Amish General Store

I took a trip today to drop off a pump at a campground\RV park a friend of mine owns. He's located right in the center of Michigan's Amish country and he took me to "their" general store and it was something else. It wasn't your dad's Lowes but maybe your great, great. great grand dad's Farm Depot. Anvils next to the horse harness making supplies next to the working, non-decorative butter churns an aisle over from their version of Jo Ann Fabrics which is by the door outside to the selection of hand and windmill water pumps along with the weather vanes. The lumber is rough sawn. 2 X 4's were 2 X 4. In the corner was a vast selection of butchering supplies along with the soap making and fat rendering supplies. Outside was a nice selection of modern John Deere farming implements. Of course they were all on the smaller side because they get pulled by horses. Translating everything in the store to the work they must be doing was eye opening. They did have an imported German Root Beer. That was the extent of "excess" I noticed. Plenty of toys for the kids though.

Comments

  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    They do good work too at pole barn building,furniture building ,and horse shoeing. My bro in law had to get his pony some new shoes. So the Amish Farrier did not have a phone or pc. He had to write the guy a letter and wait for the response back by snail mail and then go pick him up to bring him to his farm and give him a ride back home. But he did great work at a fair price and that is why he keeps using him. Peace. D
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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    Dabutcher wrote: »
    They do good work too at pole barn building,furniture building ,and horse shoeing. My bro in law had to get his pony some new shoes. So the Amish Farrier did not have a phone or pc. He had to write the guy a letter and wait for the response back by snail mail and then go pick him up to bring him to his farm and give him a ride back home. But he did great work at a fair price and that is why he keeps using him. Peace. D

    There's something really beautiful about that. :)
  • They had oak barrels of raw shoes. I'd seen the Amish tourist stores plenty of times but this was the time I'd seen where they shop.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    I would love to spend a year in one of their wood shops just learning.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
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  • Jimbo18
    Jimbo18 Posts: 2,310
    I used to work for a textile manufacturing plant not too far from Lancaster, Pa. We had a closeout store where large cuts of fabric were sold cheaply by the pound. About once a month some of the Amish would get someone to drive them up to the store in a van.

    When they left there was very little white and black fabric remaining.
  • Jimbo18 wrote: »
    When they left there was very little white and black fabric remaining.

    I bought hand made night gowns for my daughters as Christmas Presents and they colorful. They all have a means of adjusting their length to above the knees. Seems like almost everything they make is done with work in mind. At $20 each, the quality isn't matched in any store I'm use to shopping at.

    mrloren, If you're in to woodworking you'd enjoy their tool selection. For hand tools they put Woodcrafters to shame. They don't have the selection but they only sell the best they can find to sell. That's from them, not me, and they only buy what they can't make better themselves.
  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Jimbo18 wrote: »
    When they left there was very little white and black fabric remaining.

    mrloren, If you're in to woodworking you'd enjoy their tool selection. For hand tools they put Woodcrafters to shame. They don't have the selection but they only sell the best they can find to sell. That's from them, not me, and they only buy what they can't make better themselves.

    The kitchen table in my brothers home was made by Amish in PA. Hand made jointed with no glue. I've seen other works by these craftsmen, all done by hand. All of it has been just fantastic.
    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
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  • voltz
    voltz Posts: 5,384
    Yoder Kansas is a Amish community and they make the best Grills & especially pellet grills!
    https://www.yodersmokers.com/

    Plus they have a meat market that has some excellent prime steaks! and they no more expensive then the local stores.
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  • voltz wrote: »
    Plus they have a meat market that has some excellent prime steaks! and they no more expensive then the local stores.

    I asked the friend that took me to the store about their prices because you're right, the prices are great. This is second hand so I can't verify it but I was told that their pricing is Biblical. The prices have nothing to do with the prices anywhere else and nothing to do with competition or what they think they can get. Prices are based on scripture and what they believe is a fair profit by their teachings. Imagine that!

    Some examples, I picked up a pair of Stanley hinges for $8.00 and the same size similar hinges at Lowes were over $20 a pair. I also got a pair of thermal lined, pig skin mittens for $18.20. Same mittens at Amazon are $35.05.

    @mrloren, this doesn't mean they didn't have high dollar stuff. Example, 48 to 56" carbide tipped circular saw blades on sale for $1,500 to $2,000. Draw knives from Germany starting at $90 for approximately a 6" knife. Prices didn't go up linearly. Prices went up geometrically from the 6" knife.

    I asked about quilts as Christmas gifts. They were available "made to order" in 4 to 6 months but good used cars can be bought compared to the examples given for pricing. Nobody is getting a quilt. At least from me.

    As I said, this place was nothing like the "tourist" places most of us have probably visited. Next time your visiting as someone from the Amish Community where they shop. It's probably not on the main streets with the tourists. This place was among the barns on a farm. Lighting was from propane lanterns. They did have a phone line for credit cards though.

  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    My Mapleshade rack is supposedly Amish built.

    http://www.mapleshadestore.com/airdriedmapleplatforms.php
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  • voltz wrote: »
    Yoder Kansas is a Amish community and they make the best Grills & especially pellet grills!
    https://www.yodersmokers.com/

    Plus they have a meat market that has some excellent prime steaks! and they no more expensive then the local stores.

    Those are some serious looking grills. Looks like they should be in the tank and locomotive business too.