When i was raised by my Amish mother she taught me to always set the table with a special setting using her best china so a complete setting was prepared for that special guest at every evening meal. She explained that it was a standing open invitation to our Lord Jesus to dine with us and to remind us of lost loved ones.
I like the idea of setting a place to acknowledge those who have passed on, it's a way of staying in touch with your roots. I think it could also help us to be mindful of those who are less fortunate & go hungry, so that we may be grateful for what we have. I love that your mom put out the best China.
Not Amish nor with the best china but when I was really little we would always "set a place for Jesus to invite an angel to the table" We often had a last minute or unexpected person join during holidays, so we always did that. Later on, we did it even if we didn't expect someone extra to come and sometimes, we would invite someone in to share a meal. I always loved that tradition
My wife and I recently bought a home that has a lot of old order Amish around us. The previous owner had allowed them to build a phone shanty on the corner of the property. Once we moved in they were over to the house to do a meet and greet, and of course the subject of the phone came up. I told them they were more than welcome to continue to use it. I judge a person by their character and not there religion or any other measure. Some of the nicest people I have met in a very long time.
The Amish ppl I have been around was in Kentucky but their homes had nothing like these things. Their furniture in their home was very plain and simply made although they had beautiful furniture for sale. I often wondered why their homes wasn’t furnished with the kind of furniture they sold. I can’t remember ever seeing a clock in one of their homes not even a small wall clock. I haven’t been there in about 15 yrs so I guess it cld be different today. I did see the calendars and things on the walls. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I miss getting to go to their homes.
Seeing the lamp shades and melamine bowls in the small, Amish-run stores reminds me of a visit I made to the Lancaster area with a dear friend. Those small stores manage to fit an enormous array of goods on their shelves! They put Walmart to shame! I found it interesting that many of the stores used skylights to add light to the inside of their stores. I would recommend that anyone wishing to shop in one of these stores bring a small flashlight. Some are a bit dim inside.
Have been fortunate to get to know some Amish people in northern IN. I can vouch for their fondness for clocks. One couple, living in the dawdi house had at least 3 very nice musical wall clocks in their living room. One misconception about the Amish is that they are anti-technology. In our area solar power is becoming very popular. The couple I mentioned had a pretty elaborate solar power system in their little house. Way over my head! They just won’t attach to the “grid”.
I liked your comment - good point on the Amish not really being "anti-technology". I would have trouble in that living room with 3 musical clocks going off every hour, hopefully they have a "sleep mode" for nighttime :D
@@paulsawczyc5019 no, i think it goes back to the passage in the Bible that says to “be in the world, but not of the world”. My understanding is that they want to remain separate.
There’s a tire shop near our town that’s operated by a conservative Mennonite family, and it has one of these fancy clocks on the office wall. I thought it was just your basic clock until one day we were in there at the top of the hour and that thing played a section from “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” complete with a moving scene! Being as this is a conservative Mennonite family business, I was downright surprised at how fancy that clock was, but now it makes sense.
2:04 The movement of the clock is the inner mechanical guts of the clock that make it go. This triple chime probably refers to a part that sounds chimes on the hour and maybe half hour or at other times. The reason it is advertised is that this particular mechanism with chimes will be very elaborate with a lot of metal parts with hand-applied clear-coat for added durability, so that would be a sign of very high quality but also add significantly to the price.
Expensive clocks can be passed down throughout generations making it an antique heirloom with a rich deep history. They are clocks that can be maintained and refurbished.
I think the clocks are useful and necessary, and price often reflects workmanship. If you want a solid, dependable clock, those grandfather and grandmother clocks are right up there. My grandpa had one that lasted a really long time. Meanwhile I've only used cheap battery operated clocks, and clock radios or plain digital plug-in clocks, and they don't last all that long. I had one pretty one that was a faux grandmother clock, and was sad when it completely stopped working after 15 years. I think it's the longest any clock lasted for me. So I can see the reasoning behind buying an expensive grandfather clock as a practical matter.
It all depends on the Bishop and community as to what's allowed. My dad's brother was an Old Order Amish Bishop and we didn't eat from the same bowls as them when visiting. This was in the 1960's. Things change. Some don't.
I moved to Pennsylvania about 35 years ago. This was the First I ever really heard of the Amish. I was festinated by them. Thank you for your efforts to help us 'English' folk about them. I have been watching a lot of your Video's to learn more. You have reinvigorated my desire to know more about them. I just might even take a ride to Lancaster County to immerse myself in their traditions.
@@AmishAmerica Food perhaps? Agricultural methods? Seems like a big part of their life that doesn't get discussed much Also, a video that talks about their population hundreds of years into the future. If their population is doubling every 20 years, there'll be 5 million of them by 2100, 160 million by 2200, and nearly 5 billion by 2300. The Amish future is very bright.
Great ideas Cal - long ago I did a blog post on future Amish population, but I think it could make a cool video as well because as you rightly identify they are growing at a high rate. And food is never a bad topic. Stay tuned
Harmonicas. I’m living in a home built for .Amish. I couldn’t understand the two massive nails in the corner up high. It’s for that clock. Car and truck batteries for solar panel electric fence. When I was out early I saw the water dripping from the clothing. Their washers don’t spin dry. The China is chosen when they wed, as well as silverware and a box to keep it in. I’ve seen Noritake on the dishes.
Many in my area of central Pa. will take a used washing machine, take the motor out and hook it up to air. This is only for spinning the water out of their clothes. The old wringer washers don’t take a lot of water out.
Nice example of adaptation of tech, it's been "Amishized" :) There is also a company in Holmes County, Ohio which makes an air spinner which performs the same function and also pneumatic (the "Charming Spinner"). Though I believe the solution you describe is more economical.
Some Amish will have a local battery magneto (hand cranked) landline party line phone, serving other Amish families. The magneto would provide the ringing current when being cranked and the batteries provide the talking current. There is usually no switchboard, no operators, as there is no connection with the telephone company infrastructure. Sometimes these are on the outside of the farmhouse in the porch area.
Around here the Mennonites use generators to run air tanks and they use air to power the ceiling fans and they have artisan wells that use air to bring the water up into the house. I hear the generators runs every morning at 530AM and then again around 8pm. They will run for about 30 mins so everybody can get baths and wash dishes. They are in bed every night at 9 PM, no exceptions except on weekends.
Mennonite communities can and do vary greatly. I follow a Mennonite here on Ytube and she has a home that's on the grid, drives her own car, has her own small business and likes to decorate her home.
@@janrogers8352 yep, a few of them around here have half converted to a more normal life. Some have houses like ours and some still have the traditional farm but have black vans sitting in the yard. They all still go to the same Church that's a quarter mile from my house. Its funny because people around here dont cut grass on Sunday mornings because so many buggies are on the road we don't want to scare the horse and you get tired of waving every 15 seconds at 100 buggies. Haha
@@mattsbrute Cutting grass on Sunday mornings is really not nice either way, regardless of religion or habits of others. The bloody sound is annoying to all who like to enjoy a quiet sunday morning.
I think alot of mainstream American English can learn alot from the Amish. I love using oil lamps just to save on my electric bill. I have one or 2 in every room. Love them. What I want to know is how do you find an Amish house for sale and how much are they. I would love an Amish home with some modern conveniences, since I'm not Amish. Would love wood floors and big rooms and a big kitchen.
@@happycook6737 I have kerosene lamps all over my house. I only use them at night to read or to just have some light. I don't run them all day, like some people I know, leave lights on all day, why, I have no idea. Like if I'm going to be in the bathroom I will light it for the time I'm in there. For us it saves us some money, but our place is small, but, if you live in a huge house, might not be worth it, it just depends. It depends what your needs are as well. I also have a solar power generator that when it's charged up I use that for other electrical things. Sometimes, I use big candles to light up the rooms all day as long as I'm home. There are ways to save money you just have to think outside the box.
I’ve seen a lot of grandmother clocks in Amish homes vs grandfather clocks. I guess that depends on the group/type of Amish. Also, these clocks are use as wedding gifts from Groom to Bride. Like an equivalent to an engagement ring. So that’s explains why they can be elaborate and expensive.
I was surprised about the fine china, although it's a lovely thing to have and, having read some of the other comments explain it, it has a lovely meaning behind it, as well as being a simple way to add beauty to a home.
In an Amish Community about a half hour away from me, near Norwich Ontario Canada, one home we visit frequently, they have the traditional washer in a small room off the back of the house and they have electricity in that room and the outbuildings, they also have and use Natural Gas It's fairly common here in Canada, I believe it's a requirement, they must have electricity in the barn.
I used to live less than 8 miles from the tan buggy roofs. I had a friend who let a couple of his Amish neighbors use his phone. Now this was 30 years ago and like other things, if the Bishop says it's ok, then it's OK to have things as chain saws. The entire community around his property were coming to use his phone constantly. Of course they were all long distance calls and they didn't think they had to pay. He didn't push but he finally had enough and got it stopped by involving the Elders or Bishop. I won't say how he did it on here but if you pm me I'll tell you. I grew up knowing and being around the Amish. Couple of really funny characters in that group. Around 50 or so years ago they started moving to other areas because of too much inbreeding, no w this is what they told me I'm not making it up. Many if them moved to north west and north central Pa. Places like TIONESTA and Punxatawny. I also have 2 friends that left the Amish ways. One is not allowed to communicate with his family but he and his brother knew when they could. Sam used to have a motor scooter hidden in an old she'd out in a field where his father never went.
I've heard the stories of Amish in some places overusing neighbors' phones. It seems it is usually the plainer settlements where this has happened (and which makes sense since more progressive Amish would have at least a shared phone with other Amish in the area). I bet you have some stories having been around them that long. And I would bet some of the things that weren't allowed back then might be now.
The Mennonites around here have the old school phone booths literally sitting out on a farm road in the middle of a field. Verizon set them up years ago. You can call and leave a voice-mail and one will get back to you. Haha
They go on people property to use phone to call for rides to go get groceries at Walmart and aldis I used to live near them in upstate New York in Romulus and Ovid I used to go get there Amish baked goods cookies and bread they are very polite people my kids bus used to pick them up to take them to school
Maryland Amish, Cell Phones, Clothes Washers, not too many Driers though. Electric Well Pumps, always wondered how they operated lawn sprinklers, including Rain Birds. Huge Refrigerators and Freezers, I’m talking about Restuarant Types. “They don’t know how to do the basic maintenance on them.” Was impressed with their collection of battery and gasoline powered lawn and garden tools. No household vacuum cleaners, but huge electric shop vacs and sawdust management systems in their woodworking shops. Diesel Generators and Diesel and Gasoline Air Compressors. One home had a Ground Source Heat Pump, so there was nothing visible outside.
I'm assuming this was the St Mary's County (Mechanicsville area) settlement? Did you notice any Amish business signs selling chicken, butter, eggs, etc. written in both English and Spanish? :)
@@AmishAmerica I worked for a company that was factory authorized warranty and repair for “true” commercial refrigerators. That was fifteen years, and further back ago. We did travel through that area, about a month ago, noticed signs in English, but not Spanish. After a couple calls, I guess they started trusting me. I had to tell my company, if they sent me down there, they needed to loose me for several days. I would have to go into the Shop afterwards, with wads of cash, from various calls.
The Amish use technology but they don't want to be connected to the electrical utility. They use free-standing motors but not automobiles. If they were described as living 'off the grid', no one would bat an eye. That they do it for religious reasons is what makes them unique, The elaborate clocks and fine china are manifestations of the decorative impetus. Objects with a purely decorative purpose are not encourage. Decoration without utility is not humble. However, useful things may be decorated elaborately. It's the difference between 'decorative art' and 'industrial art.' Useful things can be decorative, i.e. china and clocks.
despite using gasoline, diesel, or propane generators and motors are basic machines that are from the same period as their origins and changed little…it’s how many mills were able to survive centuries in Europe, going from water to steam to electricity yet still using the same basic equipment
@@bostonrailfan2427 Or the mini excavator hiding behind the barn they use for cleaning ditches and clearing snow at the end of the driveway. Not even kidding :-)
😄Thanks Maurizio, and I love it - I have heard Baltimore & PA & NC but this is the first time it was called Canadian. I think conclusion is my accent is a mess :)
1:29: Those musical clocks are digital, and they get pretty annoying, once you hear their repertoire 20 times. Just my humble opinion. It's usually things, that folks in the Far East (Korea, Japan) like.
How about a remake of Witness, where John Book instead of having a hard time finding a phone, has a cell phone, but has issues with getting it charged.
Good question yes I do have friends among the Amish, and stay with them. The longest I've lived in an Amish home was about 2 months. Amish people often have non-Amish friends, so it's not especially unusual to visit an Amish home.
@@AmishAmerica ah, thanks i didnt know that. On TV programs or movies are displayed like a really closed community. Like they are not allowed to have contact with other comunnities. Also, in case of sickness are they allowed to use modern health care?
Sure - yes that is true in the media it is a nice hook for viewers to portray the Amish as some weird super-closed group of people that "shuns" the outside world, and all to do with it as "evil". You can see how that makes for a good backdrop to a story. But the reality is quite different :)
As far as health care it is a very good question which deserves a lot more than a RU-vid comment - I will most likely do a video on it at some point - but the short answer is the Amish as a whole use a variety of approaches to health care and wellness. In truth there are a good number of different groups within the horse-and-buggy Amish (some more progressive, some more conservative) and they will often have different approaches accordingly. It can be anything from conventional doctors and medicine to folk and family remedies to alternative treatments. In lieu of a long answer I'll just put a link or two to blog posts I've done on the topic which do it more justice, and I will add this topic to the video topic list for future. Anyway thanks for asking b/c it will probably make a nice video topic :) amishamerica.com/do-amish-visit-doctors/ amishamerica.com/5-unconventional-amish-health-practices/
closet/cabinet with glass and curtains isn't unique to Amish or protestants. I'm in Flanders, Catholic culture, I have the old cabinet of my grandmothers sister.. It has glass and curtains as well. 100 years old I think, extremely well made , by hand. I use it for my 1:18 Porsche models and other souvenirs.
the Amish might be living in the 1600s but grandfather clocks predate them by two centuries and isn’t modern and requires no electricity to work so long as one of them winds it
I've just stumbled into these videos and find the community choices around technology so interesting. Best to talk to people in person for strong community, so have, essentially, a free community phone booth to stop it from intruding on more live social interaction--makes sense. But then, why not get industrial quality washing machines powered by wind or solar and have one massive community laundromat, where folks can meet and chat over their chores making work lighter through combined effort, and still owning the power source? Maybe that feels too modern, but, more modern then fridges? Anyone got inside insight on the moral/technological logic at work here?
Carrying a lot of laundry any distance might be too timeconsuming; and carrying wet laundry any distance back home to hang up to dry would be difficult because wet laundry is heavy. Sharing a washing machine by neighbors adjacent to each other would probably work.
@@CentralVirginian1 Thanks, starting to figure this out. Still an interesting comparison to the shared laundromats in cities that get used enough to do good business. Maybe this isn't worth the effort because the emphasis in Amish culture is so much more on the minimum functional well-made clothing, so loads are smaller and oing it outside the home isn't worth it. Love thinking about how things can work otherwise in communities.
For some reason, seeing the exceptions to the electricity rule that the more liberal let slip by, made me think of the expression 'being a little bit pregnant', lol. It's a slippery slope they're standing on. The cell phone surprised me, before you know it, tablets & laptops will also start being used 'for business'.
I would imagine that for the Amish, a $2,000.00 clock is very expensive and rather hard to afford. I could be wrong, but I figure that their salaries are not as great as many non-Amish people generally make. But, I'm thinking to them a grandfather clock can be passed down from generation to generation, so it's worth it to spend that much money on such a clock.
@@emmib1388 The Amish tend to have large families with many children and grandparents to support. It's hard to make your money stretch that far. Non Amish families are usually not that big any more, a few kids, and most people dont support their grandparents any more. I'm not saying the Amish are dirt poor, I know they are hard workers and work sun up to beyond sun down. But I doubt they become lawyers, doctors and such. Most of the married women dont have jobs because their time is taken up caring for the house and kids and farm chores. They might do some in house smaller things like sew things for others, sell farm products. Husbands sometimes work out of their community wood working, furniture making. It's mainly up to the husband to bring home the bacon, as it were. Today, in a non amish family, it usually takes the income of both husband and wife to support a house. There are pros and cons to both ways of living. I'm not trashing the Amish. Hey, my family dont have much money to speak of either. Two grand would be hard for many of us to come up with if we needed it. I know I cant afford $2,000 bucks.
As I mentioned in an earlier comment. I was very surprised by the use of outboard motors, and electronic (including fish locators, GPS and electric trolling motors) on Amish fishing boats (the boats were also top of the line 14 and 16 foot Lunds and Smokercrafts). Of course these electronics required deep cycle batteries and their chargers ( most deep cycle batteries were the new lithium ion type). I want to contact the Amish freinds I made this spring but failed to get an address. Is it appropriate for me to try to contact thru the US postal service? Please pm me if you want thru FB.
Everybody loves to hype the Amish quality but they are no different than a traditional carpenter. Some are good and some are bad. Some are lazy and some of them are fast working. The big secret is alot of Amish and Mennonites that have stores actually order goods to put on the shelves just like we do. They are aware the people love to buy Amish and they capitalize on it. They are all about a dollar.
Time marches on. They’re already cheating. 🤷♀️. It’s always different if YOU don’t live that way.But grandfather clocks/clocks don’t need electricity🤔. Interesting. I have visited Amish country, and a man invited us to dinner. (I gotta say, he wanted us to see quilts). I regret not going. This was maybe 1997?
Sometimes they join the Amish. It's not common, and it's not uncommon that they eventually leave. But I know a decent number of people who have joined and remained Amish. Will do a video on this topic
The one simple thing about Amish home's is the excellent craftsmanship used in building their homes and furniture. New home's being built today by regular home contractors are built like crap. Many home building contractors use very cheap and flimsy materials, and every room is not plumb square. Every room is off square. You can tell by looking at the doors at the floor level. Big uneven gaps show up at the bottom of the door frame. Like a few of the "new" home's my family members purchased. I've seen some new "custom" home's where the mail carrier can easily pass a small package through the bottom of the door, to the inside of the house. New home builders today can't construct a tightly built, straight looking doghouse, yet alone a home with many shortcuts built into the entire home structure. If you want the excellent building quality in a home, garage, or barn building - hire an Amish man and or woman. That's quality you don't see from China or New Home builder's that act like shoe maker's. I once heard a very long time "professional" home builder tell me, "I ain't building a clock or watch", "Close is good enough to the naked eye". As the dining room chandelier looks cockeyed hanging from the ceiling of a brand new home his construction company built, and held an open house to showcase his home building business.
