I am originally from Holmes County Ohio, my folks still live there, outside Millersburg (Miller is a VERY common Amish name).
The Amish are indeed a strange breed of cat. The community around Holmes county has a broad range of Amish sects, from the black amish (old order, not african-american) to the mennonite. And no, strictly speaking the mennonite are not an off shoot of the amish, it is precisely the other way around. The mennote were getting to lax for the amish, so they split off.
No one in the black amish family is permitted to have power anything. The next lax sect permits the BOYS to drive autos until they join the church, which is when they get married (also is when they grow a beard). Often the youngest boy never marries, as much to stay at home as to provide transportation. The woman rarely ever drive the horse, to say nothing about a car. At the other end of the amish sect from the black amish sometimes seems that the only semblance to the ways is in their clothes, all pastel colors for the women, men wear blue denim (NOT blue jeans) and pastel shirts, simple clothes, and just a bonnet, not a full hair covering 'hood'.
My Dad drives through the heart of the amish community to and from work near Kidron (yes that is where Steiner Turf is). He regularly sees an amishman on the phone in his shead leaning against the chest freezer. Neither the phone nor the freezer is in his house, so it is legal. Now adays the cell phones are very popular with them, since they can leave them in the buggy, or hide them real easy in the house.
Some sects are permitted to have tractors, some not. Those that can have tractors may not be permitted to have pneumatic tires. Do you know how strange a Kubota looks with rubber tractor tire tread BOLTED to a drum on a steel wheel?
The popular misconception that is perpetuated for the tourists is that they are a harmonious peaceful churchgoing group of people. And they are to some degree. But they can also be a bunch of drunks that are becoming more and more in-bred. They drink a LOT of wine. As to the in-bred, it is getting harder and harder to find pure blood, as obviously their numbers continue to dwindle.
My Dad served on a Jury panel some years ago. One of the cases was a young amish man that burned a barn down. Quoting the trial:
Would you say Eli was intoxicated?
Do that mean drunk?
Yes, that means drunk.
Yeah, he was drunk. He's a real tiger when he gets a skinful.
And yes it was an amish barn, and yes he helped in the barn raising the next few days.
Our house was remodeled by an amish crew in the late '70's. The cost was VERY reasonable and the workmanship was incredible. They did use electric power tools on the job site. Dad had the same crew build a garage about 5 yrs ago. They had slipped a LOT in quality, reliability and trust.
As you may have guessed I get a bit of a kick out of the way they are protrayed in the media and as a tourist draw. Not knocking them, Holmes County has nothing else going for it, 'cept for the Amish. Far and away the largest business is tourism and the Amish is what brings the tourists. And trust me, they know it!
I don't mean to put them down. I respect ANY group that talks the talk and walks the walk. Many of them do, many don't. And they don't want to give up the image because it is one of the few places where they can earn a living. Loose that image and the Amish mystic is gone with them.
Sorry this was long, everyone is always curious about them, and it happens to be something I just grew up with.
Nick
Farmer kid usetabe, Farmer Wannabe
