Pennsylvania Dutch Harvest Time 2008

Pennsylvania Dutch Harvest Time

August 9th 2008

It’s mid August and the weather is comfortably mild and sunny, I must comment about this time of year being when the growing season has begun to come to fruition. I took a ride north to bother the Amish otherwise known as the Pennsylvania Dutch for a few photos on the fly and to spare them the burden of some produce.

What is so nice about having the Amish so close to home is that everything they grow is by the most part fully organic and at a very low cost. If you travel back into the nerve center of the community, where the buggy wheel has made a trail and horse waste liters the road, you will find great deals on fresh produce. Among the offerings that I found were just picked corn on the cob, blueberries, cantaloupe, vine ripened tomatoes, fresh baked bread, peaches covered in dew, green beans, and countless canned goods. It is a real treat to return home with a carload of these things and still have cash in the wallet. I went up with $40 in the wallet and returned with $6. I have made it a habit to stop at one particular home each trip that I make. The children run out to greet me, bare feet and all. One of the boys went out into the garden to cut a fresh cabbage for me. Another woman that lives nearby has a nice sized chicken coop and sells fresh eggs. I got a dozen organic eggs from her for $1.75. I feel so bad, almost as if I have stolen something so I offer her more, but she sternly refuses me.

Along the roadways, vast farmlands stretch out in all directions and countless harvest wheat stacks are arranged in patterns across the fields. The arrangement of each is the same interesting style that has Amish written all over them.

It is very difficult to photograph them when you know they disapprove for religious reasons. I make a few attempts but generally shy away from it. I worry that I may become marked as a troublemaker and they will refuse to sell me produce. If you think about it, if they did allow photography, every photographer this side of the Mississippi would be swarming over them day after day. Therefore, it is probably best that they take a stand on the issue. It is about the commandment of not creating any graven image and about vanity. Sad, a more wonderfully photogenic subject matter does not exist in my opinion. Lifestyle and diet has given most of them a healthy glow that is difficult to explain. The traditional clothing of blue and white with the straw hats or black hats and the bonnets is just perfect subject matter. The horse drawn buggies, and farm carts along with plowing implements is just perfect stuff for the photographer.

August 16, 2008

I returned to Amish country this weekend and the weather was again perfect. Cotton ball clouds adorned the bright blue sky. I picked up a bunch of produce and stopped to have a late lunch at the “Dumplin Hause” in Volant. This unpretentious eatery has six small tables inside and one accomplished woman home cooks everything using local farm goods. Make sure to order the chicken salad sandwich with the tomato dumpling soup. Also, ask if they have any cinnamon buns and get one to take home.

If you are interested in experiencing Pennsylvania Dutch country here is the perfect farmland route to take. From the Pittsburgh area, take route 19 north going on about 40 miles until you find Black Road. Turn left on Black Road going to Volant and get onto 208 west. Stay on 208 west. From Volant all the way to the Ohio boarder are countless back roads off 208 that will take you deep into Amish country. On these roads, the Dutch sell from their homes fresh produce and homemade items. My favorite family lives on Poverty Lane. It is well worth the trip. They disapprove of photography but a discreet sneak or two won’t hurt them.