Nestled in the hills of central Ohio is the little Amish Village of Charm, Ohio. Charm is located about 40 miles south-east of Wooster, Ohio where I grew up. There is a large population of Amish who live in Holmes county, Ohio. The beautiful Amish family farms which are located there and their lifestyle remind me so much of my early years on the Bupp family farms.
Besides farming, the Amish have adopted a “cottage industry” type of society where goods that are produced and made locally are sold and traded locally. The products which they produce range from lumber, to furniture, to animals, to foodstuffs, and to general items needed by families and family farms. The items which they make are first class and are sold locally and also to the many tourists who visit the area.
By brother and sister-in-law keep some of their antiques on consignment at the Hershberger Antique Mall near Charm. The lady there sure likes flowers as she must spend a considerable part of her day just watering and tending to her beautiful flowers.
Across the road from the Hershberger Antique Mall, some men were bailing hay on the side of the hill. If you look carefully, the bailer which has a gas motor is pulled by horses! Now I may not understand their farming techniques, but I am beginning to appreciate their economic lifestyle as we become helplessly dependent upon foreign countries and our government to feed and cloth us!
James R. Bupp