By Joann M. Ringelstetter
In our last blog post, Ruth reminisced about playing baseball when we were kids. It reminded me of an old-fashioned ball diamond we discovered in the spring of 2012 at Weaver’s Parochial School in rural Ohio. Here’s the view of the school from first base, with an old wooden backstop to the left of the school.
After having some fun on the ball diamond, we stood in front of the school, discussing the beautiful tile design on the front of the school. In lighter-colored tiles, it spelled out “Dist. 5, 1937,” so we assume this was originally a public school built in 1937.
We also discussed the pony barn located in front of the school. In the early days when most kids walked to school, there were sometimes pony barns for those kids who were lucky enough to ride a horse to school. We believe that Weaver’s School was a Mennonite school, so this pony barn could have been built by them after they took over the school.
As we stood there enjoying the rural countryside, an Amish buggy pulling a cart came around the corner and stopped near us. An Amish man got out of the buggy and began chatting with us. He told us he was having a problem with his cart and he was wondering if we would drive him quite a few miles to have a part fixed. We had a lot on our schedule for the day and were heading in the opposite direction, but we seriously considered his request. After all, we’d want someone to help us out if we were having trouble.
However, it soon became clear that he wanted us to wait with him while the part was being fixed so we could drive him back. This would have not only consumed our day but would have thrown a wrench in our whole trip schedule. So, as much as we hated to do it, we declined his request. He understood and thanked us kindly for at least considering it.
After leaving Weaver School, we explored more of the Amish areas of rural Holmes County. And one of the things we stumbled on was Millers Buggy Shop, where they sold Amish buggies and carriages.
And there’s nothing we like better than seeing teams of Amish workhorses. Since it was planting season, we didn’t have to work hard to find these teams of horses pulling the horse-drawn farm equipment to prepare the soil for planting.
This part of Ohio is filled with beautiful Amish farms and this farm was no exception. Seeing the Amish farmer driving his team along the edge of the field towards the farm on such a lovely spring day filled our hearts with joy.
Many states have areas where the Amish have settled, such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. If you’d like to take a step back in time, try driving the backroads of Amish country. It will be a respite from the fast-paced life you are probably living.
Happy Shunpiking!
Joann
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Interesting post! I'm surprised to learn that an Amish person would ask for a ride in a vehicle.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phyllis. This is actually very common and we see it often. When Amish people have to travel a long distance, for example if they need medical treatment in a bigger city or they need to go somewhere that is too far to travel by buggy, their "English" friends will often transport them. It's tough enough for them to share the road with so many vehicles just to travel locally, so they might ask for a ride when it would be too dangerous to travel by horse and buggy.
DeleteOh, that sure makes sense! Glad to know they are able to do that!
DeleteAhhh, spring! What a refreshing glimpse into all that a sunny day in the country can bring. Love the photos and stories.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jean. Yes, the freshness of spring is good for the soul!
DeleteWonderful as usual.:)
ReplyDelete