Old Order Mennonites, Amish Lead Simple Lives
Old Order Amish and the most
conservative Mennonites live the
plainest lives imaginable. In this
horse and buggy world, days are still
measured out in planting and
harvesting the land, family ac
tivities and church worship.
Clustered in Lancaster in
southeastern Pennsylvania, these
plain people have been blessed with
rich soil and an ideal climate for far
m ing. Rural Lancaster County is the
most productive agricultural county
in the East.
Follow Father's Footsteps
The driving ambition of most of
the Old Order farm boys is to follow
in their father's footsteps, and farm
the land.
Perhaps the most important prin
ciple laid down by the 16th Century
Dutch Anabaptist leader Menno
Simons, from whom the Mennonites
took their name, is one calling foir a
spiritual community living apart
from the world and close to the soil.
Anabaptists believe in adult bap
tism.
In the late 17th Century, Jacob
Ammann took his followers, the
Amish, out of the Meonnonite
church, primarily because it no
longer shunned non-conforming
a part of their faith, it is rare to gat
an inside look at their lifestyle. Out
siders, whom the Amish call
'English', are avoided. However,
writer Douglas Lee and
photogrpaher Jerry Irwin were
a llowed such an inside look for an ar
ticle that appeared in the April issue
of National Geographic.
On the Old Order Amish farm of
the Stoitzfus family, the men found
six-year old Samuel Stoltxfus
already adept at steering a mule
straight down the furrows of the
family garden. Samuel's 17-year old
cousin, Lloyd, was guiding the har
row. Lloyd lives and worfcd oo the
farm as a 'hired bov.'
An arrangeme.it used on many
farms, the hired boy system pro
vides needed labor for the farmer
and work for the boys who are oid
enough to be out fof school, but too
young to farm or work full-time jobs.
Formal education for the OLd Order
children ends with the eighth grade.
The hired boys' wages are paid
directly to the parents who start
bank accounts for their children
when they are born. Money in the ac
counts is turned over the the boy
when they come of age.
Rumspringa For Teenagers
When neighbors gather to harvest
wheat on an Amish farm, "the big
ones pitch it up, the middle ones
slack it and the little guys ride," a
"middle one" explained to Lee.
In the middle of an Amish kitchen,
lighted only by a butane lantern, a
16-year old girl presses a dress she
made herself, using an iron heated
to join the faith, m-rry and begin
their life in church.'
On a family farm of a Wegner
Mennonite member a f a count
vative congregation, 13-year otd
EUa Shirk hadn't had her picture
taken except for formal family por
traits until photogrpaher Irwin ar
rived. Many Old Order people avoid
posing for photographs because they
fear they might seem proud rather
than plain in the eyes of others.
When a Reidenbach Mennonite
boy becomes 17, he starts going to
hoedowns; gatherings in church
members' homes where young boys
and girls sing and square dance to
harmonica music. The boy's father
buys him a 'courting buggy' and a
horse and pays his expenses until he
reaches 21 when he is expected to
marry someone from the church and
settle down in the area.
The unhurried Old Order world is
being pressured by Lancaster's
growing industry and housing
developments, a booming tourist
market that brought some 5,000,000
visitors to the county last year and
by higher land prices.
Many Old Order farmers who try
to bid for nearby land for their
children are forced to subdivide or
watch their children move away
from home to take jobs.
Success for the plain people of
Lancaster, Lee concluded, "means
children who join the church and
carry on raising the most important
crop on the farm- the next genera
tion.
Astride the family mule at age 6, Samuel Stoltzfus is al
ready old enough to do chores on an Old Order Amish
farm in Pennsylvania's Lancaster Countv. His 17-year-old
By Jerry Irwin
t 1964 National Geographic Society
cousin Lloyd guides the harrow. On Old Order farms trac
tors are not used for field work, and boys are expected to
follow in their fathers' footsteps and farm the land.
Larry s Exxon & Garage
P. O. Box 71. Hot Springs, N.C.
Open 6 Days A Week 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
r . 'j Car Wash Available
612-3225
Mars Hill Garage
Specializing in Engine Overhaul & Tran
smission Work Electronic Tune-Up Ser
vice . .
I Wrecker Service I
489-3081
Oft Hwy 21 3 at Old Bull Creek Rd Mars Hill
See You In
Church This
Sunday
Ledford
Muffler
689-5287
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P.O. Box 369
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C&E Tires
Rt 2 Mars Hill, N.C.
M9-S4S9
New Tires, Recaps and Groceries
Hours: Mon. ? Sat 7:00 am until 6:30 pm
Liquidation Sale on ALL Tires
Weidon Ramsey and Jim Thomas Owners
Bob Frisby's
Gulf Service
Hwy. 25/70 Marshall. N.C.
** ' ? p.,11 P. ? ?
Lompwic vaun service
Open 8 am to 8 pm
Saturday
Ponder St, R.Z. Ponder
Hardware
Frisby's Body Shop
Hwy. 25/70 Marshall
649-3408
Specializing in complete restoration and body
building. Fiberglass and paint work. Rust
proofing with 7 year warranty.
Hilltop Monument Sales
MS-9M3
Clark's Chapel Road
WeaverviNe, N.C.
We cut death dates
Hilltop Bug Shop
31 Clark's Chapel Road
?. N.C.
We specialize In Vo&swacon, Datum and
Toyota Repairs,
We rebuild engines and transmissions
Houston Brothers
AMC/Jeep,
Inc.
82 Main Street. Marshall
?49-3022
A roller coaster is an amusement. Ups and downs can be
thrilling when you're only along for the ride.
Life brings a succession of ups and downs. How we meet
them is a rather accurate measure of that intangible thing we
call character. Most people discover the ups aren't all fun ?
the downs never are.
For in this life none of us is simply along for the ride. We
have obligations and responsibilities, opportunities and
duties, challenges and concerns.
All of us need the spiritual enrichment that effectively
molds strong character. Faith in God and its earnest expres
sion through worship and Christian service prepare us for the
ups and downs of life.
Be among the millions who are discovering the higher
and deeper dimensions that really make life thrilling. This
week attend the church or synagogue of your choice.
Copyright 1964 Kwstw Advertising Service and Williams Newspaper Features Syndicate
P 0 Box 8024 CbartonesviMe VA 22906
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ScnpturM by ffw American Society
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Glenn P. Brank
Insurance Agency
M>. Bo* 661
. N.C. 26787
t Heme Ownar't kmjr
Wiley Smith
Rtaftor - Builder
Hornet - Acreage - Investments
29 North Mam Street WMvervfflr N C
441-9037
MI m
As A
Family This Sunday
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Mary 's Restaurant
Marshall By-Pass
MM11S
Linda 's Cake Decorating
Supply Shop & Candy
Making. Supplies
Cake decorating and candy making classes
Call lor further information
682-3514
1 mile east of Burnsville on 19E.
Compliments
of
French Broad E.M.C.
Marshall Farm &
Garden Supply
Marshall By-Pass 849-3332
Open: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday - Saturday
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Blue Ridge
Com m unications
770 New Stock Rd. Weaverville
Professional FM 2 Way Radio Systems
Scanners. CB And Auto Radios
Wayne Corded w-iwo
Worship
As A
Family
Acme Septic Tank, Inc.
13S MonticeHo Rd.
WeaverviNe. N.C. 28787
282-4093 848-4298
Dan & Ona Young - Owners
A & J Upholstery
Calendar Of
Church
Events
Quaker Informaton Offered
If you are interested in learning more about
the Religious Society of Friends and Quaker
tradition, write to John Artley, Rt. 1, Box 27A,
Hot Springs, N.C., 28743, and indicate what two
hours of the week would be most convenient for
you to meet.
Father Graves To Be Honored
There will be an informal pot luck luncheon
celebrating Father Andrew Graves 50th an
niversary of ordination into the priesthood. It
will be at the Jesuit Residence in Hot Springs on
July 7, between 1-5 p.m. For more information,
caU 656-8295 or 649-3290.
Saturday Night Singing
The regular fifth Satuday night singing at the
Shoal Hill Freewill Baptist Church will be held
on June 30th at 7 p.m. The Rev. James Mason
invites everyone to attend.
Decoration Service Set
The annual decoration of the J.Lee Hender
son Cemetery on Davis Chapel Church Rd. will
be held on July 8 at 2 p.m. ,
SERVING YOU IN
MADISON COUNTY
DON WEST of Marshall
Our Local Representative For
Caldwell Well Drilling, Inc.
best prices ? best service
In Marshall. Cad Don At
649-2407
Asheville. Call Collect
Paul or Rubin Caldwell
2S4-3S81
FUUY
INSURED
i
HOT SPRINGS
HEALTH PROGRAM
MEDICAL. DENTAL and HOME HEALTH CARE
By Appointment. Monday Friday
Hot Springs Dental Center 649 2112 or 622 3245
Home Health Cere 649 2 1 1? or 622 32?5
Marshall / Walnut Medical Center 649-3500
laurel Medical Center 656-261 1
Hot Springs Medical Center 622 3245