The Amish and Electricity
ha! I thought that was a cute joke but it does raise the question:
what DO they use for lighting?
Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas where
we use tons of electricity this time of year in 100 degree weather like
today..again.
I thought I'd just give a short explanation on how the Amish light their
homes, generally speaking. There are many different groups with varying
degrees of strictness of course but for the most part the Amish don't
really like electricity that much and certainly are off grid.
They do use it sparingly in the form of batteries to power their buggy
lights for safety reasons and there ARE more conservative groups
which still use a kerosene lantern hung on both sides.
The other way they use electricity is by generating it with diesel
generators to power clothes washing machines so the women don't
have to do it by hand anymore. Thank God! Their refrigerators are
powered by propane gas.
In their homes they primarily use propane gas powered lighting either
with gas lines running to mounted lights with mantles which have to
be lit or with floor lamps which have a wooden cabinet holding the
propane bottle with wheels on it to roll where it's needed.
all photos are from amishamerica.org
living room with no modern lighting
Amish kitchen with floor lamp
The reason they Amish don't like using power from the public
grid is because they think it ties them in too close to the world
system. Plus having it in the home makes it too much of a
temptation to use for tv, internet and radio.
The Amish businesses we dealt with had computers, internet,
phones and all the things needed to run a modern business
at their place of work but not in their homes, they are very
strict and cautious about what enters their home.
Is that wise or what? Can we learn something here at least in
principle?
Plus, too much reliance on labor-saving devices, Amish feel, may
deprive children of character-building opportunities to work!
lol! don't ya love it?
okay that's all for now folks, I could go on about this but I'm not
tryin to write a book. God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
gentleman redneck
ps- you might just be a redneck if:
the primary color of your car is bondo!
And just imagine, John D. Rockefeller was listed as the richest man on the planet in 1908 before the real advent of the internal combustion engine, heating oil, lubricants, plastics, pharmaceuticals, etc., etc., just for selling kerosene to all of our great grandparents who all lit their lamps with it. Then they went underground about their wealth....
the richest man in 1908 and that was before the great advances in machinery, medicine, even plastic..yeah plastic didn't come along until the 30's did it? ..before the modern engine..oh man.
what could you even buy in 1908..I mean anything that you wanted if it was for sale but not like today when rich people buy jets, yachts, Rolls Royces. I guess they bought mansions, art, expensive wine, land, buildings, businesses, banks..no they probably already owned the banks!
Why would they go underground about their wealth? they didn't want people to know that they owned everything?
"they didn't want people to know that they owned everything?"
Yep.
The Amish are fascinating people@janton.
yes Ma'am they sure are! thank you angiemitchell!
I have always loved and respected the Amish. Great post. I don't have much SD but this post gets some :)
I ain't got much either but thanks so much for the support @squirrelbait, I still want to go check out your video for today too, I assume it's a video. Do you do any that are just straight writing?
I'm not a blogger like you. I wasn't commenting much until I met you either. I'm kinda coming out of my shell that way. I've been thinking about it. I have been writing more for the descriptions. That's a start. :)
yeah I noticed that you've been writing the descriptions.
I don't consider myself to be a blogger either, it's hard for me
to write more than a paragraph under normal circumstances
so this has been a struggle as far as getting posts out.
I'm more of a commenter but I don't think that's a real category.lol
But I think your sense of humor and personality will come through the writing just like the videos so I think you should keep doing more of that.
I might. Been thinking about it. I will eventually only have a video for folks once a week. They can be time consuming. I can write once a week or so as well at that point. We shall see.
I think you do a great job with your articles. Daily articles I bet is a struggle! I couldn't do that. They take time to do and do well too. It's ok not to post everyday. Commenting still keeps you connected to folks. We are not going to make money on here anyway so don't push yourself too much. Keep it enjoyable not a chore.
Well I can get to the point where the articles are enjoyable to do but only if I have enough time and I haven't had that the last few weeks because I've been in a contest, which I've won the last 2 weeks and I want to make it a third but that takes posting at least twice a day, the lady who won it 3 weeks ago and who placed 2nd place last week posts about 28 articles each week!
So if I win a third week in a row I'll slow down a little just because there are so many projects on our property that I'm not getting done. For me one decent post each day is about right. anyway, although I've been pushing myself, it doesn't feel like work at all because it's so much fun because of being able to meet people such as yourself..I'm having a blast. and building up my account.
who says we aren't going to make money on here? there's a lot of people who would argue with you about that statement!
thanks squirrelbait! God bless you guys up there!
oh bytheway, what does your husband think about Steemit or what you're doing with it?
Well, I hope you win. I'm not making anything that's for sure but that's OK. It's not why I'm here. I like the social aspect of it myself now that I'm doing that. Hubbie doesn't pay attention to what I'm doing on here. It's my thing not his. He doesn't suggest topics or anything. It's just me. That's fine. He does his things and I do mine. He knows I enjoy it and it makes me happy.
that's a good way to handle it between you two. what are his things?
what is he into?
eventually most people I talk to think we can make good money here.
don't worry I'll win.
I need to join in on this anti post party. I can hardly manage one a week. Jan is writing circles round me.
Now I am all curious. Anybody with a name like @squirrelbait just has to be interesting. Gone to check it out.
Hi there @headchange.
The first part of your post made me think of several questions (like the WHY) but then you answered them in the second part of the post. Great article you have here!
I have always found the Amish communities to be fascinating, although I'm not sure how much of it is really... I don't know what I'm trying to say. Like is it similar to the religions or even the cults that the kids are stuck in and have no choice (or they will be cut off)? Not that I expect you to know the answers or anything, that's just something I think about as a parent, I guess.
howdy there @byn and thanks for the kind words, I didn't spend as much time on this one as I usually do so it's just ok, to me. I've spent quite a bit of time in the Amish country in Ohio and in fact my favorite post and most popular is one that I did on the Amish:
https://steemit.com/culture/@janton/the-wisdom-of-the-amish
everyone raved about the photos so if you find Amish fascinating you'll
love that post. I did talk about their culture in that post as far as the kids go. Almost all Amish now allow their kids to go and experience the "English" world and lifestyle to see if they want to leave the community.
They let them get outside jobs for a period of time and then they have to decide if they're going to go live in the outside world or stay in their community.
the number of kids deciding against joining the outside world and culture is up to 95% these days. It used to be 75%.
thanks so much Byn!
Thanks for sharing the link! I'll take all the info I can get! That is great about the opportunity to experience life "outside" although I think it's also great that most don't want to stay there as well!
yes Ma'am.. the Amish are minimalists as far as carnality and fleshly desires and
luxuries but they maximize the spiritual, family and community aspects of life.
The U.S. is blessed to have so many of their communities in our midst because they
help so many people and spread the love of God where ever they go.
plus they are very independent and don't like government intrusion and thrive without
the government! they don't need social security because their church and family takes
care of those in need. no need to reply, I'm just starting to babble!
The local farm, that doubles as a restaurant, runs natural gas lights, running from a well on the property. They are WELL Lit even in the parking lot, LOL! But I think most of them run propane. That same farm has electricity in the Barn, to run a sawmill that makes pallets. They have a dozen or so workers. I think they make oak lumber for the Amish Furniture store too.
As to the original question, I believe the company make the meal romantic. I know that they do not give rings for engagement (rings must not be allowed) but rather they exchange VERY expensive watches.
:)hey there @smithlabs.. their own natural gas well..that sounds like them!
no rings..of course not they don't really allow Bling too much.
but that is very interesting about the watches!
very cool smithlabs thanks..see you ARE good for something
..I don't care what your wife says!
We are NOT allowed to listen to our wives! That would be a bad habit to start; LOL!
:Dhowdy today @smithlabs! yes, or the beginning of wisdom.
Wisdom is SOOOO over rated! Maxine Waters has had an entire career; and never needed ANY!
:Dlol! you know what? you should go join the comedy bunch over at
comedyopenmic but you might be too funny for them!
I don't know, a standup comic that bashes liberals...I guess it would be novel anyway. They are such an easy target, and they are not used to someone calling them out!
They get SO mad when someone laughs at them. Makes all the hard work worthwhile! :)
lol! see..you'd have an endless amount of material to work with!
I really have to hand it to the Amish. They're managing to stick to their ways by and large in spite of all the technological advancements. I know they've had their issues too, but I have to admire folks who manage to believe in something (which is a feat in and of itself anymore) and then stick to it as ardently as they appear to.
We have Mennonites in our area, and while their restrictions aren't as big as far as technological use goes, they do run their own schools and value similar hard work ethics. They generally do pretty well because of it. :)
yes sir @glenalbrethsen ..growing up in Kansas we had a large community of Mennonites close to us and they were awesome. some of the best farmers in the country, excellent operations, the best equipment, tons of money. If they were there at a land auction forget it!
The Mormons have similar characteristics as the Amish wouldn't you say?
not primitive lifestyles but value based lives of hard work, honesty, righteous living, honor, faith in God, integrity...keeping a legacy of their
ancestors, family oriented..what else? am I wrong?
I'm afraid I don't know enough about the Amish to make a full comparison, but most of those traits you mention are what members of the LDS church are striving for. The one I'm not sure is translating so well is the hard work one. I think there's something lost when most of our kids don't need to perform manual labor for at least a few summers.
I'm not advocating manual labor as a vocation, just that when you're growing up and old enough to work, it's good to know what it's like to dig ditches with a pickax and shovel and throw 100 pound hale bales into the upper loft. Can't get that sitting at a computer all day. :)
howdy @glenalbrethsen yes sir! as we "progress" into such a technologically advanced, pampered society there are fewer and fewer kids who have ever done any manual labor of ANY kind. Never been like that in history so I don't know how serious that particular aspect of modern culture is but it can't be the best.
I talk to a lot of business owners, or used to when we were in real estate, and they all said the same thing..kids have zero concept of working hard or responsibility so they had to try and train them and most would just walk out or not every show up again! lol.
It is interesting how some groups are more strict about it than others, but I suppose that is true about a lot of groups!
yes sir it is fascinating to me because some of them come dangerously close to being regular consumers with their cell phones and hiring drivers to take them shopping everywhere..then there are very conservative groups who live extremely(in my opinion) spartan lifestyles
that are a little hard to understand. but still there are many lessons that modern day Americans can learn from them.
thank you sir!