Amish Visit
Thursday, January 12, 2005 -- My Leadership Bee County class toured the Amish farm (out near Olmos) this afternoon. Contrary to popular belief, it appears the Amish do not adamantly shun technology - they have phones, small gas engine driven equipment, and actually arrived in Olmos years ago via two 18 wheelers they hired to haul themselves and their farming equipment. We even saw an area bounded by solar powered electric fencing?
They generally travel by horse & buggy and do not drive but occasionally will accept a ride in an automobile. They seem to have a good sense of humor about things. The guy showing us the buggy shop laughed when I described the brake mechanism on a buggy as "the gearshift." When someone in the group commented on a stack of old weathered looking wagon wheels, he said "Those are for folks like you" - meaning they were meant for "decorative" use only.
I was also surprised at how un-idyllic the farm appeared. I had imagined sturdy buildings and neat rows gardens and stables housing the various animals. Instead the homes appeared a bit ramshackle and the area about them was cluttered with large quantities of scavenged materials. Old county road signs and highway barrels and barriers were all over the place creating a decidedly untidy atmosphere.
We first toured what I guess you would call a general store run by members of the Borntraeger (sp) family. The store housed a horse-drawn buggy shop and sold honey, soap, straw hats, baskets, and other simple homemade items. There were also items on the shelves that obviously were not made on the farm including a line of vitamin supplements. Before leaving, I purchased a brick of cheese (that I originally thought was butter), two dozen eggs - "Our chickens do not take drugs" read the label, a tub of butter, and a jar of Jalapeno jelly.
Our next stop was a leather shop run by the Herschberger family. While the two young men representing the Borntraeger family wore boots that looked to have been handed down from their great grandfathers, the Herschbergers wore no shoes at all. In fact Mr. Herschberger, who stood barely 5 foot something, was the closest thing to a real life Hobbit I've ever seen (and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way). His two barefoot children looked sturdy and healthy, and in fact worked alongside their father to keep up with demand for his leather goods.
I was particularly impressed by a couple of in-progress children's bird hunting belts. The belts were hand tooled leather with embossed names and shotgun shell bags made of soft furred cowhide. The shop also carried whole cow hides ($200.00), gun belts, rifle bags, riding whips, and even cellular phone belt clips among other things.
As for the items I purchased, I am enjoying snacking on the cheese which reminds me a bit of parmesan. Josh really likes the butter but says the Jalapeno jelly "smells like feet." I tried it on a peanut butter sandwich and it has quite a kick to it - next time I won't lay it on as thick. Haven't tried the eggs yet but am expecting good things based on reports from a Mother Earth News magazine article.
They generally travel by horse & buggy and do not drive but occasionally will accept a ride in an automobile. They seem to have a good sense of humor about things. The guy showing us the buggy shop laughed when I described the brake mechanism on a buggy as "the gearshift." When someone in the group commented on a stack of old weathered looking wagon wheels, he said "Those are for folks like you" - meaning they were meant for "decorative" use only.
I was also surprised at how un-idyllic the farm appeared. I had imagined sturdy buildings and neat rows gardens and stables housing the various animals. Instead the homes appeared a bit ramshackle and the area about them was cluttered with large quantities of scavenged materials. Old county road signs and highway barrels and barriers were all over the place creating a decidedly untidy atmosphere.
We first toured what I guess you would call a general store run by members of the Borntraeger (sp) family. The store housed a horse-drawn buggy shop and sold honey, soap, straw hats, baskets, and other simple homemade items. There were also items on the shelves that obviously were not made on the farm including a line of vitamin supplements. Before leaving, I purchased a brick of cheese (that I originally thought was butter), two dozen eggs - "Our chickens do not take drugs" read the label, a tub of butter, and a jar of Jalapeno jelly.
Our next stop was a leather shop run by the Herschberger family. While the two young men representing the Borntraeger family wore boots that looked to have been handed down from their great grandfathers, the Herschbergers wore no shoes at all. In fact Mr. Herschberger, who stood barely 5 foot something, was the closest thing to a real life Hobbit I've ever seen (and I don't mean that in a disrespectful way). His two barefoot children looked sturdy and healthy, and in fact worked alongside their father to keep up with demand for his leather goods.
I was particularly impressed by a couple of in-progress children's bird hunting belts. The belts were hand tooled leather with embossed names and shotgun shell bags made of soft furred cowhide. The shop also carried whole cow hides ($200.00), gun belts, rifle bags, riding whips, and even cellular phone belt clips among other things.
As for the items I purchased, I am enjoying snacking on the cheese which reminds me a bit of parmesan. Josh really likes the butter but says the Jalapeno jelly "smells like feet." I tried it on a peanut butter sandwich and it has quite a kick to it - next time I won't lay it on as thick. Haven't tried the eggs yet but am expecting good things based on reports from a Mother Earth News magazine article.
1 Comments:
My dad buys the eggs. . .they're good!
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