Franklin County, Nebraska

For Another Day

We will once again enter into the lives of David and Ada Yoder.

I watched Ada put wood into the cook stove from the wood box many times while in the midst of this likeable family. Little Betty helped throw a stick of wood on the fire while mom held the lid open. Hankies are still used in the household. Do you remember when we all used them? Betty was already learning to start keeping house. I asked David if there would be more children. He smiled, looked at Ada and said, “I don’t think so.”

I think these Amish people have the right approach to life. They work hard and they are blessed with the things that are important in life. Could many of us live the life they do?

We talked about that. David told of someone who wanted so desperately to become Amish. He was 16 years old and came to live among them. The youth learned the Pennsylvania Dutch language the Amish speak at home. He learned their way of life and came to the point of falling in love with an Amish girl. The boy married the neighbor girl and had a family. The Amish way of life in their district was too strict after a while, so he was talked into going over to Wisconsin where another district was more relaxed. However, this didn’t work and now he has returned to his former life. David explained the situation this way: “Look at a deer; it is wild, but if we try to tame it and work with it, the deer still wants to return to the wild and the only way of life it knows.” People who are curious about the Amish and think that lifestyle looks so inviting should remember David’s words. To be Amish, a person almost has to be born Amish. I have told you about traveling down Interstate 90 and seeing an Amish man sitting on his riding plow facing the travelers while he rested his horses, and I wondered what he thought as he watched us go by so quickly. I asked David if he ever does that, and indeed he does. He said he would be thinking that he needed to take his family on a vacation. David says he uses a van and driver, or travel by train. I said, “when you travel, do you find people looking at you and wondering about your lifestyle?” “Yes,” he said, “but when I see an Arabic person with their long attire, I look at them, too.” Mr. Yoder had all the logical answers and gave them to me with such politeness, never wanting to hurt anyone.

The Amish children stay with their parents until they marry, and sometimes after, if they need a boost to get a start in life. They marry at about 20 years of age. David told me about his daughter’s recent wedding. A wedding is usually held in a neighbor’s home and the couple and family return to the bride’s home for the celebration. David said there is every kind of food anyone would want to eat at the wedding feast and relatives and friends cook this meal in advance. This wedding was held in September. There were 500 in attendance.

I wanted to stay until the lamps were lit, but it looked cold and rainy outside, and because it was getting dark, I had to find my way back to the river. On my last walk around the house, I stood in the living room and asked if the Yoders celebrated the holidays. They said they celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and they exchange gifts, with little children getting toys. These are occasions for big meals and family get-togethers. I walked past a book lying on a large wood box that was used for storage, and I took the liberty to open it. David said. “You can’t read that,” and I could see why; it was their Bible printed in German. I went around past the treadle sewing machines and into the back entrance, and out the door into the back screened porch, where they do their summer cooking and canning. I didn’t want to go. I could have stayed for the evening, because I felt that welcome. Out in the farmyard, where there were the typical farm animals, including a rooster that chased little Betty. The rooster might soon become chicken soup; David said he had thrown the rooster out of the chicken house to run the yard, since he was biting the egg gatherers. David took me up the hill to his nice clean strawed barn, where he says he puts all his animals when it is cold. Compassion is in his soul.

We went to his immaculate wood working shop, where he and his three sons put out a set of kitchen cabinets every 10 days. His brother-in-law takes the orders and they build them. We then went to the best place ever; the buggy shed, which also housed a stallion. I looked in the black vinyl covered buggy and felt its smooth cover. It looked very comfortable inside the buggy with tall wheels. By the way, Amish people only use equipment with metal wheels.

As we walked by toward my car, David’s son was getting his horse hooked up to his dad’s buggy to go to a young people’s gathering. I told him I would probably stay home if I had to hook up a horse to a buggy to go out for the evening. David laughed at my admitted laziness. I wanted to take a picture of the family but he said no. I said what if I just turned around and took a picture of the children playing at our side. He said, “I wouldn’t like that.” So I had to be satisfied with a picture of the house. I guess I will just have to remember what my new Amish friends look like!

I had to ask, “since I didn’t see an outdoor privy, where do you go to the bathroom?” We really laughed as he said, “We have a regular toilet in the basement.” Then a personal question: “Do you shop at Wal-Mart?” “Yes” David said, “they have good bargains.” I told him my jeans came from the same place.

Oh, I didn’t want to leave! I could have stayed with these special people and enjoyed their simple life for all my vacation. This day with my Amish family stretched far longer than the hour David allowed me. We never spoke of the time, once we started visiting, though the three and half hours seemed like an hour. There was just so much to talk about as the time flew by for all of us. I knew it was chore time and I had to go. My parting words to David were, “I want to come and visit again! Can I come to your home again?” He smiled and said, “If you wish.” As I closed the car door, I had one more question. “Will you give me a buggy ride next time?” “Maybe,” was my new friend’s answer.

I wish to return to this pleasant family farm on the side of the hill to where David and Ada Yoder are succeeding in their dedication to keep life as simple as possible; thereby doing God’s will.

Isn’t that what life is really about? May God bless this caring family.

Peace be to this house. The Bible

Rena Donovan, For Another Day.

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