Still Close to Country

 

Scene near Hawkesville ON

By Peter Etril Snyder

I remember taking a bus to Elmira. Seated beside a friendly elderly Mennonite. Conversation followed easily. He told me that he had been appointed recently as Senior Elder to an Amish fellowship. This meant that he had to remove hydro service from his house. Put in propane instead. Wow, what a step backward it seemed to me. Many trips to the Home Hardware for the conversion. The store proprietor would just shake his head. But for the Mennonites many modern conveniences would be sacrificed for the sake of a hardy and self-sufficient farming lifestyle and Community. Watch them build a new cattle barn together in just a few days. Observe the happy, fluttering, freshly laundered clothes on the line. Take in the bountiful flower and vegetable gardens. The games of pick-up baseball or hockey. Or the well-controlled two horse buggies. Or the shining white clapboard meeting houses. It seems to work out well.