Hay-field Volleyball

        Some people really know how to live and enjoy life's simple pleasures! I drove by an Amish farm the other day and there was a hay-field volleyball game going on. I'm pretty sure it was actually an Amish wedding being held on this farm, which is an all day event. Amish weddings start out early with a full "church-type" service, followed by a meal, continuing in the evening with another meal and a special Singing. Volleyball nets are set up nearby so young people have something fun to do between the wedding and later events.

        Buggy horses are usually tied on a long rope stretched tightly between two tractors. Hundreds of horses and buggies are at an event like this and there needs to be a good parking plan. I took these pictures in the late afternoon, by that time of day many of the older folks have left. Sorry I couldn't give you a better picture of how many buggies would have been there at an earlier time of day.

        I like this photo above. A young man is jumping up to spike the ball and a guy on the other side is prepared to return it, if it doesn't get blocked by those near the net. Volleyball is a very common recreational activity for Amish teens. I had a chance to play volleyball with my Amish friends (when I was a teen.) I found that they were actually pretty good at it, yet kept the game fun for everyone. You have to be smart enough to keep the girls involved, that's an Amish guy's chance to mingle with females.

The white objects behind these horses are plastic-wrapped hay bales.

        Under the Heavens and Catbird Singing both have volleyball games described within their pages. If you really want to know what it is like to spend time on an Amish farm, you need to read these books. I took my own experiences and made every effort to share the details that make you feel like you are right there. I like to tell people, "I made the story much more interesting than my own life, or nobody would want to read it." LOL  However, most of the stories are from my own experiences, or those my friends have shared with me. Book III is on the way, but I haven't released the title yet. Check out my Amazon, Thomas Nye author page.

Old Amish Games

Dutch Blitz

This card game is in every Amish and Mennonite home. 

I passed by an Amish school a few days ago and saw a big crowd of children out in a nearby field. You can see in the picture above, the school is on one side of the road and the children are playing in a field on the other side. They were playing a game of Red Rover, at least that is what we called it when I was a little boy. The children up on the hill were all holding hands in a line. They would call a name of one of those below and that child would run up the hill and try to break through the chain. If they break through, they get to stay up on the hill and those whose hands didn't hold the chain, had to go to the bottom.

This is another Amish school only a couple miles from the top picture. You can see a few "scholars" (that is what Amish call school children) out behind the school. I don't take pictures close up because I know they don't like it. When I passed by both groups, the children looked at me and waived. I didn't want them to see me snapping pictures, some of them know who I am and recognize my pickup truck. A group of young girls were standing right behind this school house. They were in a clump visiting (couldn't help wondering what they were talking about) , and a few boys were chasing each other in circles. I believe they were playing an old game named, "Fox and Geese"  In this game a pattern is stomped out in the snow, like a plus sign with a circle around it. The Fox (the one who is "it") has to try to tag the Geese. They can only move about on the tromped out paths in the snow making it more complicated and fun than "tag."

When I married my Mennonite wife 34 years ago, I found out that Dutch Blitz would be a permanent part of my new life. Amish (as far as I know) won't use "Face Cards" that the English use, but they love this game! Each of 4 players pick one stack of cards, (Plow, Bucket, Pump, or Buggy) I always choose the "Buggy" stack. Then, you lay out 3 single cards in front of you, face up, and a pile of ten with only the top card's face showing. That is your Blitz pile. The rest of your stack is held in your hand. At the signal "Go!" everyone is free to lay any #1 card that is face up in front of them, and then proceed to going through your stack by 3's searching for a #1 card to lay out or a #2 of a matching color to lay on a #1 already laid out, and so forth until you use up your Blitz pile. The first person to empty their Blitz pile and yell "Blitz!" wins.

My wife is a master at this game and I've only beat her at it a handful of times. A couple of my daughters take right after her, with quick hands and a sharp eye. We have played this game with many of our Amish friends and my wife has some real competition when we do! Our Amish friends have large families so we sometimes play in teams of two. That way eight people can play at once. It is a fast game and everyone is laughing before it is all over.

This game (Dutch Blitz) appears in my first novel,

Under the Heavens

This is a game board for "marbles" my wife's grandpa made, it is

played like the "store bought game" Aggravation.

Of course, the best game of all, for Amish children, is riding ponies out in the pasture!

A couple of makeshift jumps and let the games begin!