Our June 8th "P" Day trip.

We went to Iowa to tour the town of Kalona.  Home of the Amish and

Mennonite communities.  What a delightful and beautifully clean

 little town it is.  So perfect in many ways.

We started our day at the Visitors Center. 

The town has built a large, well displayed part of their history,

from many of the quilts that they are so famous for

to several antique displays of their way of life.

 Under these hand made quilts were several displays

of old Singer sewing machines. 

This one on the left is from 1917 -

it is the 'old tredle' power type. 

 This is the old 1800's church they first met in.

It is still used for a school house sometimes today.

 This washing machine was powered by moving the

handle back and forth to create agitation.

 Here is one of the first 'gas powered' washing machines.

 This is an individual two quart canning jar canner.

Each jar had its own small container over it rather

than seven quarts in a pan like we use today.

 This is the old telephone operators control center.

Patty's sister Diann used to work at ACS [Alaska Communication System],

 on a switchboard just like this one.  My mother worked on one like this

at Sears Roebuck in Bremerton too.

 This is an Amish telephone booth.

The Amish do not have telephones.  But these Solar Powered

Cell Phone Booths are checked once a day by a certain

person, who writes down messages from other family

members then delivers the messages by foot or by a horse

drawn carriage to the families.  They also do not have

electricity, hence the solar power!

 Monday was laundry day.  All the houses had laundry

hanging on the lines.  Notice how clean and well done

their gardens are.

 This is one of the Mennonite barns.

Every place we looked was so well kept and manicured.

We learned some differences between the Mennonites and the Amish such as:

one allows the use of tractors and farm equipment just as you would see anywhere.

The other order requires the rubber tires to be removed and to

use only steel wheels. 

The groups all get along well and are so respectful of each other.

We saw several horse drawn carriages traveling along the highway.

The horses had a beautiful trot.

We ate dinner at a Mennonite home - family style.

All 14 of us at one long and large table. 

The meal was so delicious, everything made from

scratch by one elderly grandma, and served by her teenage

grand-daughter.  What a great day.