruber districts.  Members of 'lower churches', as they're called, just seemed a bit less open to outsiders, or at least to me.

The Amish in Arthur, Illinois, Nappanee, Indiana, or Kalona, Iowa, compare to the Holmes County Old and New Orders in my personal experience on the 'approachability scale'.  Of course it all comes down to the individual, but as you meet a lot of people in a specific settlement, general patterns seem to emerge.

 

The chart, by the way, is from this site, which takes it from Stephen Scott and Kenneth Pellman's book, Living Without Electricity.  Scott is a member of a group somewhat related to the Amish, the Old Order River Brethren, and has written a number of informative, concise works on the cultural practice of various Plain groups, including Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites, such as Plain Buggies, and Why Do They Dress That Way?  Highly recommended.

Surprise, Amish kids are fit too

The children are slimmer as well.  Compared to modern America, it's not even close.

This study follows a previous look into the exercise habits of adult Amish in Canada.

We tend to pass our habits and lifestyle on to our kids.  Hopefully we're teaching them habits worth having. 

18,425 steps a day

...is 13,425 more than Joe Average.

Amish weight control secrets revealed here.

This follows up another study on some slim-and-trim Canadian Amish.

Sometimes we need fancy studies to tell us obvious things. 

Sometimes the way you tell the story can make all the difference. 

Who'd have guessed?

News flash from the Amish of southern Ontario:  exercise more, and you'll be thinner.

It turns out that walking and working work wonders for the overweight.  Researchers found virtually no obesity within a Canadian Amish settlement.  Eyewitness reports attest to similarly slim-and-trim Amish in communities all across America. 

This despite one of the heartiest, fattiest, just-like-grandma-used-to-make type diets you can find anywhere.  Ever tried Amish fried bologna?  Marshmallow peanut butter?  Heaven-sent, yes, but calorie-heavy is an understatement.   

Check the NYT article here.