The Amish here live in white houses. Most of them are raising milk cows and doing it very successfully. In towns, there is a variety of cheeses you can buy that are delicious. All the people here have gardens tended to by the wives. Their role is to keep the house and garden, do the cooking and make the clothes that they all wear. The men have pants with a front panel with snaps on each side at the waist. Their coats have no collar and no buttons. The older men all have beards and the women wear caps; different colors for unmarried or married women.
The women in Berlin wear dark colored dresses and white aprons if going to church. The girls wear pinafores of white for services. The services are in the homes; all furniture is placed on the porch and benches are set inside with men on one side and women on the other, facing each other. They read from a Bible that is in a type of German. They have "hymns" that are really chants. The services last about three hours.
The men plow the field with horses. They will use a car if an medical emergency; the same with a telephone. The buggies are open in front; if raining, they have a cover for their legs. We mostly saw women in the buggies as they journeyed into town with their children. The buggy does have a window on each side with a orange battery operated light which is blinking as they travel down the lane to the right of the car lane. The horses are so magnificent. They are mostly black.
Most weddings are in November when it is more quiet on the farm...usually on Tuesday or Thursday. There is a business in Berlin from which you can buy food for the reception. Most houses have a candle in each window (battery operated). The town is very clean, the rolling hills were a beautiful green when we were there. Some of the teenage women and men work in the gift shops and restaurants in Berlin, or in the quilt stores. There are masterfully made Amish quilts for sale in the town. We ate lunch there and Earl had the best bean soup he's ever had (homemade) and the same with my potato soup. When we visited Yoder farm, we purchased homemade cookies. The women there also make many kinds of homemade jam and apple butter.
Finally, the children either go to their parochial school of the Amish, are home taught or go to the public school through the eighth grade. The Amish separate themselves from the things of the world which can keep them further from God. We loved visiting with them in this area and thank Anita for telling us about this marvelous, pristine area.
