Bowling Green, Missouri - Part I

I would like to share this with you..

I have not been to Bowling Green, Missouri, but I have met several Amish people over the years with ties to this small, well-established settlement.  It's located about an hour and 20 minutes northwest of St. Louis.  It's a pretty conservative church with close ties to the Swiss Amish of Adams and Jay Counties in Indiana.  Seymour, Missouri is another settlement that also shares these ties, although Seymour has grown and prospered (to a degree) that Bowling Green hasn't.  Both Seymour and Bowling Green are pretty conservative but the Seymour settlement seems to have made more inroads into tourism and little shops than the BG Amish have.
The top photo really illustratres some key features of the settlement quite well.  The photos are provided to us by Beth Russo, so a big thanks to her for sharing. She and her husband, Scott, visited BG over the weekend.  The top photo shows a pony-cart (which Beth got to ride on), laundry on the line and a tiny "ice house" in the background. The ice house is insulated with saw-dust and in comparison to similar structures at other Amish homes I have visited, this one is very small.  I've seen Amish take abandoned semi-trucks to turn into ice-houses, but this one probably serves the family's needs quite well.  Most Amish that use these type of ice-houses cut ice from a nearby pond during the height of winter and store it away where it keeps food cold throughout the year.
The clothing colors are quite typical of what I've seen in Indiana.  While most Amish clothing hews to a similar color spectrum, there are certain styles that are shared and found in various communities.
The bottom photo is of an Amish boy power-washing a piece of farm equipment.  More about the farm equipment tomorrow.  Also, below is an excerpt of my "email interview" with Beth. I thought some of you near St. Louis would find her map link helpful if you ever choose to visit Bowling Green.  Even though the settlement isn't very "touristy" the Amish who own and operate shops always appreciate the business, just be respectful when you visit!  Excerpt from Beth:
This is the map we used to get around (http://www.visitbowlinggreenmo.com/amish_map.pdf) and it’s pretty accurate so that helped. We didn’t go to most of the home “shops” because we were pressed for time, but we spent a lot of time at the J&D Woodworking shop and the Hilty’s, which is meats, jams, and beehives & honey. Also, the Eicher home that sells odds and ends is a cute little shop. We mostly stayed at those places because they didn’t mind us taking pictures (if they weren’t in them) and they liked to talk as much as my husband and I did.
http://www.oasisnewsfeatures.com/editor/bowling-green-missouri-part-i?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theamishcook+%28The+Amish+Cook+from+Oasis+Newsfeatures%29