Table Of ContentOur People : The Amish and Mennonites of
title:
Ohio
author: Miller, Levi.
publisher: Herald Press
isbn10 | asin: 0836135822
print isbn13: 9780836135824
ebook isbn13: 9780585219400
language: English
Amish--Ohio--Social life and customs,
subject Mennonites--Ohio--Social life and customs,
Ohio--Social life and customs.
publication date: 1992
lcc: F500.M45M55 1992eb
ddc: 305.6/870771
Amish--Ohio--Social life and customs,
subject: Mennonites--Ohio--Social life and customs,
Ohio--Social life and customs.
Page 1
Our People
The Amish and Mennonites of Ohio
Levi Miller
Revised Edition
Page 2
The paper used in this publication is recycled and meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information
SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI
Z39.48-1984.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version
Bible, copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and is used by
permission.
Photo credits: Doyle Yoderfront cover, back cover (bottom), 27;
David Millerback cover (top), 25; LaMar Weaver4, 11, 16 (bottom);
Spencer W. Cunningham34 (bottom), 61; Joanne Lehman13, 26; Dale
D. Gehman40; Laurelville Mennonite Church Center31; remainder by
Bruce D. Glick.
OUR PEOPLE: THE AMISH AND MENNONITES OF OHIO
Copyright 1983, 1992 by Herald Press, Scottdale, Pa. 15683
Published 1983. Revised edition 1992.
Published simultaneously in Canada by Herald Press,
Waterloo, Ont. N2L 6H7. All rights reserved
Website: www.mph.org
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 91-76519
International Standard Book Number: 0-8361-3582-2
Printed in the United States of America
Book and cover design by Merrill R. Miller
07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 10 9 8 7 6 5 4
Over 50,000 copies in print
Page 3
For the Amish "Our People" is a dynamic reality visible in language,
clothing, transportation, and folk traditions such as the barn raising.
Page 4
In worship, many conservative Mennonite women wear a
prayer covering. Our people share a common history and
Christian beliefs; however, some interpretations differ.
Page 5
Our People
My brother and I were driving west from the small Ohio town of
Berlin, heading toward what in Holmes County is called the Joe
Miller Hill. Over the top of the hill came two young boys riding a
draft horse. The horse, in harness, was trotting and blowing white
wisps of steam into the morning air. The harness was jangling and the
boys were laughing, the eastern morning sun shining in their faces.
The traffic passed them on the other side of the road.
I have no idea why on that morning those black-hatted boys were
riding a draft horse with a harness. Amish seldom ride on horseback,
in any case. But their joyful uphill ride on that sunny morning seemed
to me to symbolize the Amish and Mennonites of Ohio. They often go
against the current, up the hill, in the world's greatest superpowerand
are joyful.
Those young boys are a part of our people, the Amish and
Mennonites. I am a Mennonite who was born in an Amish home. My
family has lived in Holmes County, Ohio, for six generations. What I
share here is an inside view of one who has experienced life in the
community. I am a member who believes in the group's values, faith
and way of life.
I do not, however, pretend to speak for all the Mennonites and Amish
of Ohio. Although our people like unity, we are also quite different.
But I'm getting ahead of the story. Let's go back to the two boys going
up the hill.
Our people often go up the hill, against the current thinking in our
communities. We do it not to be contrary
Page 6
(although we can be stubborn at times) but to be ourselves. In some
ways we do not fit in with the rest of society. We go slow while others
are speeding up. We believe the wisdom is in the ages; most North
Americans believe progress is in the new. We live in peace and do not
participate in warfare. We live simply, and many men wear beards and
many women wear bonnets. Most are moderately wealthy.
Those are the obvious confessions. But if you scratch beneath the
surface, you will discover that we consider ourselves to be a people.
The Amish talk about unser Leut (our people). Mennonite theologians
write about "people-hood." If you ask an Amish father why he grows
a beard, he may tell you that "our people have always worn beards."
For traditional people, that is reason enough.
If you ask a Mennonite woman why she wears no jewelry and little
makeup, she may talk about our people traditionally doing this. She
may quote a Bible verse about not having our hair adorned with
jewels. She may begin talking about living simply and sharing the
world's resources. If you continue to ask, she may say something
about "our people's interpretation of the Scripture" or the "Anabaptist
tradition of simplicity."
For the Amish "our people" is a dynamic reality, visible in language,
clothing, transportation, and many folk traditions. These visible marks
differ sharply from those of their non-Amish neighbors, the world.
Amish make their basic decisions based on the convictions of their
people, the church.
For Mennonites "our people" is more difficult to define, but we
constantly talk about it. We talk about the Anabaptist story, our martyr
heritage. A Plain City mother tells of her son who is writing stories of
peacemaking; a Walnut Creek couple tell of their daughter who is
teaching in Zaire; a Bluffton Mennonite compiled another genealogy
of his Swiss forbears.
