My fascination With The Amish
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated with the Amish, or Pennsylvania Dutch. One of the largest populations of Amish is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about 2 hours north of where I lived most of my life. It was an easy weekend vacation. I couldn't begin to tell you how much time I've spent there.
I love visiting their markets. Not only do the Amish sell produce and edible treats, but they've also branched out in to selling handmade quilts and woodwork. Everything is so beautiful!
I also enjoy just driving around the countryside, seeing the farms, and observing the people. (I don't gawk. But when you're driving around, you are bound to see an Amish buggy passing by, or people working out in the fields. I observe briefly as I continue to drive by.) Sometimes you can find little signs advertising "eggs for sale" along the side of the road, inviting you up to the house to purchase some fresh-from-the-farm produce.
But why am I fascinated?
Here is a large group of people who have shunned today's modern conveniences. They do not use electricity, drive cars, have dishwashers or washing machines, or computers! And yet they still do well. And they seem happy and peaceful.
It's funny though. We "Englishers" (as the Amish call us) often spend large amounts of money and effort trying to do some of the things that the Amish do as routine. Numerous "healthy" grocery stores exist now, so we can buy organic and all-natural food. We pay a premium for it too! Yet for the Amish, that is routine. We argue about conservation -- how to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, how to use less electricity -- things that the Amish have never had to worry about.
Then our technology breaks! Yes, the washing machine and the computer are great. But how many times have we cursed our keyboard because our computer crashed again? And the truth is, the Maytag Man is not sitting at home without any business. Our appliances need repairs, and often at the most inopportune times.
But what is most fascinating to me is how the Amish maintain their way of life while the rest of the world continues to encroach on them more and more. If you watch the movie "The Witness" (with Harrison Ford & Kelly McGillis), there is a scene where they are riding in an Amish buggy. They turn to head north from Route 30 to Route 896. You can see the signs. With the exception of one building on a corner, all you can see is farmland. Today, that is a bustling intersection, with a large outlet center on one corner! And yet you still see the Amish buggies maneuvering their way through the heavy vehicular traffic.
Their way of life continues.
I highly recommend a visit to Lancaster County, PA. Try to stay away from the big tourist attractions like Dutch Wonderland amusement park. (You can go to an amusement park anywhere!) Drive out to the towns of Bird-In-Hand, Intercourse, and Strasburg. Pick up a map and travel the country roads. It is beautiful, peaceful, and amazing.
There are also a few fiction books that take place in the Amish community. One is Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult (also a Lifetime movie). Or just about anything by Beverly Lewis. I love reading those books!
And just in case you are wondering, as much as I am fascinated by the Amish, I know I don't have it in me to ever live like that. They can handle a lot more than I ever could.
I love visiting their markets. Not only do the Amish sell produce and edible treats, but they've also branched out in to selling handmade quilts and woodwork. Everything is so beautiful!
I also enjoy just driving around the countryside, seeing the farms, and observing the people. (I don't gawk. But when you're driving around, you are bound to see an Amish buggy passing by, or people working out in the fields. I observe briefly as I continue to drive by.) Sometimes you can find little signs advertising "eggs for sale" along the side of the road, inviting you up to the house to purchase some fresh-from-the-farm produce.
But why am I fascinated?
Here is a large group of people who have shunned today's modern conveniences. They do not use electricity, drive cars, have dishwashers or washing machines, or computers! And yet they still do well. And they seem happy and peaceful.
It's funny though. We "Englishers" (as the Amish call us) often spend large amounts of money and effort trying to do some of the things that the Amish do as routine. Numerous "healthy" grocery stores exist now, so we can buy organic and all-natural food. We pay a premium for it too! Yet for the Amish, that is routine. We argue about conservation -- how to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, how to use less electricity -- things that the Amish have never had to worry about.
Then our technology breaks! Yes, the washing machine and the computer are great. But how many times have we cursed our keyboard because our computer crashed again? And the truth is, the Maytag Man is not sitting at home without any business. Our appliances need repairs, and often at the most inopportune times.
But what is most fascinating to me is how the Amish maintain their way of life while the rest of the world continues to encroach on them more and more. If you watch the movie "The Witness" (with Harrison Ford & Kelly McGillis), there is a scene where they are riding in an Amish buggy. They turn to head north from Route 30 to Route 896. You can see the signs. With the exception of one building on a corner, all you can see is farmland. Today, that is a bustling intersection, with a large outlet center on one corner! And yet you still see the Amish buggies maneuvering their way through the heavy vehicular traffic.
Their way of life continues.
I highly recommend a visit to Lancaster County, PA. Try to stay away from the big tourist attractions like Dutch Wonderland amusement park. (You can go to an amusement park anywhere!) Drive out to the towns of Bird-In-Hand, Intercourse, and Strasburg. Pick up a map and travel the country roads. It is beautiful, peaceful, and amazing.
There are also a few fiction books that take place in the Amish community. One is Plain Truth by Jodi Piccoult (also a Lifetime movie). Or just about anything by Beverly Lewis. I love reading those books!
And just in case you are wondering, as much as I am fascinated by the Amish, I know I don't have it in me to ever live like that. They can handle a lot more than I ever could.
posted by Susan | 8:46 AM
3 Comments:
I too think the Amish way of life is fascinating. I often wonder how I could ever live like they do and know there is a 99.9% chance I could not do it, although I would like to try.
Did you know that the PA Dutch are actually from Germany? They are actaully PA Deutsch, but when they arrived here apparently the locals didn't quite understand and so we now call them Dutch. Interesting, huh?
I really like Jodi Piccoult and am going to get Plain Truth at the library asap.
I too think the Amish way of life is fascinating. I often wonder how I could ever live like they do and know there is a 99.9% chance I could not do it, although I would like to try.
Did you know that the PA Dutch are actually from Germany? They are actaully PA Deutsch, but when they arrived here apparently the locals didn't quite understand and so we now call them Dutch. Interesting, huh?
I really like Jodi Piccoult and am going to get Plain Truth at the library asap.
Yep, originally from Germany, fleeing religious persecution. I remember my dad saying at one time that when he retired (like THAT's ever going to happen!), he thought it would be neat to teach at an Amish school.
Of course the Amish only go through 8th grade, the teachers are all Amish women, and they speak a dialect, not actually German!
So I doubt they would have been much interested in an Englisher who could only speak English and German-German (not the dialect)!
The book is great. My book club is reading it now.
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