King Hutch aka John H.

Today was Amish Day for the Colorado History Teachers of 2008. Now I’ve got to say that this was not one of my greatest anticipated days. Come on, with visits already to Valley Forge, Independence Hall, Princeton Battlefield, Washington’s Crossing already; and with Gettysburg coming up on Friday, I just didn’t feel today could be a trip highlight. But again, I was mistaken (tends to happen quite often). This was actually a very nice day in spite of 100+ degree weather and dripping wet cloths. 

We all managed to find the bus & get out of Philadelphia on time! It was cooking outside & the bus has great AC. We arrived at our 1^st stop, Intercourse, Pennsylvania (boy the jokes were flying around today!) around 10:30 am. Since we had a video & tour at 1:00, we took an extended lunch (shopping) break. I had a Famous Lancaster Sausage Sandwich (when in Lancaster try famous food) & proceeded to charge up enormous amounts on my suddenly very happy because it’s getting attention from me credit card. After the group reassembled, it was off to the Mennonite Information Center for 2 informative videos and then a bus tour of Amish country.

 Matt & Ada:

We picked up this little “aged” lady named Ada to lead our. Throughout the week her age has changed. It began as around 80 when we first heard about her. My how people age around here! Now she was fantastic! What a go getter! What a little “Firecracker” she was! Such a great sense of humor! Boy if I was just a bit older –or- she was just a bit younger, I would marry her! She took us all over Lancaster County & explained so much about the people and the area! We stopped at several little areas to see or taste the local specialties. The quilts were amazing! The furniture was incredible!! The Snitz (a desert made of dried apples, sugar, & spices creamed up and baked as a pie) was fabulous!!! Yes I think I’ve gained a ton on this trip. 

I was really impressed with the beauty of the area. There were many gardens that the Amish keep up. Every time I saw one of these gardens of flowers I thought about my mom and the beautiful burm she has.

The area goes on for miles of rolling hills and farmland. There are points that we saw where absolutely no electrical wires exist! There were lots of Amish buggy’s and carts on the roads. It was cool to see the teams of horses pulling them along. The horses just don’t seem to spook either. Its kind of amazing with all the traffic they must see.

We made our way up to an Amish farm where we experienced a true Amish meal. These people were so polite and gracious! First they asked if anyone would like to lead the prayer and Sherri Ward did a wonderful job. They served us chicken, ham balls, mashed potatoes, green beans in a sort of BBQ sauce, homemade bread with homemade jam, carrot cake, apple pie, and homemade ice cream! Gosh what a meal. I was stuffed (like I said, I weight a ton now!) The Amish family then sang a few Christian songs for us. I bought a few small gifts from the family. When we went outside, the young children were riding tries around. They were so cute. I showed Dave a children’s book I bought and their small daughter saw it and rode her tike to me. I got it out and she started pointing to all the shapes and colors. She was so cute and adorable! Makes me miss having young kids. Sure wish I had a daughter to go with my exceptional sons!   

Now I am sitting here on the bus pondering in my head how I can bring the history of the Amish & Mennonites into 6th grade history. The key is to focus on culture. Why do people migrate? The answer is the Push-Pull theory. In other words, something bad either pushes you out of your country (such as war or persecution) or something good pulls you into another country (such as jobs or better land.) So now the question becomes, why did these people live their homelands and why did they come to this area of the United States. So the 1^st issue on the agenda would be to provide my students with some basic information.

The Amish people are Christians. They are part of the Anabaptists who came from Switzerland around 1525. These people believed that people could not be forced into a particular religion, it must be voluntary! This group was later called Mennonites after Menno Simons. But in the late 1600’s, a man named Jakob Ammann claimed that the Mennonites were not strict enough in enforcing these views so they broke away to become known as the Amish. Both the Mennonites & the Amish refused to recognize infant baptism. They also insisted on the separation of state from church. Because of these views, both groups were severely **“persecuted” (key term) by both Protestants & Catholics. In the late 1720’s the Amish people first began to arrive or **”migrate” (key term) to Pennsylvania at the invitation of William Penn which would allow them to practice their religion the way they wanted and also live in peace. So now we know the answer to the **”push-pull theory” (key term). These **”immigrants” were pushed from their country because of religious persecution!

Now I could bore you with figures & statistics such as: A) The average farm is 80 acres. B) Over 27,000 Amish live in Lancaster County. Bla-Bla-Bla!!! I want my students to be engaged in the lesson. So let’s tackle the question of who the Amish are. In other words, let’s learn something more about their culture. Amish drive horse-drawn carriages. They use mules or horses to work the farm equipment in the fields. They only use gas or diesel fuel for power, but no electricity. They have worship services in their houses. They use 1 room school houses to educate the kids. They only educate to the 8^th grade. And they speak a dialect of Pennsylvania Dutch. But wait there is more. Men wear dark color fabric suits & straight cut coats, solid color shirts, & broad-brimmed hats. And the men let their beards grow without a must ash. The women wear modest dresses of a solid color with an apron, long skirts and long sleeves. They also have long hair kept in a bun with a covering. They use a bonnet & shawl in cold weather. Kids will wear the same basic cloths as their parents. ***Discussion Time*** So now all you 6^th graders, that’s what you wear right. No you don’t? How would you feel to have these types of restrictions on your dressing style? How about no TV, no video games, no I pods; the only music is that kind in which you sing as a family and the songs are religious. Quite different isn’t it. Why do you think they would work so hard to avoid modern conveniences & technology?

It’s quite different from the waves of Southern European immigrants who arrived in America during the late 1800’s & early 1900’s. These people wanted the **”Americanize” (become like most other Americans as quickly as possible by learning & using English, dropping traditional customs, and trying to fit in and not stick out). ***Discussion Time*** So what is the reason the Amish attempt to live simply in farming communities without the benefit of cars & electricity? Why the plain cloths? Why not Americanize & therefore stand out as being different? The answer for the question about cars & electricity is simple. They don’t want to be connected to the outside world which could corrupt. They are self sufficient because they grow their own food for both personal use and to sell without needing to buy gas. With the high price for gas right now, they are not controlled by an outside interest. As far as the unique lifestyle, they have a system that honors humility, family, and community. They want a life that is as simple as possible so that they can focus on their relationship with God.