Laughed so hard

[Tink]

For those of you who are familiar with the typical Amish buggies, you might get a giggle out of this too.

Most here have the usual somber black buggies with the wood/steel wheels. One young man however is riding in style! He's got a bright green flat wagon with rubber wheels and hubcaps, with 2 blue upholstered bucket seats from some sort of pick up mounted on it. Most of the time we see him going by alone. When he takes the family to town with him, he stacks up bales of straw in 2 rows to resemble a sofa for the kids to sit on.

The first time I saw this, I absolutely cracked up. It just looks so funny! I think he might be a fun person to get to know. LOL

[DianaB]

It sounds really funny. Is there any way you could get a picture?

[AngieDoogles]

The Amish hate having their pictures taken Diana and it is actually even offensive to them, though most tourists don't know and do it anyway. They believe that having pictures taken idolizes humans rather than God and that it can lead to pride.

[Tink]

RIght you are Angie. I've been tempted different times to take pictures of various Amish things but have resisted for that very reason. It's not worth offending someones religious beliefs for.

It would have made a funny picture though!

[AngieDoogles]

Tink, here is the site of a really great photographer who has gotten to know some members of the Amish community. His site says,

"Bill Coleman's artistic quest begins with the timeless nature of his subjects. The final result, his exquisite photographic prints, are rewards we can all share.

And yet, none of this would be possible were it not for the understanding and warmth of a few Old Order Amish families where Bill's odyssey is understood and his camera is tolerated - to a degree."

His work is amazing! I was shocked to find that they allowed him to photograph them (especially in the "Lest you be offended" section).

[Tink]

Thanks for sharing that site Angie. His photos are very nice.
What really stood out to me is the bright colors in the clothing. That would never be seen here. I noticed a few things; like the women and girls wearing headscarves; here it's double bonnets unless it's really hot out. A white thin cotton one, with a black stiff formed one over it is the norm here.

The mens "formal wear" is black boxy suits with crisp white shirts. For every day they wear dark dull blue pants and medium blue or green shirts. They always have on the traditional straw hat in summer, a black felt hat or wool stocking cap on in winter. The women wear crisp white aprons over their dark dresses for special occassions.

I was really amazed to see the children and young people acting out. Here that's simply not done. I have a family with 9 kids living on a small farm right beside me and in the 2 years we've lived here I have yet to hear those kids make any noise. When they go by they wave politely, and if they come to sell baked goods or something, they're quite shy and humble about it. Most of the families wave when they go by if I'm in the yard, and say a shy hello if I run into them in town. I do hear their goats and roosters and an occassional donkey braying. LOL

I went to a tiny country school just down the road from where I now live from 1st thru 4th grade. We were so proud to have the biggest class the school had ever had... of the 10 students in our grade, 3 were Amish. They were sent to the school in town for 5th - 8th grade when I was, so over that 8 years I got to be fairly close to them. I vivdly remember one of the boys crying on his last day of jr high knowing he wouldn't be able to come back the next year. The girl ended up not having children, so became a teacher when they decided to start their own schools. I still see her occassionally.

Although in the Amish community the women are not involved in any business other than selling quilts or baked goods or bulk drygoods if they happen to have a store, because I was known by them I was allowed to list and sell some of their farms when I worked as a realtor. That was very interesting as it got me into their homes and lives a little bit more again.
A cousin of mine hires out to taxi the Amish around in her vehicle. She has carpenter crews she picks up at 5:30 am and is often not home until 8PM because of how busy they keep her. She has formed some really close friendships with several of the women and as a result is invited to their weddings and such.
I think they're a fascinating group of people. One thing she can always count on though is that she has her Sundays off. LOL

[DianaB]

Angie, the pictures were wonderful!! He caught some really neat angles and shots. I wish that I would have seen his pictures years ago because I probably would have bought some, but now I don't think that they would go too well in a victorian decor. Still I really enjoyed viewing them!!

How interesting that you live so close to them and even grew up with some, Tink. We have a Mennonite community close to us. They're similiar but not as strict. They are allowed to have cars and modern appliances and such, but always wear dresses and instead of being plain and they are usually a small flowered material. I think that the nearest Amish community is around Springfield, Missouri. Several hours away from us.

[AngieDoogles]

Tink, I was surprised by some of those same things when I first saw it, especially since the site says they are Old Order Amish. I found Bill Coleman when I was doing a project on the Amish/Mennonite communities for one of my social work courses so I had to be very observant about stuff like that. All I could guess was that they were less strict about some things but still considered themselves Old Order for other reasons. I mean, they allowed a photographer to practically live with them, lol! Anyway, I think the shots are great and they seem like such a happy and caring community...