The Amish - A Step Back in Time
By Joseph M Sabol

I grew up in Lancaster County, in Southeastern Pennsylvania, also known as "Pennsylvania Dutch Country". Although I grew up in the suburbs and not amidst the rolling farms, it is still quite common to see members of the Amish Community in everyday life.

All of Lancaster is surrounded by farmland, most of which is owned by Amish or Mennonite families. Driving through any part of the county, you will see a horse and buggy clip-clopping down the road or a farmer in his field with his team of mules pulling the plow.

Why do the Amish live the way they do? The short answer is because they can. To be more specific, the Amish are a Christian religious group who originated in Switzerland around 1525. They were known as Swiss Anabaptists, which means twice baptized. They are baptized as infants, then again as adults because they believe baptism should be a conscious choice. The Swiss Anabaptists were persecuted because of their refusal to follow the Swiss Church requirements on baptism. In 1690, some Anabaptists broke away from the Swiss Anabaptist Church, which are now the Mennonite. The group that broke away was lead by Jacob Amman. The Amish migrated to North America in the 1700s because William Penn was promoting religious tolerance.

Once they settled here, mainly in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, the Amish were free to practice their religious beliefs. One major teaching is obedience and yielding to God, the Church and others. They believe in living a life of humility, thrift and simplicity. They teach their children obedience and reject violence and aggression.

A second major tenet in the Amish Church is separation from the influence of the outside world. Much of their lives revolves around the Church for everything from social occasions to settling disputes.

Rejecting modern conveniences is a way to keep their community close and maintain their way of life. The leaders of the Amish Church decided to ban luxuries such as electricity and plumbing. They forbid automobiles and telephones. Amish children go to school in small one or two room schoolhouses and end their education after 8th grade. Until Amish children start school, they speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch. They learn English in 1st grade. The Amish believe maintaining traditions will keep generations close and provide a strong bond with their past.

When Amish children reach their teens, they are permitted to experience how the outside communities or English live before they make their lifelong commitment to their Amish community. During this time its not unusual to see groups of Amish teens at the local mall or movie theater. They have been known to smoke cigarettes and even have drinking parties. The great majority of teens choose to commit to their Amish communities after their fling with the modern world.

The people of Lancaster County are respectful of the Amish and know they are hard working, fair and honest in conducting business. Although they live in a separate community, they do a great deal of business with the English in the "modern" world. In Lancaster, Amish are known not only as farmers, but as expert carpenters, quilters and bakers. In the summer, they bring their produce, homemade goods and animals to the farmers markets and auctions.

One of my favorite things to do on a nice day is to take a drive through the country. I love to see the dresses and brightly colored shirts drying in the sun, or the children at recess in the yard of their little school, or riding their "vintage" bicycles on the side of the road. I feel fortunate to have a piece of the past right in my own backyard.

This article was submitted by Joseph M. Sabol, a noted Doberman breeder. For more information please visit http://theroadhousedobes.com

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