It was a busy and stressful drive last Wednesday from Grayson Highlands State Park in the western part of Virginia to Dundee, Ohio which is in the center of the largest Amish and Mennonite population anywhere. Many of the road miles we covered on that leg were on narrow and twisty roads which are always more work than cruising on straight stretches of Interstate highway. Even the Interstate we were on in West Virginia was full of grades and curves. We didn’t arrive at our campground, Evergreen Park RV Resort, until five o’clock which is late for us. We were tired, but glad to have the travel day completed.
The park furnished us with a thick wad of tourist brochures which was somewhat overwhelming – as we looked over them we didn’t know where to begin our sightseeing. We finally agreed on a tour plan that would include the following:
- Holmes County Amish Flea Market (who can resist bargains?)
- Behalt – the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center
- Lehman’s Hardware & Appliances (famous for non-electric appliances)
- And some dining experiences
We knew little about the Amish and Mennonite (the “Anabaptists”) culture before our visit here thinking they were somewhat eccentric anachronisms identified by odd clothes and extensive use of horses for transportation and farm labor. While these generalizations are true to a great extent, this is a very shallow perception of a more complex people. Understanding the Anabaptists will take a little bit of energy, but you will find the effort quite rewarding. A good overview of the religous movements can be found here.
Lehman’s Hardware and Appliances has one of the largest collections of appliances designed specifically for life without electricity (like the Amish), this includes wood burning stoves, ranges and water heaters, refrigerators that are gas or kerosene operated, canning supplies and hand tools. In the photo gallery we posted of our Amish adventures, you can see what a $4,000 wood-burning range/stove looks like! The pictures are worth more than a wordy narrative, so we ask you to take your own trip to Amish Country through our photographs!