SATURDAY - JULY 15.
Amish Family Farm and Field Day
WILMOT, OH
- We drove about 35 miles north to Wilmot, the site of this year's Annual Family Farm Field Day, an Amish Argricultural/Family Fair. It took place on a large farm just west of Wilmot which bills itself as the "Gateway to Amish Country". The first thing we saw were two fields roped off for parking: the first for buggies and bicycles, the main transportation for the Amish. The second field was for boring people like us who drive cars. There were about ten large circus style pavilion shelters set up, each about thirty yards long. Some of them held benches and chairs for lectures and seminars on every agricultural topic you can imagine: judging hogs, soybean yields, trapping muskrats, natural pesticides, hunting techniques, etc. Other pavilions held commercial exhibits much like a state fair. Still others contained foods, home-made ice cream, etc.
- There were also tents with activities for children and lots of wagons, buggies, ponies, etc. moving about with mostly female drivers and tons of children being entertained while the adults pursued farm-related activities.
- We know that Amish/Mennonite folks are a bit averse to being photographed, so I was very subtle about taking pictures of Kim, which just happened to have selected groups of Amish folks in the background. We ended up with some pretty good pictures, so most of them have Kim in the foreground for some reason!!
- For lunch we had BBQ chicken, potato salad, noodles, fruit cup and water. They don't charge anything for the food, but they have large wooden donation boxes at every venue - apparently to get around health codes. We also had homemade ice cream for dessert. We watched the Amish men working hard in the heat grilling the chicken, making the ice cream, etc.
- I suppose it's safe to say we were the only Mormon Missionaries at the event! We estimate there were about 600-800 people in attendance, with about 70-80% of them being some variation of Amish-type culture. There are different types of attire and grooming for the women: most wear solid-colored, home-made dresses and a prayer bonnet. Most bonnets are white, but some groups wear large, black bonnets. The men all wear long, untrimmed Greek-type beards (chin and side whiskers only, no mustache) and straw hats. The teen-age boys who don't wear hats have really primitive looking haircuts. Most women and children wear flip-flops or Crocs. The men wear button-style home-made pants with no fly.
- We were welcomed and treated with courtesy, but most of the locals were quite reserved about talking to outsiders. If we approached them, they were courteous, but none of them ever spoke to us first.
-We stopped at Pearl to go to the cheese factory and decided to drive another mile to get some produce as indicated by the signs. We ended up at "Happy Hill Farms" a spectacular, certified organic vegetable farm owned and operated by John and Ruth Miller, a nice Amish couple. Actually we only met Ruth, but she was delightful!
- We have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about our Amish/Mennonite neighbors and have a great respect for them and their way of life. Much of what others consider to be "unusual" about the Amish reflects their efforts to preserve their families and avoid the downfalls of modern society. In most ways we respect and admire them - in many ways, we envy them!
SOME THINGS WE LEARNED ABOUT THE OHIO AMISH/MENNONITES (ANABAPTISTS)
1. There are various strains or groups of Amish/Mennonites in the area ranging from the very conservative groups who wear black and eschew any modern technology to the "Tractor Amish" who will drive tractors, but not cars. There are those who have trucks, cell phones, power tools, etc. and those who don’t.
2. Lots of these folks ride bikes - especially the young adults and men. We saw tons of buggies on the roads, but also many bikes.
3. Many Amish cultures advocate a "year away" practice. Young men leave their colony for a year of non-Amish living away from home. At the end of the year, he chooses whether to stay "in the world" or return and adopt the Amish lifestyle permanently.
4. Many Amish-type families speak "Pennsylvania Dutch" in their homes and with each other. We listened to several conversations but couldn't make it out very well (despite my razor-sharp Afrikaans/Dutch skills!!!).
5. No wedding rings on anybody (they wear no jewelry)
6. Spectacular horses! Beautiful slim trotters pulling the buggies, gorgeous draft horses ahead of the wagons and a superb pair of dark, almost black mules named Molly and Dolly pulling a large wagon. They offered rides and we both rode, but Paul got off and took photos. Kim LOVED it!
7. Their food is fairly simple and very tasty, but they definitely have a thing for sugar and carbs. Lots of candy, soft-drinks and junk foods. No alcohol present.
8. A clever technique we saw at the certified-organic "Happy Hill Farm" run by a delightful young Amish couple, John and Ruth Miller. To keep the numerous white-tailed deer out of their spectacular vegetable garden, they hang small mesh bags of filled with dog hair on the fences around the property. They told us that it works lie a charm!
9. We have learned that the most common Amish names in this area are by far: Troyer, Yoder, and Miller followed by Beachy, Schalbach, Hochstetler, Stoltzfus and numerous other Germanic sounding names.
10. The largest concentrations of Amish in America are in order: North Central Ohio (where we live), eastern Pennsylvania and northern Indiana.
