It is quite amazing what you get to see from the cockpit!
Rob slept in this morning and then we enjoyed our coffee before heading out. Today we are going on a package deal to Amish Acres. Two days, one night with a Thrasher dinner and a play as well as a couple tours.
Amish Acres is in a little town called Nappanee, IN. It is 80 acres and was an Amish working farm with cattle, corn and fruit trees for three generations. The last son sold it to a man who wanted to turn it into a historical site and a tourist attraction. Today there is electricity on the property, but not in the original buildings. They are as they originally were.
Everyone there is dressed in the traditional clothing.
It was a two hour drive and when we arrived we checked into our hotel room and then walked over to the Farm. The first thing we did was watch a 30 min film on the Amish and their history.
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| That's our hotel in the background |
They are similar to, but stricter than the Mennonites
The Amish still believe in and practice shunning excommunicating. The men have beards but no mustaches. Their clothing is hand sewn and they have no buttons. Where buttons or zippers are required they use straight pins. Except on the little children's clothing. They have buttons so as not to stab and cut themselves on the pins. Un-married girls where bright colors, married women wear dark colors. They wear no jewelry. Unmarried men are clean shaven and married men have beards, but no mustaches. They do not have buttons or mustaches because all the military who persecuted them had mustaches and bright shinny buttons on their uniforms.
They live in Districts, or groups and each have their own, elected, Bishop and several ministers and deacons. The Bishops dictate the rules in accordance to their faith, but some are more strict than others. For example, some districts use windmills for their water pumps, but others are forbidden. Where originally they only used oil for their lights, now they can use propane which they would have to get commercially.
They are not baptized until 16 or 18 years of age. They must be baptized in order to marry, and they must marry within their faith. Between the ages of 16 and 18 they are given the freedom to sew their oats so to speak. They are allowed to buy cell phones, cars, go out and about and decided for themselves if they want to continue with their faith and lifestyle then they are baptized and marry. Then they must follow their faith absolutely or they can be shunned.
They only attend school until 8th grade. They feel their is no need for higher education because their parents will teach them how to run farms and everything else they need.
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| original school bus |
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| One room school house |
They either attend school in their own schools, or they can go to public schools. They Amish started buying up old schools as the districts built newer and bigger schools.
The farms often had their own bakeries, steel mills, cheese houses, everything they needed. They would sell their wares to the outside people who they referred to as The English.
It was very interesting.
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| This is called a Bank barn. They build it into the bank so that they have entrances at two levels. |
Cute little goats!
They still travel in horse drawn carriage, or on horseback, but now they also use bicycles. They do their farming using horses, but now they can also use tractors. I'm not sure why they can use tractors but not cars.
That evening we had a Thrasher Dinner which is supposed to be family style and they bring things out in big pots and all, but their restaurant is huge and they sat people separately.
Later we attended their theater where they played Guys and Dolls. It was real cute and the Theater is lovely.
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| The ceiling of the Round Barn Theater |
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