Now & Then

As I was reading A Brief History of Working Women, I started to think about how there are similarities between then and now when it comes to the working world. In particular, reading the section about white women reminded me of how the Amish are nowadays. There are quite a few Amish families that live around my hometown of Tomah, so growing up with that has made me become familiar with how they live. I also did a little research on the Amish, and found it interesting that the Amish movement was founded in Europe (the White Women section mentioned European women who came over to the USA). Like it was during the American colonial period, work is still closely identified with home and family life. The Amish do a lot on their own such as producing their own food rather than buying it, and making their own clothes. According to the reading, colonial families worked to reduce cash expenditures by growing vegetables in the kitchen garden and making the family's clothes, candles, soap and household furnishings. To me, it also sounds like the Amish! Not only do the Amish make their own stuff, but they do quality work as well. Many of their furnishings are sold in Amish and country stores. Some Amish also run businesses from their home... for example, on Hwy 21 there is an Amish home where they also do leather repair (I see the sign every time I drive to and from home). Amish are also very close with their family members and get to spend more time with each other since they aren't distracted by the television or computer.

When I compare the Amish to they way I live, I feel spoiled and somewhat lazy. Here I am driving my own car and getting to a destination within five minutes, while it would take an Amish family three times as long in a horse and buggy. Also, I am able to wash and dry my clothes within an hour and a half, whereas it would take them a day considering they need to hang dry their clothes. Much of what the Amish do is what many people did back in the day during the colonial times, and they truly know what hard work is. Although I am thankful for the technology we have, I feel as if we take it for granted on a daily basis. For example, when my Internet doesn't work, I get irritated... which is ridiculous because sometimes the only reason I want to go on the Internet is to check Facebook, and that is not an important part of life!

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and see what life was like then! I kind of did get a taste of it when I was a little girl and went to Old World Wisconsin with my family... check it out the website! :)

Old World Wisconsin