18 June 2008

Amish Questions

I was just out working with an Amish landowner. It was beautiful out and quite amazing to see the women out in the garden and the children tending to chores, napping on the lawn, etc. The more I visited with the Amish man, the more questions I would love to ask. It would be so neat to see what their day to day activities are like. This family had a huge garden, two small barns with milking goats and a small area that looked like a green house. I saw a battery hooked up to a motor which I suspect keeps the milk tank cool. How do the keep their meat cold? Do they ever have iced tea? Are the children born in a hospital or at home? I have found this group of people intriguing since the day I moved here. I would love to come up with some kind of outreach project so I could get to know them better. Wouldn't that be cool?

4 comments:

Ashley said...

Hi! I love the Amish too! They are an AMAZING people. Yes, they have iced tea. They have a generator or motor that produces energy that helps keep their meat cold - although sometimes (but rare) they allow electricity for stuff like that. They have babies by amish midwives or they go to the hospital. I am not an Amish know-it-all, but I have learned a lot by living near them for three years and giving tours to people who wanted to see it. What I know is PA Amish and sometimes that is different from other Amish sects - some are much more conservative then others - for example some amish might be able to wear different colored dresses and ride bikes while others cannot.

Anonymous said...

oooohhh... that is so interesting. I would love to know more about them. Like why do they allow electricity to cool the milk but not to cool their everyday groceries. They must have been able to keep milk before generators so why not just do it the old school way?

Jody said...

Ashley has all the answers I was going to give. They are a hardy people and we can (and probably should) learn a lot from them (especially after a certain socialist becomes President).

I think we're going to visit Kolona next weekend. And my grandparents live in Ringglod County- a growing Amish area.

Darla said...

I love hearing more about the Amish. I always wonder why I am so fascinated.

~NW Iowa Blogger