Seventeen years ago, when Diann Yoder was a young girl, her family took its horse-drawn buggy to the Walmart Supercenter in Maysville. A young child had pointed at Diann’s family in the parking lot and declared, “Look mama, there’s pilgrims!” Her family chuckled to each other and walked inside to get groceries for the month.
Diann, 29, is married to Sam Yoder and they live on 11 acres in Mason County with their three kids. They don’t always take their buggy into town for grocery runs, Sam, 33, said.
“But when we do, we call it date night,” he said.
When they need to travel faster or farther, they get rides from neighbors who are referred to as English, the term the Amish use for the rest of the world outside of their community.
The Yoder family, an Old Order Amish family, is one of about 50 in Mays Lick. Old Order Amish typically reject most modern technology, like computers, televisions and iPhones. These decisions are led by elders and bishops at church and later made as a group decision by all the men. Kids only speak Pennsylvanian Dutch until they reach first grade when they begin learning English. But they continue to primarily speak Pennsylvanian Dutch within their community, throughout their lives.
A Thursday morning for the Yoder Family might look like this: The kids are sprawled out on brown couches that circle the living room, while Sam cooks waffles in the kitchen. They got up at 5:30 a.m. before sunrise , so they have to plug DeWalt batteries into each light fixture, due to their lack of electricity. Each battery is charged throughout the day through the solar panels on their roof, something that is very common among Amish families. After family members indulge in a plate full of waffles and coffee ice cream, they’ll migrate to their family room to say a morning devotion spoken in German, ending with the family kneeling on the ground with their backs turned to the middle of the room for their morning prayers. Diann and the kids will then begin cleaning the dishes from breakfast, while Sam goes into his shop to begin work for the day.
Sam had moved from Pennsylvania and met Diann, whose family had moved from Indiana. They got married in 2016 and have built a simple, yet fulfilling life, woven by their practice and testament to God. Sam, a skilled carpenter and owner of Outdoor Haven Swingsets, spends his days crafting wooden creations— swing sets that resemble boats and traditional jungle gyms for children. He also sells, installs, and fixes solar systems and freezers and is known in the Amish community and beyond through word of mouth. Sam, a gentle and loving father, still makes time for the children and his wife.
“One thing I appreciate, he babysits the kids and gives me a break,” Diann said.
While Yoder family members may turn away from many things they consider modern, they have discovered a deeper truth in their slow-paced life in Mays Lick, where they are surrounded by animals, open fields and the richness of family.
