7-11-2024 Cleveland, OH & sailing to Port Colborne, ON

Second Officer Catalin Pascu 
explains some of the bridge
equipment

All the mysterious equipment  on
the bridge, mostly two of each
for redundancy.

Compass (2 of these also)

Us with 2nd Officer Pascu

We are sailing all day under blue skies on Lake Erie, rocking and rolling in 4 ½ foot waves and 25 mph wind.  We could be rocking and rolling a little more, maybe, but the 2^nd Officer, Catalin Pascu, explained that the ship has two sets of stabilizers (like outriggers) below the water, one set located forward and the other aft.  We learned this when we toured the bridge with him.  He tried to explain the function of a lot of screens, dials and levers but I’m not quite ready to drive the ship, just yet.

 

In Cleveland yesterday, we had two choices:  A visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or a day on an Amish family’s farm.  The Hall of Fame will always be there.  How many chances will we ever have to visit an Amish family and learn about their lives?  We were asked not to get in their faces with cameras.

 

The Amish claim that their religion goes all the way back to the 12 Apostles and the Pentecost.  Over the centuries, they were persecuted for their religion and went underground in countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany and Holland.  They claim that the Christianity that had been adopted lacked the purity that Christ had intended.  There was too much latitude in their form of Christianity, the purists thought.  They allowed things like oath-taking, joining the military, participating in wars and serving in government.  The purists were punished and imprisoned in dungeons for their “protests.”  Some were burned at the stake.  In Holland, the group was led by a former Catholic priest named Menno Simons who questioned the beliefs of the Catholics.  The group eventually became known as Mennonites.  They were considered heretics and were constantly fleeing to escape persecution and execution.  The group that fled Switzerland was led by a fellow named Jakob Ammann.  His ministry and congregation was helped by the Dutch Mennonites who found commonality in their respective beliefs.  Followers of Ammann became known as the Amish.  All this stuff happened in the 15-1600s.  The Mennonites and the Amish belief system is pretty similar, it was just a matter of who was running the show.  When William Penn established Pennsylvania, he encouraged these groups who were being persecuted to come to the new country where they could practice their religion freely and so they came.  To this day, they adhere to a strict interpretation of the Bible and the teachings of Christ as they see them.

 

Our group was invited to a typical Amish wedding feast at the Brickers’ home.  The matriarch and patriarch of the family live in the “doddy house,” which I would call a mother-in-law cottage.  The son and his wife and family live in the main house.  The feast began with wonderful homemade bread, apple butter and berry jam, a big salad of a wide variety of vegetables, big platters of broasted chicken, real mashed potatoes, homemade noodles to put on top of the potatoes, all slathered in gravy.  The desserts were a variety of pies:  apple crumble, creamy peanut butter-chocolate and a date cake pudding topped with whipped cream.  The pies were works of art and I’m jealous!  Pitchers of water and homemade lemonade were also passed about the long tables where we were seated.  The folks were as friendly as can be and the children, happy and playful.

A living room with blue curtains.
We were told that the blue curtains
we always see are just because 
they like the color blue.

Big dining area where they
served us, 50 guests!

The kitchen, with hand-crafted
cabinetry, has no stove or oven.

 

Now, I will tell you the whats of some of their practices but not the whys or the logic because I don’t know.  They wait till adulthood to make a choice as to whether they want to be baptized into the Amish religion.  This happens at about 20-25 years of age.  Once a man is baptized, he never shaves his beard again.  Women never cut their hair.  Women do not have buttons on their clothing because it is considered decorative.  They hold their blouses and dresses closed with straight pins or safety pins.  The girls and women wear a cap at all times and when they go to town (in the buggy), they wear a bonnet over the cap.  Men are allowed to have buttons.  Men are not allowed to use a belt, they use suspenders.  No one drives a car, just horse-drawn buggies.  There is a practice called, “Rumschpringe.”  This is when kids “come of age.”  Boys get a buggy and they’re allowed to run around and pick up girls.  Girls don’t get a buggy, they just get to run around and begin dating.  Rumschpringe ends with a choice to be baptized (or not).  No adult is allowed to be photographed but you can photograph the kids.  Scooters are allowed but not bicycles.  No one is educated beyond the 8^th grade.  Studying beyond the 8^th grade is strongly discouraged (to keep everyone on a level footing).  Teachers in the schools are just the older kids.  They learn basic math, reading and religion, no science.  They don’t use electricity but wood and propane are OK.  Batteries are OK and solar panels are OK.  The Brickers’ kitchens have no stove or oven.  They cook outside on propane stoves/ovens.  Men are allowed to get jobs outside the community in factories and so forth.  They can use power tools, they just can’t own any.  They can go to a doctor but they can’t be doctors or anything else that might require a high school or higher education.  They don’t use computers and the homes have a land-line telephone, no cells.  As I said, I don’t give you the whys.  Anyway, it was an interesting, educational day for us and the folks were most friendly.

Troy Parochial School where
all 8 grades are taught in
one place

Scooters are allowed,
bicycles are a not.

Note the playground with
teeter totters and swings.

The Brickers children

Our guide and escort,
Chester Kurtz

A typical Amish horse and buggy

We got a buggy ride!

The Brickers' main residence

 

On the porch of the doddy house
where Mom and Dad live
(Gramma & Grampa)

One more day and an excursion to Niagara Falls.  The seas are still rough and heavy and we are almost in Port Colborne, ON.