Selling the Amish: The Tourism of Nostalgia

CHAPTER 5. Ethnicity and Performance in Sugarcreek

:฀฀chapter 5฀฀; Ethnicity and Performance in Sugarcreek It’s nice to represent my culture and my town. It means more to me since I’m actually Swiss. —Julie Jorg, 2003 Ohio Swiss Festival Queen L ate in 1882, the tracks of the Conotton Valley Railway were laid in the Sugarcreek Valley. Within a decade, the town of Sugarcreek emerged and quickly became a center of business and industry. Over the course of a century, factories that manufactured brooms, wooden handles, and hand trucks for processing wool and whey appeared in the town. Retail businesses, such as a large furniture store, fabric stores, a buggy shop, bookstore, and several car dealerships, flourished during this time. As roads became more reliable, businesses depended less on the train for shipping. Yet, even as the train was becoming less important for transporting raw materials and merchandise, it was becoming crucial for Sugarcreek ’s overall economy.1 This was because a new and highly successful industry had come to town in the 1950s: Amish Country tourism. The Little Switzerland of Ohio Beginning in 1833, Swiss immigrant cheesemakers arrived in the area around Sugarcreek.2 Initially, they produced cheese (the variety that came to be known as Swiss cheese) for use by their own community. With the arrival of the railroad and their recognition that local Amish dairy farmers (who had migrated from southwestern Pennsylvania beginning in 1809), could provide them a dependable supply of milk, these immigrants got intothe business ofmanufacturing large quantities ofcheeseto sell outside 118฀ :฀selling the amish ;฀ the valley. Sugarcreek’s first cheese factory was built in 1885. With the growing popularity of Swiss cheese, other factories followed. During the 1940s, competition from Wisconsin cheese manufacturers cut demand for Sugarcreek’s product.3 Eager to return to higher profit levels, business leaders in Sugarcreek discussed strategies for increasing demand for their local products without investing a lot of resources in advertising . In 1953, five members of the Ohio Swiss Cheese Association went to Columbus, where they met with officials who were interested in promoting tourism. They made a successful case for the development of what was to become the Ohio Swiss Festival.4 Held on the fourth Friday and Saturday after Labor Day every year since 1953, the Ohio Swiss Festival features yodelers, Swiss athletic events (like Steinstossen or rock throwing and Schwingfest or wrestling), polka bands, Swiss foods, and a Swiss cheese contest. Sociologist of the Amish John Hostetler in 1955 described the enthusiastic response to the festival this way: “An estimated 200,000 persons were present to listen to Polka Harmoniers [and] Pop Farver’s orchestra, to witness alpenhorn blowing, Swiss flag throwing, and the yodeling Swiss cheese makers . . . The crowd consumed about a ton of hamburger, huge quantities of pies, cakes, soft drinks, and milk products. The Swiss cheese makers sold 13,400 pounds of cheese and a ton of Trail Bologna.”5 With the festival’s success at drawing tourists and showcasing Swiss cheese, Sugarcreek became famous as “The Little Switzerland of Ohio.” Seeking to build upon the success of the Ohio Swiss Festival, Ranson Andreas (founder of Andreas Furniture of Sugarcreek, which opened in 1948) dreamed of transforming the whole town of Sugarcreek into a Swiss-like village. As tourism was taking hold in Sugarcreek in the early 1960s, he and artist Tom Miller traveled to Switzerland to study the architecture of Swiss chalets.6 In 1965 Miller remodeled a downtown building he owned, giving it the first Swiss “face lift” in town, complete with a Swiss chalet–style front featuring his own hand-painted Swiss Alps scene.7 One by one, other owners of buildings in Sugarcreek followed suit, so that today nearly every building on Main Street (and many on side streets) displays features associated with a Swiss chalet architectural style.8 As the Swiss look developed, tourism continued to grow in Sugarcreek. In 1971 the Swiss Village Country Store opened as the first business created to target tourists. Others, such as Dutch Valley Restau- ฀ :฀ethnicity and performance in sugarcreek ;฀ 119 rant (1974), the Dutch Host motel (1974), and Swiss Valley Enterprises (1975), which offered Amish buggy rides, soon followed.9 In the 1990s, however, businesses in Sugarcreek started feeling the effects of competition from nearby tourist towns. In both Berlin and Walnut Creek, entrepreneurs were embarking upon ambitious construction and renovation projects designed to attract more Amish Country tourists. Despite increased competition...