Amish
Now Entering a Horse Drawn Vehicle Area It was a cold and blustery day outside as I drove my truck toward the sleepy little town of Belle Center, Ohio. The houses became few and far between and the country silence was broken by the incessant hum of my Ford Ranger’s 302 V8 engine. Of course there was nobody around except for me to notice the noise. After fifteen minutes of maneuvering down the twisting road, I finally saw the sign that announced my entrance into Logan County’s Amish country; the sign read, “Now Entering A Horse Drawn Vehicle Area.” The Amish are an admirable group of people. They have gotten along for the past four hundred years without any of the necessities of modern life, and their culture shows signs of continuing to do so for the next four hundred years. This group is very unique, as they still are able to appreciate the simple joys of nature, such as the song of a mourning dove, the nickering of a mare to her foal, and the excited chatter of squirrels in the spring. Now, how did they come to have such a profound appreciation for nature as well as each other? A brief background on the Amish will help explain why the community within Belle Center is such a strong cultural site. The group now k . . .
When they do this they embrace only those technologies that maintain what they believe is an acceptable quality of life. Often, the home that will hold services for that week is selected on a rotating basis. It is from this previous information that I will base my cultural experience in Belle Center, Ohio. For instance, a member of the Amish faith must live a simple life devoted to God, family and community, in accordance with God’s laws. Also, as the Amish run their own schools, education is not required past the 8th grade. Their religion is part of what holds them together as a cohesive unit. They eventually had to escape religious persecution by immigrating into Pennsylvania and then westward from there (Yoder, 2003). Edna stated that electricity is required to run a dairy barn because there needs to be refrigerated tanks, and the way they circumvent the intrusion of electric lines is to run the refrigerators off of a diesel or gas generator (Yoder, 2003). The Amish are not stuck in a time-warped vacuum. Items such as electricity, automobiles, television, clothing fashions for example, are considered to be distractions that promote pride, envy, vanity, sloth, dishonesty, and other undesirable traits. Everyone is close knit, and is more than willing to help each other if the need arises. Unlike most people they analyze the negative effects that technology might have on their faith and family life. They have never let go of their roots, and provide for their children a cultural identity that most of us cannot relate to. High demand crops such as hot peppers are being grown to increase profits, as well as operating a sawmill (where we buy all of our sawdust for bedding) and a store that sells baked goods, crafts, furniture, and sheds. As Belle Center is not even populated enough to even be known as a small town, it is no wonder that it is an ideal place for an Amish community.
Common topics in this essay:
Belle Center, Vehicle Amish, Ultimately Amish, Edna Yoder, Swiss Mennonites, Ford Rangers, Drawn Vehicle, Center Ohio, Countys Amish, belle center, yoder 2003, cultural site, Entering Horse, cultural site amish, entering horse, route 68, center ohio, drawn vehicle, amish church, horse drawn, entering horse drawn, horse drawn vehicle, belle center ohio, site amish, |
Acceptance Essays
