So are you planning a trip to the Amish? What are some things you might want to keep in mind?
First tip.
If you’re visiting the Amish, visit the Amish on their own turf, there are a lot of things you can do when you visit one of the larger Amish communities like Lancaster County, Ohio and the Shipshewana area in Northern Indiana and Holmes County Ohio, and a lot of the larger places like that.
They definitely have a tourist industry that’s built up around them. They’ve got restaurants, they’ve got buggy rides. They may have like a farm visit different tours, theaters, those kinds of things, definitely nothing wrong with that.
Especially the restaurants, but a lot of people tell me they want to meet the Amish kind on their own turf. And there’s actually a really good way to do this, that anyone can do. And that’s pretty simple. It’s actually to visit the Amish at their businesses.
The Amish are not just farmers anymore and you know, most Amish communities have some kind of business there. And some of them have many businesses. There are furniture shops, variety stores, bulk food stores, there are bakeries quilt shops. And most of these businesses welcome outside visitors. That’s part of how they make a living. You have such certain businesses that cater more to the Amish. Like if you have, for example, a buggy shop most of the business is gonna be going to other Amish.
Even the farmers have their own farm stands in many cases where they might sell produce by the roadside. Drive down the lane of the farm and you buy it off the front porch. from whoever happens to be there, whether that’s the mom of the house or one of the children, these are a great way to kind of meet the Amish, you know, in their place of business.
They usually have some pretty interesting things that they’re selling. Now, if you visit a busy store, they’re not gonna have the time to talk to you necessarily. And in some places, people are just not talkative so they’re not all gonna be talkative, but some of them will be, you can learn a little bit about the communities and strike up a conversation. It’s usually a good idea to buy something when you’re there.
You’ll have something to remember the visit by as well. So in other words, that’s a great entry point to be able to meet Amish people, but you still need to be respectful obviously when you go there.
Tip number two, relax and treat Amish people like people.
You don’t have to act in some weird, stiff, stilted manner around Amish people. I think some people go to Amish communities and they’re very concerned that they may do something or say something wrong and might offend the Amish. I think that kind of misreads the general character of Amish people. They’re not us, but it’s not like they’re super easy to offend, as long as you’re behaving in a good way.
They’re not as uptight about things as people may imagine.
Some people visit with the idea they have to watch every single thing they say, or not talk about technology or just really worry about offending someone. Amish have opinions, Amish people are curious about things. They may be curious about the way you live. Some of them are interested in the news and what’s going on. Some of them are interested in sports.
There are gonna be some people that are more cold or standoffish for lack of a better word. Generally, I just assume people are gonna be friendly and Amish have a sense of humor as well. Don’t be afraid to be funny of course in wholesome ways.
It doesn’t mean don’t be respectful, but the point is just to relax and kind of be yourself and don’t put the Amish on a pedestal or treat them like there’s some different kind of humans from the rest of us.
Number three, dress accordingly.
Now I’m not, I’m not talking about going out and buying Amish trousers and getting a handmade dress and wearing a head covering or a hat. Don’t need to mimic the Amish in some weird way to make them feel more comfortable. I would say that even though you may be visiting in the summertime when it’s hot, it may not be a bad idea to dress a little bit more formally. And that doesn’t mean wearing a suit. You can wear normal clothes.
The idea here is to show a little less skin. I think non-Amish people don’t realize how revealing clothing can seem to a non-Amish person. It’s not like you have to be totally covered up, but keep in mind that typical English, in other words, non-Amish clothing tends to be more revealing than what Amish are used to seeing in their communities.
Amish people are used to seeing non-Amish people, especially in the larger Amish communities and more progressive places. The Amish who have businesses deal with English people a lot. They’re quite used to it. You may actually find yourself more comfortable, if you wear something that’s a little more formal or less revealing.
Number Four
It is important to keep in mind. Sunday is not a shopping day. Even in non-Amish places in some communities. You probably have heard that the Amish don’t do business or work on Sundays. That’s one of the hardest and fast rules that you’ll be able to find across the board in the Amish world.
A lot of things the Amish do, there can be little tweaks and exceptions and you may see one community that’s a little different from everybody else that does something a little bit differently. But this is one that’s pretty hard and fast across all the Amish groups from the most conservative to the most progressive.
Another thing that to keep in mind is that in some places the non-Amish businesses will also be closed n Sunday. For example, Berlin, Ohio basically shuts down on Sundays. In other words, a lot of the other businesses kind of follow sort of an Amish schedule in these Amish communities.
A lot of the non-Amish people that live there are also Christian. Some of them have similar belief systems, even though they’re not Amish, they may be Mennonites. So things like, you know, the chain stores, the fast food, the McDonald’s that’s gonna be open, but generally not a great day to do a lot of shopping.
Another little note is how on Sunday, you should expect to see more and maybe different activity from the Amish. So obviously you’re not gonna have the farmers in their fields and people plugging away at work. You are apt to see more buggies on the road. And that would be from Amish traveling to and from church.
Buggies and also foot traffic in going visiting, which is a popular thing to do for the Amish on Sunday after church dropping in on other family members, and other people in the community.
And then of course the youth traffic. The youth have their youth groups in the evening. They will be on the roads going out with their buddies and friends. Going to the youth singing, some going on dates.
Number Five, be careful on the road.
You know, if you monitor the kind of news about the Amish, you become pretty aware of how many accidents seem to happen between cars and buggies. If you’re not used to driving around buggies, it can be kind of surprising how quickly you come up on a buggy even if you’re doing the speed limit. If you’re doing 45 miles an hour and the buggy is doing eight, you will be right up on that buggy faster than you expect.
Driving in Amish country means you need to take your speed down a notch and try to stay a little bit more alert for people on the road in buggies or people walking on the roadside, which can be pretty common.
There have been some tragic accidents where children have run out into the road. Just something to kind of be aware of when you’re passing, even people on the side of the road, give them enough space.
There are children walking to school. That’s something that’s gonna be in the morning around 8:00 AM or so, and then walking back from school in the afternoon around three. Just something to be aware of on the road, walking on their scooters, on their bicycles, some of the children will wear safety clothing.
In some of the more progressive communities particular, they’ve sort of accepted that, especially in places like Holmes county, Ohio,
The horses are generally pretty well-conditioned to be on the roads. At least they should be. Maybe they’re not always, but that’s on the Amish to get ahold of. When you do pass a buggy, try not to cut it off, but give it a wide enough of birth when you come back into the lane.
More importantly, you should be aware of other automobiles on the roads. Some drivers are not very careful about how they pass or how they drive around Amish, especially in these places where you’ve got curves and you’ve got the double yellow line. You can have a buggy going around a curve or in a no passing zone and it can back up car traffic. It should go without saying, don’t pass on blind curves.
You may see people doing this regardless, but people take that at risk. Just something to be aware of people tend to get pretty impatient. I don’t wanna blame it on the locals, but it’s usually more the locals that are that way. How do I know they tend to? The locals tend to be the ones that are involved in these accidents.
I’ve never read an accident report where a tourist actually caused an accident. I’m sure it’s happened, but the majority of them tend to be people that live locally. You know, some people just get frustrated driving around the Amish, because it slows you down.
The Amish don’t feel great about that. I’ve talked to Amish about this. They don’t like to be blocking traffic and they’ll try to get over as much as they can.
A lot of times, there’s just nothing you can do about it, especially going uphill in one of those hill situations like in Holmes county, You see a buggy going up a really big hill and it can slow down pretty slow to a clip- clop pace. In those cases, you just gotta drop it down to 3, 4, 5 miles an hour and clip-clop along so to speak until it’s clear to pass. You may have to wait for a long time if you get stuck behind someone. But you know, that’s part of the experience of visiting an Amish community.
What other tips would you add to this? Feel free to throw those in the comments. I would love to hear any other ideas you mays have.
