From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Amish/Orland Gingerich
The Amish inherited a western European peasant culture typical of the sixteenth century. Artistic expression for men as well as women has taken the form of such folk traditions as Fraktur writing and embroidery, show towels, and hand-woven carpets. Showy clothes were taboo, but the making of colourful quilts provided an outlet for creativity. The women also cultivated flower-beds, gardens, and house plants. Although musical instruments were generally frowned on, young people occasionally played the violin, harmonica, and accordion in their social gatherings. Participation in public events such as dancing and the theatre was usually forbidden, but community celebrations, including weddings, funerals, family gatherings, and work bees, provided ample opportunity for social interaction and the enjoyment of good food and humour, for which the Amish are particularly known.
A major contribution to Amish cultural life was the founding near Aylmer, Ontario, in 1964 of Pathway Publishers. This organization, in addition to publishing books by Amish authors, produces educational material for the twenty Amish schools in Ontario and three monthly magazines: the Blackboard Bulletin (1957– ), which focuses on the needs of teachers, parents, and school board members; Young Companion (1966– ), aimed at youth; and Family Life (1968– ), a popular publication for the promotion of Christian living. Fifteen to twenty thousand copies of these publications are produced each month, with about 85 percent going to Amish communities in the United States. In addition, in 1972 a Heritage Historical Library and Archives was established in Aylmer, Ontario, to house works by and for the Amish and some artifacts.
The Amish conference and the Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario in 1972 sponsored a sesquicentennial celebration of Amish settlement in the province. Displays of artifacts, tours of Amish communities, and an oratorio based on The Martyrs’ Mirror (1660) were featured at the Steimann Amish Mennonite Church and the nearby Waterloo Oxford District Secondary School. A two-hour-long play depicting Anabaptist and Amish beginnings in Europe, immigration, and the development of communities in Ontario had six performances at the Avon Theatre in Stratford. A souvenir book entitled 150 Years, a more comprehensive historical account of the Amish in Canada, and a documentary film were also produced.
Amish interest in primary education is demonstrated by the group’s early participation on public school boards in Upper Canada. Until recently, however, there has been an aversion to more advanced levels of education. The Amish in Ontario originally attended public institutions, but, following the introduction of consolidated schools in the 1960s, a number of Old Order Amish and other groups established their own schools. All subjects are taught in English, except for a course in German, which is essential because Old Order Amish worship services are still conducted in that language. Religion is usually not taught in Amish schools; it is considered the responsibility of parents in the home. The main purpose of the private schools is to shield children from worldly influences and practices, such as the wearing of gym clothes and modern dancing.
The majority of conference Amish attend publicly run schools, although they have become partners in a Mennonite secondary school. They also joined with the Mennonites in founding Conrad Grebel College in 1963. This facility is located on the campus of the University of Waterloo, with which it is affiliated. Among the more acculturated of the community, young men and women attend public secondary schools, and comparable numbers continue to university. As the farm population decreases, more young people are entering the professions and the business world.
A Reformation legacy of the separation of church and state, in addition to the Amish experience of persecution in Europe, has led to strict non-participation in all civic and political activity. In the early part of the twentieth century, there was some interest in politics; however, World War I, with its military conscription and government threats to withdraw exemption for those who voted against the policy, extinguished all interest in political involvement. The conservative groups in the Amish community also refuse to be involved in the social security system and other government programs, believing that members should support their own. Through their refusal to participate in such programs, they have made governments more aware of the religious convictions of minority groups. In the more acculturated element of the community, involvement in civic and community affairs has become common, and Amish have served in municipal governments.
