Okay - reading about the Amish is fun - but...

[DisneyFan32WI]

I wish I were Amish and owned a business, I wouldn't have to pay any taxes!!! We have a lot of Amish markets in our area with more coming, they also go to a lot of the local flea markets and sell their products, but are tax exemt... hmmmm!

The Amish are truly fascinating.

Why would they be tax exempt? They are making a profit from their sales, right?

 

[Rora]

My family in PA lives very close to an Amish Community and frequently goes to purchase furniture, cheese, goods, etc. I have been many times myself and honestly, they about some of the happiest, kindest people I've encountered.

In general, I think it's sad that we let stereotypes influence our way of thinking about others.

Thanks for the interesting post, C.Ann!

 

[barkley]

Why would they be tax exempt? They are making a profit from their sales, right?

they are not exempt from all taxes. if they are self employed they can make an application to be exempt from paying self employment tax (social security and medicare) because it is against the church teaching among the older order amish to accept or participate in private or public insurance (it would be the very rare exception for an older order amish to make application for or accept social security, medicare or medicaid-and although they pay the taxes that support the programs-it is also against their practice to apply for or accept welfare, food stamps or any other government assistance).

 

[Heidict]

Yes - I have quite a few of his books..



I found them by googling "Amish newspapers" and then "Amish magazines".. The one newspaper is "The Budget" - and the other is a German name "Dei Botschaft", I think - but it's written in English..

A couple of the magazines are "Family Life"; "Young Companion"; and "The Diary".. subscription info can be found by googling them..

Something happened to my computer awhile back and I can't copy and paste links anymore.. Otherwise I would do that for you.. Not sure what casued the problem, but it sure is annoying and inconvenient!

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. I tried to find some magazines and could not find any, so it's good to know that there are some out there.

 

[barkley]

check out the website for lehmans-it's a store that caters to the amish and others without electricity. they have some interesting products, recipies, links and a newsletter.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

C.Ann - I wish I had room for a guest, because reading the enthusiam in your posts I would love to take you around the the north & northeastern sections of Lancaster County. I have been reading a bunch of fiction books about Amish this summer and some of them mention real places that I am familiar. Having grown up close to PA Dutch, Mennonites and Amish areas on Lancaster County, I'm a little familiar with the area (I grew up in southern Berks County, but have many relatives in Ephrata, Lancaster County.

I am trying to plan a day to go to Bird-In-Hand or Paradise to see an Amish farmhouse that is open for tours, not that it is much of a surprise to me how they live...but I miss the slower pace.

 

[freckles and boo]

Last year I designed scenery for a professional theatre in Sullivan, Illinois. The scene shop backs on to a Dollar General frequented by the local Amish and Mennonites. It's fascinating to stand outside and see fabulous gay men smoking twenty feet away from horses and buggies tied to a fire escape. Quite a blend of cultures.

 

[Deb in IA]

We just came back from a week at Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN, and we live fairly close to Kalona, IA, two of the places you mentioned in your first post, so we have fairly frequent contact with the Amish.

The reason there is so much variability in their habits is that each community is free to decide which of the modern conveniences they are allowed to use. So each community can be very different from another one that may be nearby.

In general, the Amish prefer non-machinery ways of doing things. They are friendly, polite, and open to questions from us, who they call "the English". They are known for their ability at forgiveness - remember the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County, PA, and the Amish inviting the gunman's wife to the funerals? Their craftsmanship is legendary, as is their baking. The one thing to remember is that it is against their religion to have their picture taken, so don't ask them.

And by the way, do you know what an Amish Haystack Dinner is?

 

[AndreaDM]

I wish I were Amish and owned a business, I wouldn't have to pay any taxes!!!

That is the biggest misconception of the Amish out there. Trust me, I'm related to some. They pay the same taxes we do with the exception of paying into Social Security when and only when they are baptized and join the church. There is an old law that exempts them from paying into it if they are church members, but they will also never draw on any social services money either, they take care of their own. The big controversy here is also the fact that they use the roads but of course don't pay registration fees, etc., BUT the Amish here (Holmes County) voluntarially pay a sum of money to the county earmarked for road upkeep since they do use the roads for their buggies and bikes.

It is also ok to take pictures from a distance, say a buggy down the road or men doing field work, just not up close of their faces. Basically extend the same courtesies YOU would want, most of us wouldn't want a camera shoved in our faces either or questions asked about our personal lives. We had an Amish receptionist here for a while and for some reason people seemed to think it was ok to ask her anything, including if she used birth control!

 

[surfgirl]

For anyone interested in some amazing photos, check out this website:

www.amishphoto.com

Here is his words about photos and Amish (his name is Bill Coleman)
---------------------------------
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. And thanks to you, these few families do not go unrewarded.

Bill is very much a traditionalist. Each and every print that comes from his studio is hand printed by the artist. All matting and mounting is done with care to insure the life and beauty of each piece.

Slight size differences in the prints are signs of Bill's unwillingness to compromise his vision, or standardize for the sake of expediency.

Viewing Bill’s photographs of the Amish is a personal experience. Opportunities to see the Amish as they work, live and play are rare, and to experience an intimate kinship with them is all but unheard of.
----------------------
I have a few of his photographs and they come with more information... specifically, he has developed a friendship in a valley with a few families. They originally only allowed him to photograph their backs from far away. As the friendship developed (it has been 50 years), he was allowed into their homes and became somewhat of a family member. He has photos of babies that are now grown. He will not identify the specific town or little 'glen' since he has made that promise to them.

 

[wdwfan16]

Yes - the "line" definitely keeps moving - depending on which order or group you belong to.. Simply defining someone as "Amish" is no longer appropriate, it seems.. There are just too many variations of what is and isn't allowed now..

Earlier I checked out some online sites for Amish recipes (eventually I will purchase a few cookbooks), but for now - if I ever get my lap top over to where my printer is, I'm going to copy some of the more interesting ones..

It was never appropriate to lump all Amish, Mennonite, Church of the Brethren and the like into a single group.

Each Bishop gets to hear why an item should be allowed and then rules for the people in his group. The next group over gets to decide for themselves too.

Amish are allowed to have driver's licenses if they have to drive for their job. They take the buggy to work and then start the vehicle.

They are very practical family oriented people.

Get to know them they are really delightful people to know and our society could learn lots from them about how to care for your elderly, ill and disabled people.

 

[wdwfan16]

I wish I were Amish and owned a business, I wouldn't have to pay any taxes!!! We have a lot of Amish markets in our area with more coming, they also go to a lot of the local flea markets and sell their products, but are tax exemt... hmmmm!

The Amish are truly fascinating.

The only tax they don't pay is SS. They made an agreement with the federal government to not pay the tax and to never use the service. The Amish take care of their elderly and retirement is not in their vocabulary. They take pride in being able to do work.

 

[wdwfan16]

We just came back from a week at Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN, and we live fairly close to Kalona, IA, two of the places you mentioned in your first post, so we have fairly frequent contact with the Amish.

The reason there is so much variability in their habits is that each community is free to decide which of the modern conveniences they are allowed to use. So each community can be very different from another one that may be nearby.

In general, the Amish prefer non-machinery ways of doing things. They are friendly, polite, and open to questions from us, who they call "the English". They are known for their ability at forgiveness - remember the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County, PA, and the Amish inviting the gunman's wife to the funerals? Their craftsmanship is legendary, as is their baking. The one thing to remember is that it is against their religion to have their picture taken, so don't ask them.

And by the way, do you know what an Amish Haystack Dinner is?

This it not true. One must always ask to photograph them. They do not believe in making graven images of oneself. To some a photo is a graven image to others it is not.

I have heard an Amishman asked if they could have his photo. He said yes as long as they were not going to worship his photo.

 

[AndreaDM]

Amish are allowed to have driver's licenses if they have to drive for their job. They take the buggy to work and then start the vehicle.

That might be true in some communities, but not here. Once the Amish join the church they cannot drive a car, they may ride in them, but not own or drive one. Boys ages 18 to early 20's often drive, then give up their car when they join the church. If you see someone driving a car here that might look Amish, they are probably a very low order Mennonite who dress kinda like the Amish. Also, another misconception about the Amish is that the Mennonites came from the Amish, but it's the other way around. The Mennonites came first (their leader was Menno Simons) then Jacob Amman split from that group forming the Amish community. If you're ever in the Holmes County area, be sure to visit http://www.behalt.com/ that will give you all the history of those two groups. FWIW, my family attends a Mennonite church, a very liberal one and you would never be able to tell from looking at us, we dress like everyone else and have all modern conveniences, but the Antibaptist beliefs are still the core of the religion.

 

[wdwfan16]

That might be true in some communities, but not here. Once the Amish join the church they cannot drive a car, they may ride in them, but not own or drive one. Boys ages 18 to early 20's often drive, then give up their car when they join the church. If you see someone driving a car here that might look Amish, they are probably a very low order Mennonite who dress kinda like the Amish. Also, another misconception about the Amish is that the Mennonites came from the Amish, but it's the other way around. The Mennonites came first (their leader was Menno Simons) then Jacob Amman split from that group forming the Amish community. If you're ever in the Holmes County area, be sure to visit http://www.behalt.com/ that will give you all the history of those two groups. FWIW, my family attends a Mennonite church, a very liberal one and you would never be able to tell from looking at us, we dress like everyone else and have all modern conveniences, but the Antibaptist beliefs are still the core of the religion.

I should have said many but not implied all. I am familiar with the original Amish communities in Lancaster County. The ones in Holmes County spun off from them some time ago. I have seen shows on the HC Amish and they have very different ways then the LC Amish. Since farms are now hard to come by in LC many groups have become more liberal WRT driving and such to allow the families to obtain work.

Jacob Ammon was a Mennonite Minister who felt the Mennonites were veering to far from the original views.

Another misconception: Not all Amish are more conservative than Mennonites. Old order Mennonites are far more conservative than the Beachy Amish.

There is one group of Amish (sorry I could not spell the name I just know how to say it - end of the name is "truben") don't allow women to use feminine hygiene products.

 

[AndreaDM]

That would be the Swartzentruber Amish, the lowest order I know of. They also don't allow any upholstered furniture, it's all solid wood other than their mattresses. They also don't wear shoes except in the very coldest months of the year. I pass them daily on my way to work walking along the road in bare feet. You can tell their homes/farms apart from the rest because they don't use gravel, so their driveways are total dirt roads.

 

[Deb in IA]

This it not true. One must always ask to photograph them. They do not believe in making graven images of oneself. To some a photo is a graven image to others it is not.

Again, it may not be true in all Amish communities, but it was definitely the case at Amish Acres in Nappanee, IN.

We were told that by our guide on our tour, who said that many Amish will turn away or look down when they see you point a camera their way. It was also written in the visitors guide that was in our hotel room.

 

[Chipperdini]

One of our favorite things to do is drive down Rt. 83 to Kidron and visit Lehman's Hardware. Lots of buggies there too. They have a website if you're interested.

One of my earliest employers. Hardly recognize the place nowadays, it's grown so much. Would still recommend a look-see to anyone coming through the area, though.

 

[Deb in IA]

Hi Chip! Long time no see. How's things going?

 

[MIGrandma]

What I don't understand about the Amish is if they don't believe in having certain things (automobiles for example) then shouldn't they refrain from even using them? Seems to me it's pretty hypocritical to believe in not owning something yourself, but think nothing of asking to use it from a neighbor.

I know some Amish ask neighbors quite often to take them places in their car. An emergency is one thing, but over and over and over for non-emergencies, to me, is kind of rude.