Amish country

It’s time to say goodbye to New York and head West for a while. I’m always amazed at the beautiful small towns and communities in New York State and how friendly the people are. I’m already looking forward to a return visit.

Millersburg, Ohio is the next destination, 7+ hours away by Interstate so it’s also time to say hello to boring views and big truck traffic. I used the time to upload photos from the last few days since reliable internet connectivity hasn’t been available and that’s one thing Interstate traveling is good for. My concentration was broken by the sound of the tire pressure sensor alarm, alerting us that one of the four rear tires was dropping dangerously low.

The tire pressure slowly descended as we looked for an exit sign hoping a service station was close by. When it dropped to 40 psi we pulled over to the side of I-90 to take a look. Riley didn’t see anything in the tire and asked me to pull up a foot or two so he could see the other side. As I was getting back in, I realized I must have been standing on an ant hill because a small army of ants were crawling all over my lower legs. I tore off my sandals and frantically brushed ants off as fast as I could. Ugh, from bad to worse!

Still no sign of a nail or other puncture, we decided to try to make it to the closest service station. As luck would have it there was Sunoco station with air just a mile or two ahead. Riley replaced the air in the tire while I googled tire stores. McLaughlin’s Tire Services about 6 miles away in Eldridge, NY was just the thing we needed. The guys there took us in right away and diagnosed the problem as a leaky valve connection. They fixed us up and $35 later we were on our way.

We arrived at Berlin RV Park in Millersburg, OH late in the afternoon, just in time to take a short hike around the property to stretch our legs before making dinner. The countryside is so beautiful and peaceful.

While the surroundings are beautiful, the lots at the RV Park are pretty small and close together. The photo below illustrates this. That truck belongs to our neighbor who’s about 15’ away. A couple is staying there with who I assume is their daughter or maybe granddaughter and her two kids who both look to be under 5. The children’s mother is young too and not well suited to parenting as evidenced by her constant screaming at them. It’s very unnerving and difficult to hear. Poor babies. Thank goodness the older couple seem like good people and dote on the little ones.

After a good night’s sleep, we decided to try an Amish Bakery recommended by the campground host the night before. The RV park is located a few miles from most of the restaurants and shops so we decided against biking and opted to drive Charlie today. That’s the big benefit of having a Sprinter van with no slide outs, it’s no big deal to set up and easy to find places to park like any other vehicle.

Riley got an apple fritter at Kaufman’s Bakery then we sat down for a real breakfast at Berlin Family Restaurant. It was ok, but felt a bit too touristy. We probably should have driven out a bit farther to find a smaller place.

We stocked up on fresh produce from a local farmer who had a stand in his front yard where we bought tomatoes, corn, green pepper and squash just harvested from his garden. I also bought some just baked cookies dropped off by the lady who is leaving in the horse and buggy in the photo below. The little girl with her stared up at Charlie when we pulled in behind them. It must have looked huge compared to the small buggy. She gave me a big smile when she saw me watching her.

We spent the morning shopping at various local businesses. The first was Zinck’s Fabric Outlet, a huge fabric store with every kind of fabric you can imagine. Many of which I have no idea who would actually want or what you’d make from it if you did, but also thousands of bolts of beautiful cottons, denims, flannel, knits, wool and suiting. I browsed every aisle ultimately buying a few yards of pretty wools, flannel and cotton fabric for fall and winter sewing projects. I must have been there a long time because Riley was napping on the bed in Charlie when I came out.

Berlin Creek Gallery in Millersburg is a great place to find local art. They have prints from over 100 local artists and provide amazing custom framing. I bought a print of three little Amish girls in a garden for my Mom. I think she’ll really like it.

Out of curiosity, we wandered around a huge flea market with tons of stuff no one needs but people were buying anyway. The downside of this area is the abundance of touristy stores and restaurants and though the items for sale are not your typical t-shirts and plastic junk, it still gets a little old.

The highlight of the day was touring Yoder’s Amish Home. The house and barn were built in the 1880’s and in 1978 an Amish couple bought the farm and decided to restore it to its original condition and use it as a way to teach others about Amish culture and traditions by giving them an inside look at how they live.

We were greeted by this peacock strutting around the parking lot.

There are different Amish Orders, all sharing basic tenants of living a simple life of discipline, dedication and faith, but differ in how strict they interpret these. Swartzentruber Order is the most conservative living without indoor plumbing, electricity and self-sufficiency. Less conservative orders do allow electricity provided by gasoline generators, solar panels and batteries but there are no electric lines on their property.

All Amish share practices like having children go to school only through 8th grade, they never drive cars, women do not cut their hair and always wear prayer caps on their heads. They make all of their clothing with the more conservative orders wearing only dark colors like black, maroon or dark green. Others wear lighter colors but always one solid color, with no prints or patterns After age 10, buttons are not allowed on girls dresses so women fasten dresses and aprons with straight pins. Boys and men wear long pants fastened with buttons at the waist with no belt but suspenders are allowed. Zippers are not used on any clothing. No jewelry or ornamentation of any kind is allowed.

Amish dolls have blank faces because otherwise it would be considered a graven image and not allowed. Some of the less conservative orders do allow ordinary baby dolls but dress them in Amish clothing.

Pennsylvania Dutch is spoken in the home and children learn English by time they start school. English is the preferred language for school, work and church services. They also learn High German so they can read the German Martin Luther translation of the Bible.

Infants and children are not baptized. Rather, they wait until they are 18-22 yrs old to decide whether to join the church and commit both to the church and to the Amish lifestyle. Church service is held every other Sunday and hosted by a family in the community, usually 20 or so families, each taking a turn. They believe Amish religion should be practiced, not displayed with tangible symbols or complicated religious rituals. Backless benches are transported from farm to farm in a dedicated wagon. The host family prepares for the service by setting up the benches in the large living room with men on one side and women on the other, children sitting with either parent. The service consists of an hour of singing from the Augsburg, the longest-lived songbook in continuous use. These German hymns are hundreds of years old and have lyrics without any musical notes. The tunes are sung without musical accompaniment and passed down to each generation. This is followed by two hours of sermons by two members of the community. The host family provides a sit down meal afterward that’s prepared ahead of time since Sunday is a day of rest.

First we toured the oldest house, set up in the manner of the Swartzentruber Order. The kitchen has a dry sink for washing with water carried in and out by hand. A treadle sewing machine is used to make clothing and a wood stove is used for cooking and providing the only source of heat. There are three bedrooms, one for parents, one for girls and the other for boys.

The second house was set up in the manner of the Old Order of Amish, the most common in the US. The biggest differences included indoor plumbing, natural gas stove, battery powered table lamp and more comfortable furnishings; i.e. upholstered couch and store bought mattresses for the beds.

The aroma of fresh baked bread was the first thing we noticed when we walked in. Two ladies were busy in the kitchen baking bread and cinnamon rolls and mixing up an unusual concoction of peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and pancake syrup in a huge bowl. This is often used to make sandwiches for the after church meal. Jars of this “church spread” were for sale but we passed on it so I can’t say how good or bad it is.

The barn built in 1885 houses lots of animals including adorable 4-day old baby goats. An Amish girl showed us around a patiently answered all of our questions.

This visit was just the antidote we needed to get in the Amish state of mind.

Driving through the area I noticed how often roads take sharp 90 degree turns around planted fields, following property lines rather than straight roads with lots conforming to the roads. Long clotheslines holding the day’s laundry are strung through backyards and massive lawns are neatly mowed with large vegetable and colorful flower gardens near the houses. The Amish people are friendly, smiling when making eye contact and calling out a greeting when passing. This seems like a really hard working but satisfying way of life.

Afterward we drove to the Holmes County Trail, a 23-mile cycling trail that runs from Millersburg to Fredericksburg. We made sandwiches with some of the fresh baked bread from the Yoder Home and veggies from the farmers market for a picnic lunch at the trailhead. The trail is similar to other rails-to-trails like the New River and Virginia Creeper but is unique in other ways. It’s about 16 feet wide and paved with asphalt like a regular road so that it can be used by Amish horse and buggies as well as cyclists and pedestrians.

We cycled along the trail bout 10 miles, occasionally passing buggies going the opposite direction. We stopped at a corner shop for delicious soft-serve ice cream cones on Main St. in downtown Fredericksburg.

It’s been a great day and we’ve enjoyed spending time surrounded by the rural landscape and people living more simple lives.