Swartzentruber Amish
Many of you know the interest I have always had in the Amish and their way of life. I find it all very fascinating. The quilting that I have seen blows me away. The food I have eaten, delicious. And not that I have new Amish friends at Cedarmore Farms I want to learn as much as I can about the Amish...especially the Swartzentruber Amish. Andy and Lizzie belong to that Order. So last night I googled and this is what I found.
The Swartzentruber Amish are an Old Order Amish sect that formed as the result of a division that occurred among the Holmes County, Ohio, Amish in 1917. The bishop who broke away was Sam E. Yoder. The Swartzentruber name was applied later, named after bishop Samuel Swartzentruber who succeeded him. There are nineteen districts of Swartzentruber in Holmes County and Wayne County, where the subgroup originated. Now there are groups of Swartzentruber Amish settled in 15 other states, with the largest group in the U.S. located in the Holmes/Wayne County settlement...which is in Ohio.
Swartzentruber Amish speak Pennsylvania German, and are considered a subgroup of the Old Order Amish, although they do not fellowship or intermarry with more liberal Old Order Amish. Like some other Old Order groups, they avoid the use of electricity and indoor plumbing. Many other common devices and technologies are also disallowed for being too worldly including buttons, Velcro, bicycles and more. Swartzentruber farms and yards are often unkempt. It is suggested that the Swartzentrubers see an interest in appearance as too worldly. Their farms can be identified by dirt drives and surrounding roads, while most roads of the Old Order contain either gravel or paving to keep out the mud. The houses and outbuildings of the Swartzentruber often sport tin roofs. The clothing differs from that of the other Old Order Amish in subtle ways: all colors are dark and somber rather than the bright blues and mauves; more common is navy, dark burgundy, and even gray. Men frequently wear a single suspender to avoid what is seen as the pride of two. The dresses of the women, rather than reaching mid-calf, usually reach to the top of the shoes. The tack on the horses and buggies is often all black, rather than brown leather.
Swartzentruber Amish use reflective tape on the back of their buggies, in place of bright triangular slow moving signs for road travel, which they regard as too worldly. These buggies will also sport lanterns, rather than battery-operated lights, or reflectors. The lanterns are also often staggered, one side slightly higher than the other, so as not to appear like the tail lights of a vehicle. There have been several court cases across the country where the state and county challenged the local Swartzentruber group to use the regulation orange triangle. So far, even as far as the federal Supreme Court, the Amish have prevailed, although statistics suggest that in areas where these groups exist, accidents involving buggies are more prevalent.
I don't know how much of this is true but I know Andy will set me straight of my facts. When he does I will let you know. Please take time out to go to the Cedarmore Farm CSA blog and see the progress Andy and Lizzy have made into the crops for this spring.
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