Do Amish Communities Grow Tobacco?

[mawnansmiff]

Well, what an interesting forum this continues to be, not only have I learned more about the Amish folks I can now insult a fellow Englishman safe in the knowledge he won't realize he is being insulted :D
Seriously though, there is clearly a wealth of information on all matters on these forums, rather like having one's own personal Wikipedia Live...long may it continue ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[iamn8]

As I understand it, the Amish abandoned tobacco decades ago in favor of poppys and Heroin/Opium manufacturing/distribution. What began as a purely agrarian existence built on religion and a strong work ethic has evolved into a bloodthirsty, never ending search for wealth and power. It's all so sad.

 

[ssjones]

Just make sure you say "Lank-as-ter" County and not "Lan-cast-er".

For work, I travel thru that part of PA and Amish country. Many of their family/community run businesses sell some sort of tobacco product - most of what I see is package as chewing tobacco.

A Pennsylvania Dutch community near Chambersburg (Boswells!) has an amazing greenhouse. They have 20-30 young girls working the plants and they all speak some form of Dutch. We go there annually for Spring plants and the occasional bush, etc. I've never seen tobacco products for sale there. This place is huge, has no electricity, no credit cards, etc. The girls all ride these over-sized Scooter to and from the business. Someone made a Facebook page about the shop:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lurgans-Greenhouse-Simply-Amazing/201829703189404
Where I live in nearby Maryland is primarily Mennonite, they definitely don't do tobacco here.

 

[jerwynn]

The Amish are human like everyone else. I lived 20 years and raised a family in The Nippenose Valley of North Central PA in a tiny rural village surrounded by Amish farms and businesses. Fine Amish contractors built an addition to my house, as well as completely rebuild and fireplace and chimney... work-ethic stellar beyond belief. We still frequent many Amish farm stands and at local farmer's markets. There were/are fields of tobacco in that valley. I also saw with my own eyes horrific Amish puppy-mills and off-the-charts inhumane treatment of "livestock" too heart-wrenching to describe. A lot of this was to make a buck any way possible. Everyone in my family has had at least 3 close calls with extremely dangerous buggy accidents... I had one bolt in front of me on my way to work one morning... the Amish community there had buggies with gray tops, black bottoms, and the most minimum reflectors allowable by law... in short, foggy morning camo that makes them all but invisible. And the one that I almost took out was on our roads with an 8 year old driver. And then there's the horse-sht everywhere, all the dmn time... frequently right in front of my driveway and/or rural-route mailbox. In short, the Amish do not really comprise an agrarian utopia by any stretch... they are just human like everyone else.

 

[jmatt]

and they all speak some form of Dutch.

None of them speak any form of "Dutch." It's a complete misnomer. The speak German, which is "Deutsch." And the word was bastardized into "Dutch." Over the years the language was morphed slightly, but it's still German. Both sets of my grandparents spoke it.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Well, what an interesting forum this continues to be, not only have I learned more about the Amish folks I can now insult a fellow Englishman safe in the knowledge he won't realize he is being insulted :D

Then it doesn't count!!
This forum can provide a great deal and often does.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Jerwynn, how does that tobacco smoke? It certainly 'reads' like it might be a good blend.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[derfatdutchman]

Kannscht du Deitschschwetz? Pennsylvania Dutch is based on the dialects of southwestern Germany in the colonial times. Today it has become associated with the "Plain Dutch" Amish & Mennonites, but in was also spoke by the "Fancy Dutch" Lutherans, Reformed, etc. Even today in Pennsylvania there are areas where there are no Amish or Mennonites, but PA Dutch is spoken, especially by the older generations.

 

[jerwynn]

Jay,

Strangely enough I never got around to trying the indigenous native brands, so to speak. I was trying to find tin and package examples of the half dozen or so "Amish" blends I encountered along way... all very "plain" of course, usually black and white only. Several of the sub-sects seriously eschew photography, so especially no literal photographs of contented old Amish men smoking their pipes... except in silhouette. One of my in-laws smoked an Amish blend... it instantly struck me, before I knew what it was, as Carter Hall. Wouldn't surprise me if one of them was very similar to that. It is nice to see tobacco barns up and operating again... was a huge cash crop in PA when I was a boy in the 50s and 60s... then went away... then resurrected as the Amish moved up and out when they needed more space than Lancaster county and environs. We'll see what happens now, as the FDA Pandora's Box opens here. Best wishes,

Jerry

 

[mawnansmiff]

Thanks for the extra info Jerry, very interesting. I suppose some of the Amish blends were/are akin to the ales that microbrewers produce, small in quantity yet great in quality.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[beastinview]

It depends on the area. Some of the most conservative Amish and Mennonite communities are actually the ones who use tobacco. My parents were very closed friends with some people who became Amish and over the years I've visited several times. They don't use any electricity, mirrors, or even gas motors, and some of the nearby communities have their church services in the old/high German (I forget the exact term) and even forbade bicycles or buttons on clothing! Yet some of these more hardcore Mennonite and Amish communities do allow smoking simply because their belief system predates the modern idea that smoking is bad for one's health, or sinful in some way. Because they are so conservative in a literal sense, i.e., resistant to change, they still smoke, and those who don't smoke are considered, newer, and more "liberal."
I love hearing the Pennsylvania Dutch, which is a sort of pidgin language.

 

[ssjones]

I speak German pretty well, I lived with my Grandparents in West Germany for several years. What these girls were speaking was nothing understandable to me. One girl said it was Dutch when I asked. We lived in Bavaria, whose local dialect was nothing like Central Germany, but I can understand those as well. Most of the young girls didn't seem to speak any English at all.

 

[beastinview]

If I recall correctly, some of the more conservative Mennonite and Amish services are in High German, which is some antiquated form of German probably crystallized at whatever date they came over to America. This varies from sect to sect--some services I attended were in plain English.
Then what some Amish speak day to day they call "Dutch" or "Pennsylvania Dutch" which is a pidgin English/German mixture that has evolved over time to be its own language. From what I recall hearing, it didn't sound at all like German.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

Interestingly, our own cigrmaster is Amish. His real name is Jebidiah, but all the chicks with bonnets call him Jeb Daddy.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

And for those who don't know the inside scoop, cigrmaster was tossed out of his Amish sect when he got completely smashed and out of control at the annual family buttermilk kegger.
A sad story.

 

[jmatt]

I grew up in an Amish community. Here's one for you - I have facebook friends who are Amish. (lol - yes....I know). Our school taught two languages: English and German. My grandparents spoke "Pennsylvania Dutch" and were from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ssjones is correct that a continental German speaker will have trouble understanding the language. But it is definitely originally German. The Amish are originally from the Swiss/German border area. I've been immersed in Amish culture for over 40 years. You can hear the real deal, or listen/watch what you learn on TV. (Incidentally, shows about Amish are oxymorons in themselves.)
Anyway - cheers. :puffpipe:

 

[jmatt]

Here's a P.S. for the original poster: If one if Amish, there are two kinds of people; 1) Amish, and 2) English. That's it. Has nothing to do with where one is from, is you're not Amish, you're English.

 

[huntertrw]

jmatt:
Please help me understand: is the dialect spoken by the Amish considered to be plattdeutsch (low German) since they originally came from the Swiss/German border area?

 

[ssjones]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOx49AXgLF0

 

[ssjones]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDChsbf_0kY