A different world!

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Source: Classroom clipart

Yesterday I went with a neighbor to a new-to-me plant place. It was a small family-run business in the middle of nowhere selling the most popular garden plants. My neighbor had told me it was an Amish family. (For those not familiar with Amish, it’s a strict old-world religion that shuns modern technology.)

The farm itself was neat and clean although plain. No majestic sweep of trees or plants or any real landscaping, just a plain house with two greenhouses and barns in the background. There were galvanized buckets and containers and some rusty carriage wheels, all for sale to give a rustic look to your home.

Inside the main greenhouse were three young females, two of them in the 6 to 12 age range with the other looking like a teen. All dressed in long dresses in brightly colored prints with bonnets and wild and crazy sneakers. All homemade with puffy shoulders and a loose fit so the dress would last while they grew. The sneakers were the only concession to the outside retail world.

They had their duties which they executed without anyone reminding them. A lactating dog slept nearby. It was a look out of “Little House on the Prairie.” (I never watched that show but it’s what I would expect.)

What was absent was technology. No cell phones and no calculators. No fancy cash register and no credit card gizmo. No automation. The young teen calculated our purchases with a pencil and her head. She was quick and accurate.

I can do that too because I was brought up like that. You had to add in your head because cell phones weren’t invented yet and calculators were too expensive to waste on anyone but college students. (There are some who would say that the abacus was in use when I was young. This is not true! Fire was already discovered and the wheel invented.)

My mind wondered what their lives were like. They seemed happy. What was their schooling like? Do they have friends (other than siblings) to play with? Do they play? The youngest had a book that she was reading in the slow times.

The area was idyllic with farmlands. No close neighbors. There was a peace and quiet you don’t find near cities. Cows were grazing in a nearby field. It was beautiful but there was no Starbucks nearby so I don’t think I could live there.

Their prices were amazingly low. I did some research at the garden centers and the plants were from 25% to 50% cheaper than anywhere else. Technology doesn’t make things cheaper.

In a way, it made me homesick for my youth. It was a lot less hectic and peaceful but it would be hard to give up convenience. Also, I don’t look good in a bonnet. I’ll just visit from time to time to soak up the tranquility.

71 thoughts on “A different world!”

  2. Sounds so pleasant. How nice someone can do retail pricing/totals in their heads or with just pencils.
    I’d go there just to soak up the calm.
    Last Christmas I tried to purchase as many gifts as possible from the Amish. Beautiful hand crafted gifts and supporting small farm families trying to keep their lifestyle. Win-win to me.
    Enjoyed the trip and your portrayal of a very pleasant afternoon

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  3. It sounds like a nice outing to me. I have been to Shipshewana, Indiana (Amish) and St Jacob, Ontario (Mennonite) communities. The people were so friendly and so happy to have you buy their goods. We especially liked St. Jacob where we stayed in a bed and board where the homeowners also had a small farm … walk out back and see chickens where your breakfast came from, or the cow that contributed to your cream or milk. She made the bread and jam – I thought everything was so self-contained there. I envy how the Amish live without all the trappings we are used to. When I was at the diner, the manager’s granddaughter worked with me. The manager said “keep her away from the cash register – she has no clue how to make change.” It was a very old cash register which did no calculations for change back and calculators were still sky high in those days. My father was a tool-and-diemaker and he would spend hours after dinner trying to compute a die’s dimensions using a slide rule. He bought a Texas Instruments calculator – very pricey at that time, but was able to compute the answer in a matter of seconds.

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          • I like that you can copy-and-paste the answer into a Word doc in Windows 10. I use Windows 10 at work, but am still using Windows 7 at home … I took my time to go through the entire Win7 laptop in preparation of using the Win10 laptop, but stayed with Win7 – the interface is comfortable like an old shoe!

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            • When my husband’s computer (Win7) started to slow down and go wonky he was forced to buy new with a Win10. He struggles with it. I went through several iterations between Win7 and Win10 so I think it’s great. It’s just a matter of getting used to it.

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              • I feel it has too many bells and whistles for me – I guess that’s what it is. I’ve been using Windows 7 since it first came out. I bought my first laptop (which I still use to store photos) in November 2009 and Win7 had just come out). I liked Vista, didn’t try Win8 and I rolled back Win10 when they forced it on us. My accounting program is on a Windows XP computer. We bought a new version of Timeslips as the 2004 version we are using is too old to migrate over. So, I remote into that computer from the computer I remote into everyday. I would have to put all the criteria into the new Timeslips and for now, this works fine.

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                • Hopefully you can hump along to retirement. My husband didn’t have that luxury. His computer broke and he had to change. He never used Vista, 8, 8A or anything between 7 and 10 so there were a lot of differences.

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                  • I’m not crazy about Office 365 either. I am still using Word 2010 on this laptop. I don’t use a mail program, just G-mail or my web-based Comcast. My boss does not know how to do an attachment since we went to Office 365 e-mail two years ago. At least if he drafted something he could e-mail it to me – now he types it up, prints it and scans it in. I used to be able to access his computer and grab it from his documents, but I can no longer do that. It’s a pain.

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                    • It is even easier to attach a document in Outlook 365 than before when you had to use the “paperclip” – now your most-recent docs are right there. I gave him easy directions from step-by-step screenshots to a how-to video, but nope – he cannot comprehend it. I even asked the computer guy to show him what to do – still can’t do it. I told him to draft things in e-mail and send it to me that way … then it is a problem as he does a hard return at the end of each sentence. It was a pain when he was able to draft letters in Word as I had to go through and remove each hard return and initial cap at the beginning of each sentence. He does not know how to spellcheck either and types whatever and a lot of it is gobbledy-gook.

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    • They did work at a house I lived in many years ago. It was mid-summer and hot. I remember a big black van driving up and all these guys getting out. They had straw hats, long-sleeved shirts, and pants with suspenders. By the end of the day, you could smell the sweat from a mile away but they did great work.

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  8. I so often think about my childhood and remember how relatively simple life was. Of course we didn’t know that then, but I think I’d appreciate it more now if I could manage time travel. I don’t know much about the Amish community, but I think there’s likely more community and respect for one another than we typically experience in our techno-driven silos. I would love the opportunity to visit this particular garden center. It sounds like a very pleasant experience. 🙂

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    • I think it’s more community based with neighbors looking out for neighbors. Most of the time, I don’t know my neighbors and in today’s world, knocking on the wrong door for help could get you shot.

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    • I don’t know for sure if they use veterinary services. The dog was a mix, short and stocky but a pretty brindle pattern. I didn’t see the pups but my friend had been there the week before and said they are gorgeous. Most animals on farms like this are working animals so I was surprised to see it treated as a pet.

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  11. A family who has chosen a quiet life that reflects on simpler times that we grew up in. I hope each and every member of the family is happy and fulfilled. I refer to our generation’s ability to do math in our head as our ‘super power,’ and I’m darn proud of it. 🙂 If you didn’t see a Starbucks, then they probably didn’t have a Keurig machine either. We’d both be in trouble on the coffee front. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this.

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  14. Nothing like walking back through time when visiting an Amish plant place. I can imagine the girls were fine with things-you don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve experienced it. It’s impressive they calculated in their heads. Most kids nowadays would be completely lost without their phones.

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  15. “Another world” indeed. I get a sense of cognitive dissonance, thoughts from opposite directions. On one side, I’m a tourist thinking, how quaint, innocent, and visually appealing. On the other, thoughts (based on ignorance, no doubt) about lack of control and lack of choice. Thanks for stirring me up!

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  16. Well, you say you don’t look good in a bonnet. I guess we have to take your word for it. 😏 I’m curious about the book the youngest daughter was reading, what’s approved or not approved. I never watched “Little House” either. I’m not sure why other than I think at that young age I probably thought of it as similar to the Waltons, another show that never really interested me. It’s nice that you have this place at your disposal. – Marty

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  17. I really enjoyed this post. Made my mind think of all the things you mentioned you were thinking about, including homesick for youth and wondering what those kids lives were like. Wow, on those prices! I know there is Amish Country in PA. I worked behind the candy counter at a movie theater as a teen. No registers or calculators. We only had a cash drawer and had to add things in our heads or on paper. We also only had popcorn, soda, and candy. No other food.

    On my way to my chiropractor, I pass a farm where you can buy their organic meat and other farm goods. I’m plan to stop there one of these days, but I’m sure it’s a LOT more expensive than the Amish prices. Would be nice to stay in that Amish peacefulness just for a night or two.

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  18. Amish women typically wear solid-color dresses with long sleeves and a full skirt, covered with a cape on the bodice. Some less conservative groups allow the women to wear short sleeved dresses but never sleeveless. Clothing is fastened with straight pins or snaps, stockings are black cotton and shoes are also black.

    Amish women are not permitted to wear patterned clothing or jewelry. The Ordnung or Book of Order of a specific Amish order may dictate matters of dress as explicit as the length of a skirt or the width of a seam.

    Since the dresses were prints, maybe they were Mennonites?

    Mennonites typically wear brighter, more contemporary clothing than Amish. They often opt for bold, patterned fabrics and bright colors to express their individual style. On the other hand, Amish prefer plainer clothing with muted tones that reflect humility and modesty.

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  19. It sounds very peaceful. Kids today don’t even know how to make change, what with all transactions being electronic. It’s apparently a problem to find cashiers who can manage cash transactions. I was a cashier back when you had to punch in numbers and count out change and I was fast. If I am using cash and there’s a youngster at the register, sometimes I’ll help them out. At the Farmer’s Market, everything is cash, but that’s one of the few places.

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  24. I grew up in a county that had a large population of old order Mennonites living and farming in the north end of it. Very close in custom to the Amish. No electricity, no cars…some of the more progressive ones had a landline phone…in the barn, for conducting business with the outside world.

    Deb

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  25. Having worked in Lancaster County for 20+ years before moving away, I was close enough at my last two jobs to be right next door the where the true Amish people and farms existed. And here, they do intersperse in the non-Amish community, shop at the Walmart, take buggy rides through the Main Streets in all of the little towns. Many will talk with you if you say hello first and ask permission to ask them a question.

    I don’t think I could have survived that lifestyle because of the heat without A/C in the summer. As for how the Amish “handle” their lifestyle, one Amish husband stated that “you can’t miss what you never had”.

    And also, the long ratty beards on married men made me feel a little creepy.

    I’m glad you got some experience at that plant shop and hope you go back often enough that they’ll recognize you and you can start having conversations. They really are a kind and lovely people.

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    • On the way home we went down a steep decline in the road and there was a young boy with the trademark straw hat pedaling like crazy up the hill on his bike. I was fascinated by the beautiful dresses the girls wore. They were clean considering it was the end of the day and they were working in a greenhouse with dirt floors and plants. I am not generally a fan of beards and I especially dislike the long ones that go untrimmed.

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