While my parents were in town for 5 days in October, we drove to Jamesport, the Amish community about 45 minutes north of our house. I have gone to the town a couple times before, but had never taken a tour, so I reserved a personal tour ahead of time. I allowed the girls to stay home from school that day, so Brynlie, Lindsey and Logan joined me and my parents. Brevan stayed home the previous day and went golfing with Ryan and my Dad. The weather this day was gorgeous - about 80 degrees.
We learned a lot about the Amish lifestyle by having the tour guide come along in my van and teach us while we visited different sites. We learned about the different religions in town that people often get confused: the Amish, the Mennonites and the "Brethren," who are German Baptists. We were able to meet a few families, tour a dairy farm, shop at the Amish store, walk through an Amish family home, and gain a lot of perspective as to why the Amish live the way they do. I walked away with a new found respect and admiration for the simple people who follow Christ by living a very un-materialistic lifestyle. One Amish woman told us that she doesn't understand why we would want a phone in our house, because it's just a distraction from our families. She noted that when we are talking with our children and the phone rings, we put our children on hold for the caller. Sadly, while sitting in the local restaurant for lunch, my parents and I noticed we were all checking our phones instead of interacting with my kids. I love learning about different cultures, and have so much respect for any person who lives an honest, hard-working life. Another thing I was interested to learn is that the Amish do not "look down" on the rest of us. They call us "English," and believe that we are worshipping Christ in our own way. Their religion does not proselyte, and they would find it very odd if an outsider wanted to join their group. They live in groups of 18-25 families, with a Bishop being in charge of the group for his entire lifetime. Each family has an average of 8-10 children, and the children only attend school through the 8th grade, at which time they take over more of the farming and household duties.
When we first arrived in town, we watched a live produce auction. Although we didn't purchase anything, it was fascinating to watch all the horse-drawn carriages and trailers bring the produce from the various farms to sell. We learned that it is not polite to take pictures of the Amish' faces, so my Mom mostly tried to get pictures of them from behind.
The Amish in this area are very loving and kind. They choose to live without electricity, but use propane in their homes, as well as modern plumbing. They are not opposed to electric cars when they are absolutely necessary, such as getting to a funeral out of state or rushing to the hospital, but they choose to ride in wagons and carriages most of the time. Our tour guide lives in the town with his wife, but they are not Amish. They moved to Jamesport after retiring so they can run a bed-and-breakfast inn. Next time we go to Jamesport I would like to stay at their beautiful inn.
This is the local restaurant where we ate lunch. They don't accept Credit Cards, probably because many of their customers are town residents who don't believe in electricity (thus, no way to use a Credit Card). My Mom was quite surprised at the amount of sauce on her lunch sandwich. I told her that's the way we do it here in the Midwest! We may not be the thinnest (or most healthy) people, but we sure enjoy our food!
This is how the Amish get light in their Country Store. The sunroofs give enough light during the day, and the gas lanterns give light when it becomes too dark.
Although these pioneer hats have nothing to do with being Amish, I bought one for Brynlie so she can wear it in her Beyond Basics presentation on Pioneer Life.
This homemade wind chime, made out of silverware, was too funny.
The white building below is one of the schools in town. The children that attend are in grades Kindergarten-8th, so the teacher has to accommodate for all the age groups. The children ride small carts pulled by miniature ponies to school, then tie the ponies to the fence during the day.
These pictures were taken on an Amish farm. The Mother had her children's socks drying on this circular laundry line in the backyard.
This is the old-time washing machine the Amish lady uses. My Mom said it is exactly the same as the one her Mother used when she was a child.
The inside of the Amish home was very simple. The woman who lives in the home was preparing to have worship services at her house that weekend. They attend services together every other week, and rotate so that each family has services at their house twice a year.
The yellow sign on the back of this buggy made me sad. I asked the woman if the sign was made in remembrance of her son, which it was. He was killed at the age of 20 while riding in a car.
The Amish in Jamesport do have phones, but they keep them in small booths at the edge of their property. They do not answer the phone, but callers may leave a message that they will return later.
This is our tour guide, who looks like he is Amish with his facial hair!
The local store had tiny clothes for the Amish children. They don't use zippers, so there was a large assortment of buttons.
We did take this picture of the children on their way home from school, even though it shows their face. We couldn't resist because the small carts and miniature horses are so cute!
Along with many delicious foods, I purchased several huge mums while in Jamesport. We had a very full car on the ride back home! What a fascinating day we had!
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