A most unusual move

Digging back a bit, I managed to pull up a neat story from the Cellar on an Iowa Amish settlement, originally found in the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

After buying a tract of farmland, a developer auctioned off the unwanted turkey barn located on the property.

After chopping it into four pieces, the local Amish managed to move it by hand to a location one mile away.  It took four hours to do the entire 160-ft structure.

Amishbarnmove

This odd tale speaks two things, loud and clear:  resourcefulness, and an unwillingness to let perfectly usable stuff go to waste.

I just tossed a newish suitcase with a busted zipper.  Same thing with a somewhat ripped pair of jeans.   Something tells me our Amish friends might have gotten a bit more mileage out of that stuff than I did.

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    4 Comments

    1. I always feel bad when I throw out a pair of socks when there is just one little hole in the toe. I mean, the REST of the sock is fine. We are SO wasteful.

    2. Amish America

      Amish cooperation and thrift

      Right on. I guess it starts with the kids and the culture you’re raised in. Amish kids (and a lot of non-Amish, of course) get it hammered into their heads not to waste.

      I actually live in Poland for a chunk of the year and I notice the tendency among people my age as well over here, more so than in the US. Guess when you grow up with less, it sticks with you…

      I love this story and photo though. I wish I could have witnessed it. Or even lent a hand! Love to see the mutual cooperation that you see so often among the Amish.

    3. Oh my goodness! Now that is determination!

    4. robert yoder

      so why do the amish call a screwdriver a screw puller?was a screw designed to be driven with a hammer and removed with a screw-puller of do we duthman just get things backward?