Amish Forklift

   / Amish Forklift #1  

chim

Elite Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2002
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3,642
Location
Lancaster County, PA
Tractor
Kubota L4240, Ford 1210
Wifey and I were cruising along PA Route 44 this afternoon, and saw this yardlift in a small burg along the way. Couldn't resist snapping a couple pics. Here's the business end.............chim
 

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   / Amish Forklift
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#2  
Here's a shot of the front wheel...............chim
 

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ANd here's the rear wheel. It has rectangular blocks of rubber that are captive between steel box shapes. What appear to be flat spokes are made up of three pieces of steel that interlock and slide to allow some movement between the hub and rim...............chim
 

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   / Amish Forklift #4  
chim, Now thats what I call a STEEL belted radial!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
   / Amish Forklift #5  
What is the reason for the "steel wheels"? You also see them on tractors. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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#6  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( What is the reason for the "steel wheels"? You also see them on tractors. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )</font>

Although there are probably some practical mechanical reasons, some religious sects are banned from having/using certain things. The Amish have rules that are difficult for outsiders to understand, but are mostly based on keeping them "separate from the world". Different branches of the Amish faith even have different views. Although I have lived around them since birth, I'm no authority on them.

Some are not allowed to own or use tractors, but they can have a gas-powered implement pulled by horses. The more strict are not allowed to use zippers on their trousers, and must use buttons. Some of their women use straight pins to hold their clothing together (just saw a few at a wedding I recently attended - two of my in-laws have married into families that had Amish relatives).

Having wired telephones, electricity, rubber tires, vehicles, and a lot of other modern things is considered too "worldly". A bud was in an Amish-owned store, and told me he got a kick out of the setup. An older Amish gent there had battery-operated laptop, cell phone and a cash register. This must have been OK'd by his deacons because none were wired to the outside world.

We have other groups (of what may appear to be Amish to the tourists) who believe it's OK to have cars as long as they are all black, including the bumpers and trim. They dress similarly to the Amish, but don't adhere to the same rules.

I worked with a guy who was kicked out of the church for buying a pickup truck. One sister-in-law of mine has relatives who may not eat at the same table as their relatives who voluntarily left the church.

There is a period when little attention is given to the teenagers' activities. Owning and driving cars, beer parties at the quarry, etc. are overlooked as the teens sometimes get kinda wild for a while. Interesting bunch of people...............chim
 
   / Amish Forklift #7  
<font color="blue"> We have other groups (of what may appear to be Amish to the tourists) who believe it's OK to have cars as long as they are all black, including the bumpers and trim. They dress similarly to the Amish, but don't adhere to the same rules. </font>
Mennonites. They do a lot of humanitarian work around the world. Click ---> Here.
 
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#8  
Mennonites, River Bretheren, Dunkards, Amish, Old Order Amish (and others I can't think of at the moment) often appear the same to the "furriners"...............chim
 
   / Amish Forklift #9  
I often wonder how they make the distinction of was is allowed and what is not? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif last year i saw a buggy pulled over with a broken wheel, so i stopped and asked if i could help, and the gentlman told me no thank you sir i called my Borther on the cell phone!
 
   / Amish Forklift
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#10  
Frank, I wonder too. The bishops or deacons have the say of what is or is not acceptable. To those of us who are not Amish, it seems inconsistent to believe that cars or rubber tires are a "no-no", but cell phones and battery-operated laptops are OK. It would appear at least some of the rules can be modified to suit circumstances.

Back in the late 60's I worked for an electrical contractor who did wiring for an Amish builder. (The homes were built for non-Amish, hence the wiring). An older Amish man owned the firm that built the houses. He had no phone nor electricity on his farm. His son-in-law was the project manager. This guy lived next to his FIL's farm, and he had electricity and owned and drove a pickup. I was there to hook up a new well pump once. Although he didn't have a phone at the house, he had built a wooden phone booth across the road. For years that was how they operated the business.

One of the men on their crew had a driver's license. He drove a company van that got the workers to and from the jobsites. This was all OK'd through the church, so nobody got into trouble.

They did build a house for one of their workers that I went though. No wiring was installed at all. Looked strange to see a brand new house with absolutely bare walls and ceilings. It had a large open second floor with a piece of wood with coat hooks that ran almost the whole way around the room. This was put in to hold coats for their church meetings that were held at different homes.................chim
 
 
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