I recently subscribed to the Amish newspaper, "The Budget." A 119 year old weekly publication!
I've always been intrigued by the Amish. Living with no cars, no electricity...not only how do they do it, but what are these people like? No TVs, radios, and certainly no cell phones, IPODS, or computers.
I thought their paper would be 2-4 pages at most. Wrong. The first issue that came last week is 53 pages! What kind of news would they have? Well here are a few excerpts:
Imagine the disappointment when he didn't get his S'mores!
I waded through lots of news about baby births, accidents, canning ideas, injured animals, weather reports in those 53 pages. Back to such simple times. The days similar perhaps to my grandparents' time.They look after one another:
Through out the newspaper there are little sayings of encouragement. Such as this one:
"Rely on God's care, he never disappoints."
or this one:
"The cross you carry may be tied to you with bonds of love."
18 comments:
I love these newspaper articles! It reminds me of some of the small town newspapers where I've visited or lived throughout my life. In 2001 I visited some of the Amish communities in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area and found it quite interesting. The Amish people seem to lead a 'less' stressful life than we do with all our modern technology. Very interesting post Jill.
We have Amish friends! Perhaps I had not mentioned them. Last year, they began doing work for us at the farm and our friendship grew and grew. We have learned so much from each other. We also help the men find construction work in our area. Every Saturday since mid-May, the women have sold baked goods and produce from the end of our farm drive to all the 'summer lake resorters'. We have had our fair share of delectable desserts! They came to our annual July 4 party at the lake! And last week we took Gavin to their farms to play with the children and for the grand tour of all the livestock, buggys, land. Such kind, generous, true friends.
Oh to live where you do Pam! So are their baked goods just wonderful? My daughter in law once brought me back some apple butter from them and it was so good!
Peggy...I think they do seem so less stressed than our lifestyle. I was so struck by how they take care of their neighbors. One person in the paper was talking about a Mom who was recovering from surgery so "this family would be eating at the Freds house all week"
I have a friend who was traveling through Amish country and paid to have dinner in the home of an Amish Family. They served her Costco Pie. Interesting.
Robin
Well then Robin, I guess they aren't much different than us after all.
Hey, I thought you were traveling to Idaho??
We have a lot of Amish communities around here. Every Saturday they have a bake sale...The BEST pies ever! When we have our annual Relief Society broadcast dinner, the stake buys pies from the Amish. We have to be careful a lot because of the horse and buggies on the highways. The most interesting thing happened a few weeks ago...our missionaries baptized a 21 year old Amish girl! AMAZING!
This was fun reading their newspaper!
That newspaper reads like the police blotter in the Daily Universe at BYU.
Are you for real Richard? Is there really a police section in the BYU Universe? I want to read it.
Ammy....how very interesting, and wonderful. So what happens now? Can she just keep living with her Amish family?
Yes, Jill. There really is a police beat in the BYU paper. You can keep up with our crazy campus here: http://universe.byu.edu/police.
Have fun! Sometimes the things that are posted are a little silly. (At least, I think so.)
I love the Amish people. How nice it would be to live in a little bit simpiler time but maybe with the computer though.
You know Robin, good pie is good pie. Costco pie is really good.
I've always been in awe of the Amish, and I loved reading these little articles!
We go to Pennsylvania once a year and I just love seeing them in their horse and buggy, and once in awhile we'll go to a Mennonite farm and they let you tour their homes and farms, it's all so interesting!
Great post, Jill!
All the best,
Eileen
yes, Jill, the baked goods are sooo good and healthier as they use no preservatives, etc. We let them pick our raspberries and peaches for pies and jams. The 'simpler life' is not neccessarily 'simpler'...itis hard, hard work. Strict 'rules', no health ins., very little medical care. Because of a buggy accident and serious injuries with no medical attention, the father could not work for months. That is why the women ran the baked goods/produce stand at our place which is 25 miles from their home. Imagine baking (40) pies, plus breads, noodles, cakes, cookies, etc. in one day with little children at your feet! In the meantime, the father did small odd jobs for us while recuperating.
Pam, you give me a different perspective. I have heard they raise their children to be very hard good workers. I guess out of necessity. I saw on 20/20 last Friday night how some kids, mostly males I think, leave the Amish life when they are 18 or so...but they know how to work hard, and some or most end up going back to the Amish way of living eventually.
I love hearing how you are so involved in their lives. I would love to learn more from you about them.
I, too, saw the 20/20 program and was so dismayed that those Amish youth left the loving Godly homes, for the wild "Englischers" adventures. Our friends do not allow that practice (Rumspringe) among the youth. I am so thankful! They are "Old Order Amish".
A couple weeks ago one of the teen boys did leave home and go to an English family but nothing bad happened. His older brother went to get him and brought him to our place to go fishing with Tom to de-stress. Daniel caught a big fish which I fried for his lunch. He was so pleased. I later learned that he returned home and things were better.
When the 8 yr old boy played with Gavin, he was restricted from certain things. For instance, he cannot play with a bike but he can use a scooter. Nothing with pedals. Or toys but no batteries to make music or motion. Dolls must be faceless. Amos's jaw must have dropped when he saw our playroom full of toys, books, and games. At his house, he has only one toy...a simple train. When Gavin asked Amos where his toys were, Amos replied "I play mostly outdoors with the animals". He spends a good share of the day doing chores...and loves it!!!
So as not to take up your blog space and bore your readers, I will send e-mails with more stories of our wonderful relationship and sharing our cultures with these dear friends.
Honestly...I am amused by the things that amuse you. You are one of a kind & I love that about you. I love the Amish way too. Maybe you can pass along some of their canning ideas since that is going to be my "new" thing this season. At least I hope so.
I, too, have always been fascinated by the Amish, and I LIKE their newspaper. Reminds me a bit of our ward newsletter!
=)
That's really interesting. Quite a close-knit, family community.
Super cute post below about the babies getting money!
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