Pennsylvania's Amish Add Small Businesses to Farming ALL 11/09/95 Edition

DRESSED in a white T-shirt, black trousers with the trademark suspenders, and sneakers, Elmer looks like a traditional member of the Old Order Amish. But he represents the new Amish entrepreneur. Unlike his father, a typical Amish farmer, Elmer decided it was more lucrative to take an apprenticeship...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Christian Science monitor (1983)
Main Author By W. Sean Roberts and Vince Leclair, Special to The Christian Science Monitor
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston, Mass The Christian Science Publishing Society (d/b/a "The Christian Science Monitor"), trusteeship under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 09.11.1995
Subjects
Employment
Small business
LANCASTER, PA
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Summary:DRESSED in a white T-shirt, black trousers with the trademark suspenders, and sneakers, Elmer looks like a traditional member of the Old Order Amish. But he represents the new Amish entrepreneur. Unlike his father, a typical Amish farmer, Elmer decided it was more lucrative to take an apprenticeship at a small furniture manufacturer here in Lancaster, Pa., the heart of Amish country. After eight years, it's paid off. Elmer now owns the company and business is booming. (Only his first name was used because it is sacrilegious for the Amish to have their name in print.) What's caused many Amish to put down their plowshares? Pure economic survival, says Donald Kraybill, a professor of sociology at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., and author of a new book published this month called "Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits" (John Hopkins University Press). The primary factor forcing the change, he says, is skyrocketing land prices here.
ISSN:0882-7729