Have you ever visited an Amish community?

I have never personally been to an Amish community, but there is one around where I live. I have heard many of my friends talk about visiting them before. My father has actually befriended an Amish man. When he comes up to visit me, he always likes to go visit this man. He says he is a joy to talk with and my father is always full of questions for the man. My sister and my 2 year old son went with my dad one day and she said the man's children swarmed her and my son. She said she had jawbreakers and the children kept asking for them. She said they loved the candy. My parents are visiting this weekend and I'm sure my father will be going to visit his friend. If I am able to go with him I just might because I have never been before and the Amish have always amazed me.

My family and I actually went down to Amish country here a few years ago. We didn't have time to really delve into the culture to much, but we did see plenty of buggies and Amish-folk. Although, we did visit down there a few years ago, and we were able to visit a working farm. That was quite interesting. I'd like to do it again.

I don't have any solid memories, but I do remember a bit when I was a little girl. I believe we were in Indiana, going down a back road in Berne. I remember asking about them, because the curiosity was killing me! I seen barefoot little kids running around in 80 degree weather with full bonnets and long sleeves. As we were passing the area, we slowed down because there was a horse and buggy with a family in it. I loved it. This was back in the 80's. My step-mother got my sisters and I to start reading stories about the Amish. I loved them. Things are so simple. They hand make everything, they do everything the old fashioned way and it's lovely. I went to a flea market one day and seen a family of women selling their quilts. One of mine go for $60-120 dollars depending on what size and around $35-45 for a baby quilt. I hand-sew and machine sew. When I seen that they were $300-800, I had to see why. Every stitch is precise and hand done. The details are magnificent! I would love to have that craftmanship. I would love to go back someday. I would love to spend a week with the Amish just to learn. I am sure I would miss my shower, phone, tv and computer but I would cherish that experience forever. You gotta appreciate the God-fearing, hardworking, wonderful people like that!

I have wanted to go! Especially if they are holding a sale of the items they make. And honestly if you think about it sometimes I would like to go back to simpler times. When we could live off the land and raise a family on meager earnings. Now days you need atleast 2 jobs to even pay the bills and technology changes as fast as we bat an eyelash nowdays who can afford to keep up with it all? I know I can't. I'd love to if I had the cash to spare but keeping our fridge full is a bigger priority for me over any new gadget.

This is a good discussion and I am sure that a lot of people have different ideas when it comes to the Amish country,and whether they have visited or plan on visiting,and I personally have never been to the Amish country,but my mother and my grandparents have visited the Amish communities in both Penslyvannia and Ohio and they said they were a lot of fun,and a big difference,and my mother always brought me back a something from their trip and I think it might be nice to visit one of the Amish communities for myself one day to see what it is like,have a great day,good luck with your life,and all of your mylotting goals,and Happy Posting.

I am also very familiar with the Amish who live in Maryland and I'll tell you a wonderful story about the kind and generous people they are. Several years ago a tornado, which is rare in Maryland, ripped a small town apart. It was terrible...many homes and businesses were destroyed. The following day a parade of horse drawn carriages and large carts, also powered by real horse power, pulled into town. It looked to me like the entire southern Maryland Amish community was there. The men started repairing roofs and doing what they could to rebuild damaged buildings and the women were offering home cooked food to the residents who had spent the night in a shelter. When a television news reporter tried to interview them she was politely shooed away until one young man spoke for the group. He said that there was a community in need and that they were there to offer what help they could. That was all he said before he went back to work.

The town next to mine is the second largest Amish community in Ohio. My eldest daughter is a veterinarian in the largest Amish settlement in Ohio, about 2 hours south of here. I see Amish all the time. When we still had a dairy farm here we used to deal with them a lot, many continue to be good friends:) You are correct in that many of them have their own farms. Most of the Amish men I know personally not only have their farms, but work a regular job to boot. Lots of them work at the local cheese factory, and at a plastics extrusion plant. Many of them own their own businesses making furniture, and selling other needs. While they don't have their own electricity, phones, or our modern conveniences, quite a few of the areas have a 'public phone' within walking distance, like for emergencies and stuff. While they don't drive cars, many of them do know how to drive and drive tractors for other farms. Us 'non-Amish' are referred to as 'yanks', and they know how to operate our farm equipment even if they don't own their own of that type (motorized.) I love living in this kind of atmosphere! While our farm has modern conveniences like tractors, cars, etc, it is wonderful to watch them work their farms with horse drawn equipment. The community that is in our area still has neighborhood schools, one room type, that the children walk to each day. Us yanks have one central school all our kids go to, but they have many schools (small) that are close for them to walk. Ours use no conveniences in clothing, like zippers, buttons, etc. Clothes are hand-sewn and I've often seen nursing mothers unpin their bodice because their little baby needed fed. If you ever get to north east Ohio, shoot me a line and I'll give you places to see, eat, etc. If you're a quilt lover, you'd be amazed at their work!!

actually we went to pa just to see them we drove about 2:30 hours after we retched pa and we saw them and we saw the caregis ,the horse that drive the carige..they got their own cloth for me and women and we saw their houses and their farms .. and they are really stricked about taking a pictuer.. they don't want to. we were so happy about getting to know new culture.. and we took a tour in a house was owned by Amish people and we saw what house appliances they use ..it was very educating ..

I grew up in Ohio and their was a big Amish community close by. They are very religious, and they stick to their beliefs. and they have some of the best food you will ever eat, it is all made from scratch.

Yes I have been to Amish "country". We have a community only 20 minutes away from where I live and they are the best people to go to for fresh vegetables and fruit. We know it is organic because they do not believe in using chemicals, they have honest prices and are always nice and polite. They use only what has become a necessity to due business and are proud people. There children are well behaved and their families are almost always very close knit. Of coarse there are the few who do not fit the bill but that is the same in any community.