Some in Amish community believe downturn has a good side

Goshen News

The bad news in the RV industry could be the best thing for the Amish community.

At least that is the belief of many Amish leaders who feel access to high wages in the RV industry was eroding traditional Amish values.

"Sometimes it takes something like this to look at our convictions," said Perry S. Miller, bishop of Amish church district 65-2. "We've drifted. I think some of it had to do with the big money."

Leroy Nisley, a bishop and founder of L.R. Nisley & Sons, a woodworking business east of Goshen, feels some Amish families became too dependent on that income.

"I've heard of people who don't even put out a garden anymore because their husbands make a good living in the factory," he said.

Larry Andrews, president of the Nappanee Chamber of Commerce, said one Amish leader told him that the high factory wages had changed the Amish lifestyle.

"He said, 'We were living too high and too fast. We have to change our lifestyle and get back to basics,' " Andrews said.

Delbert Miller, president of A&R Machine Shop, echoed that concern.

"It was so easy for us to run to the trailer factories," he said. "You look at other Amish communities in Ohio and Pennsylvania (without large factories) and they have to think for themselves. They have to be creative."

Layoffs and reduced hours in the factories will force that change, he believes.

"Stepping back and looking at what's best for us will be beneficial in the long run," he said. "People will have to be more creative in coming up with new products."

The Amish community has always been based on dependence on each other to meet needs.

Ben Mullet, owner of Mullet Custom Interior southwest of Nappanee, thinks this crisis will bring back some of that communal spirit.

"We may have to help each other more now rather than each hog for himself," he said.

It also reminds the Amish of their spiritual heritage.

"It's good for us to realize that God is the one who provides the blessings," said Paul Hochstetler, bishop of District 71. "This should make us more thankful for what we have."