Lawnmower problem

[sup-rbeast]

Funny story concerning the Amish...about a month ago I went to Lancaster while I was in Baltimore saw all kinds of Amish folks doin their thing...but last week I was in Gatlinburg and saw a family of them there....I was thinkin WTF...how tha hell did they get here...must have been a long buggy ride.

[1inStripes]

A lot will ride buses and such, just not own vehicles I believe.

[sup-rbeast]

Well, that's a long bus ride...

[jtw61194]

It's true, though. They will pay someone to drive them back and forth to Maryland. Somebody did tell me, though, that they won't use the air conditioner in the van. Just what I've been told. I just read something that described the differences between Mennonites and Amish. They're basically the same, with the exception that the Amish try to distance themselves from a lot of the modern technology.

[1inStripes]

The Amish are an amazing group to me. They tend to have a lot of money and keep it to themselves. Generally if they need major farming equipment one of the men will take the trip generally via bus to go out and set up the purchases and delivery of the items the community needs. Always paying in cash. Hard working folks no doubt.

[imported_PioneerBlue]

There's quite a few mennonites here in Lee County now. They have their own cars, use phones and stuff though.

[UTVols2]

Isn't there a little store down near maybe Ewing/Gibson Station in that area somewhere that is Amish owned that sells baked goods. They sell some good Orange Juice cake.

[Unchained]

I didn't know that the Amish had left Burke's Garden (hadn't been there since I was little)

Burke's Garden, Virginia
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Burke's Garden is a small community in Tazewell County, Virginia, located in the bowl of a large valley known for its fertile land. The valley, also called Burke's Garden and sometimes referred to as "God's Thumbprint", is the bed of an ancient sea. The oval shaped valley resembles a large volcanic crater from satellite photographs; however, the valley was formed due to the collapse of underground limestone caverns. The valley is the highest in Virginia at 3,000 feet above sea level; it is completely surrounded by Garden Mountain.


[edit] History
The area was first surveyed in 1748 by a team of surveyors working for local landowner James Patton. One of the party, James Burke, is said to have thrown away some potato peelings while cooking. A year later, when the party returned to the area, they found potatoes growing in the area where the peels had been left. The area was dubbed Burke's Garden as something of a joke, but the name stuck.

The area has remained isolated throughout its history. In the late 1800s, agents for the Vanderbilt family contacted local farmers about selling land so that the family could build a large estate. Nobody wanted to sell, and the Vanderbilts instead constructed the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. In the 1990s, a small number of Amish families moved to Burke's Garden but later moved out after being unable to purchase enough land and attract enough other Amish families to form a viable community.

The county's oldest church, the Central Lutheran church, is located in Burke's Garden. In 1952, the community was terrorized by the "Varmint of Burke's Garden", a large coyote which killed many local sheep and caused much damage before being killed.



Those folks make some kick-arse furniture

[imported_elp6n]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">There's quite a few mennonites here in Lee County now. They have their own cars, use phones and stuff though.</div></div>

Mennonites are different from the Amish - the Amish are a stricter 17th century break-off sect from the Mennonites (apparently the Mennonites weren't strict enough in their practice and interpretation for some).

They dont have the same restrictions on modern amenities that the Amish do, with the exception of some of the Old Order who still use horse and buggy. Mennonites don't live in closed off communities, they mix and mingle like other common religions.

The Mennonite theology is New Testament based, with services similar to the average Protestant church. The Amish dont typically have a formal church but just have prayer and practice in the home.

A lot of the Amish are breaking down and integrating some into modern life (i.e. technically, even using money to purchase things is forbidden but a lot are doing it). I wonder if this may be for the best, since the close-relative marriages in the strictest communities is causing some really difficult to treat and sometimes fatal birth defects in recent generations (not speaking ill of their practices - it's simply the fault of having small communities not accepting outsiders for many generations). Sounds like it may be time for them to branch out some.

I've read about cases where entire families have genetic liver disorders that force them to spend most of their time under hot jaundice lamps (having to break the rules on modern amenities), severe retardation, growth issues and deformities, and some other genetic diseases I can't even vaugely remember the names of.

If I can find time I'll try to dig up some of those sources - it's some very interesting reading.

[imported_PioneerBlue]

Yeah, they have some good food there man