Amish & Kubota owners .....BOTH FRUGAL ??

[RayBee]

While in Intercouse,PA last month ...I stopped at this Kubota dealership and spied this Amish Pickup wagon in the lot. Thinking that Amish don't have rubber wheeled machines I was curious about the Kubota tire in the wagon. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif I went inside the store and found a clearance sale on Kubota spray paint ($1 per can) /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif and forgot to look for the Amish tractor guy ... and his wagon soon dissapeared. I know the amish are renowned for their frugality and only own the best stuff when they have to buy from the real world ...can only speculate what the tire might have been for. Maybe he was just doing a non-amish neighbor a favor and picking up the tire? Or was he a closet Kubota owner who farmed only after dark. ..heh..heh /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif .....RayBee

 

[Golfgar4]

Ray,

First, I couldn't get your attachment open. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Now, we were in Shipshewanna (sp?) in Indiana last month. This is a beautiful, and well known Amish community in the midwest. I saw a lot of farms in the immediate area with all kinds of tractors sitting around. But I never saw any identifiable Amish folks operating them. and I did see a couple of gentlemen doing some plowing with a team of horses. There were a lot of buggies being driven all over, and the locals were certainly involved in the various businesses, both buying and selling.

Maybe someone who is more familiar with this lifestyle can shed some light on it for us. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[thcri]

I find that the Amish are being forced to make changes as time goes. The horse and buggy they will keep for as long as they can because they can still make them. Some of the horse drawn equipment is gone and you can't find parts or repair them any more. They have no choice. There is a lot of Amish just south of where I live and you will see a wide range of how they operate. There is a crew of about 15 that come up to our area to frame houses. They won't use any electricity and once the electrician does come in and start pre-wiring the house they will leave. In other words you have to have your house completely framed up before you can let the electrician in. The other thing they do is hammer all nails, no air guns but they do use a gas operated table saw. But if I ever build again, they would be the ones to frame my house. You wouldn't believe the workmanship.

Now I do have a story about a colony that is southeast of me a little town that I worked in one summer and this may only be a story but most people in this little town back twenty years ago would confirm it. I don't believe it to this day but I will pass it on.

no i better not pass it on /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[chim]

Raybee, can't believe you were at CB Hoober and didn't stop by and have a piece of shoofly pie and a cup of coffee.

The Amish have a few different denominations, and there are other groups around that get mistaken for Amish due to their appearance. Each sect has slightly different beliefs as to what they should be allowed to own/use. We had a guy working for us that was kicked out of the church for buying a pickup truck. There's a lot I don't know about the Amish, even living here in Lancaster County. My one sister-in-law's parents were Amish when they were first married, and left the church. Even after 40 years passed, some of their Amish relatives wouldn't speak to them. When these people "shun" someone, they mean business.

I worked for an electrical contractor back in the late 60's that did a lot of business with an Amish builder. The owner's son-in-law, John, was the contact, and he had a green Chevy PU. One of the workers had a driver's license, and drove a van-load of Amish workers to the housing development. John had electricity in his house (I hooked up his well pump), but no phone. There was a homemade phone booth across the road from his house that he used to conduct the business. He lived about a mile or so on the other side of Intercourse from the tractor dealer. They subcontracted the electrical, masonry, painting and plastering, but did most of the rest themselves.............chim (would be Jim if I didn't live here)

 

[RayBee]

chim: ...Did you buy your B7500 at CB Hoober? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
I cannot just drive thru Intercourse without stopping at Hoober's for my Kubota fix, not to mention their toy store. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

This gives me something to do while my wife shops for her quilting needs. Our son lives in York, and we make the trip regularly about 6 times yearly. (Love the area and have been visiting for nearly 40 yrs.) /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif ...Raybee

 

[frank_f15]

the picture opened for me just fine. but i did notice that the horse was parked illegeal, fornt hoves were on the sidewalk! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[chim]

Hoobers were in the middle of the three dealers on price. I went with Keller Brothers who beat them by $750, and Messick was another $750 above Hoober. That's nearly a 12% spread from high to low on the tractor.

You pass within less than a mile of Keller when you travel between York and Intercourse. They can almost be seen from Route 30 where US 30 and PA 283 split at Lancaster. If you have time when you're back in the area, take a 1/2 mile detour North on the Fruitville Pike off of US 30. They usually have some interesting stuff, and cater more to the compact trade.

Messick is about 15 minutes West of the split, just off PA 283 at the Rheems exit. They have lots of equipment, and are more into serious farming-sized tractors.

Just in case there are any "green" people reading this, Landis Brothers has a nice Deere dealership at the Manheim/Mount Joy exit of 283. Thats between Keller and Messick.............chim

 

[F350Lawman]

There was a story in the news around me that this year due to he rain and wind we had they made an exception. The Amish leaders made a ruling allowing them to use machines to bring in the corn after it had been blown flat. The horses couldn't harvest it and rather than face a disaster they hired tractors and shredders to come in.

I guess it was just common sense ruling the day, without that corn they couldn't feed their animals so something had to be done.

 

[chim]

Lawman, I saw the same thing. I believe they could have someone else come in with a machine.

Around here, it's not unusual to see them cutting grass crops with a gasoline-powered cutters or balers being pulled by horses/mules. A bud with an Amish neighbor told me there's a tractor in a shed out back with a generator connected to it. This provides juice for a workshop the guy has. He is NOT permitted to use it to work the ground or even pull things around. Another guy I work with told me about an Amish store he was in. He told me the old bearded fella was using a cell phone and a laptop (on battery power of course). I don't know if these guys are rebels, or if some bishops determined it was OK to use these conveniences. I've been told the reason the Amish aren't to have phones and electricity is so they are not connected to the world with the wiring. This would make some sense of them using battery-powered or generator-powered equipment. They place a lot of importance on the Bible verse that tells them to not be of this world. Bad things/practices to them are known as "worldly" things to them.............chim

 

[RayBee]

chim: ....Thanks for the directions to Kubota dealers. I'll look foward to my next trip to Lancaster and more guy toys inspection. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif ..RayBee