I’m moving! Yes it’s official. When I have been asked over the years which countries in which we had travelled I would wish to live, I would always answer “the UK”.
That view changed when we travelled to Australia as the pandemic struck and our positive experiences led me to decide upon Oz. As of today I am widening that choice to… Arthur in Illinois, USA. I think life amongst the Amish could be a rather good choice. I am not saying I would request to become part of the Amish community, but to live within Arthur could be idillic.
We spent our fourth day 70 miles from Springfield, Illinois, at the spacious town of Arthur housing 5,000 Amish and 2,300 non-Amish. We had booked a trip with local guide, and previous head teacher, Danny – a youthful 75-year-old, non-Amish who had lived in Arthur all his life. Our journey was to take us by schools, into farmsteads, lunch at an Amish-run restaurant (and subsequent mint, I might add), and on to a horse-drawn buggy ride.
We found out that each Amish community is headed by bishops and deacons who make the rules, which could be different according to different communities. Amish life is not based on religion as such (although they are religious) but on a way of life.
Amish families are usually large, with up to 10 children. The father is the rule setter within the home (although I am sure mum plays a major part in that). The children can be educated in Amish schools, or ‘public’ schools where the rest of the community attends. Both get along without any animosity, as do the adults. Amish children are educated to eighth grade (13 years old) and at that stage either leave to work within the community or can opt to continue their education at a ‘public’ school and later go on to university if desired. Teenagers from around 16 years are also able to take time out to experience the wider world (called the Rumspringa) and then opt to be baptised into the Amish church or leave, although not necessarily the area. About 30% choose not to return to Amish life.
Some might choose to leave later in life, not as a direct disconnection with the traditions but for business reasons. One lady, for example, who went on to run a burgeoning restaurant and store found that the Amish traditions put too many restrictions on ways to trade and so, whilst continuing to live and work within the community, needed to withdraw from Amish life.
Our brilliant guide, Danny, showed us one of the local schools which, rather than having car parks instead of playing fields as in the UK these days, housed sheds to stable the children’s ponies during school hours.
The Amish mode of transport is the horse, and we were delighted during our visit to take a ride in a horse-drawn buggy. In this area they do not have cycle lanes but buggy lanes (honestly)!
We also called in at a family’s homestead – a house with extensive sheds housing ponies, hand-raised deer (to ensure they become domesticated – they are pets not lunch), ducks with their numerous hatching broods, endless cats and tiny kittens, dogs, and large numbers of goats. To top it all, Verne the owner had 7 daughters and 2 sons aged 21 to 6. One child every two years is quite common in these parts.
Lunch was at Yoder’s Kitchen, a success story for a young lady who started working as a waitress at the restaurant after her eighth grade education, and later went on to become the owner of what now is an extensive restaurant, catering and gift shop business.
A lot of eighth graders start out in a similar way. When visiting Verne’s homestead we met her 14 year-old daughter who was just experiencing working life in a furniture-making company, doing the sanding. Youngsters often start at just 3 days a week and take on extra responsibilities and days as they progress. Sanding, she told us, was not her ideal job. But it would lead her on to more advanced things in time and likely give her a job for life as she progresses. Furniture making is big business amongst the Amish.
Many Amish are practical people and some have gone on to produce very successful businesses. One company started to produce up-and-over garage door systems and eventually sold this for millions of dollars. Some others are involved in farming their lands which can stretch as far as the eye can see. The Amish do not have electricity but rely on propane gas and solar power. This limits some aspects of what they can do, so they hire the ‘English’ (a term for anybody, regardless of place of birth, who are not Amish) to come in with their sophisticated gps-system combine-harvesters to carry out some of the work.
As part of the visit I had asked if it was possible to visit a fabric shop. I understood there were fabric shops in the location and I was curious as to what would be stocked for this conservatively-dressed community. Arrangements were made for me to do this.
The Amish make their own clothes. The colours are mainly subdued, but all outfits are conservative. There was very little patterned fabric, apart from a few children’s nightwear materials. The full range of fabric was, unusually, of just one fibre – polyester. I was told this prevented the need to iron the intended garments. Well, with all those children it is no wonder they wanted to make life a little easier. I was also told that buttons and clasps were only allowed on men’s garments. Women’s garments had pins to fix where buttons would be used. It seems this was the tradition rather than any practical reason.
It was refreshing to see young children so respectful, with girls in their little bonnets and long dresses, and boys with bobbed haircuts and braces holding up their trousers. We were allowed to take photographs, as long as they did not include faces, which we respected. We noted how many men had beards, and were told that once married men grew beards, but not moustaches which were considered somewhat aggressive. Ladies too wore black or white bonnets and long dresses.
Our trip was completed with an unscheduled trip back to our guide’s home – a beautiful house with extensive land for stabling and exercising his five horses and huge trailer. The trailer was used for holiday trips with his wife and housed a shower, kitchen, queen-sized bed and three horses!
Life in Arthur, Illinois, is different to what we know in the UK and, it seems, very safe. Nobody has need to lock their cars. A trip in a buggy (the Amish’s only means of transport apart from bicycles) shows life at a much slower and more comfortable pace. Those who are not Amish, the ‘English’, can enjoy their technologies, computers and streaming services. Both Amish and non-Amish live together in harmony, from cradle to grave. From our visit I think they might have just found the answer for a near perfect life.
Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022
Really interesting blog. Glad you’re enjoying yourselves.