TARGET 121212
An Amish Barn Raising
When one Amish family needs something, the whole community comes together to provide it.One of the outstanding features of Amish life is that noone lives it alone. The Amish community is one of solidarity, caring, and mutual benefit for every member.
For example, when one family needs a barn built, members of the community gather what supplies and materials they can and have a "barn raising". Whether it be a newly married family just getting started, or because of a fire, storm, or just age of an old barn, every member has responsibilities to the community, and meets those responsibilities as best he/she can, with a clear understanding that each member of the community IS the community.
Since the Amish began settling in the U.S., their communities have been centers of peace and prosperity where members have weathered the hard times going on in the world around them because they have weathered them together.
In the picture above, you can see how a barn raising involves women and children as well as the men. In fact the Amish call the actual gathering, "a frolic". The barn takes several days to build, and during that time, the women bake, sew, clean, and gather together for community news. The men work on the barn and have their own community news, young men learn the skills and structural needs of sturdy buildings, the girls learn the duties and skills they will need as Amish women, and the boys learn --- well, they get put to work - with a lot of time for playing and making the friends they will have for life.
The name, "Amish" comes from the German word, "Amische", which sounds like it has the same root as the French word, "Ami", meaning "friends" And many times, they are referred to as "The Friends". However, the origin of the name was the fact that the sect, founded in 1693, was led by Jakob Ammann. Those who followed Ammann became known as Amish. They are now a group of traditionalist Christian church fellowships, closely related to but distinct from Mennonite churches, with whom they share Swiss Anabaptist origins.
They are known for simple living....
Photo source: Wikipedia
...plain dress,...
Photo source: Wikipedia
...hard work,...
Photo source: Wikipedia
...dont like having their picture taken,...
Photo source: Wikipedia
...and have a reluctance to adopt many conveniences of modern technology.
Photo source: Wikipedia
So, when they get together to have a barn raising, the work is done with hammers, hand saws, crowbars, and other hand tools alone. It's hard work, but it's done together. In fact, the Amish barn is said by some to be the best outward and visible sign of the inner togetherness of the community.
The following video of an Amish barn raising in Ohio shows the 10 hours it took to build the barn compressed to 3 1/2 minutes. Shown is the part which takes place after the foundation is laid, mortar & cement set, and ready to build on.
NOTE: you may want to position the sound volume slider at the half way position before you start the video.
If you got impressions for which this feedback is insufficient, more information,
pictures and videos can be found at the following web sites:
Wikipedia, source of several pictures & information
LancasterPA.com - source of pictures & information
Amish America web site
Mother Earth News on-line
YouTube (video)
Many thanks to Teresa Frish for slelecting this target for the Wednesday night free webinars she holds on a monthly basis. We at PSI use the targets she selects on this day so viewers will not wind up getting two different targets with the same set of coordinates. You can sign up for these free webinars at her web page under the option, "Online Classes & Discussions". Videos of all of Teresa's webinars are available on YouTube