HOW DO THE AMISH LIVE?

 HOW I MET TWO AMISH FAMILIES IS A LONG STORY AND NOT WORTH TELLING. SIMPLY SAID, I KNEW SOMEONE WHO KNEW SOMEONE.

I have visited my Amish friends a number of times and have even spent the night in one of their homes.

Both families have the same last name, but they are not close relatives. The Amish in America began with about 200 followers, so there is a rather small number of last names among them.

Yes, their gene pool is also quite limited, and they are allowing studies to be done because of that. Researchers are hoping to answer some questions about heredity by studying them.

Various genetic weaknesses do plague the Amish, but they do not allow marriage between cousins, and even second-cousin marriages are not usually permitted.

When I first met Amish, the impression was that they looked like pictures we've all seen of European peasants in the 1800's.

Well, in fact, they are descended from Swiss peasants, and because they've kept apart from the larger society, they have kept those peasant facial features. 

Still outside, I looked around at the farm. Dairy cows grazed contentedly in the green field. Horses were in another field. Tomatoes grew, acres and acres of them growing tall and strong.

Closer to the house, the garden was thriving. The vegetables would feed the family in the coming year.

The older boys were on their way to the barn for milking time. I noticed their bare feet. They all had bare feet, Mother and Father, sons and daughters, from the youngest to the oldest.

Though the farmyard was neat and well-kept, it was a farm. I asked if it didn't hurt their feet to walk about barefooted.

Well, because they go barefoot at home, their feet are not as sensitive as ours, and so no, it doesn't hurt their feet to walk on the little pebbles or the hay or the floor of the barn.

We went inside and the mother sat the littlest child on the daybed, which is a common feature of an Amish kitchen.

Mother and the older girls all got busy preparing the supper. The baby, about 18 months old, just sat on the daybed, watching everyone in the kitchen. She didn't try to get down, in fact she didn't move, she just sat where she'd been placed and didn't complain.

Obviously, she'd been taught to stay still and quiet. It was amazing to me that a baby that young could be trained to stay in one place, but I'm certain she was trained gently, for this was a gentle family.

One of the older daughters in the family has schizophrenia. The father explained to me that she might have outbursts of naughty words but it's only because of her illness and I shouldn't be offended.

The girl was quiet. She didn't say anything. But I noticed that her brotherss and sisters treated her the way they treated eachother, asking if she'd like some carrots, or asking her to pass the butter.

The parents had taken that daughter to many doctors for many tests for many years, but they  finally had to accept her illness and the fact there is no cure. She is accepted in the family, taken care of, and loved.

While supper was cooking, we talked about mutual friends and the mother took out her journal to check the date of Alvin's last visit.

An Amish wife's journal contains daily events, letters the family has received, copies of songs. notations of visitors, and any unusual event, such as a severe thunderstorm or especially deep snowfall, as well as births and deaths and weddings.

Suppertime in an Amish home is a table chock full of food. There's meat and mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots and string beans, applesauce, beets, pickles, coleslaw, hot rolls, butter and jam, maple syrup and sliced peaches in syrup, cream and milk and shoo fly pie.

Most people don't know how the Amish eat shoo fly pie.

First, the shoo fly pie I've had in Amish homes is like a crumb-topped coffee cake baked in a pie shell.

By itself, it is dry and rather bland.

The way to eat shoo fly pie is to top it with something. That's why there's maple syrup and peaches and jam and cream on the table. Some of the kids like the peaches in their syrup on top, while others like to pour cream over their pie and top it with strawberry jam. The father happens to like maple syrup with his pie.

An Amish meal is plentiful and heavy, but the Amish work it off. I never saw a fat Amish child.

Amish life is unhurried, with everyone going about their chores at a steady pace. They don't rush about, but they do work steadily for long periods of time.

The Amish do not use buttons on their clothing because buttons were a symbol of royalty and the army in Europe. It is their desire to be humble which keeps them from any symbol of superiority.

The girls and women close the front of their dresses with straight pins. How do you hold a baby when you have pins from chin to waist?

Carefully. But the mothers do it.

Sitting around the table with an Amish family is a peaceful, enjoyable time. The wife and daughters put the food on the table, a prayer is said, and everyone serves themselves. There's no rush. No boardinghouse reach. There is plenty of food for everyone and no one worries about going without.

Yes, there is conversation. The father starts it, often with a comment about something on the farm, and then a question to one of the sons. Everyone speaks with respect and without the fear of being mocked or shouted down.

With only an 8th grade education, you would expect the Amish to be ignorant, but they aren't. They read the newspaper, some magazines, they talk to their neighbors, and they know much more about the world than you'd expect them to.

And they know business. They have to. They have large families to support.

After dinner, we remained at the table to continue the conversation. The kitchen is the common room in an Amish house. It's a big room with a big table and many chairs, as well as the daybed. The meals are cooked on a wood stove.

Amish are plain people. They dress plain and they live plain. There might be a calendar on the wall, but there are no mirrors or pictures, nor are there any knick-knacks.

The living room is reserved for church services. Every other Sunday is the day for church among the 'house Amish', who take turns holding the services at their homes.

The younger children were put to bed at various times, and eventually the father announced bedtime for all of us still around the table.

Within minutes all of the older children were in bed and asleep.

In the morning, the mother baked a pan of eggs in the oven, along with a pot of oatmeal and some ham and bread and butter and much more that I can't even remember.

Later in the morning, the father asked if we'd like to visit Levi. He said we'd go in the buggy.

One of the sons offered to get the horse hitched, and we continued to visit while he went out to the barn.

He had to catch the horse, lead it into the barn, put on the bridle and harness and then back it between the shafts and hitch it in. It takes a while.

Riding in an Amish buggy is quite an experience. A pleasant one. But slow. You've got to slow down your whole system when you're with the Amish.

The Amish grow what they call their cash crop. Often it's tomatoes, and the father has a contract with Heinz or Hunts.

They also have their dairy cows, and they grow the feed for the cows and horses.

As for their old-fashioned way of living, without telephones or electricity or cars, none of those rules are written in stone. They choose to live simply and apart from modern society, but they do use some modern conveniences. Some Amish will use a tractor, but take the rubber tires off.

And though they don't have electricity in their homes, they often have a generator to use for a home business, such as woodworking. Yes, they might use some power tools.

Amish dogs and cats are part of the farm and treated as well as all of the animals are, but they are not fed. They have to hunt for their food. And they do.

Most Amish farmers do well for themselves, and it's not just because they have fewer expenses than we have. In fact, much of what the Amish buy is quite expensive. Buggies. Tack. Even their hats and suspenders and boots for winter wear. They can't shop for those things at Walmart.

What they don't spend for a car, they spend for a horse.

Also, every Amish farmer wants to buy farms for his many sons. So what he doesn't spend for car insurance and homeowners insurance and life insurance and health insurance and electricity and a phone and movies and restaurants, he saves to buy farms.

All in all, I found the Amish to be the same as us, just with a different lifestyle. I like some more than I like others. Some are friendly and some are not.

They live simply, but they aren't simple

I'm glad I've had the opportunity to experience their lifestyle.