The Amish Cook from Oasis Newsfeatures

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There was a comment posted by a reader yesterday on the Fountain Acre Foods thread that I thought I would share:

A few weekends ago, my husband and I traveled over 100 miles (one way) to go to Fountain Acre Foods, where we found the store closed on a Saturday because of a wedding of one of the workers. What a disappointment that was for us. We had planned this trip for almost two weeks, and I even Googled it to find where it was located. Why didn’t they inform the public (online) that the store would be closed that day? The man outside of the store told us that there were flyers handed out and posted for the locals to let them know about the store being closed for the wedding…but nothing posted on their website. With the price of gas, that trip turned out to be a very expensive letdown. Needless to say, I was very upset!

I’m not in any way downplaying the woman’s disappointment, but I want to use it as a teaching or at least “awareness” moment.

First of all, because the proprietors of the store are Old Order Amish they do not have a website or even an in-store telephone.  The telephone they do have is in a shed off-property, but you can reach a recorded message from them at (765) 847-1897 and they do announce upcoming days they will be closed on that recording. Some Amish businesses do have websites run by non-Amish, but even that requires some religious concession if they truly believe that the internet is not something they want to have part of their life.

Now, all of this raises other questions, though: Should an Amish-owned shop serving a primarily non-Amish clientele do more to communicate with their customers (i.e. have a website) or even hire some non-Amish to run the store on occasions when the owners can’t be there?  For instance, today – May 17 – they are closed due to Ascension Day. I’m sure there will be many disappointment customers showing up on this gorgeous afternoon only to find the doors locked.  Personally, I think closing the shop for a religious observance is just part of maintaining their cultural authenticity.  It’s very understandably frustrating, but I’m not sure they really should be expected to do more. I can tell you that on more than one occasion years ago I traveled close to two hours each way to visit Elizabeth Coblentz (Lovina’s Mom) only to find her not home.  She didn’t have a phone and while I would try to write to her ahead of time to let her know when I was coming I knew that it was always a risk I took that I would arrive and she wouldn’t be there.  It was frustrating, but I just viewed it as part of the price paid for doing business with the Amish.  And, again, I do sympathize with our comment-poster…when I was driving two hours each way to Elizabeth’s, gas was probably $1.50 a gallon, so it wasn’t as expensive of a let-down if she were not home. What do others think?

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Each Amish settlement has their unique characteristics, quirks, and customs, whether they be the open buggies of Berne, Indiana or the mustachioed Amish of Maine.  When Amish from a particular settlement move to a new one they generally take their customs with them.  When I was visiting the Amish community around Kingston, Wisconsin last year virtually all of the residents had moved there from northern Indiana.  The dress and buggy styles reflected that, so it was like stepping into Shipshewana even thought we were 700 miles away.  Another illustration of this can be found in eastern Indiana where you have two Amish communities just 45 miles apart geographically,but worlds apart with customs.  The Amish near Fountain City, Indiana arrived from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania shortly around 2005.  Here is a photo of an Amish buggy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Compare that with a photo of a buggy I took the other day in Fountain City.  They two are practically identical.I had to enlarge the above photo a bit so it is a little out of proportion, but you get the idea.  In addition to buggy styles, the Wayne County, Indiana Amish are observing Ascension Day today (May 17) where the Amish up the road in Berne are not marking the occasion with anything special.  Below is a photo of the common open buggies found just outside of Geneva, Indiana some 40 miles to the north.  The two Amish settlements do not interact on any substantive level.  The ones in Wayne County have much deeper ties to Lancaster County Amish than to closer communities.

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NOTE: Thank you to readers who have been pitching to help the Eichers, it is VERY much appreciated!  Every bit helps! While there is no formal fire fund, people can help by joining the Amish Cook Friend Club. Click here to join and if you want to forgo the Friend Club rewards just make a note and that will earmark those funds for fire clean-up.

CLEAN-UP: Clean-up continues at the Eicher household in the wake of last week’s fire.  Her church has been great about diving in and helping with the clean-up and comfort needed in the wake of such a mess.  Lovina’s oldest daughter, Elizabeth’s, bedroom suffered a bit more structural damage than first thought. So the ceiling in her bedroom is being replaced and many of her possessions were coated with a think film of smoke.

 Check out this tea set of hers, the color is usually the crisp white seen in the center of the plate where the pitcher was.  Instead uncovered parts of the plates are now soot-covered. By the way, everyday dishes among the Old Order Amish – in my experience – are usually low-key no-frills affairs.  In fact, plastic seems to be the favored plates and bowls.  But many Amish do own a set of really nice dishes, even China, or a tea set like this.  They’re usually associated with weddings, church or other special occasions.  I remember once when I was bringing a newspaper reporter to the late Elizabeth Coblentz’s house for supper, she brought out the fine China.  So they do have nice dishes, they just aren’t for everyday use.