Where Time Stands Still
Seventeen years ago when Diann Yoder was a young girl, her family had taken its buggy, led by horse, to the Walmart Supercenter in Maysville. A young child had pointed at her family in the distance of the parking lot and declared, “Look mama, there’s pilgrims!” Her family chuckled to each other and walked inside to get groceries for the month.
Now, Diann is 29 and married to Sam Yoder, 33. They live on 11 acres with their three kids. They don’t always take their buggy into town for their grocery runs, says Sam Yoder, the father of the family. “But when we do, we call it date night.” When they need to travel faster or further, they’ll get driven by neighbors that are Englishmen, which is what they call the rest of the world outside of their Amish community.
The Yoder family, an Old Order Amish Family, is one of about 50 in Mays Lick in a community that has been growing since 2004. Old Order Amish typically reject most modern technology, like computers, tv’s, and iPhones. These decisions are led by elders and bishops at church, and later made into a group decision by all the men. Kids speak solely Pennsylvanian Dutch until they reach first grade when they begin learning English, but continue to primarily speak Pennsylvanian Dutch within their community, throughout their lives.
A Thursday morning for the Yoder Family might look like this— The kids are sprawled out on brown couches that circle the living room, while Sam cooks waffles in the kitchen. They got up at 5:30 before the sun so they have to plug DeWalt batteries into each light fixture, due to their lack of electricity. Each battery is charged throughout the day through the solar panels on their roof, something that is very common among Amish families. After the family indulges in a plate full of waffles and coffee ice-cream, they’ll migrate to their family room to say a morning devotion spoken in German, ending with the family kneeling on the ground with their backs turned to the middle of the room for their morning prayers. Diann and the kids will then begin cleaning the dishes from breakfast, while Sam goes into his shop to begin work for the day.
Sam had moved from Pennsylvania and met Diann, whose family had moved from Indiana. They got married in 2016 and have built a simple, yet fulfilling life, woven by their practice and testament to God. Sam, a skilled carpenter and owner of Outdoor Haven Swingsets, spends his days crafting wooden creations— swingsets that resemble boats and traditional jungle gyms for children. He also sells, installs, and fixes solar systems and freezers and is known throughout, and beyond, the Amish community through word of mouth. Sam, a gentle and loving father, still makes time for the children and his wife. “One thing I appreciate, he babysits the kids and gives me a break,” said Diann.
While Yoder family members may turn away from typical means of modernity, they have discovered a deeper truth in a slow-paced life in Mays Lick, where they are surrounded by animals, open fields, and the richness of family.
Clothes hang to dry on a line ouside the Yoder’s house on Oct. 22 in Mays Lick, KY. Without the typical convenience of electricity, they aren’t able to wash and dry their clothes mechanically.
The Yoder family, an Old Order Amish family, do their evening chores on Oct. 22 in Mays Lick, KY. Chores are divided up between the family after the kids get home from school, but are often completed together.
Diann Yoder, 29, cut and sewed matching blue clothing for her family, with her daughter Katelyn, 2, in her lap in Mays Lick, KY. Diann’s mom gifted her children a dark blue fabric for this year’s Christmas dresses and shirts, a tradition that she keeps each year.
Diann Yoder sews alongside her daughter, Katelyn, on the morning of Oct. 22, in Mayslick KY. The room is solely lit by one lantern, powered by a DeWalt battery that has been charged through solar energy.
Astro turf is laid and flattened out by Sam and Diann in a skid steer, where an old worn swingset used to sit on Oct 22 in Mays Lick, KY. Sam had spent the day building a new swingset to replace the old one.
Sam, 33, set and hammered nails into place while building a swingset for his children on Oct 22, in Mays Lick, KY. Sam is a carpenter and one-man operation of his business, Outdoor Haven Swingsets, building natural wooden swingsets to sell locally at markets, and deliver up to 150 miles.
Katelyn, Adrian, 8, and Emily, 6, rotate laps down the slide on the new swingset their father built that day on Oct. 22, in Mays lick, KY. The kids were promised a new play structure for Christmas.
The Yoder’s house in the waking sun on the morning of Oct 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Sam often picks up odd jobs, including installing and fixing solar panels to substitute for modern electricity, which are placed onto the roof of their home.
The Yoder family begins their breakfast at 6:00 in the morning so they have time for devotions and chores, on Oct 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Their breakfast consists of waffles topped with ice cream, pie filling, and sausage's.
Sam and Diann read their Daily Devotion to their three children before school on Oct. 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Devotions are read and translated in German.
Adrian and Katelyn help their mother with the morning dishes on Oct. 23, in Mays Lick, KY. After eating a breakfast of waffles and coffee-flavored ice cream and reading their morning devotions, they can clean up before their ride to school arrives.
Sam stops at the People’s Bank in his buggy on his way to take hot lunch to his childrens’ school on Oct. 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Buggys are legal on the highway, but typically hug the shoulder of the road.
Diann joins a game of softball with the older kids outside their two-room school house on Oct. 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Besides the two classrooms that separate the older kids from the younger, the school has a large gym and a playground outside.
Diann runs to home base during a game of softball at her childrens’ school on Oct. 23 in Mays Lick, KY. Sam and Diann bring hot lunch to feed the children, along with Diann’s sisters, three times a month.
The Yoder family walks toward their chicken coop to accompany Adrian with his evening chores on Oct. 22 in Mays Lick, KY. Adrian typically works on feeding the birds and bunnies in the chicken coop, which has become his favorite chore.