The beauty and serenity of the heavenly growing wild flowers, the windy, quaint little dirt roads and picturesque pastures filled with sweet smelling grass call out my name through tiny whispers in the gently blowing wind. In an instant, I am transported from a hectic anxiety filled world into another dimension. As I crest the hill, and look into the fields, the smell of fresh manure and hand cut grass welcomes me. The only noise is faint, from the trees swaying in the breeze, or the secret call of a far off bird. I am perplexed and somewhat puzzled, because only a few yards away is a large group of men dressed in plain dark blue pants and shirts, some with beards, some cleanly shaven but all wearing straw hats, and ask myself where is their nose? In an instant the urge to snap a photo overwhelms me, yet I dare not. I would not want to offend this group whose beliefs are rooted in their religion where the emphasis is love of family, love of community and a clear focus on their Christian way of life. Instead, my eyes scan around more taking in it’s own snapshots of the women, the men, the children, each working on different tasks but brought together as a large group through what appears to be teamwork. It is plain to see that working together as a community is a mainstay of the Amish life meshed together throughout their religious beliefs, dress, education, recreation, work, and community involvement.
No matter where I turn to look, the small schoolyard with only two swings, the simplistic homes with no electric wires, or the fragrant fields, I notice that there is always a large group together. Author Raymond Bial summed up my vision best in his book “Amish Home”, when he said, “It is better for a group to work together than for an individual to labor alone.” Everything action the Amish does seems to be based off of God’s words. They chose to stick together as a group exercising their rights to follow the Bible precisely. They choose to not allow pictures to be taken of themselves or mirrors because they believe it is prideful to draw attention to themselves, yet they feel that it is okay to take pictures of the land or items because worldly possessions do not matter to them.
As I take in the image of the women, men and children, and their attire, I ask myself are they from a different timeframe? It is apparent that they do not dress as individuals, but as a group. The women all have dark colored, long sleeved, floor length dresses with aprons and triangular shaped capes. The men all have dark colored shirts, dark colored pants, suspenders, dark colored boot type shoes and straw hats. I asked a gentleman who only wishes to be known as Owen and he told me, “All of the women and men choose to dress themselves and their children like this, because they choose together as a community to show their modesty. The men and women both humble themselves by ensuring that their clothes do not contain any patterns or designs that would draw attention to them as an individual, but they strive together to give all of their glory to God instead. They choose not to change the patterns and don’t want modern day changes to the clothing because they want to remain pure in the eyes of God. Nicole Smith wrote an article on the Article Myriad where she said, “The Amish maintain their sense of purpose by forming a very strong bond with the history of their ancestors. They realize that they are living according to tradition and as a result, they have a great deal of reverence for it.” The Amish choose as a community not to stick out as individuals, but to be recognized as a humble group, the community called “Amish”.
Witnessing the abiding children, it is clear to see that the Amish men and women teach their children at a young age to work together and to help one another. Their culture vastly differs from our small families since most of their families have anywhere from 7 or more children. It appears that at the early age of 3 or 4, or as soon as they begin walking and getting around, the boys learn to start working in the fields with their fathers and brothers. The fathers teach them to pull weeds, plant seeds, and water the grassy, plush green fields. Likewise, the young daughters are seen grasping onto their mothers long dresses, or aprons as they get to learn the processes of cooking, housework and other wifely duties. During the week, the children are seen going into a small, one room schoolhouse where together they help one another learn to read, write and do simple arithmetic until they reach the eighth grade. As a community, they have decided together, that the eighth grade is the highest education that the children need. When asked about the reasoning behind this, Owen told me that “The reasoning for the one room school is that the basics our children need for life are taught through the eighth grade, the following years could teach things that may influence them to leave our Christian society and join one that is not focused on the community or the family as a whole.”
As I walked with Owen talking about the school, I noticed the children in the small yard beside the school. They have what appears to be a small playground with only two swings. I did not see the usual fighting, pushing or yelling over who would go first, as I typically see at my daughter’s schoolyard, but instead there was cooperation and enthusiasm as the children took turns pushing one another. I also saw teamwork as the boys concentrated on hitting the small ball with the long stick and fellow teammates ran alongside of the batter from tree to tree and eventually back to where the hitter started. I also witnessed the younger and older children all playing together treating one another as an equal, not paying attention to the weaknesses of the younger, but encouraging them to perform and coaching them along the way. I smiled as the young girls shared their plain, no faced dolls with the older girls, even though I knew that it was their cherished possession.
I didn’t know that my heart could be touched any more, but then I turned to see the Amish men in the enormous, plush green fields driving horses cultivating their fields, harvesting crops or baling the hay. I noticed that the horse and buggy is a reflection of their way of life and also their secondary form of transportation. I smiled, and politely said hello, as I slowly passed them walking together in groups to most of their places. I did not hear any complaints about walking, but instead heard talking and planning ahead for whom would do what part of the work when they reached their destination. I also heard praises of thanks for jobs done earlier in the day. I enjoyed watching as they worked together in the fields, using strong horses and mules to draw their hand led plows, instead of using modern day equipment. Owen taught me “They believe it would waste God’s money through the high equipment and fuel costs, and they want to give God the glory for their harvests and not ruin what God has given them.”
Likewise, as I headed toward the homes, I saw the women with their long skirts or dresses, smiling and laughing as they hand scrubbed and rung out the clothing, pinning them with wooden pins to the rope clothes lines. I saw them lugging buckets of water from the pump that they worked so hard at to get the water from. One lady was holding the bucket while the other pumped the red handle up and down, and together they carried the handle over to the other women at the washboards. I noticed how quickly the work got done, and watched as they went on together to the next task. This is when I saw them sitting down at a picnic table working together in groups that author Fred Israel called “quilting bees” in his book “Meet the Amish”. This is where the women get together and hand sew quilts while communicating with one another. Fred also commented on the fact that, “They also hand make all the clothing for the large families.” Towards evening, right before the men are seen walking home from work, the smell of the freshly baked breads and pies seems to overpower the smell from the fields. The small candlelight in the window illuminates the shadows of the mother and her daughters quickly preparing the meals for the hard workingmen and their sons. I was in awe of the closeness that the mothers had with the daughters resulting from the activities that they performed together with them all day long.
I quickly learned to have a deep appreciation for this Amish group as I continued to learn about their community involvement in chapter three of Fred Israel’s book “Meet the Amish.” Here Fred communicates that; “Community involvement with family and friends is vital to both their family and also to their religious beliefs. During the start of a newlywed’s life this is evident because the parents assume responsibility for the new couples farm and farm lands. The community comes together and provides all of the necessities that the couple will need to survive. They provide furniture, quilts, building equipment, food, tools and other necessities. At the same time, if someone in the family becomes ill or ages, the community and families pull together as well. The homes become larger as additions are added onto the small homes so that the families can be watched for and taken care of. The young children do not complain about taking care of the elderly, because they are taught from an early age, that families stick together, and work together. As a community, the church not only offers moral support, but gives financial help when needed as well, whether it be for loans for property, or for the community to come together to morn or grieve over the loss of a member”. The families come together as a community to make sure that everyone is taken care of and that no one lacks anything. Fred goes on to say “On the weekends the Amish visit families or gather together to hold church in someone’s house. Because they cherish their family and friends, visiting is a main part of their lives. They are united in their decision to not have telephones in their homes, because they fear this would keep them from visiting a friend or relative.” I am quickly reminded that in our modern day society it is all to common for us to give a quick hello and goodbye on our cellular phones as we go about our busy lives. Yet, here is a community that thrives on the love of togetherness in all aspects of their lives, and I admire them for the closeness of their families.
Raymond Bial says, “The Amish simply do not want television or radio to threaten family life. As one Amish man noted about the English neighbors, “The center of attention in their home is the tube. They’re home together, but they’re not sharing anything.”“
To sum it up, throughout the six parts of the Amish’s daily routine discussed in this essay, there is one common thread joining them together at some point. Since it is the one major focus of the religious and social nature of the Amish culture, it is only natural that togetherness is a mainstay within their beliefs, dress, education, recreation, and work and community involvement. In essence, through the strong bonds and the combined efforts of the community, the Amish have achieved longstanding love and cooperation in spite of the modern world that surrounds them. By taking the focus off the individual, their aspect of group life is more apparent than in other religious groups because the foundation itself is the group’s will to work together as a community.
Works Cited
Griffin, Walter. “Amish families reviving farms in Thorndike, Unity” Bangor Daily News 24 Oct.
2009. http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/126555.html.
Isreal, Fred L. Meet the Amish. New York: Chelsea House Publishers,1986.
Smith, Nicole. “The Amish and the Functional Prerequisites of Group Article Myriad,
2009.
(No Last Name), Owen. Personal interview. 15 Nov. 2009.
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