We spent a day exploring Amish county in Lancaster, PA. The Amish arrived in Pennsylvania in the 18th century to escape religious persecution. Since settling in Lancaster they have been able to maintain a community separate from the rest of society with a strict set of religious and cultural rules, traditions and beliefs. I’ve always been interested in the Amish lifestyle, and was excited to learn first hand. On our way to and from the campground we passed multiple horse drawn buggies. The parking lot at Lowe’s even had horse poop in front of it, presumably from someone driving a buggy to pick up some home improvement supplies. We drove by peaceful farmland being worked by a “6 horse power” farm implement.

We visited The Amish Village to tour the farmhouse and property. On the guided tour of the farmhouse, we saw traditional clothing, church room, bedrooms, and the kitchen. I was surprised by the kitchen. While I knew that Amish don’t use electricity, I didn’t realize that they do use other forms of power such as propane, natural gas and even compressed air. The farmhouse had a compressed air powered mixer and a gas powered washing machine. We also learned that the Amish don’t have Church buildings, but instead rotate house to house to hold Church each Sunday. The tour was interesting but I would have preferred more background information. The tour didn’t cover the “whys” of some of the religious rules or discuss trickier issues like the role of women in the family and culture. After the tour we walked around the farm and checked out the schoolhouse, blacksmith shop and the animals.

I asked the kids what they found most interesting:

Phineas: I thought it was interesting what technology they could use and what they couldn’t. I was curious so I asked the tour guide if there were any rules about getting vaccinated. It turns out the Amish in Lancaster are not allowed to get COVID vaccines.

Penelope: it’s cool how they are not allowed to use electricity in their house. And they have to decide if they want to stay on the Amish community or leave when they become an adult officially. Also they make the best food. I met little baby ducklings and I named them. They were so cute. I picked one up without the mom trying to peck on me. Also I named the chicks quacky, ducky, floppy and flappy.

To close out our trip to Lancaster, we took a 6pm ride on the Strasburg Railroad. It’s a restored coal-fired steam engine train from the 1850s. We elected to ride the open-air car for the best views, and because the weather was perfect. The ride was about 45 minutes through rolling fields and Amish farms. It was surprisingly fun for everyone.