The Amish of Chetopa, KS

Hey! I hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Things at Chez Lillard are pretty laid back at the holidays, but that’s just the way we like it. There’s too much stress during the rest of the year; no sense making even more when the times should be happy.

And speaking of happy (see that smooth segue there?) it’s time for another post detailing my recent visit with Stacey and all the Amish Adventures we embarked on this year. #HappyTimes

Now, Chetopa, Kansas was an unscheduled stop in our trip–we had just left Kansas!–but if nothing else, we’ve learned to go with the flow. The flow being discovering the small community while visiting the Amish in Welch, OK.

At best I can figure there is only one church district in Chetopa. There are two schools and it’s clear that they are Old Order Amish. The men boast two suspenders and the women wear the prayer coverings similar to the cylindrical ones they use in Chouteau.

But you know me and I love the little details that make each Amish community unique unto itself. Here are the two best things I learned about the Amish in Chetopa. (which is pretty good seeing as how when the day started off I didn’t even know I was going to Chetopa!)

Each Amish family is allowed to have a phone at their house but it must be in a separate out building (or shanty.) Here is a picture of one of the phone shanties we saw.

 

And each family is allowed to own one piece of mobile machinery. Here’s a Bobcat we spotted at one farm.

All in all, it was a good trip, although it was a bit short. I guess that’s what happens when you happen upon a community your hadn’t known was there at the start of the day.

For a complete recount of the day in facts and pictures, check out the page I have dedicated to THE AMISH OF CHETOPA.

And as always, thanks for reading!

 

The Amish of Welch, OK

If you follow me on Facebook then you already know that Stacey and I finally got together after three years! Let me tell you it was long overdue to take a road trip with my bestie and see some (Amish) sights. Yoder, Kansas, of course. This was the main reason for our visit since I have a new series starting there next summer. This was our second visit. Yoder is worth a second look for sure, but we also wanted to make sure I had all the details right. Chouteau, Oklahoma is a must when she’s here since it’s so close, but we also went on a journey into the unknown to find Amish where we weren’t 100% sure that they even lived. But more on that in a minute.

It takes me a while to get through all the pictures we take and get them ready to show you, but I have gotten a few sorted. These are the ones that we took on our quest to find the reported Amish in Welch, Oklahoma.

I’ve had a couple of people tell me that Oklahoma has gained a few more Amish communities in the last few years. Some of those folks were Amish that Stacey and I met during the Clarita School Auction in 2018. Most everyone who follows knows that there is the community in Chouteau. That’s the one that Wells Landing is *very* loosely patterned after. Mostly size and location as well as many of the practices like driving tractors during the week and buggies on Sunday. The town itself is all my invention. And then there’s a settlement in the aforementioned Clarita, Oklahoma, though a lot of times I hear people calling it Coalgate, after the county seat. We’ve been to both, of course, and are always willing to go back, but we wanted to bring you something new and different.

And we found it! When talking about Welch Amish it’s not the same as Lancaster or any of the larger communities. It’s not even the same as Chouteau or Clarita. Basically there are a handful of houses out in the country. They are reported to keep mostly to themselves. But we wanted to see what it was all about.

Welch is a tiny town—population 619 in 2010—just eight miles south of the Oklahoma/Kansas border. There are a couple of convenience stores, a post office, and at least one really great place to eat.

As I said the Amish in this area mostly farm for a living and keep to themselves. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed because I love to visit Amish-owned businesses. Honestly my favorite is when they have little shops outside their houses where people can buy canned goods, potholders, and beaded jewelry, among other things. However in mulling it through, I’m sure there has to be a certain amount of tourist traffic for this to be even remotely profitable. And I’m fairly certain that the Amish in Welch don’t have this sort of English draw—not yet anyway. Who knows what the future holds for this new community?

While in Welch we ate at The Cow restaurant. Fantastic food and great service. The waitresses were so nice and helpful. One even told us the story of how the Amish came to help when her grandfather’s lumberyard burned. The Amish came asking if they needed any help rebuilding. The family said they hadn’t figured out how they were going to finance the rebuild. The Amish said, that’s not what we asked you. We asked if you needed help. And they pitched in without thoughts of money or compensation. So they might keep to themselves but when the chips are down it seems they can be counted on to help. Very neighborly, for sure!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. To see them all, click HERE to view the page I have dedicated to the Amish of Welch, OK. And if you haven’t checked out the site in a while, feel free to look around. There just might be something new to see.

Thanks for reading!

Amy

 

Amish Adventures in 2019

I love to tell readers about my (and Stacey’s) Amish adventures. Especially our trips from this past year. Did you know we visited seven different Amish communities? What fun we had!

But here it is, already June, and I’ve been through Chouteau (again), but nothing else. I could laugh and say things like ‘Time flies’ and ‘Where does it all go?’ and it would be an honest account. But the rest of the truth is that things change. I have-had a senior this year and if you’ve been through that experience, there is a lot of money and time involved. And then most of you know that Stacey’s mother had a stroke and is still in recovery. Needless to say life has sort of put the kibosh on most (if not all) of this year’s travel plans.

But that’s not why I invited myself into your computer today. I have a story to tell. See, it’s something of a joke in my family that wherever I go I manage to find the Amish. Like the little boy in the movie the Sixth Sense, except, “I see Amish people.” The joke goes a bit further in that I still haven’t managed to find the Amish KC Chiefs fans, but I’m hopeful for next season. (This is not a joke. There really are ex-Amish season ticket holders! And since we have tickets ourselves…It’s inevitable, right?)

Seriously though, I go to the mall, I find Amish people. The flea market, Amish people. McDonalds, Amish. And it has happened again.

My mother came into town for my son’s graduation. Her route to Oklahoma was interesting though not straight forward. She drove from Alabama to her friend’s house in Memphis. This friend was driving out to Bentonville, Arkansas, to her own granddaughter’s high school graduation. Since my mom caught a ride with her, all I had to do was drive to Arkansas to pick Mom up.

It was a fun drive over for me, little road trip consisting of me, my Beetle, Google maps, and Apple music. Then I hit a light in small town Arkansas and looked over at the gas station across the way. You know, just checking things out. I saw a tractor.

Now I’m always looking for interesting things to take pictures of to share with you, and it crossed my mind for a moment to take a picture of the tractor and its as-of-yet-unseen driver. But “Nah,” I thought. “It’s not like it’s Amish people.”

The light turns green and I go, just in time to pull up behind the tractor which is now on the roadway.

Wait…what? Are those Amish girls on board? Not just one, but two!

I quickly snapped a picture to remember the moment and did a speedy voice note in my phone so I would record where I was: Gentry, Arkansas. I knew there were a couple of Amish communities in Arkansas but had no idea one was so close. So far I haven’t been able to find out much about them online. I guess Stacey and I will have to put this on our list of places to visit. I do know one thing…they drive tractors. But you’ll be the first to know when we find out more!

Summer 2018, part 1

I know everyone always says this, but how did it get to be October? I feel like the summer went by so fast. Maybe because Stacey and I had such adventures! We visited seven different Amish communities this year! And 2018 is not over yet! (I’m just playing. We will not be taking any more trips this year. I have books to write, but it was fun to say.)

Seven different communities? Yes! Lancaster County, Kish Valley, Richfield PA, Charlotte County VA, Choteau OK, Clarita OK, and Yoder KS. Seven different Amish communities means a lot of pictures! I’m currently getting them all ready to go up here so you can see them, but these things take time and of course there are still books to write.

So I’m breaking this up into sections (I’m thinking 5). First up are the three communities that we visited in Pennsylvania. Of course we went to Lancaster to visit our friends, and we went to Kish Valley (the setting for the Kappy King Mystery Series.) And then there’s Richfield. So we didn’t see a lot of Amish there and we only took a couple of pictures, but I wanted to get this community on the books here with the rest of my Amish adventures. Next year, we’re going to dig a little deeper and see what we can learn about the Amish in Richfield.

Here are the links to the pictures so you can find them easily. I’m going to be talking more about the trip and some of the great things we learned, saw, and did. One interesting thing was the continual spotting of the church wagon. I’d never seen one before and this trip to PA I saw three! (I saw four total this summer as there was also one visible in Yoder, KS. But that’s a tale for another day.)

Be sure to keep your eyes out for the pictures of the church wagons. And be sure to scroll down on the page with the pictures of Kish Valley. I took a bunch of pictures at the cemetery. I find all the graves very interesting. Some are so old. I love reading the names and what they say about their loved ones. Hope you enjoy it too.

Hope you enjoy this first look into our trips this summer. Here’s my favorite pic of the bunch.

 

Which one is your favorite?

Thanks for reading!

Amy

Amish Benefit Auctions

“If anyone sees his brother in need and fails to give…what evidence is there of God’s love?”
– 1 John 3:17

My husband came home today and told me that we were going to make another big pot of venison chili for him to take to work. He took one for a Valentine’s Day party and it was a big hit! But this chili they are going to sell as a fundraiser for a co-worker whose wife has cancer. I’m telling Stace about it, and she reminded me how this is so much like the Amish. (BTW–the chili recipe is at the end of this post.)

It’s widely known that the Amish take care of themselves. In fact, their sense of community is one of the many things I admire about them. One of the most popular ways that they support each other and their community is through various types of benefits and auctions.

Now they have regular auctions, though mostly for produce. But it seems that most go to benefit a family in need. Perhaps the biggest auction is the Haiti Auction.

According to www.pahaitiauction.com,  the purpose of this auction is to “bring relief to the hungry, sick, naked, and homeless of Haiti. The ultimate goal is to bring them to Christ through providing for their physical and spiritual needs. Relief is given throughout the country of Haiti without regard to race, religion, or creed.”

The auction is held throughout the United States in such places as Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. My friends attend this auction in Pennsylvania every summer. This year, I’m hoping to attend as well! The benefit is held in January for the Pinecraft community, but in July for Lancaster. Five or six tents are set up with auctions occurring in each tent throughout the day. Furniture, quilts, tools, crafts, gardening and farm supplies, firewood and more are put up for auction. Food is served in a special tent all day. At exactly 12 noon, an announcement is made over the loud speaker. Everyone stops, prays, then sings a song together. Can you imagine how amazing it sounds to hear hundreds of people singing together?

The highlight of the day is the silent auction. Many unique items are put up for auction, such as a day of labor supplied by a group of Amish youth, a wing supper donated by an Amish couple, and a ton of hay or straw.

Sometimes an auction is organized to help pay for the medical expenses of someone who has been injured or fallen ill. My Amish friend also attended a benefit auction recently that was held to help raise money for a man who had fallen out of a tree and was left paralyzed from the accident. Members of the community donated quilts, wall hangings, tools, pies, and more to be auctioned off. Everyone also brought a covered dish to share. After making a donation, attendees passed through the food line and enjoyed the various pot luck dishes that were donated.

The community also held a benefit for an Amish woman whose husband left her and her children for the English world. This was a different type of event called a “Stop and Shop”.  Several vendors (Pampered Chef, Tupperware, 31, Tastefully Simple, etc.) set up shop in someone’s basement. Friends, family, and neighbors stopped by to shop. They bought raffle tickets and purchased lunch and baked goods. Donations were also accepted. All proceeds went to the person in need.

The Clarita School Auction is held every September in the Amish community of Clarita, OK. Items are donated to help support the local Amish school. In fact, the Clarita School Auction is the recipient of the quilts made by the women of my Amish Quilting Circle Series. If you happen to be in OK around this time, you should check it out! Here’s the link for more information. http://www.claritaoklahoma.com/auction.html

I can’t help but wonder how much better our world would be if we took direction from the Amish and reached out to help our neighbors more.

Have you been to an Amish auction? What about a benefit for someone–Amish or English? Comment below and your name will be added to this week’s drawing. The prize up for grabs? A large print edition of Titus Returns. (It’s hard back!)

Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures from previous Amish auctions…

Haiti Benefit Auction 2014 & 2015

And as always, thanks for reading!

 

 

 

This recipe is a jpeg. You can ‘right click’ and save it to your computer. Then you can print from there!

Amish Quilts

Most of us would agree that Amish quilts are something of a cultural icon. They’re beautiful as well as functional and serve as a form of entertainment and togetherness for the Amish women who make them.

Quilt block from a quilt my Amish friend made for one of her daughters.

We have heard of or seen pictures of Amish women gathered around a large quilt frame, stitching and talking. Family members get together to make a quilt for a daughter who’s getting married. Friends and fellow church members may gather to make a quilt to send to a country in need, like Haiti. Or members of a district may work together to make a quilt to donate to an auction to help a community member facing hard times.

More Than a Marriage, the last novella in my Amish Quilting Circle Series releases at the end of February and features a group of Wells Landing Amish women who get together once a week to sew quilts for the Clarita School Auction. Most of you know that Wells Landing is inspired by the Amish settlement in Chouteau, Oklahoma. But the Clarita School Auction is one hundred percent factual and takes place every September. Click HERE for more info about the Clarita School Auction.

As much as we love Amish quilts, my Amish friend in Lancaster recently told me that the Amish girls of today are shying away from quilts and leaning more toward modern English comforter sets. This type of mindset could eventually lead to the discontinuation of the traditions surrounding these beautiful works of art. I don’t know about you, but just the thought makes me want to cry.

I love quilts and can’t imagine anyone picking a comforter over a hand sewn (or even machine sewn) work of love.

Which brings me to the good news part of this post. Amy’s Amish Quilt Giveaway (3^rd Annual) is still underway! What does this mean for you? The chance to win a one of a kind Amish-made quilt. If you haven’t heard about the giveaway you can find all the specifics HERE. In a nutshell, I’m collecting fabric from my readers. In turn, you get a chance at winning the quilt!

And the best part is you don’t have to able to sew or quilt to enter!

So head over and check out all the specifics of the giveaway and send in your fabric! (Must be 18 to enter. Void where prohibited.)

And you can also join my Facebook page dedicated to the quilt HERE.

I am so excited to be able to use this quilt to bring my readers together and for a little while keep this beautiful tradition alive.

If you have any questions, you can leave a comment below or email me at amylillard918@gmail.com.

Do you currently have any Amish made fabric goods in your home? Quilt? Doll? Potholder? Tell me all about it! Everyone who comments on this post will be entered into the weekly drawing. Up for grabs this week? A signed copy of Titus Returns, my latest Wells Landing Amish romance.

And as always, thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

Wow! You Must Do a Lot of Research

This is the second thing most people ask me when I tell them I write about the Amish. The first is usually “Are you Amish?”

Well, no.

The first time I can remember hearing about the Amish I thought the person telling me about them was lying. Most probably it was my brother who liked to tease me beyond belief. I couldn’t be sure anything he said was actually the truth.

The next time I was watching Witness. I don’t know how old I was (at least seventeen, though). But I remember in the movie, the bad guys are looking for the Lapps. They call the local law enforcement in Lancaster who says, “Do you know how many Lapps are in Lancaster County?”

At the time I had no idea.

After that I didn’t think about the Amish much. I went to college, got married, and moved to the Caribbean. In fact, I probably didn’t think about the Amish again until my agent suggested I write a book about them.

Wait…what?

“Yes,” she said. “Write an Amish romance.” I really thought she was joking and when she didn’t call me back and tell me that she was pulling my leg, I went to Mardells and started my research.

For those of you who don’t live in the area, Mardells is a Christian bookstore owned by Hobby Lobby. I went to get fiction books about the Amish to read to get an idea what they were like. I mean, I knew all the elements of a secular romance. How different was an Amish one?

Turns out, they are incredibly different and not so different all at the same time.

But reading fiction books with Amish characters is a lot different than non-fiction books, and I found myself reading and watching everything I could. From Donald Kraybill to Amish Mafia. Yes, I meant it when I said everything.

These days it’s still the same. I absorb whatever I can about the Amish, but my favorite way to do research is to visit the communities themselves. Even ones that I don’t plan to write about.

Why? Because the Amish are fascinating people. I find it simply amazing how the communities differ and the ways that they are the same. When we were in Pontotoc, we were warned by the locals that they were stand-offish and didn’t readily talk to outsiders. We took that knowledge, shoved it in our back pockets, then headed toward the Amish houses. By the middle of the afternoon, we had met Elizabeth Hostetler. She and her husband had moved down from Ohio to be able to farm—land was getting scarce up north. She was canning chicken and couldn’t talk to us long, but managed to share a few nuggets of information including Thanksgiving traditions, when the Mississippi Amish leave school (yes, it is different from Lancaster), and the truth about their rumspringa. I was told on my first visit to Ethridge, Tennessee (the parent community to the one in Mississippi), that they didn’t have a rumspringa or run around time at all. What we learned from our new friend is that they have one, but it is very controlled and very conservative. Those wild and crazy stories they report about Amish teens running amuck are not coming from Mississippi.

So how does a person go from not knowing much to writing books about the Amish? Yes, it takes a lot of research and nothing beats going to a community and visiting with the people there.

I’ve been privileged enough to spend an entire week with my Old Order Amish friend in Pennsylvania. Nothing compares to living the life every day. After a while I forgot that I was among Amish and I was just among friends. I didn’t notice the differences until we (Stacey, Sadie, and I) ventured into town on a Saturday. And I knew I would never view the Amish the same again.

This year Stacey and I hope to return to Pontotoc, Big Valley, and of course, Lancaster County. But even more, we want to take a Missouri trip and check out all the interesting Amish settlements in the Show Me State.

You can bet, I’ll come back and show you everything I learned.

What about you? Where is the closest Amish community to your home and have you ever been?

I’m giving away a signed copy of Just Plain Sadie to one lucky winner this week. Just leave me a comment below.

And as always, thanks for reading!!

 

 

 

 

 

Not All Amish Communities Are Created Equal

When I started thinking about this post, this was the title that popped into my head. Not all Amish communities are equal, not all are the same. They differ in their Ordnung, the written and unwritten rules that govern a settlement, but they differ in other ways too.

This week, I had a reader ask me about the use of tractors in my Wells Landing Series. I explained that it was an actual part of the Amish community that inspired Wells Landing. But it made me think about the different Amish communities, how they vary, and how we perceive them.

I just finished the first novel in what will be at least a three novel series set in the little talked about Amish settlement near Pontotoc, Mississippi. Yes, there are Amish in the South!

The Pontotoc Amish settled in Mississippi as a spin-off settlement of the Swartzentruber Amish community in Ethridge, Tennessee. Swartzentruber Amish are among the most conservative of the Old Order Amish, not even allowing indoor plumbing. But when I first saw the houses, I immediately wondered how these people scrape out a living.

Mississippi red clay dust coats everything. All the houses are covered in aluminum siding, mostly white, but there were a few red ones. Yes, red! There are no flowers planted out front, no cute swing sets for the children to play on. There are no phone shanties. But there are plenty of signs made out of the scraps of siding which bear the carefully lettered names of the items the family sells. The gardens are large and fields of cotton and peanuts are plentiful. Almost every house has a shed where they sell the products that they make—goat milk soaps, gel air fresheners, potholders, button necklaces, and all sorts of canned goods.

It’s a peaceful, though dusty, and has a beauty all its own. But it’s miles away from Lancaster County in both distance and attitude. But it’s next to impossible to visit the two areas and not compare them. And on the surface, Pontotoc can look at bit rundown. And my heart went out to the people who live there. But when we mentioned this to our Amish friends in Pennsylvania, their sixteen-year-old had an insightful theory.

It doesn’t have to be that they are poor, but that they have different priorities.

Wait…what?

Yes, even the Amish can have different priorities.

My Amish friends in PA plant flowers in their yards every year. Do you know how much water it would take to keep flowers alive in the MS heat? A lot. So they don’t plant them. Instead they grow muscadines, tomatoes, and corn. Something with more value, something worth the effort it takes to keep it alive. Just different priorities.

And just something to think about the next time you get to visit an Amish community.

Have you ever been to visit the Amish? Where did you go and what was something interesting you observed?

This week I’m giving away an audio copy of Caroline’s Secret. Just leave a comment below to be entered into the drawing.

And as always, thanks for reading!

 

Are you ready for Christmas?

Christmas is less than a week away! Can you believe it? And this is the last week for my Amish Christmas Sleigh giveaway.

I’m puttering around the house this week. Finishing up edits on Marrying Jonah and working on the new series. And making cookies. Must bake cookies.

Christmas cookies are a tradition at my house. Most probably because they are the family favorite. You know, the sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles. We love them so much we make them for other holidays too. Yes, I have made Fourth of July cookies, Easter cookies, and Back to School cookies!

Do you have a favorite food/cookie/other tradition at your house? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below telling us about your favorite Christmas tradition. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into this last drawing for two copies of the Amish Christmas Sleigh. That’s 2 copies–one for you and one for a friend. And once again, I’ll be drawing three names! Good luck everyone! Thanks for reading and Merry Christmas!

Want to help me name my Amish doll from Big Valley? Here are the top names from the last blog. I chose the names that more than one person suggested. There were so many great names! I loved them all! Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful suggestions!

And since it’s Christmas, here’s a link to a video I found of Big Valley in the winter. I’m not much of a snow girl, but once again, the Valley is beautiful!