SNIPPET: Gerald P. HIGGINS, a native of Curraun, Mohill, Co. Leitrim (now residing in Limerick) shared his impressions from a recent visit to Lancaster Co., PA, in the 2004 issue of the yearly "Leitrim Guardian" magazine. He found some similarities to growing up in Ireland and notes that Desmond DOONAN, Gubadruish, Gorvagh, regularly did business with the Amish community while he resided in the United States and found them to be reliable, honest and forthright. Mr. HIGGINS writes that thousands visit the beautiful rolling countryside of Lancaster Co., PA, to learn something of the 'plain people' - mostly Amish and Mennonite - of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Observing their traditional farming practices during a recent visit, Gerald was reminded of life in the community in which he grew up near Mohill during the 1930s-40s. Per Mr. HIGGINS, The Amish are a religious group who live in settlements and follow a literal interpretation of the Bible and an unwritten set of their own rules of order. They maintain simple lifestyles and place emphasis on humility, family, community and separation from the wider world, drive horses and buggies rather than cars, do not use electricity or telephones. Kerosene lamps light their homes and places of work. Children are taught to primary level only, in one-room schoolhouses, after which they work on the family farm or business until they marry. Per the author - Mennonites were part of the early Anabaptist movement in Europe during the Reformation in the 16th century. Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their faith should be baptized, and that they should separte themselves from society at large. Many early Anabaptists around Europe were put to death as heretics by both Catholics and Protestants. Many others fled for refuge in the mountains of Switzerland and southern Germany. Followers of a Swiss Bishop, Jacob AMMAN, who broke from the Mennonite church in 1693, became known as Amish. Thus began the Amish tradition of farming, isolation, self-sufficiency and holding worship services in private homes rather than in churches. In the 18th century the Amish were granted a haven from religious persecution in America by William PENN (a Quaker and sole proprietor of the State of PA, granted by Charles II in lieu of a debt owed to the PENN family, who was determined to create a pacifist society whi! ch would be a haven for religious tolerance) and the first sizable group of immigrants arrived from central Europe to Lancaster Co. in the 1730's as part of PENN's holy experiment with religious tolerance. Today, approximately 80 thousand Amish live in 22 states, 80% of whom are in PA, OH and IN. Per Mr. HIGGINS - "Amish communities are small (about 300 people), close-knit and mostly rural. Each has its own degree of orthodoxy and interpretation of rules they call the Ordnung. They practice shunning for any member who breaks these rules. Most are trilingual; at home they speak a German dialect called Pennysylvania Dutch (or Deutsch), they use High German at worship services and learn English at school. They have preserved a mentality of separation from the world and their inclination is to hold outsiders at bay; they marry within their own community." He says that if you wave, they will not wave back. Silence is regarded as a powerful communications tool; a sign of humility and wisdom. Similarity in dress, house design, carriages and the scorning of modernity and materialism removes any sense of status and speaks of all members of the community being equal. :The author writes that Amish worship in their homes rather than in church buildings, as members of the Baptist and Seeker denominations did in the Mohill, Co. Leitrim area when he was growing up, and also bring to mind the House Station Masses held regularly in Catholic homes. Amish ministers and bishops manually work the land, just as a neighbouring farmer, close friend and Bsptist bishop did in Curraun many years ago. Amish do not accept government subsidies. A typical Amish farm consists of 100 acres of rich fertile ground, 35 milch cows, and 5-6 horses for working the land and transporting the family. Tractors are not used. Maize, tobacco, wheat, barley, potatoes and vegetables are grown. Cows are sometimes milked by hand though milking machines (not electrically powered) are mostly used today. Amish families live in stone-built houses and when a son marries, he does not build a new house but adds a wing on to the existing dwelling for himself and his wife. He is! also given about 15 acres for his own use. Per Gerald, a similar practice was common in Ireland years ago. He is aware of farms with poorer quality land sub-divided until the family units were too small to make a decent living. Three generations or a couple of different families sharing one house was not uncommon either. The Amish do not abide by daylight saving time. they operate on slow time dictated by the sun, getting up at sunrise and going to bed at sunset . This brought back memories to Mr. HIGGINS of several neighbours round Curraun who never changed their clocks forward in spring, but retained them on winter time the whole year round. Known as God's time it usually meant they worked from dawn to dark regardless of what the clock dictated. Amish people wear plain functional clothing fastened with hooks-and-eyes, not buttons. These distinctive clothes encourage humility and separation from the world. Clothing is not seen as a costume, but as an expression of faith. A married man will grow a long beard in lieu of wearing a wedding ring. Men wear broad-brimmed black hats, coats without lapels, solid coloured workshirts and plain-cut dark trousers. Women wear ankle-length plain-coloured long-sleeved dresses. Their hair is never cut but shaped in a bun on the back of the head and covered with a white prayer bonnet if they are married and a black one if they are single. No jewellery is worn. Some Amish communities go barefoot, and shoes, when they are worn, can be well tatterd. This was reminiscent of Gerald's own schooldays when in spring and early summer children walked barefoot to Adoon School, shoes reserved for Sundays and visits to Mohill. Going barefoot was common at that time and not a sign that ! shoes could not be afforded. Mr. HIGGINS summarizes: "Seventeenth century traditions are difficult to maintain in 21st century America. While Amish want to simply be left alone - photography is generally forbidden - they have accepted the influx of visitors as something they cannot change. Some have left Lancaster County. because of rising land prices and challenges maintaining their orthodox lifestyle, but many now rely on tourism as their source of income. Today, there is a large demand for Amish food preservatives, hand-made furniture, crafts, intricately inlaid bed-quilts and organic farm produce." --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.716 / Virus Database: 472 - Release Date: 7/17/2004