An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments W e have many people to thank. First and foremost, we could have accomplished little without the cooperation and insights of many local Amish contributors, including members and ordained leaders from many church affiliations, as well as farmers, businessmen and businesswomen, committee chairs, teachers, factory employees , and homemakers. Several of these individuals read drafts of chapters and submitted comments to us that added to the reality and richness of our presentations or corrected errors. The directors of the Heritage Historical Library in Canada and the Ohio Amish Library graciously made all their resources available to us. Many Amish spent hours with us and welcomed us into their homes. We are truly appreciative of their tolerance and openness to us as strangers and outsiders. Many other, mostly non-Amish (English), residents consented to interviews , sometimes repeatedly. They occupy a variety of pivotal positions within the local area, and among them were the executive directors of the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce and the Holmes County Education Foundation, the community development director of the Ohio State University Extension, principals at public elementary schools, and local historians who are Mennonite or Amish. English people who were business partners with Amish individuals or who worked often with Amish businesses also participated. Many ex-Amish from different affiliations also offered their ideas. For the health care chapter, we consulted with a wide variety of counselors and medical professionals, licensed and unlicensed. We are grateful for all the time these individuals gave to our project. We also received support and comments from inside the academy. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Donald Kraybill for his wise counsel and useful suggestions at every stage of the process. Richard Stevick, Karen Johnson-Weiner,LarryGreksa,DavidLuthy,andDavidWeaver-Zercher, all important analysts of the Amish, made very helpful suggestions for different parts of our study. An anonymous reviewer provided thoughtprovoking and constructive comments. We are also indebted to Richard Moore, Elizabeth Cooksey, and Myra Katz for sharing their work on the Holmes County Amish with us. Our colleague Jennifer Graber clarified many of the nuances of religion among the Amish and how their views contrast with those of evangelical and other Protestant churches. Anne Nurse provided methodological assistance, and Heather Fitz Gibbon and Christa Craven critiqued our comments on gender. Catherine Grandgeorge and Mary Schantz gave invaluable assistance in constructing figures and maps. The following Amish individuals read drafts of all or parts of our book and/or provided helpful and detailed comments: Ed Kline, Marvin Wengerd, David Kline, Wayne Wengerd, Rob Schlabach, Ernie Hershberger, Monroe Beachy, and Jacob Beachy. Others providing assistance were Bruce Glick, David Wiesenberg, Owen and Pat McConnell, and Paul Hostetler. Any errors of fact or interpretation remain our own. Numerous students assisted in gathering literature and transcribing interviews, including Wil Burton, Megan Ammon, Andrea Brown, Julie Todd, Rachel Libben, Kate Matthews, Whitney Goodwin, Anne Richardson, Emily Sacher, and Amy Dupper. We are also grateful for the grants we received for our research from the Spencer Foundation of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation. In addition, financial support from the College of Wooster’s Faculty Development Fund and the Luce Fund for Distinguished Scholarship, as well as a generous sabbatical program, allowed us to attend several programs and conferences on the Amish and to finish our writing. We are extremely grateful to Lois Crum for her expert editorial assistance. Finally, it goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that we have been fortunate to have the full support and love of our spouses, Mary Ellen and Cathy. Their continued encouragement and patience have made our work much easier. xvi฀ a฀acknowledgments a฀ An Amish Paradox This page intentionally left blank ...