After seeing the economy topic thought I would post some picture from Amish country. Maybe they have the right idea.



This is Horsepower



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Thank God I married an Amish woman!

She has been gradually converting me....lol

But I have always been a "do-it-yourselfer".

I am ready to go Amish if I have to.

I just wonder if I can paint a real horse (four footed kind)
red???? Put in a hydraulic lift under it's tummy?

i certainly don't want to step on anyone's toes here and i am completely uninformed about the amish people , but i thought they did not use any mechinical items,
i am going to have to learn more about the amish.

in the pics the horses are pulling a motor that runs the baler, isn't that like a tractor running the baler , i'm confused

Maybe someone else has details but the Amish will use gas powered equipment as long as it is pulled by the horses. But it is funny watching 4 horses pulling a big round baler. Also different Amish groups allow the use of different items. Some Amish can use an item but not own it.
This site has some information.
Ohio Amish link

As I understand it, it has something to do with the Sect (or Order). The Elders pretty much decide what goes and what doesn't in their own communities. It's different all over the country. Teddy can probably give us some good insight here. Eldon used to have some pictures of an Amish Toro Z-turn mower with steel wheels.

I noticed the hay rake and bailer both have rubber tires. You wouldn't see that around here, everything is on steel.
I sold a New Idea, 2 row pull type, pto driven corn picker to an amish man a few years ago.
I asked him how he was going to power it and he told me he had a ground driven "bull gear drive" setup that he could hook the pto shaft to and pull it with a team of horses. He said the blacksmith would convert the wheels to steel as rubber tire were like an express ticket to hell in his community.
The odd thing was, when I delivered it I noticed a large RV refrigerator in a small outbuilding hooked to a propane tank. I asked him if it was allowed, he acted a little sheepish and told me "we just don't tell the parson about it".
I have also seen one of the most modern hog operations I've ever seen on an amish farm. Climate controlled buildings, automatic feeders and waterers and electric lights, all powered by a diesel generator. The guys house had no indoor plumbing or electricity, the hogs had an easier life than he did.

Nick and Jason have most of the info correct.

There is way too much info about the Amish.....it is confusing to me and I have been married for almost 15 years.

The Amish children are indulged with "whatever" they want.... t.v.'s, cars.....you name it. Then when they are in their 20's they are asked to "give it all up" and join the church. Many find they cannot..... But if they do join it is known as a "true leap of faith".

If you respect the Amish you should never take a picture of them. To them that is a "graven image" and is against the law of God. They will be interviewed from time to time...but faces never on camera.

Amish cannot own cars "unless" it is for a business. The business can be fully equiped like any other business... La-*test*-('") technology, electricity and so on. They are allowed to generate their own electricity as long as they are not tied into "the grid". They cannot have natural gas, but can have propane....again "the grid". They cannot have a phone in the house....(here is a tricky one), but are allowed to have one outside. Have you ever seen a little hut along the side of the road? (it's not a shelter for school kids....lol) That is a "phone hut". It is owned by one person, but used by many in the area who do not have one. Funny thing to watch is a house with a lot of children......then the phone rings......you would see kids running from everywhere to see who would get to the phone first... It is apparently a big deal to get a phone call. And of course if they own a business they can have a phone. They are not allowed to play or learn to play a musical instrument. (It is considered to be "idle hands"). And if there is one thing they are known for is WORK. If you have time for "idle hands" you do not have enough WORK in your life. They have their own schools, but are only permitted to attend to the ninth grade. This is changing and many then transfer to public school for more education.

There are many fascinating appliances that are specifically used by the Amish. Anyone seen a propane powered refridgerator? Or gasoline powered washer?
I ain't makin this stuff up.

If the Amish show up at an auction... Game over man! game over!! You had better not want the same item they want....cause they will just bid until they get it. Very deep pockets....

The only thing is that the Amish do not have a form of elders. This is all decided by the minister of any certain group. And God forbid you go against his wishes.
You will be publicly ostrasized in front of the congregation. And they take that shame verrrrrrry seriously.
Church is usually held in a different home each week. When you see a low-slung wagon in the drive of an Amish home.....that means that Church is coming there.
That is the church wagon where all the pews are kept and for the men to hang their hats. Pure German (high German) is only spoken in church otherwise the traditional language is Dutch. Women and men are not allowed to sit together, but in separate rooms or in the summer the barn is used for church and they sit on opposite sides.

There are "black buggy" Amish here in northern Indiana... There are white and yellow and black in Pennsylvania. I think parts of Kentucky and Ohio have some grey buggy Amish. There are "Old Order Amish" and "Old Order Mennonite" These two are the most strict of all....you will not catch them with any of the modern conveniences the other sects use. The Old Order Mennonite have topless buggies. However.....for as strict as these Mennonite are....they are allowed one tractor... BUT....it must only have steel wheels... Reason being is that rubber tires are too "worldly" and are not permited by the church. There are even topless buggy Amish here in Michigan. To tell the difference between Amish and Mennonite.....you have to know the hats and coverings... A single Amish girl will wear bright pastel dresses and a white covering around the house.
A married Amish woman will wear dark conservative dresses and a black covering. A single man will not have a beard.. A married man will grow a beard but never allowed a mustache. Again this is taken directly from the Bible. Something about if you can not see a man's lips move when he speaks he may be lying to you. (again...not making this up). And no zippers allowed on any apparel...again this is too worldly... Man it stinks to have to pee and have to "unbutton" your fly before it is too late. (I guess pee-stains are acceptable )

The Amish have no insurance for anything..... If your house or barn burns it is taken care of by the Church. Paid for and built for "no charge". And that kind of security is why most stay in the Amish culture. They know as people they will always be cared for by others around them. We could definately take a lesson from them here.

Well....this could turn into a book very easily...... But if you want to know something specific.....just ask... I will get the info for you.

Again.....things are different from sect to sect......your experiences may differ.

The town I live in is predominatley an Amish community...I'm sure Mike knows this.
I will say around here they are the "modern" Amish & most have conveniences like skid loaders now.
They even have garden tractors...but they are use to pull something like a boat to the lake....never mow or use any ground turning implements.
Mostly all of them pull somesort of gas powered pony motor behind a team of Percherons or Belgiums to power a PTO driven implement.

The men work in the factories during the day & work again at home maintaing house & farm while the women work at home "from what I've seen"...It's not uncommon to see young kids pushing walk behind mowers cutting the yard & you'd swear they were hanging of the handle's...not pushing the machine.

Now west of me more southwest of Goshen,IN are a number of the Old Order Mennonites...they use tractors with steel wheels & often mow with a fancy Z turn...yes with steel wheels. ....ever seen a guy on a Exmark spinning steel throwing sparks in the middle of the road trying to get out of the way of traffic??

I know south of Ft Wayne closer to Jim you see the "old school" Amish with the topless buggies...even in winter!

Some of my pictures were from inside Lehmans hardware. They not only sell the gas refrigerators that Mike mentioned but also solar. They sell everything from gas lights to waterless toilets. If your ever on 30 in NE Ohio then its a short drive down to Lehmans at Kidron. If you go on Thur. there is an auction and flea market next door. Ohio has both the worlds largest Amish Community and also the highest Amish population.

http://www.lehmans.com/

Did you say Topless?

Nice Pics Nick!

Get your mind out of the gutter Duke............ you're crowding me

Last summer Carol and I were up in Lancaster County PA and stopped in a little Amish owned store. The two teenage girls were talking about going swimming as soon as they were done work. That's something you never picture them doing. Were they going swimming in a pool, a pond, the creek, or where? And what do they wear, swim suits, their clothes, or dare I say bikinis? Like I said, it's hard to picture them swimming.

One more thing about the store. They had gas lamps hanging from the ceiling but had a computerized cash register set up to take credit cards.

You have to admire their faith. This store is about 10 miles from Nickel Mines where the school shootings took place. The night of the shootings the Amish community forgave the shooter and made sure his family were also taken care of. That showed a faith and forgiveness far beyond me.

Ive had to run thru the Amish country up in Ohio, PA, and Indiana quite alot, always try to give them as much room as I can, dont wanna blow the buggy off the road with the big truck ya know..

I have a huge respect for them actually, the things they find important, were things that were once important to the rest of us, but have long since been forgotten due to Greed..both personal and corporate...and the pace of lift putting everybody into high gear all the time ... Maybe with the economy doing what it is, alot of the nation will realize that there are more important things than money and worldly possessions..like family...friends...etc etc etc

I have no family left....still working on getting some friends... It's on my Christmas list!

My wife says the women will take a one piece bathing suit and fashion a modest skirt for it. But they are stricter in Pennsylvania... She is not sure...
Forget the bikinis! It will never happen.

Buzz I think when MJ and I go to the show next year, I think we will tour that county if we have time. Sine we will be in the motor home we will be able to take our time Where is Lancaster County in relation to Fair Grounds?

It's about an hour and a half east to Lancaster but check out Bird-in Hand, Intercourse (keep your mind out of the gutter) and Strasburg. A lot of nice campgrounds in the area.
Check out these websites:
http://www.padutchcountry.com/
http://www.800padutch.com/