Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

(Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series for The Daily Herald.)

I met the King family while competing at the National Archery Championship in Reading, Pennsylvania in late July of 2004. The men of the family were practicing at the Lancaster Archery Shop.
A lady and the Amish mom were engaged in a lively conversation. When the lady stopped and said hello to me, I commented that they must know each other. They had met on a train a number of years ago when the King family traveled to Montana to visit relatives. The lady was from California and was visiting the Kings for a week. I said I admired the Amish and respected their privacy but have always wanted to know more about them and to spend a couple days like she did would be very interesting.
Before our conversation was over, we exchanged addresses and phone numbers. Sadie (the mom) said to give them a call sometime when I was in Pennsylvania and that I would be welcome to visit them. They do not have electricity in the house so the telephone is on a pole outside. We kept in touch over the months and I was planning to visit them the next time I was in Pennsylvania. I sent them a letter stating I would be home for part of the Christmas holidays.
The Saturday (Dec 11) before I left Texas, Abner called and asked if I was still interested in visiting and when. We decided the following Saturday would be best. I was very excited to be given this opportunity to actually spend time with an Amish family in their home. I did not know what to expect but I read a lot about the Amish and figured I would play it by ear.
My mom (Elfriede) came along on this adventure. We left Tyrone around 5:40 a.m. and pulled into their driveway in less than three hours, 158 miles distance. They live outside of Lancaster in a town called Bird-In-Hand. There was a buggy in the driveway and two buggies in the barn, along with three horses. Abner (the father) came out to greet us and welcome us into his home.
The home was very nice and spacious. The laundry room was large with a brick oven/fireplace in the corner. A washing machine (Maytag) stood along side and it was the same model my mom first had when we came to America in 1952. I was 2-years old at the time. The Maytag has squeeze rollers for wringing out the water (today this would be the rinse cycle). What caught my eye was the power unit. The electric motor was removed and replaced with a small gasoline engine mounted on the floor. A pulley wheel was added to the engine and the drive belt to the washing machine was connected to the pulley wheel of the gas motor. Set the choke and pull the rope, just like a lawn mower.
The clothes dryer is the mother-nature type of hanging the clothes on a clothesline. Sadie washes daily so that everyone has clean clothes and for a family of eight, that could be a lot of clothes. One of the girls was ironing clothes in the kitchen using a real iron, heated over the flames from the stove.
In Abner’s workshop, he uses air powered and battery powered tools. He has a diesel generator behind the shop and an air compressor. To re-charge any batteries, he has an inverter to change the A/C power to D/C. The lights and turn signals used in the buggies run off a 12-volt car battery. Abner has a battery-powered drill and the rest of his tools are pneumatic.
The laundry room leads into the kitchen and adjoining living room that comprises one large area. It was very nice and comfortable. The heat is supplied by a coal/wood stove between the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen also has a gas stove and gas refrigerator and the water heater for the shower is also propane. Sadie wiped off her hands on an apron and greeted us. I introduced my mom who was also excited about this unique experience. Sadie is a warm, jovial and wonderful host who always has a friendly smile.
All the children were sitting quietly and politely as I went around the room, correctly identifying them all. Elizabeth is 19 and a schoolteacher. Jonas is 17 and Leroy, 16. Both of them work outside the home on another farm. Lydia Ann is 14, Linda is 11 and Omar is 10.
We were invited to join them for breakfast but we had already eaten on the trip down. Eight in their family plus two of us made for a warm gathering of good souls. This reminded me of the Waltons. Abner’s mom and her sister lived in the adjoining addition of the house. Busy people were setting the table as Lydia Ann toasted bread over an open flame.
Elizabeth went after milk from next door. The neighbors owned a dairy farm so fresh milk is on hand at all times. No need to worry about an expiration date on the carton. This fresh milk comes in a pitcher. Omar, the youngest does chores for the neighbors. In return, they get a fresh supply of milk to the family. I told Omar he is a good kid and serves the family well. He feeds their horses and mules plus bottle-feeds the newborn calves.
After breakfast, we sat around and chatted, getting familiar with each other. The children rarely spoke unless spoken to – isn’t that the way it used to be and should be? No backtalking, no whining, no complaining.
The King’s own approximately an acre of land and do not farm this plot. The men all work outside of the home on other farms. Abner is a handy man and builds wooden crafts to sell. He built the solid oak cabinets in the living room.
Elizabeth had to go to the schoolhouse this day so I volunteered a ride, which was eagerly accepted. Abner, Omar, and the three girls piled into the car. The Schoolhouse is five miles away. During the school week, a driver stops by and picks her up and later, drops her off. The driver has other people to deliver as well. Drivers in the Amish country are plentiful and readily available. I assume taxis are not used.
The schoolhouse is new and it is a typical one-room schoolhouse. Elizabeth teaches grades 1 through 8. The toilets are outside, built of blocks but basically out houses. The floor in the schoolhouse is solid oak. The desks are the same that was used a hundred years ago with holes in the desk for an inkwell. We left the three girls as they were going to clean the floors and windows.
We stopped at a store that was run by the Amish, for the Amish and sell merchandise made by the Amish. They sell other items as well. During the ride back from the schoolhouse, I noticed several one-room schoolhouses. One of them was right across the road from their house. Omar and Linda attend this school.
Omar demonstrated his scooter bike for me. Just like scooters of old but with much larger wheels. This is the kid’s basic form of transportation or just for playing. The Mennonites are allowed chain driven bikes but the Amish scooters are push-propelled.
We walked next door to look at the neighbor’s six mules. They looked different, as did some of the other mules I saw in the community. They were larger than normal mules. I discovered that these mules came from breeding donkeys with draft horses, typically Percherons and Belgians. That certainly accounts for the size of these “draft” mules.
Normally, a mule comes from crossbreeding donkeys with horses. Usually, a male donkey (a jake), is bred with a female horse (a mare). The result is a mule. A male mule is a John and a female mule is a Molly. As a result of this crossbreeding, mules are generally sterile and cannot reproduce. So, whatever you do, don’t let someone sell you a pair of mules for breeding. Occasionally, a male horse (a stallion) is bred with a female donkey (a jenny or jennet) to produce a mule of which the resulting mule is a hinny. These are rarer mules and smaller than normal mules.
We sat in the large room for a while just chatting and eating goodies. Mom knitted a pair of wool socks for Abner and brought a batch of doo-dads she made. I brought four pounds of pecans from Texas, a couple homemade puzzles, a bird feeder that I made in Texas and some chocolate chip cookies that I made the night before. Lillie sent up a jar of honey from a relative’s hive. I also brought a Galileo thermometer that drew some interest.
Sadie was putting in some homemade, fresh bread in the oven so we scooted back to the schoolhouse to pick up the girls before supper. Leroy decided to go along this trip. Two girls from a nearby Mennonite farm were helping the sisters when we arrived. Their dress was made of a flower print, unlike the solid colors permitted by the Amish. Their names were Carolyn and Naomi. We took a slight detour on the way back and spotted a couple more one-room schoolhouses.

By Rick