Salvage Success
Hooray for the Amish folks!
My life now consists of trying to unload quantities of furniture and building components. There’s still more good stuff, and time is running short. Nothing makes me happier than an item finding an owner to appreciate and use it. The Amish folks that I recently connected with are all about putting our items back into service! Cabinets, doors, rails, shelves, doors, desks, towel dispensers, doors, vanities, sinks, did I mention doors?!
Before moving to the area my only exposure to Amish people was from the 1980s Harrison Ford movie Witness (so good!). Once I moved to the Midwest, I became familiar with them via their vulnerable, horse-drawn carriages hugging the shoulders of county roads and highways as Mac Trucks speed by them. Through my work at the Mound I’m becoming friends with some Amish folks and I am a HUGE fan!
I was connected with two different local communities. There is one group out of the Montfort/Fennimore area—about 45 mins from here. At first, Theo came with his wife and children (3 of the 5 anyway!). Esther cradled her 6 month old baby Daniel for at least 2 hours one evening as I showed them what we had and talked with them about their needs. Then Theo came back a few days later with his extended family—cousins, brothers, brothers-in-law, etc. and loaded up lots of things. My favorite was the chalkboards they took for their schoolhouses!
The other group is from Platteville, about 15ish minutes north. Jacob first came with Roger, who isn’t Amish.1 Then when Jacob returned he brought his nephew, his son-in-law and his “good neighbor” Lewis along. They worked for seven hours on a Saturday and were only able to take about half of what they had planned!
It’s an amusing adventure to explore the rooms with them, showcasing items (need any filing cabinets? YES, REALLY?!) and fielding questions as best I’m able. And I’m asking questions, too! It’s a rare treat and I’m delighted by the opportunity to engage with them. I find them to be remarkably kind, considerate, and funny people. I also learned that I could, in fact, take pictures as long as it’s not staged. They can’t be posing—just record them doing their thing.2
I love this time-lapse video of Jacob, et. al. loading up one of my favorite cabinets from the chapel’s audio room. Notice how they have to lower it just enough to get it out the door? That pause is when Lewis runs (a fair distance!) for three copper pipes to roll the cabinet onto the truck. He returned them right back where he got them. Our cabinet found a wonderful new home.
This next video, at first impression, might appear to be 1.5x or even 2x normal speed. What you’re actually seeing is them IRT (In Real Time).3 The teamwork and consideration they have is super-endearing. And they are coordinated like a well-oiled machine. They communicate in their own dialect to direct each other and troubleshoot the situation.
They purchased items. We gave them items. And they earned items. Ultimately, I’m confident those items will see a whole new life of service! Here’s hoping the Amish come again to collect what wouldn’t fit…
Both Theo and Jacob had a sidekick driver—a “regular” friend who provided transportation for them. Roger has a boxtruck and delivers Jacob’s organic produce (he’s a farmer) to stores like Wholefoods in Madison.
I asked Theo about rules related to being in photos. I wanted to be respectful and not cross a line but I also really wanted to take photos! He candidly shared that posing is the crux of the issue—they should not be posing for anything. “Gotcha, so if you just come over here,” I said, “and pretend you’re checking out this shelf, that’s kosher.” I immediately realized that posing as if not posing is actually posing. When I checked with Jacob to see if he minded photos or videos, he said he believes that he’s already gone viral in a horse-loading operation that someone recorded and posted. That’s what he was told…
Keep in mind, this is after about seven hours of work—look at that truck! Roger didn’t show up with the vehicle until hour six!
Way to go!
These wonderful, holy folk on the Sinsinsawan campus, in the beautiful chapel, making their mark and reverently claiming what is now for their mission warms my heart. Thanks for beautifully chronicling this God-ordained work, Quincy.