I am inexplicably drawn to the clip clop of horses hooves every time I visit the Amish countryside. I have been many times – I grew up less than 2 hours from LaGrange and Elkhart Counties in Indiana. The area is home to over 15,000 Amish people. Each time I am there, I want to sit for hours and watch the buggies go by so I can hear the rhythmic pattern of the horses hooves on asphalt.
There are two sides to visiting LaGrange and Elkhart Counties. For a long time, I saw the tourist side – going to the shops in town, eating at the restaurants that serve the giant family style meals of fried chicken and all the trimmings and watching the buggies as my car slid slowly past.
This time, I wanted to see the other side. I wanted to stop at some of the homes that have handcrafted goods for sale. I wanted to actually talk to some Amish folks and I wanted to get off the main roads and see some of the beautiful countryside full of the neatly kept farms. I think Robert and I accomplished it to some degree. We did go to some of the more English places (what the Amish call non-Amish people). We ate at the Blue Gate – a gift shop, furniture shop, bakery, inn and restaurant. We went to E&S Sales, the bulk foods shop that is filled with both Amish and English customers. But, we also got off the main roads.
We got to visit with Leanna Fry at her little quilt studio at 8340 W State Road 120 in Shipshewana. All of her quilts are stacked on a bed. After letting me know she would need my assistance, we proceeded to turn all of the quilts as she told me the names of the patterns. She then showed me the wall hangings, the lap quilts, and the table runners and pillow covers. All of it was beautifully done and carefully hand quilted.
I told her that I quilted, that I had a beautiful wedding quilt that my mother made for me and that I do not have the patience or the skills to hand quilt. I got to ask how many quilts she makes each year (50.. that’s almost one per week!) and ask about the fabrics she used. She was very friendly and open and willing to talk. I was hesitant to ask too many questions and end up saying something to offend her. I told her I was a writer and when she asked if I wrote for newspapers, I was disappointed to tell her I mainly wrote for the internet – something she will never see.
We stopped in at Owl Toy Craft and talked with Owen Wingard – 9555 West 300 South, Topeka He makes beautiful wooden toys. He was happy to have us look around, and answered questions about materials and construction cheerfully. I did not ask so many questions there – it seems like in a place with a woman selling quilts or baked goods, I got to do the talking and when it was a man’s shop, Robert got to do most of the talking. I wouldn’t say the men didn’t want to talk to me, but it seemed that they were just more comfortable talking to Robert and the women were more comfortable talking to me. Maybe that only seemed to be the case because we were asking about the things we were most interested in and in a woodworking shop I had few questions.
As we drove out to the shops at the farms we got a good view of many Amish farms. The farms are all neatly kept, with flower gardens, vegetable gardens and horses grazing in the fields. I am not sure why, but I loved to see the clothes hanging out to dry on the clotheslines at every house. Maybe it is because I have a clothesline at home or maybe it was the neat rows of identical trousers, each pair slightly shorter than the one before. Spending time in this area always makes me want to come back and immerse myself in the culture for a time, even if it is only a weekend. The way of life is hard, I am sure – working a farm without modern tractors, not having the convenience of a car to take you places and not having electricity to light my lamps, run my fridge or power my air conditioner. Not to mention going without things like computers and telephones. But, it must also be more simple. There are things you must do – grow a garden, cut wood for the woodstove, preserve your summer harvest, and usually, have a trade like woodworking or quiltmaking on top of your other responsibilities. Despite that, going without modern worries is what is most interesting to me. I already grow a garden, do some canning, use a clothesline and heat with wood. Being Amish is about 100 times more involved than the simple efforts I make but still, I am unexplainably drawn to it all, just that same way I am to the clip clop of the horses hooves as the buggies go flying by.
One important note if you do stop and meet some of these Amish folks. Be polite and ask if you can photograph what they have made. Some may have carefully crafted pieces that they do not want to be copied. And do not try to photograph the people themselves. I am not sure if it is a part of their faith or just part of their lifestyle, or a combination of both but Amish people do not want to be photographed. Be respectful and abide by their wishes.
