I'll interject a little humor here for a minute: I went to visit Larry and to get to know the Amanas with no clue in my mind about what the Amanas were, so I had no thoughts of Amish or Baptist or anything else when I first met Larry. I did find many parallels to the early Amana-ists and my own ancestors both in their beliefs and in their ways of doing things as a community.
Larry took me to the community church and told me that the area in the front was divided into two sections, the women sat to the left and the men sat to the right of the pulpit. Same thing at the church I attended in my childhood, brought from the Old Country by my ancestors and even now kept culturally intact. The very same thing.
So from there, any thoughts I might have had about the Amanas being 'different' were lost; they had a way of life that was similar to many others. They came to a new country and stayed together helping each other and most importantly keeping their culture alive. If they were in any way related to the Amish, Larry wouldn't have one eye glued to the computer every day, nor would he be fighting to keep his dog, Oliver, out of the
Electric dishwasher and the multitude of lights on his Christmas tree.
You know about the Amana appliances? That's where they originated and are still built.
Woven textiles, you'll find them there too.
And all the arts are alive and well in the Amanas.
(Larry, do I get paid for being your PR person??)
The truth is, I just fell head over heels in love with the Amanas. Now if only it weren't so cold in winter.
