The Explosive Growth of the Amish
howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!
I have written posts about the Amish before and it's no secret that I
have a love and respect for their faith, family values, work ethic and
simple way of life. I believe they are great asset to America and also
to Canada.
And for that reason it's thrilling to see that their numbers are not just
increasing but exploding in growth! In fact they have doubled their
numbers in the last 20 years and now have settlements in 30 states.
The reason for this growth is because the young Amish are choosing
to stay with their settlements at the rate of 90 to 95% which is a
dramatic increase in numbers from historic norms. For some reason
when the youth are going out into the "English" world to explore, they
are deciding that they're rather stay with their settlement and forgo
the ways of the world.
So while they used to be found in just a few states they are now
forming new settlements in new territory, they even have one in
Wyoming up by Devils Tower which is a 1.5 hour buggy ride into the
nearest town! That'd be rough in the middle of the winter. There is
also a second one being built in Wyoming.
They're expanding because of the increase in their population due to
so many staying home, so they're buying land everywhere as farmers
leave their farms due to economic concerns. I know that in Kentucky
there are many tobacco farmers who have quit and many dairy farms
have gone under in Wisconsin and the Amish have come into both
states and buying those English farms.
I'm as excited as can be because they're excellent farmers and totally
organic growers and they sell to local markets which helps everyone
with organic products. When we were in Ohio our favorite store was
a health food market which sold Amish products almost exclusively
and they were the best quality that you could find, so many more
areas of the country are going to be experiencing that.
The biggest surprise is that New York state, upstate New York, is
the hotspot with 47 settlements, 18 of those are brand new and
next is Maine with 5 new settlements. To me, this is a total God
thing, His move. It can only strengthen this country in food supply,
morals, values, honor and integrity. Plus the Amish are as Green
as you can get!
Thank you folks, I hope you enjoyed the photos, they are all from
amishcountry.com
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God bless you all!
-jonboy Texas
the gentleman redneck
ps- ya know, you might just be a redneck if:
Your mother has "ammo" on her Christmas list!
I'm originally from Upstate NY and I love the Amish. They live north of Syracuse where I grew up. They have settlements now in the Adirondacks. They are just wonderful people and I admire them too. Nice post!
thank you squirrelbait! did you like the photos? I could just study those for a long time but it's hard to know what other people like.
Oh yes, I really liked the photos. I don't see the Amish here so it was nice to see your pictures.
thanks squirrebait...a good idea would be to move in next to them, become good friends then when the stuff hits the fan they won't be affected that much and you can stay with them or offer your guns for hire to protect them, I protect for food!
They would take of you too. However, they would insist you leave your gun behind. So, not a secure place but they would help you if you needed it.
hey squirrelbait that's one thing I haven't researched, their gun policy, have you?
I have not done that research. I know their stand on violence. Remember the Amish schoolhouse shooting? Their reaction was forgiveness. Also, none showed up with guns to stop the guy. They might allow a hunting rifle, I am not sure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Nickel_Mines_School_shooting
West Nickel Mines School shooting
On October 2, 2006, a shooting occurred at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish one-room schoolhouse in the Old Order Amish community of Nickel Mines, a village in Bart Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV took hostages and shot eight out of ten girls (aged 6–13), killing five, before committing suicide in the schoolhouse. The emphasis on forgiveness and reconciliation in the Amish community's response was widely discussed in the national media. The West Nickel Mines School was torn down, and a new one-room schoolhouse, the New Hope School, was built at another location.
yeah I think they have shotguns and hunting rifles but I think I'll research that, thanks for the idea!
I grew up in MD so the Pennsylvania Dutch were not far away. I too have a tremendous amount of respect for them and their culture, but I had never given a lot of thought to the points you brought up about what they contribute to the community. What amazing people!
Oh, remember my epic fail “silver” coin auction story? Well, that was in Kentucky and I got beat out on a few lots by none other than the Amish! They were buying the red plastic gas cans and I remember thinking “what on earth could they need those for?!” 😂
yes they are amazing. well in my other post about them I went into more details about their lifestyle but I was running behind so I cut it short. alot of people, at least my followers, or at least some of them lol. like short posts.
they probably were buying the cans for their diesel generators, they use generators to power their clothes washing machines. they don't do those by hand anymore.
we used to see them at land auctions in Kansas. if they want a piece of land you might as well forget it, they're loaded with cash. their church is their bank.
Nothing like some quality built Amish furniture! And look at all those people working on that building. I’d like to know how they deal with the weeds in their fields.
Oh! And last, but not least! If you’re concerned about global warming, live like the Amish! Cough, Like they’d ever do that! Cough
hhaha! yes live like the Amish and give up all your luxuries.
when we were in Ohio we loved to go down into Amish country to shop and sight see, lots of furniture stores down there.
The quality is good but man are they expensive. anything you buy from them, except food, they charge a fortune for. They make tons of money. that's how they can afford all these farms that they're buying up. tons of cash. their church is their bank.
They are the least expensive in our area (Southeastern PA) when it comes to construction of things like sheds, outbuildings, pole barns, etc... Not only where they the least expensive they complete the project quicker than anyone else and the quality is top notch.
that's great to hear. well being in the real estate business in Ohio were were familiar with prices and were always shocked at theirs, evidently they knew people would pay for top quality so it worked for them! more power to them.
Their van drivers made darn good money too, taking them back and forth from the job sites.
thank you sir for commenting!
Hi @janton. Don't know much about them besides a crazy TV program on them. I didn't realize what they were all about but simple living it looks like. Hard work and using the land for what it is meant for.
yes sir well to them it is a spiritual issue, meaning that they believe living in too many comforts and luxuries makes people get caught up in the world and not focus on God. That's why they don't allow TVs in their homes.
I disagree with some of their teaching just because it has no real Biblical basis to it but hey it's working to keep their groups strong, together and thriving so I admire them. while much of society is falling apart, they are staying strong together.
and the best part about them, or one of the best things they believe in is that they hate government involvement. that's why they are all off the grid, they don't trust the government and don't want to be held hostage by government. they're very independent.
Back to nature.
Nice post.
I've always been amazed with the Amish; all they are is symbolic in their barn raisings...work together, hand made, organic, selflessness, non-materialistic, family, community etc. Great photos too.
I know I told you before about them in Canada, and I agree, their food reminds me of what the German women who worked for a German hall where I grew up used to make. Delicious!
well well well..look who decided to show up! where have you been, taking off again? yeah I've eaten at many of their restaurants and the food is great but not exactly healthy, I think they put sugar in everything! lol.
With Brian's health, some days are good and some bad, and I seem to take days off with both :)
haha sugar in everything! That's like here. I even bought what was labelled as plain yogurt and it was so sweet I couldn't eat it. It's in everything!
it's an addictive curse so it limits our choices dog gonit, forces us to make stuff ourselves dog gonit, I hate being forced to do work!
It does keep you coming back for more, that's for sure :)
yeah I love it! lol.
We have a huge community just East of Tulsa where they own most of one county out there. I love the food they grow, the wood they sell, and the furniture they make! I respect them for their faith, and hard work, and with the hat I wear, I was mistaken for one once, LOL! I was NOT insulted by that, but I was undoubtedly the ONLY one in the county; with a concealed handgun in my pocket, ROFLOL! :)
I was never more impressed with them than in the last election. The registered 80,000 voters in Pa, and carried the state by 30,000 votes extra.
I have always held them in high esteem; but they stunned me with their fervor in voting for the first time!
:)smithlabs! ha! you being mistaken for an Amish is good.
the voting thing is remarkable and with their increasing numbers they could be a powerful block in a few years.
I agree, I was NOT insulted. Those are good Men!
They registered, for the first time in History. They asked their equivalent of a Deacon, why they registered. He told them; "to vote", they said they understood that, but why now? He told them, on Live TV; "Because Hillary is the spirit of Anti-Christ (which is solid Bible)!"
I am sure that THAT reporter was fired, LOL!
:Dthat interview got aired where he said that?
I'm surprised they let that get out.
That is why I said he was fired for sure! Never ask a question; if you don't already have the answer!
:Dis that the way they do it?
Absolutely! They are liberals, so they will fire for politics, at the drop of a hat!
<:(so beautiful <3
thank you much for reading and commenting @colorme, I love those photos also.
thank you !
@colorme where bouts you located?
and what does your username mean, are you an artist?
I love it and respect it as well, but it's too bad they can't do Steemit. With a community as tight knit as theirs, they would run steemit in no time.
hahaha! yes sir I never thought about that. they have computers at their businesses but no usually in their homes. They have a population of about 215,000 and I forgot to mention that, but since they doubled their numbers in 20 years I don't know if that means they will double them again in the next 20 years or would it be more?
did you like the photos? I could study those for a long time but I never know what other people are going to like.
I loved the photos. I especially liked the barn raising. It probably wasn't a barn but that's what they used to call stuff like that around here.
yes sir, I think it was a barn, I have other great photos of those but didn't want to overburden the post with too many photos.
I also have quite a few with closer photos showing faces and such but they don't like to be photographed so I wanted to respect that.
The lovely thing *janton about the Amish way of living is their connectedness - helping each and working together. I am thinking that the crime rate would be non-existent but if a problem arises I assume a bench of elders deal with issues and hand out consequences. etc.
yes Ma'am that is exactly right on all points. they work together, there is no crime and the elders take care of those issues. very good.