Sunday, March 30, 2008 12:25 AM CDT
Amish centers aim to shoot down myths
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
Another season of Amish “mythbusting” is around the corner for the visitor and interpretative centers in Arcola and Arthur.
April is when people start coming to learn more about the Amish people living in Douglas and Moultrie counties. But Theresa Binion, director of the Arthur Amish Country Visitor Center, believes many come hobbled by myths about the Amish, devout Christians devoted to simple lifestyles without modern or worldly comforts.
“Some people come here and think the Amish can’t speak English, just Pennsylvania Dutch. Or they believe everyone in Arthur is Amish. Those are the questions I hear when people stop in here,” said Binion at the visitor center at Vine and Progress in Arthur’s old business district, where black buggies are parked near large pickup trucks.
“All Amish are bilingual. They hear both languages as children. Their English does have a slight accent from the Pennsylvania Dutch,” said Amber Kauffman, director of the Illinois Amish Interpretative Center on Locust Street in the center of Arcola’s business district, with its old store buildings and brick streets where the clop of shoed horses’ hooves echo when the Amish come through town.
Thousands of people visit Amish country in Illinois each year. The centers in Arcola and Arthur even have signatures or notes of tourists from foreign countries. And the idea is to offer them background on the Amish lifestyle.
Some of the myths can be humorous.
“There are so many myths out there we deal with,” said Binion, whose family has ties to the original Amish settlers to Central Illinois in the 1860s. “For example, some people believe the Amish place blue curtains in their windows as a sign they have a daughter eligible for marriage. Actually, it is simply because they like the color blue.”
Kauffman, whose husband was raised in an Amish family but chose to take on an “English” or modern lifestyle, said some observations can go beyond reason.
“We had one man come to our center after he had drove by some of the Amish farms. He finally asked us why the Amish don’t wear underwear. When we asked where he heard that he said he looked at their clotheslines and there was no underwear hung out.
“That’s why we like people to come to us first. Those kind of things eventually turn into myths about the Amish,” Kauffman said.
Other people believe the Amish live in homes with dirt floors. It is true the Amish believe in few adornments, but their homes are comfortable and pleasing to the eye, according to the experts at the centers.
And what about the Amish and phones? In a compromise, with the need for quicker communication for medical emergencies or with business customers (many Amish operate successful businesses in Illinois), there are strategically placed phone sheds in Amish areas.
“They actually look like outhouses,”Kauffman said.
Both the Arthur and Arcola communities take pride in how the Amish and “English” blend together. There is a mutual respect, Binion said.
“The Amish have made it work. That’s the way they choose and everyone here respects that,” she said.
Kauffman recalled the anxiety she had when she came to meet her future mother-in-law for the first time.
“I found there was no real cultural shock. The only difference was she was wearing a dress and a head covering. It relieved a lot of stress on my part. In many ways, I have many things in common with my mother-in-law. Both of us were raised on a farm and we love to cook,” said Kauffman.
Amish youths might look other-worldly to young people coming from urban backgrounds as they tours of Amish country. But Binion said some Amish kids do have game.
“My son plays in a Amish barn in three-on-three basketball games. Some of the Amish might join in. This is not for show, just fun,” Binion said.
Another Amish myth involves rumspringa, when teenagers are encouraged to explore new ways before becoming full members of their church community. Their elders prefer to encourage attendance at other churches, Kauffman said, as the decision is made whether to become a full member within the Amish church.
“One of the biggest myths is about rumspringa. Some people think there is a two-week time limit on this. Yeah, as if someone could experience the world in two weeks? The idea behind this is to experience different churches before deciding on the Amish church,” Kauffman said.
And those cute Amish children have plenty of cool toys in the closet, too, Kauffman said. The Arcola Interpretative Center will put many of the inventive low-tech toys on display this spring during another of its many exhibits explaining Amish life.
“We did interviews with the children on what they played with. They do have quiet toys in the church and around the house.
“I’ll be honest — I was little jealous. I wish I had had toys like that when I was a kid,” she said.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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