Amish

Amish are creative, but this tops it...
Other day I saw 'em hauling a garage thru town. 2 horses were pulling it. It looked to be too much for the 2 horses, but I don't know much about horses. They removed the garage door snd somehow put it over the horse and buggy. I don't know how they made it work (or if it actually worked) but it was 1 of the more bizaare things I've seen. Ya really never know what ya might see an Amish hauling. I didn't expect a shed though.

Amish move barn

Check this one out. They do it more then a lot of folks realize.

The Church I grew up in was moved with horse and log rolled a 1/4 mile they set the church on long logs then had round logs of the same size that they rolled that over being pulled by horse with block and tackle.

horses don't move very fast but a good team can pull a lot.

Sure glad I didn't chose to be amish

Last winter I saw an Amish guy on skis being pulled down the road behind a buggy.

Middlebury, Indiana two years ago I saw an Amish man in a horse and buggy pulling a wagon with a snowblower in it??!!??

we live in a high amish area.....we encounter daily. You never know

Amish decide what they can and can't have on a local community level , the Amish here have skid steers because everything is done in round or large rectangle bales and they just can't lift them.

they have cell phones and debt cards , fork trucks , motor boats and cordless tools , they even have solar chargers on their barns to charge those battery operated power tools.

several of the Amish roofers have big utility trailers with all their tools and ladders on them they pay to have them dropped off at the construction site.

several have solar panels on their houses and LED lights inside much safer and cooler than burning LP to get light.

they know how to have fun they just don't need a tv or a car to have fun

the biggest reasons they don't have electricity is A. they can't measure it they would be trusting a meter with no other way to measure the thing they are using , B. it would be credit using electric until the end of the month when the English man told you what your bill was and expected it paid and they don't do credit , C. it caused a lot of fires and it wasn't a fire that you could just prevent by not having a candle burning it was fires that just happen.

ours are swartzentruber?? Old order Amish. 300 yds up my rd my neighbors are menonnite. Very nice people. I talked to the one girl a cpl weeks ago when 2 of their small pups came here and she said"i declare". I havent heard that in yrs.

My family has been barn builders for decades we've move quiet a bit with pretty much nothing some jacks some polls a set of wheels or runners, chains and some kind of convaence and you could move the world
Colt

X2

I didn't think the Amish smoked.

Clark

Guy was griping at Amish here for there horses pooping as they went through town telling them how dirty they are.. One day an Amish spoke up says you go still your nose in the muffler on your car and I'll stick my nose in my horses butt and we'll see who's dirtier...

Good point Mr amishman...

The Amish have stands and sell baskets and such on the roadside here.A couple years ago I saw an Amish fella walk out of Goodwill with about 15 woven baskets....shrewd businessman,lol.

Each Amish community has a bishop who determines what the folks can and cant do. In my hometown in SE Nebraska the bishop is a jackwad and many of the Amish are selling and moving away from him.

I found this amusing...

Seen amish selling amish made chairs. Still had stickers on the bottom that said made in china

what is it? cant see it

Gas cans. Going to Caseys for gas!

We know many Amish folks, and some of them very well. Amish people can be just as good, as weird, as contradictory, as hypocritical, as racist, and as bad as other people.

I know an Amish guy who has a microwave oven. When he goes to work at “English” people’s homes he takes it along for the crew to heat their lunches. It is acceptable because he built a plywood box around it and when not in use the cord is hidden inside, and they use someone else’s electricity. That makes it acceptable.

I know an Amish guy who is a VERY serious trophy hunter. He has a tandem axle trailer 7x16 that looks like a work trailer. He finished and customized the interior to be about the nicest and coolest hunting cabin I have ever seen. He hires one of his employees to drive him and tow his trailer all over the country to hunt elk, mule deer, bears, antelope, and whitetail deer.

Another Amish tradesmen owns two F350 4wd diesel crewcab trucks. He hires an English worker for each crew to also do the driving. He drives his trucks off road, because that is not really driving.

They have many different contradictions. I probably have some too.

Yes, nothing says they can't own one, just can't drive one!!!

My Great Uncle asked an Amish Elder friend if he could convert and become Amish. The Elder told my Great uncle that they don't take in converts. Uncle Lester said to him - you know what happens to your cow herd if you don't throw in a new Bull every once in a while don't you?

Saw an Amish guy riding his bike during deer season with a Browning semi-auto slung over his back. They hunt and trap a lot up in our country.

Zim

lots of them here.amish boys put a new metal roof on my house, their dad was at lake erie walleye fishing! he had just bought a new f-350 to tow the trailer and work crew with.
looked at a amish house one time, commented on how hard it would be to hook up water there, dutchy walked down into the basement, pushed on a swinging panel and walk into a electric room and turned on a breaker to start the pump. said it was hooked to septic also!

we live among the Amish here. Get along good with them. Do a lot of bartering with a couple. The most of them have sawmills. I bring them logs every so often to cut. Usually don't charge very much if anything.

Have a lot of them around here. They don't seem to cause trouble. If ya get too close, they do have a foul odor tho. Rumor has it they got bought out in PA and moved here with a decent chunk of wealth. I think they work hard tho. They sure seem to have a lot of kids.
It's funny...sometimes my neighbor puts stuff out by the highway by his driveway. Not uncommom for the amish to scarf it up.

I once asked about marrying an Amish girl and was told "we try to discourage that."

I live in an Amish house. It was built by the Amish and it was home to 4 different Amish families before we bought it. The last family to live here has visited a few times over the years. I think they have 6 kids now. You can tell that they really miss this house and they love the improvements I have made over the years although they couldn't really live here anymore after what I have done.

they buy english houses all the time here now and move in. They just disconnect the electric etc

It all depends on the sect and what the Bishop allows them to do.
The thing I will never understand is that they make their own "restrictions" to live by and yet, at least around here, skirt their own restrictions all the time. They get away with what they can. If you want to live by your own churches restrictions and live the way they do, I say fine. I even find it somewhat commendable. However, if you self impose these restrictions and push the boundaries into grey areas all the time, then why have the restrictions to begin with. I'll never get that part.

our sect is old order....swartzentrubers...no electric inside houses...no phones. I had a good amish who worked for me....he moved because his order was too strict and the bishop was his father in law

Was his name Perry Gingrich?

funny u ask..no...but we had a gingrich who moved here from indiana around 18 yrs ago...a crook!! Bishop near us in a beeche

The only interaction I have had with the Amish is when I did the trapping convention circuit, especially PA and Ohio. The boys would steal anything they could. Usually worked in a group, one would distract you while another would grab whatever was there. Always had to have 2 people at the table, one to sell and one to watch.

This Gingrich is a cabinet maker. Can't use electricity but has every modern tool imagineable in his shop...powered by hydraulic motors...in turn powered by a gas engine out back that runs a hydraulic pump!

I sell logs to them a lot . the ones I deal with are great people . others not so much .just like anybody else . I love the engeneering that goes into their modern steel wheels and their extensive use of the line shaft in their mills .

I agree with the grey area. Some Amish moved here the last several years, New to our area. Saw one towing a gas powered wood-mizer down the road on a steel wheeled wagon by a team of horses. At another house, a guy was out pull starting a gas engine on his well casing to pump some water. I don't get it.

What’s so amusing about that? They use gas motors for just about everything. I have an Amish friend that has a table saw run by a gas engine. It’s pretty slick how it works. He told me an Amish guy makes those tables I asked him how much one would cost, $800

There is no method to their madness...of course we are the "English" to them the devil's spawn.

Some are Amish and some are Mennonites around here.Mennonites dress similar,but are much more liberal about the use of electricity and cars and such.

They make up the rules as they go. Whatever.

Went to an Amish auction this year and was amazed at all the Amish made knick knacks up for auction. All made out of weathered barn boards. Yea . . . right.

Friend of mine pointed to the fence surrounding the property. Noticed it was a long, long, long fence, made of, ready for it?? Untreated, unpainted cheap pine boards. Gave a section of fence four years and it was ready for knick knack building. Looked just like weathered barn boards by then. Fella had a crew that would work their way around the fence line, cutting up weathered "barn boards" in front of 'em and nailing on fresh pine boards behind 'em.

Had a drinking buddy over in Glasgow named Hamish.

hahaha..amish can drink too dont think they dont....they do it out behind the barn here

I bought a blue heeler from a Amish that was advertised on the internet.When we went to look @ the dog I had to call for directions and was surprised to find out that he was Amish and had phone and internet in his barn.

No, they don't. They use gas engines. Motors are electric.

That is some video. They are very creative and skillful people. I'm more familiar with other colony's but they also have those same minds.

They sell just about any wood working power tool you can think of in a pneumatic version. Table saws, planers, jointers, routers and the like. They cost about twice as much though. Around here, most Amish are allowed to use electric providing it is for business only.

Well excuse me mr. technicality, motors and engines are the same to me

Could be kerosene.

Mike

might be vasoline too but i bet it ai,well probably not.

I'm betting there's nothing in them at all. Hence the reason for going to Caseys.

They are amazing people. we have had a community around us for more that 30 years.
Now the bad part. if you hunt deer or turkey or any animal better set your sights a bit lower for big deer or less.
With sometimes 15 plus in a family and in Ohio 4 plus deer...If its brown its down policy, really hits your flock and heard.FACT

.

We don’t have the big deer you guys do but, it is the same here. They will kill everything and they don’t care about property laws or no trespassing signs. They are super helpful when it comes to trapping also, they make sure to check your traps for you and take your traps to get them new tags.

My neog




neighbors...they are big into log houses etc here

[quote=grayfox54]Well excuse me mr. technicality, motors and engines are the same to me [/quote/]

Has the engine on your washing machine ever burned out?

this... they also undercut licensed builders and do crappy work, been my experience following them....I'd rather have my workm taken by illegal aliens

Ever put gas in a motorcycle or motorboat?

How about a "motorized vehicle"?

one Dutchman by me said he needs 40 deer a year to feed his family.

Gary, check out the definition of motor. They are pretty much interchangeable.

Not to mention I know a guy who owns a 250 acre farm in Clarion area in PA and the Amish family across the
mountain farm had a wedding last year. 3 day wedding with all wild game being served. he was told someone by neighbor it took about 100 deer to feed the party.
No More weddings

You got me there..

I'm going to replace my windshield wiper motor with an engine.
Red Green could pull that off.

In my home town we had about 10 families move in around 1980. The locals rolled out the red carpet for them and they did their best to oblige everyone that chipped in. My cousin had a furnished house on his property complete with electric and appliances that weren't being used, they moved right in. They had no problem using everything including the washing machine, they didn't believe in paying for the electric. They even gave him a bill for the TV when it quit working and they had it repaired.

My cousin had a car that they would borrow every chance they could. It didn't bother them that they had no drivers license as they didn't believe in them. They also didn't believe in paying for gas, so after a couple of Saturday nights cousin put the kibosh on it.

They were always in need of a telephone and yes cousin obliged, but again they didn't believe in paying the bill. In one month they racked up a couple hundred dollars probably bragging to others about the sucker they had on the line.

The locals set them up with a school and even supplies. There was absolutely nothing they they wouldn't take advantage of as long as it was free. They made out pretty well until they wore their welcome out. No different then a band of gypsies, just worse


WS

LOL, i bet he could!

I'm with ya as far as a motor is electric and an engine is combustion. But our language accepts either it seems.


As far as Amish, they're like any other section of people. Some are smarter than others, some are more honest than others.

We have plenty around here, grew up with them. Word of caution......The girls will confess and name names!

Buddy had a barn built by them. Check had to be made out to either their church or their school so they didn't have to pay taxes.

Is this is a common practice everywhere to avoid taxes?

Seen amish selling amish made chairs. Still had stickers on the bottom that said made in china[/quote]
Oh man. That's bad. I don't know much about how trustworthy Amish are.

I have heard the occasional situation where neighbors get fed up with how many does Amish shoot.

Also, I don't know how well they follow burning permit rules.

Gary, have you called to correct General Motors and Ford Motor Co yet? How about the Division of Motor Vehicles? Motorcycle? Motor Speedway? Motor Sports? Motorcade? You’ve got a lot of correcting to do in the world.

A motor is something that generates rotary energy. An engine is a motor that specifically uses compression and usually combustion. So an engine is a motor, but a motor is not always an engine.

Now back to the Amish...none of them around here, just Mennonites and Russian Orthodox. Good and bad folks in every group.

I'll get started on that this morning. Everybody makes mistakes!!!

Mennonites are Amish with car keys in their pocket.
First Amish in Nebraska were attacked by the State because their teachers weren't state certified. Amish refused to pay the fine levied by the courts, so a buggy was confiscated and auctioned off to pay the fine. Supermarket owner bought the buggy and gave it back to the Amish!

Why did the Amish leave Pawnee City the first time they were there Gary? I can kind of remember them in the mid to lat 70's being there.

I think the ones around now poach quite a bit. I was at one families farm having a horse shod, they had a big whitetail rack hanging on the barn way up high. It was a 180-190" buck. Anyway I asked them about it, they got kind of funny acting, and when I went back the next night they had taken it down.

Corey

They pay taxes at the end of the year like everyone else they just don’t charge tax when they do work for someone

Local folks wouldn't accept them. Would run through their fences, run their cattle off. That particular group matured a bit and the Amish returned. Plus, there was the State and the public schools thing. State changed their rules, and Amish came back. Now they're leaving because of their own bishop!

shysters here too...a few good ones

Which way from town did most of them live then? Most are east north east of town now it seems.

There is good and bad in the Amish, the same with all of us. I have known some real bad ones that loved screwing over the english any way they could. And I have known some that were the best people you could ever meet. We did a lot of bartering and trading with a sect that were awesome people. They were established, I mean established here, with sawmills, tack and leather shops, furniture and craft shops, etc. They pulled up stakes, packed everything up and lit out for Missouri because their Bishop enacted a new no smoking policy. I imagine they are puffing away down there and are happy.

Alot of them moved here, around Belleville.
Way stricter than ours. Ours even call them Nebraskains.

The Amish are kind of a hard bunch to figure out. They live so differently than what we're used to, and most have never been to an Amish farm. I see them out and about quite a bit though. They seem friendly.

I hate to group all people but they put a bad taste in my mouth. They will get a slew of them on a boat and fish all day and I mean all day, they will keep everything they catch. Literally fishing out Great Lakes. Trespass and shoot everything. Building a cabin right now and you know how many people have said get Amish builders, I say why are they better than English builders? Of course some are and some aren’t. You see Amish made or Amish baked, so the freak what, do we have English made or baked signs or are we not as good? Buddy did rough carpentry for 20 years then Amish crews started showing up, literally one dad and 6-7 15-20 years olds, would cut his price in half and rough a house in a day, put him out of business. I go out of my way to not solicit them in any way

It never fails. Whenever the topic of Amish comes up it turns to ridicule and bashing.

I know there are different sects/orders of Amish and Mennonite. You folks seem to have consistently met the worst of the worst? Or maybe you all just watched one too many episodes of the Amish Mafia?

The Amish I know, and I know a lot of them, are honest hard-working folks, especially the Old Order Amish.

Housing development has been running rampant in my area for thirty years or more. With the exception of a few holdouts, many of the Dutch farmers sold their farms to developers for whatever they could get and retired. No Amishman that I know or heard of has ever sold his farm to a developer. In fact they buy farms from the few Dutch farmers who don't want to see their family farms developed. The Amish buy them and give them to their sons to farm.

If not for the Amish around here, the entire area would be one giant, suburban development with McMansions every three acres! Also, I have never, not once, been turned down by any Amishman when seeking permission to hunt or trap on their property.

I'm thankful they are here, wish there were more of them.

Well said Lugnut.

~X2

Had 2 Amish loggers mark my timber for a bid. During the 2 days it took to scale the trees we talked quite a bit. At one point one of them made a comment to me that lost the logging job for him no matter his bid.

The comment was " It is the dishonest man that gets ahead these days. " they were very mannerly and even humorous. They would make you laugh while they cut your throat so to speak.

During our time together I quizzed them on thier ways. Asked them how they washed themselves. They said a kettle on the stove. I asked if they ever had a shower. They said they were on a log job at a fairgrounds and it had showers. Felt pretty good huh? I asked.

They were fun to spend time with so I sent them home with a hind quarter for thier time. He never called with a bid. I believe he knew I figured his game out. I also marked timber that was not to be taken after the comment of the dishonest man. Don't think he liked or ever saw that done on a bid before. I also knew quite a bit about timber.

They are hardworkers. I wonder if OSHA ever shows up on some of their jobs. Some of those kids do work that seems crazy to the average person.

The local fur buyer used to have a couple Amish kids to skin, flesh and board coon. They would do a few hundred a day.

having never met or likely to meet a Amish person all I can do from reading the posts on hear is they sound a lot like the travler/romany gypsys we have, nice to speak to but will take the shirt from ya back and the lace from ya boots!lol

And the science world is still trying to figure out how Stonehenge and the pyramids were built. I'm gonna throw in my vote and say the Amish were involved.

Nice people as far as the ones I've met, and I agree with Lugnut's take on it.

I will say that Amish made is not necessarily synonymous with quality. A group of young Amish guys framed an addition on an old pressure treated deck. I looked at the job myself and refused to build on the existing deck. It just wasn't framed appropriately and it would cost too much for me to redo it rather than just ripping the deck off and laying a block foundation.

Anyway, the amish framed it and under roof in 2 days. They made no plans for electric, insulation, HVAC, plumbing, or even tying it into the house!
The home owners begged me to come back and finish the job, which I reluctantly did on a time and material basis.
Every single step of the way I have been battling with extremely poor craftmanship. Just shear laziness on their part. It's not square, plumb, flush, or true........anywhere. It's just awful.

I have a surprisingly large number of Amish peoples' phone numbers in my cell phone. I wished I had some Amish living closer to me. They mostly have a very good work ethic and I would hire some to work on my farm.

I have a friend, Sam, who used to be Amish, He left when he was 15 and got a job as a horse trainer in Kentucky. He may be the hardest worker I have ever seen. He quit school after 8th grade and got a full time job working in a saw mill. He got a second job cutting firewood from when he got off until dark. His parents got all the money from Sam's full time job. Sam used the money from his second job to buy a lot of car batteries and a CD player, which he kept at a non-Amish friend's house. He would play CDs in his buggy. His parents found out and started taking the money from his second job too. Sam got mad and left. His father was the bishop.

One Amish man I know, Junior, was talking about how to sex pigeons. He asked if I ever used a gold ring on a string to sex pigeons. I told him I did not believe that it worked. He then told me he used to do it but found out it was a form of divination started by an ancient Egyptian witch. He then went on about a 20 minute rant about witches. At first I thought he was kidding. but soon realized he is thoroughly convinced that witches are actively using witchcraft to harm him and other people daily.

Keith

It’s funny to watch them fish at Pymatuning. You can tell when the walleye bite is on....they show up in droves and the campgrounds fill up with their families. They’ll rent a pontoon boat for $100 for 8 hours. I’ve see them packed with 12-15 people of all ages.( remember, a 3 year old can legally posess a limit of 6 walleye too). The last two years I’ve noticed many Amish women looking at cell phones in the boat, paying more attention to them than their fishing rods.

I think it's probably quite rare for them to leave.

There was a young couple that lived up the road from me that was Amish that turned English. He drove tractor trailer. There were some young people around here that turned English so it’s not surprising to me at all. My father was Amish and turned English when he was 17 and joined the Army. His brothers and sisters followed as well as my mother.

Same thing at Chataque and Clendening, they keep everything that comes in the boat.

I agree and said earlier I hate to lump them all together but here in Ohio is different you will not get permission to hunt their farms and any quality piece that goes up for auction they buy, fork out a cool mill for 250 acres like it’s pocket change and bam that piece might as well turned into a allotment. I will say I am with Lugnut on the development stage. We’ll have a strip plaza half empty and they’ll clear woods and fields across the street to build another, crazy

Yup, if you have a radio, you can hear them on it speaking their language which is a cross between German and Dutch I believe. They will tell the others where to fish and what they are biting on but use their language so the English won't know. I've seen that happen a lot up on Pymie

I have no problem with the Amish or anyone else keeping legally caught and legal limits of fish.

Keith

Simple math displays that the population ofthe U.S. will be majority Amish some day. They outbreed us. Muslims outbreed us, too. I wonder if Amish will step up to defend our freedom from Islam, or will their pacifism be our demise?

They will not defend us or themselves, Unless the next generation is different than the last.

You must not know many Amish. Quite a few leave the clan.

Yes, youngsters are fleeing like rats from a sinking vessel.
Corey, back in the 70s many of them were SW of P.C. and east, along the highway. Now there are some down around St Bridget, Axtell, and Beattie.
They have a great greenhouse nursery at Axtell.

I worked on some logging jobs with them. They wore absolutely no safety gear at all. That straw hat wasn't stopping spit from 60' up. I was a timber tramp so to speak going from one Co to another when they needed help, but the amish always seemed to win out quite a bit. It wasn't because they were better, I think they worked cheaper because workmans comp wasn't mandantory for them. But hey, I had my own ride...…..I was somewhat bitter because they were exempt from that (I think)…...I never hired any for help.

I know a guy down here in Tenn that left the Amish as a teenager, and his father passed and left some of the property to him(125 acres) in Ohio, its a dairy farm but his relatives own everything around him and don't associate with him so he doesn't use the property, and he said they are still running cattle on it. Great guy and he has the biggest calf muscles I've ever saw on a man! I did see a van full of Amish at the store the other day but that's about it for east Tenn, grounds to steep and rocky I guess

Careful, I know of at least one that’s a member here on Tman.

You must not know many Amish. Quite a few leave the clan. [/quote]

I see a lot but yeah you're right I don't know many personally. None actually. Most people around here don't. Although the Amish wave Everytime they go by the house. I don't doubt what you're saying but I haven't heard of many around here leaving the Amish sect.

The statistics I have seen say that around 20% of Amish children leave their religion and communities. It seems amazing that that most stay in after seeing how everyone else lives. The same thing goes with the Mennonites, Dunkards and other members of the Old German Order.

Since Amish have an average of 6 to 8 children, even with some losses, their numbers will continue to grow.

Keith

Inbreeding could be an issue

Negative recessive traits are a big problem for the Amish. Locally they have been bringing in single Amish men from Europe to some of the communities. I have heard they have set up some new communities with young families from all over the country in other states. I know two guys, who drive the Amish and they are both getting paid to drive young, Ohio Amish people to events in other states, probably to help them find spouses from a different community.

All of the Amish I have met have the last names Troyer, Miller, Kaufman or Yoder.

Keith

We have an Amish family that lives about a mile from here and they're good people. Dad bought a bow from me for his oldest son and I gave the younger son a small bow and some arrows, so he'd have one to shoot too. All the kids including the girls ended up shooting it, so I dug out another small longbow and some more arrows so they didn't have to wait so long between turns. They've all gone out of their way to show their appreciation, including Mom trying to load me up with baked goods and vegetables.

I don't eat their food. I've heard their hand washing / sanitariness is very poor. Some people around here love their food but there's a lot that won't touch it.

All the Amish homes I have been in were immaculately clean. The outside of those homes, out buildings, gardens and yards were well kept too. Except when they were working, all the Amish I have met were clean.

There is one group of Amish, not far from me that regular people and some of the Amish I know call the dirty Amish. I have not met any of them. Their houses and farms looked pretty ramshackle, when I drove by. There is a fair amount of variation between communities, especially when it comes to how much technology they use.

Keith

We don't have a lot of families but there are a couple areas near by that are growing and one that is shrinking back some. With my farm business classes I did have several Amish farmers that I worked with. The old order came in the area about 20-25 years ago and is shrinking back some. The New order group has been settling in over the last 15 years. They do have church together at times but other than that they don't seem to mesh too well.
It is getting harder for the Amish to get enough acres to run a full size or family dairy farm but that is one reason the settled near by we have pockets with several smaller farms that the Amish can run 30-70 cows on. Here they utilize a lot of custom hiring for chopping,, balage etc. and cornsilage. Several are developing organic dairies and many sell produce. They have pretty much put a lot of the farmer markets in the smaller communities out of business.
Several had cell phones plugged in to their milkhouses etc. They had power to the barn and other buildings but not the house. The new order utilizes skid steers etc. along with other mechanical machines etc. The older order not so much. The kids learn english when they go to school. They file and pay taxes and borrow monies from banks, government and family. I don't know for sure if they pay into SS or not.

Bryce

I here the head Amish priest or whatever he is gets all the money and it's distributed as he see's fit. Sound's like a heck of a gig,for him anyway. He cruises around in a car to with some of the ones just under him. That guy sounds gangster to me. lol

AND Only those that live with-in walking distance and in there neighborhood know the truth.I live very close to Pyma.Lake and the statement above is true.the State cabin park on the Ohio side is full for 2 months when the bite is on.the boats come in swing the stringer to the wife and out they go again.
your thoughts that some are good, I agree totally. the others is purge all the resources and move on.Period!

He’s the Bishop

We witnessed a new one last night. I couldn't believe it. An amish buggy came by my house shining deer. Apparently they had a 12V battery as an energy source.

Some of the Amish near Mt.Hope, Ohio drive solar powered, 4 wheel drive vehicles. They have solar lights in their schools' bathrooms, which are in a separate building from the school. I had to pick up an Amish man at a Halloween party they were having at a school. They used kerosene lamps for light inside the school.

Twice recently, I went to an Amish produce auction. Both times, two elderly Amish women were selling masks they made, while they, like all the other Amish present, went maskless. I found it funny.

I wish there were Amish people living close to me. They have a good work ethic and I would higher Amish teenagers to work on my farm, if they could get here. A few weeks ago, I had a Mexican friend of mine I was talking about the Amish produce auctions with say "Man those people work really hard all the time, even the little kids." I told him that Mexicans have a reputation for working hard too.

Keith

they do massive deer drives cutting fences, trespassing, running rampant tthru the community not giving 2 hoots about it.

Just like any people there are all types. Different "sects" of Amish just between here and the Pennsylvania border. Mennonites, Amish, etc.. The ones closest to me seem to follow the strictest guidelines. The one down in Pennsylvania seem to be more modern, wearing multi colored clothes, roller blading etc.. One thing they have in common is decimating our natural resources. They are constantly being ticketed forfishing violations especially taking over limits and undersized fish. They "hunt" by driving woods for deer with up to 50 people pushing small lots. Nothing is left unshot. I know a few that trap but don't know what their philosophy is on that. I do know by talk to them that with hunting and fishing they believe it was all put there for them from God to do with what they see fit. Just my observations by living around and talking to them

I still have a little 2 cylinder 2 cycle maytag. Had it running 40 years ago or so. My mom used it long ago on a wringer washing machine. Its easier on clothes than a scrub board. Easier on the operator too.

All those names in SE Nebraska are familiar except Kaufman. Also Borntraeger and Gingrich. And Swartz. The current Bishop is Swartz, and many are leaving because of him.
My Sons hired a couple of young Amish who had left the clan. They were enjoying their new-found freedom and wanted to be rodeo cowboys so they weren't very dependable and ended up getting sent down the road.
My Sister does taxes for some of the Amish. One of them had a piece of paper for "sale of (loose women)" Spelling of HORSE is important.

I haven't seen Amish mafia on TV for a couple years.

Lived around the Amish all my life. Had them work for me 40 + years. 90% of them there should be a bounty on. Of the remaining 10%, 5 are good people, 5 could go either way depending on what day it is

A quote I posted two years ago on this thread. It still applies and I suspect always will.

Yeah you think the Mennonites are more liberal until one of their daughters runs O. F. T. with rodeo trash like me back in the day. Denise Becker's dad still day dreams about cracking my head with a 2x4 30 years later LOL

My cousin in Md. has a bunch near him, he's also friends with the local gynecologist, Doctor told him they schedule exams for the Amish women on Mondays, cause Saturday is bath night, and by the end of the week things are getting a little gamey.... LOL

I started reading this thread and thought it seemed awfully familiar, then read my own comment from 2 years ago and figured out why. AJE, just had to revive a 2-year-old thread to tell us they were jacklighting deer eh?

Gary, have you got the international definition of "motor" changed to your own yet?

I've never known any real Amish, but I've known 3 ex-Amish, named Schwartz, Yoder and Troyer. I see here those are all common names. I met them all different places and times, with no connection to one another. All 3 are honest quiet men and hard workers, and don't talk much about the old life.

Now, the Mennonites around here are probably the finest, hardest-working group of folks I've ever met. A Mennonite contractor built a 2400 sf shop for my old company, dirt to paint in 6 weeks. A friend of mine worked on a framing crew for a different Mennonite builder, and their specialty was building little 2-3 bedroom ranch houses in a single day. It was a crew of 7, I believe, and they'd show up in the morning to a foundation and leave that night with the shingles, doors and windows in. They're impressive to watch.

Would I rather live by a group of hard working people seemingly stuck in time or live in Chicago or Saint Louis where they just take what they want (or what they believe they are owed).

All people, if they choose, do the best they can, where they are, with what they have.

When we're put in "people groups," whether religious or not, it makes no difference to the "choose" portion of one's heart. We all steer toward what we love.

Blessings,
Mark

Yeah I tend love the ways the hardworking people have over the ways of the looters and rioters. Nothing says I have to choose to live by them. Maybe Lot left his oasis not so much because of the people but because of their ways. If I have a choice I encourage things like hard work and discourage the other. Choice seems to be a shrinking commodity now a days. Unless of course in the instance of liberals and their choice.

I'm kinda with ya Foxpaw. I don't care how light or dark you are or who your papa was or wasn't. I'm just not big on sloth (so says my carnal side!)

There are a lot of Amish-run businesses around here and I frequent quite a few of them. I get my hydraulic hoses from the local tractor repair business. It's interesting to see the older, steel-wheeled tractors in the repair bays next to the newer, English owned machines.

The Amish I know are shrewd businessmen and great bargainers. I bought my back-hoe used from an Amish-owned tool shop. It was a classic negotiation complete with dollar amounts written on slips of paper and slid cross the counter. Also, the old "I'll-have-to-clear-that-with-my-boss" tactic was used where he'd disappear into the back of the shop for a few minutes at a time even though I knew he was the owner of the establishment.

He started at $25,000.00 and I started at $15,000.00. After about thirty minutes of back and forth we settled at $18,500.00 and his business would transport it to and from my job sites for one month or until I got a trailer, whichever came first.

It was a good deal for both of us.

That's Awesome Lugnut^^^!

They do credit, but it is in-house credit. Generally, a group, or an individual amish family that has wealth will loan money to other Amish...usually the young bucks just getting started that need money to buy ground.

They do a lot of credit around here. We have old order and new order Amish and I worked with many that took out USDA FSA agriculture loans to start their farms and get going. Yes they preferred to utilize in house credit but that was not always available. They were willing to take significant credit risks and some had very low equity in their farms when getting started.
Amish is an offshoot of the Mennonite religion started by Mennen. There are typically three orders within each of the two with less rigid, typical and old order. There are Mennonites with rubber tired vehicles which they drive. The new order Amish here did not have cars but used a lot of gas powered equipment. They had cell phones but no land lines and now electricity in the house but that electricity for the farm and barn. Years ago one of the larger feed companies in the Mid-West was McNess which was owned by a Mennonite. He would hire a driver to drive around to all the businesses that used McNess feeds. He did very, very well. Don't know where that brand ended up.
Most of the original old order Amish came to WI during WW11 when many men were drafted and due to their non war stance the Amish worked many of the dairy farms in central and western WI and then bought their own farms over time. Many of the later Mennonites that came were from eastern PA where they could sell land for 5 times or more what an acre of cut over farm land here cost.

Bryce

My Sis worked in a bank and Amish were constant customers.