2017
A Step Back In Time
No electricity, no cars, no problem: Yes, an Amish community can be fun.
By Lauren Bristow, Jayplay writer
How many Amish people does it take to change a light bulb? None! (Amish religious beliefs forbid the reliance on technology, so they don't use electricity.)
When fast-paced college life starts to wear on you, here's a day trip that is sure to slow you down. The Amish settlement of Jamesport, Mo., is a two-hour drive from Lawrence and a century's step back in time.
10:52 a.m. I head out the door with my Mapquest directions, an old Jamesport tourist map thanks to my mom- and a mixed CD of my favorite road trip music. The visions of warm, gooey cinnamon rolls have been filling my head for the past hour. On my last visit to Jamesport, my mom and I found the best bakery.
Horse and buggies, a Mayberry-esque main street and a slower paced life are just some of things that draw tourists to Jamesport each year. Great shopping, excellent restaurants and interesting people make them return. Home to the largest Amish settlement in Missouri, Jamesport is about 100 miles northeast of Lawrence. When Amy Slaughter, Leavenworth resident, visited last year, she wasn't sure how fun it would be. "There are so many unique things that I've found here — like bulk bags of Lucky Charms marshmallows — that I just have to keep coming back." Slaughter found her marshmallows at H & M Country Store, an Amish-owned bulk grocery store just south of town. The store is one of about 22 Amish-owned shops that offer everything from fresh-baked breads and cookies to bulk groceries and hors shoeing. Non-Amish merchants also sell antique candles and other crafty merchandise.
12:28 p.m. — After a quick stop for gas in Cameron, Mo., I jump back on the interstate for the last leg of my journey. Cameron offers the last major signs of civilization, so stop and get gas if you need it, from Cameron to Jamesport stations are few and far between. I'm singing along to Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl when I first realize that I'm in Amish country. A yellow caution road sign warns me about
"Horse Drawn Vehicles" and sure enough, the green rolling countryside is missing the all-too-familiar power lines.
About 165 Amish families call Jamesport home, according to the Jamesport Community Association. The Amish religion forbids its followers from relying on technology such as electricity or automobiles. Farming is still done with horses and horse-drawn farming equipment. You'll be able to identify the Amish by the clothing they wear. Men wear either black or straw hats, denim blue shirts, black pants and suspenders. Women are always in dresses and bonnets. Buttons are considered technology, so womens' dresses are closed with stickpins. "Tourists usually aren't sure how to treat or talk to
the Amish people," says Joe Benge, owner of
the Amish people, says Joe Benge, owner of Farmhouse Collection, a non-Amish-owned store in Jamesport. "Treat them like you would any other person. Just because they dress differently and have different beliefs doesn't make them different. You wouldn't treat a Baptist any different than a Methodist, and that is the same for the Amish."
Benge and his wife Pam first visited Jamesport during the fall about 10 years ago. As they drove through the countryside they watched as Amish farmers harvested using old-time techniques. "The saw mills around here are run just like they were in Little House on the Prairie. Horses drag the cut trees into the mill." After that visit, the Benges decided to move. "It's just a slower paced life," he says. "People really like it here."
1:07 p.m. I park my car on the almost deserted Broadway Street, the main non-Amish business district in Jamesport. A community association spokesman has told me it's not quite prime tourist season yet. The town will start to pick up as the weather is consistently warmer. After a quick stop at City Hall for an area map with store listings and directions, I head to my beloved cinnamon rolls. The Mennonite-owned Gingerich Dutch Pantry and Bakery features a daily buffet with homemade savories, fresh-baked pies, cakes and cinnamon rolls. My waitress, Bonnie, helps me make my list of must-sees for this trip.
"it's like you stepped back in time," says Jodie
Winfrey, Prairie Village resident. On their first visit to Jamesport, she and her husband, Brad, stopped in the antique and candle shops on Broadway Street before heading out of town for the Amish experience.
How many Amish people does it take to change a light bulb? None!
"We wanted to get away from the hustle of Kansas City and just check this place out," she says. "But I'm a little discouraged, I haven't seen a horse and buggy yet." Winfrey and her husband were searching for the Amish country bus tours. She'd heard from a friend that the tour is a great way to find stores hidden in the countryside.
As the Winfreys disappeared into a store, the sound of horseshoes hitting pavement filled the air and a black enclosed buggy stopped at an intersection down the street.
"I really think the
Amish gets tourists here first," says Benge. "But the businesses bring them back."
And Lou Anderson agrees. She and her husband, Bob, have been making the drive from Des Moines, Iowa at least four times a year to buy candles and antiques on Broadway Street. But the Amish community sparked her curiosity four years ago and triggered their first visit. "It's just absolutely fascinating to see how the Amish live," she says. "It's something so different from what we're used to these days."
2:03 p.m. I check my map and decide to head south of town to Slaughter's beloved H & M Country Store. A black buggy is blocking the highway ahead of me reducing my speed from 50 mph to about 25 mph. Normally this would irritate me, but the slower paced life and my Amish curiosity drew me back to this town. So rather than fly around the buggy, I slow down and enjoy the powerline-less scenery around me.
Amish stores are closed on Thursdays and Saturdays, so plan your trip accordingly. Also, leave your camera in the car. It's against religious beliefs for the Amish to have their picture taken. For more information on Jamesport, check out the city's Web site at www.jamesport-mo.com or call the Community Association at (660) 684-6146.
— Contact Lauren Bristow at lbristow@kansan.com.
— Illustration by David Kelman.
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