Trip to Amish Acres Leaves Questions
by Kathryn Urick
Published
Elder Teller
Do you ever feel like you would like to get away from the clock and the calendar? Well, don’t take an expensive trip to the Caribbean, to Norway, nor to the Beautiful Isle of Some-where. Just go to Amish Acres, in northeastern Indiana, where people march to a slightly different drummer.
I took this trip with my son and daughter-in-law. I’m sure the highlight o f the journey was traveling with a 20-month-old little guy named Aaron Soo Yung, my youngest grandson. He and I rode in the back seat and he was a wonderful traveler. When we grew tired of sightseeing, we sang Raffi songs and remembered nursery rhymes.
Mr. Weatherman was a good guy too, as he provided beautiful days for us to travel the roads of the Old Order Amish. We passed farm after farm, with red barns, white farm houses and buildings, along with tall, shiny silos.
Believing as they do, “not conforming to the world …” (Romans 12:2), the Amish have no power lines or telephone wires swaying over their farms. However in some districts, the church has relaxed the rules and now gives permission for installation of telephones, if the phones are far enough from the houses that the rings cannot be heard.
That day must have been wash day for every farm wife as lines and lines of gleaming clothes were swinging in the breeze. Maria and I were glad to learn that they have diesel power, and we were sure the old washboard was not put to use.
There was traffic – this traffic composed of black buggies and horses, with the orange symbols on the back. Of course, when your mode of transportation is with horses, you don’t travel very far, so the parking lot at the large country store we visited was practically filled. We were all eyes as we watched the Amish families come and go. Six people alighted from one buggy, two adults and four children. We decided they were fitted in like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
The traditional black clothing was certainly visible. All Amish clothing is handmade (on a treadle-type sewing machines). We learned the women buy entire bolts of cloth at one time. Yard goods was a main feature of each country store we visited.
Across the road from a small country store, we saw a room of Amish quilts on display. This was the home of one of the Yoder families who owned and operated the store. We were surprised to learn that they sew the quilt blocks together on the sewing machines, then send them to another person to be quilted. Were they expensive! I think I had another idea of their quilt making. I supposed it was done by little, white-haired, old ladies, wearing little white caps, bent over the quilting frames, talking and humming as they worked. Bright colors are not usually used, but the quilts were unusually attractive.
Our motel was located in Goshen where we saw the famous “Old Bag Factory,” rich in history. We saw The Potter, The Maker of Traditional Musical Instruments, The Ukrainian Egg Decorator, The Child’s Toy maker, and others; these were like echoes of the past. I’ll never forget the beautifully handcrafted mahogany conference table, which seemed to say to us to sit down and be quiet, as the meeting was about to begin.
Our final day in the area provided more memories. Farmers were plowing and spreading organic
fertilizer, using six-horse teams.
The farmer talked freely, explaining he was so glad to be able to plow the field for planting oats, as rain had deluged their farms for several days. He explained that he was also teaching his little boy to tell time by standing inside a circle, allowing the heaven-sent sun to point his shadow to the right time of day. We hoped a cloudy day wouldn’t make him late for school.
The following day we drove to Ohio, reluctant to leave this peaceful part of the world, but perhaps with feelings, too of transformation; maybe with reshaped visions and wills. I’ve thought about the Amish people almost daily since returning home. It’s somewhat hard to believe such people continue to thrive amidst our technological oriented world. The sociologists are probably scratching their heads in wonder at the accomplishments of these simple people. I asked ME if I could do it … live with no TV? No radio? No daily paper? No magazines? No electric lights? No automobile? Sit through a four-hour church service, just as their ancestors have done for over 200 years? I haven’t yet answered these questions.