You can lead a Horse to Water...

 Water is a source of life.

We need water everyday, but it does happen that we sometimes get too much of a good thing. 

 When my wife and I visited an Amish community near Hazleton, Iowa, spring melt was causing a bit of flooding.  This Amish fella had some manure to haul and he didn't let a little field pond get in the way of his work.  I was surprised that his horses walked right in; some horses will refuse.  I probably would have gone around this part of the field, just to avoid putting my horses to the test.  This is why horses owned by Amish are such well trained creatures.

A few years back, I gave a horse drawn wagon ride for a local Mennonite family's reunion.  They wanted me to take them to an Amish home a few miles from mine, where they were going to look at some quilts.  It was a wonderful evening for such a ride and the perfect destination for a horse-drawn hay ride.  There were a couple of snags along the way for me though.  First off, I told them that twenty people would be a full load and they told me that only twenty wanted to ride.  Closer to thirty got on.  Then, it was a really warm summer evening and my team was sweating pretty good when we got to my Amish friends home.  He came up with a bucket of water and offered some to both of my horses... but they refused.  Old John Henry said, "Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

Everyone was having such a good time, when we were ready to leave it was getting dark.  One of the family members had brought their grandmother in a small pickup, they followed me back home.  With headlights shining through the crowd and horses, we could almost see and be seen.  This and insurance purposes are some of the reasons I don't hire my horses out for rides anymore.  Sad though, because it was a lot of fun.

At the end of the day, it is still true, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.  Which reminds me of a scripture.  Jesus was waiting for his friends by a well and a woman came along.  He didn't have a container to draw water with, so he asked the woman for a drink.  She was surprised, because Jewish men of that day wouldn't speak to Samaritans, much less a Samaritan woman.  She said, and I paraphrase, You are asking me for a drink?  His response: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water... whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again."
             Gospel of John, Chapter 4
       My desire is to lead my friends to this living water, though, I understand that I can't make them drink.

Amish are Happy People

 I sat at this little booth all day selling books.  This picture was taken at about 8:00 am, when I first set up, but by about noon the place was so packed a person could barely see this table.  At one point I looked around and realized I was completely surrounded by Amish people.  The thought crossed my mind, that I could get some great pictures without anyone knowing it.  Then, I reminded myself that many of these Amish were my good friends and I know they don't want their pictures taken.  Why would I do that?

It would have been fun to share that moment with you, my reader, but I just couldn't let down my Amish friends!  So, instead of taking pictures, I sat and watched all the Amish folks visiting.  And I noticed something, they were all smiling.  When Amish are in town they often seem stern and quiet.  If you can visit Amish people in their own environment you will find something else; they love to tease and have fun.

During the day, I got a chance to visit with several of my Amish friends. I gave a copy of Under the Heavens to the man I bought Karm and Coke from, he was excited to see his old horses on the cover. Another Amish friend bought a book from me, and made a comment as he did, "I helped you write this book."  He didn't know how true that was!

By the time this horse pull was taking place, all the local Amish had gone home.  Kalona Amish don't believe in contests of any type, including horse pulls. There are some Amish people in these horse pull pictures but not from our community; it is off limits.

Kalona Amish 1978

These pictures were taken in 1978.

A retired couple that lives on my mail route recently read my Amish novel. After reading it Jerry told me about these pictures he had taken in 1978 near Kalona.  I think his photography is great.

There were several things I noticed, such as the cars in the background, which look outdated.

 You may also notice that the Amish haven't changed much during that same time.  These pictures could have been taken this afternoon, minus the old cars.

The picture of corn shocks (below) reveals a change among Amish in Kalona.  I haven't seen any corn shocks in a really long time.  We still have a few families in our area that shock oats, but not corn.

Buggies, at first glance, look exactly the same in 2014 as they did in 1978.

I moved to the Kalona area in 1980 and have noticed changes in Amish buggies.  They now have headlights, which didn't exist in our community until only a few years ago.

Jerry took a number of other great pictures in 1978 but I am saving those for other blog posts.  Keep checking in on this blog and you will be blessed with many more great pictures!

If you see one you really like and want to purchase a print, Jerry said that he would be willing to accommodate that.  Simply email me at amishhorses@outlook.com and I will get you in touch with Jerry!

Hay Sale

 Hay is a precious commodity this time of year. Mountains of bales, round and square get stacked up one day and hauled off the next.

Kalona is one of many rural communities that are fueled by hay.  Cattle, horses, sheep and now days goats all need their staple, hay!  Almost all Amish farms in the Kalona area now have milk goats, only five years ago they all milked cows.

A local Amish man I know said recently, "When I go to sell my dairy herd, I will have to take them to the exotic sale!"

If you are looking for good hay, check out the Kalona Sale Barn, they have a hay sale every week.
http://www.kalonasalesbarn.com/home/

There is also a Auction house near Frytown that has a hay sale every Wednesday.  Here is their link
 http://www.yoderauctionservice.com/

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Tour Kalona

If your looking for a relaxing weekend in a quiet Amish/Mennonite community, Kalona may be the perfect spot.

Kalona has a number of quaint shops to visit.  The Rug Cottage Country Store is between Iowa City and Kalona on Hwy 1.

 This store is beautiful inside and out! Our family has been long time friends with the proprietors and they are great people.  2014 has had a rough start with snow and cold; but the ice is slowly melting and here comes the sun.
Spring will be a perfect time to get out into the countryside and see Amish farmers working up their fields with horses.

 As you can see (pictured below) The Rug Cottage also carries, Under the Heavens.  This novel is about a fictitious place "Bull Town" but is based on the Kalona area.

On the counter, next to Under the Heavens, is a display of locally raised, un-pasteurized  honey.  Did you know that eating honey, bees have made from local pollen, builds immunity to those allergens. This is a good place to pick up some of that sweet medicine and get immunized before hay-fever replaces cabin-fever.  

This store "Barntiques" Antiques Mall, is located just behind the Rug Cottage, on the same acreage.  You will see a big American flag on Barntiques as your coming up the hill on hwy 1, toward The Rug Cottage.

Amish Quilts and Woodworking

 J & K Creative Wood and Gifts
This beautiful store is located a few miles from Kalona on a gravel road. Don't let gravel discourage you from making a visit, the drive is through scenic Amish country.
Once inside you will find a wide variety of items ranging from handcrafted clipboards and cutting-boards made on site, to amazing Amish made hardwood bedroom suits.

 Amish made quilts hang on the walls filling the place with color, they are all for sale.
You will also find artwork from local artists, framed and ready to display in your home.
The Brokaw family are terrific people and they all take part in running this business.

 Oh, and by the way, did I mention that Under the Heavens, my novel is available here too. A fitting location because it is written based on the Kalona area. I bought my first team of draft horses only a short way from this place, and the first time I drove them was to J & K Wood! The Amish man I bought my horses from was showing me how to drive a team, and we came here to pick up a load of wood shavings. He uses the wood shavings as livestock bedding on his farm.
Here is a link to J & K Wood and Gifts:
http://jkartisans.com/

Harness Shop

 There is nothing like walking into an Amish harness shop.  As soon as you walk in, a rich smell of leather mixed with harness oils and a scent of horses greets you.

If you are a horse person I promise you will be in paradise.  Most shops, like the one pictured above, sell items from saddles to horse wormer, brushes, hoof picks, blankets, bits and a million other such things. Even if your not a horse person, I believe you will enjoy the experience.  Go in and ask if they would be willing to make a custom leather belt, most will.

There are at least three harness shops in the Kalona, Iowa area alone.  I make a point of going to all three even though I have my favorite. (I won't say which one) The shop east of Kalona a few miles and then south on a gravel road has mostly bio-harness.  A nylon covered with a very durable synthetic coating. They also specialize in show harness.

 The shop pictured above is in town, straight north of the Casey's General Store. That is a mostly leather harness shop and happens to be the first place I did business with, when I first bought a team of horses.

A third harness shop specializes in nylon harness, and is located north of the leather harness shop, several miles on a gravel road (the road jogs west a little at one point.)

My two favorite harness makers are now deceased. One of them had a shop a few miles from my home and was one of the kindest men I have ever met.  He was full of horse wisdom and told great stories, many of which appear in my novel, Under the Heavens.  
I am saving his best story for my sequel, about an amazing pony.

My other favorite harness maker told me that he went to grade school with my wife's grandfather.  He was a nylon harness man and also was a very kind, wise horseman, with great stories.  Both of these men I used as examples for my Grandpa character in my novel, so if you read my book, know that there really are men like him out there in Amish communities.

I took a single harness in to this last man mentioned one time, to be repaired.  He told me that it may take a while to fix it and wondered if I had any other errands to run while he worked on it.  I did, so after spending an hour and a half in Kalona, I came back to check on his progress.  He was just finishing up when I got there and then spent what seemed like 5 minutes figuring before he gave me my total bill.  I was getting nervous about the price!  He finally looked up at me and asked, "Does $1.75 sound alright?"  I told him that it sounded awful cheep.  He replied, "Well, I didn't use much material, it was mostly labor."  Don't let me lead you astray, I doubt it will be that cheep when you go in to get a leather belt these days.

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Under the Heavens, on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Under-Heavens-Thomas-Nye/dp/1936746794/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390142726&sr=1-1&keywords=under+the+heavens+thomas+nye

Amish Casket Makers

Every Amish community has an abundance of carpenters who are excellent craftsmen. This Countyline Woodworking shop is just one example of what you will find, if you are visiting an Amish community. Ask any local person where the nearest woodworking shop is.





There are also casket makers in almost every Amish community, turning out beautiful handcrafted coffins. Usually, they are only making caskets according to need, not for business. I have found that they will usually be quite gracious about helping out strangers, if asked politely.

A few months ago we had a special meeting in Kalona sponsored by the Mennonite Historical Society. Local Amish leaders were invited to come and speak to the community about our shared heritage. Five Bishops and Preachers talked about Kalona Amish history and fielded questions the audience had about Amish practices. It was a fantastic experience!  I heard some really great stories; one about an Amish casket maker that I will share with you.

One elderly Amish man, who was speaking, told us of a relative that made caskets.  He said that in the old days it was the practice to cut a long straight stick the exact length of a deceased person.  This stick would be sent to the casket maker to be certain of a perfect coffin size.  This elderly Amish man explained that his uncle always kept all of those sticks in a corner of his shop, each with a named carved on it.
This is where the story gets good!

Amish graveyard north of Kalona

On the occasion of an unexpected death, a local Amish family went about the unpleasant duty of preparing a to send a stick to the casket maker. For whatever reason, they were not able to readily come up with a stick that was suitable, so, they cut a cornstalk the exact length. A young Amish boy was sent on a mule to deliver the measuring stick to the carpenter. When the boy was near his destination his mule decided it would be nice to have a snack, and took a bite off the cornstalk that happened to be within his reach.

The story had it, that the casket maker and the boy made the best guess they could, about how much stalk the mule might have bitten off.  No doubt the carpenter made the casket a little longer, rather than a little too short. These measuring sticks are still around in our community, but I don't think the cornstalk measuring stick survived.

This graveyard (pictured above) is near where the mule incident happened.

Horses in the Cold

 Horses seem impervious to the cold but it makes me miserable to observe it. My own horses have a good place to get inside if they choose to. As you can see in the picture below, my horses usually stay outside until I feed them in the barn. Today, when the sub-zero wind chills kicked in, I found Coke and Karm inside.



They seem to love the snow but not the wind! When I come in to feed them and they have snow all over their backs, I'm thinking, "why not get under a roof?"
But, it's their choice!

 I love to hitch up my team of horses. Yet, to be honest, I usually don't if the weather is bad. I deliver mail for a living, so, after being outside all day in the cold I'm not in the mood. When I see Amish out driving horses in all kinds of bad weather I'm impressed. This would be no life for wimps! Don't forget, there is no heater in these buggies. Although many do warm up rocks or potatoes to take along as mini-heaters.

Amish Woodworking Store

       This past summer I took my family to the Wisconsin Dells area for some family togetherness time.  They know that "their old dad" stops at any nearby Amish community to look around and this trip was no exception.

       We came upon this, County Line Woodworking, near Loganville, Wisconsin. We loved the place and bought several items that fit in our budget and our Impala.

       My son and daughter sat with me on County Line's front porch while we waited for their mother to finish shopping inside. We loved these handmade chairs! They were super comfortable gliders, I hope to own a set someday. You can see that the family farm is set just beyond the business, in this absolutely beautiful, hilly, Wisconsin landscape. I would love to live in this community (I love my Kalona community too!)

       While we were shopping, we told the girl working at the register, that we were from the Kalona area; she told us that she was going to Kalona in a few days. Turned out that she was friends with a family we knew. Her friend was from Kalona but was teaching Amish school near Loganville for a year. Small world? 

Well, that is the Amish world. Every time we have mentioned Kalona in another Amish community, there seems to be some connection, usually a close one too.

I added a few more Loganville area photos so you can see what a scenic place it is.

I left the pictures small to save space, click on them to see them better!

 If your in the area, stop at Carr Valley Cheese Factory, Awesome cheese!





My wife and I.

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