I had mentioned last week, that my father enjoys visiting the Amish community. Visiting them was something he has done for many years. I still remember all the road trips we took on Sundays. We would finish milking and feeding the animals early. My mom would pack a picnic lunch, and off we'd go to some place like LaCrosse, Wisconsin. It didn't matter where we went; Dad always took the country roads, and we always seem to end up going through a section of the country where houses would periodically have many buggies in front. We knew we were in the Amish country.
Some of the Amish traditions are quite different from other religious groups. They don't have churches. A group would meet at one of the parishioners' homes.
The Amish Wedding and Other Special Occasions of the Older Order Communities (289.73 SCO) talks about various holidays and important events, including Sunday worship.
For anyone not familiar with their culture, this book is a good, easy-to-read beginning book about the Amish way of life.
c Waterloo Public Library 2007
2 comments:
I am happy to hear you enjoyed the book. I have not read it myself so I wanted to ask is it based on Amish in the midwest or Lancaster PA?
I grew up Amish in the midwest and my life had many similarities but also many differences than what most books are written about (Lancaster PA).
If you want to know what it really was like for a midwestern Amish girl go to: http://www.GrowingUpAmish.com or my blog: http://annadeeolson.blogspot.com
With Gratitude,
Anna Dee Olson
Anna:
Thanks for the information. I'll check them out; there might be some good information to show my father. My father is the main inspiration for understanding their culture.
"The Amish Wedding" is a thin book that gives a general overview of the Amish way of life, using specific groups to illustrate the event discussed.
The main groups the author writes about are in Ontario, Canada, Lancaster, PA, and LaGrange, IN. However, Holmes County, OH, Adams County, IN, and Buchanan County, IA, are mentioned throughout the text.
Buchanan County, IA, is where my 93-year-old father goes to visit every other week. The Amish live close by the towns of Fairbank and Independence, which is very close to Waterloo.
Since there are only about 10 pages or so for each event featured (such as wedding, Sunday service, and funerals), "The Amish Wedding" is more like a primer that provides information for discussion with my dad.
Of course, there are distinct differences between the groups. I once showed my father a book discussing the differences in their buggies (with large photographs), which he thoroughly enjoyed. For the life of me, I can't remember where I found it or what the title is. I'll post it later if I remember.
The library does have a book written about the author's life in Kalona, Iowa, that might be of interest to you: "Born Amish" by Ruth Irene Garrett and Deborah Morse-Kahn (289.73 GAR).
- Tim
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