Assignment Iowa Classics; 304; The Amana Colonies

When I awoke. With Mary Jane. Tonight from column. The seven villages of the Amana Colonies were founded over 100 years ago out of religious and economic necessity. They formed one of the few successful communal societies in this country. Today these villages still exist here in eastern Iowa and are perhaps the biggest tourist attraction in the state. Many people confuse the Amana Colonies with the settlements and while I was came from similar German roots they are a completely different religion. They are anti worldly practices differ greatly from the M.A. in other words don't expect to see horse drawn buggies travelling the roads and highways of the Amana Colonies. You might even see a hotwater to. The seven

villages of the Amana Colonies in Iowa were founded by pioneers from Germany Switzerland and Alsace-Lorraine seeking religious freedom. There's. A community of true inspiration believe that God spoke directly to a few chosen leaders through divine inspiration. They came to Iowa in 1854 after having first settled for a time in New York. Until 1932 the people lived communally sharing their worldly goods. This is Sadie provided its members with virtually all basic personal and family needs including clothes at home in exchange for the work they did on behalf of the society as a whole. For the men that work assignment might have been on the society's 22000 acre farm planting corn potatoes or onions. Or in one of the many shops where traits like harness making or baking for the society was done. The women's jobs were mostly in the communal kitchens and gardens. They also did the

knitting and laundry for their village brothers and sisters. Children of the Amana were provided very organized by. Until the age of two they remained home with their mothers. These women were relieved of all work assignments for that time. Even the family's food was brought in from the communal kitchen. Here are the thoughts of one of the Amana Colonies oldest members going to school to burst 13 years old. The girls and boys are 14 and I have to do their bit and do kitchen where it's cooking first for 13 years I was a cook who had three girls cook where I had a hair built from break and I often had to do the baking but in the year to do the cooking we do is to it and me then no different. It Like It Is and I went in the

kitchen to until I was 44. That's when this change came. For over 70 years the amount of people live the simple life of religious isolation their farms and factories prospered. But soon the coming of such things as automobiles telephones and radios made it impossible for the colony to maintain isolation. On June 1st 1932 the religious order which had begun in 1714 in Germany ended in eastern Iowa. In what is now called the great change. A new secular society was born when over 90 percent of the members voted to form a joint stock corporation organized for profit. The forces of change unleashed by the reorganization in 1932 continue unabated in the M.A. today. As in those earlier days. Citizens of today's Amana Colonies still debate the good and bad which changes

wrought in their lives. Certainly the corporation has prospered and though there have been bad times today with a new charter and profitable industries the M&A future looks bright. And for the most part its citizens are reconciled to the fact that things will never again. Indeed can never again be the same. There are many times that you miss. Each and every day he was taken care of two old people you know. Well no you have no budget day care if you did a nursing home. But don't and base. They were put in place. Folks as home you know to their sick. It's different I mean can you stay for now. You failed to take the chance. Just different. But today years you know you. Get used to it you had to get used to. I think for the older people.

They miss it. Yes. Die this beautiful lily pond is as good a setting is that he and little Amana for you to tell me how did the Amana society work and the amount of society is governed by a group of board of directors 13 of them. This point in time that. Actually set the policy for the corporate management corporate business management which then takes policy and implements it through the other 25 or so managers that are actually under the control of the general manager of the corporation. Neither would you or the organization such as we might know in a small town as the mayor and city council are you really kind of run things they have to get permits from you and that sort of thing. Yes we play that part also we we play the part of city administration ordinarily you would have a mayor on a city council here on the Amana since we are an

incorporated there is no city council or mayor or anything like that. So you call yourselves a family farm of how many acres approximately 26000 acres largest farm in the state. Yeah right. What about the young people do you. Are all of the people that we as tourists might see working in the various establishment and they frown on that. I would say probably many of them. I couldn't even say most of them are because we have kind of a unique situation where you've got sixteen hundred fifty people living here conning every man woman and child and you've really got over 3000 far in excess of 3000 people working here so you can see what's happening. A lot of people commuting into the area actually well-to-do young people like go off to college to universities and then stay away and do you lose a lot. We lose a few but probably we lose less people than the ordinary community our size because of the fact that there's a tremendous amount of potential here and the amount of villages and the diversified types of business that they can get involved in actually.

Now you are a true Amana. I thank you. Yes I was born here. I was raised born and raised in one of the villages and I was only absent for several years and service and here all my life. And now you've got the top position. Yes. Tell me about commercialization because. Places like it can be so beautiful sometimes get a little bit over commercialised is that a problem for you. Yes it is. We try to control the problem through. The type of zoning which is a fiction. And basically I guess the way that we control the problem best is by owning most of the land. Yeah what you're what you're saying is that nobody can really who lives in any of these beautiful areas can do anything really without checking with you. In

most instances Yeah. OK. How do you feel about what's changed because you were a young kid at the time of what they called the great chain. Yes I can just barely remember the communal kitchens. This happened when I was 4 3 4 years old and of the change from that period of time until now has been tremendous. Do you regret that. I read certain portions of the change. I think that it's gotten to the point where where we've got some some of the unattractive elements of modern day society that are creeping into our community where we never had any problems from the standpoint of law enforcement we were starting to have a few of those problems at this point in time. What. Do you feel that you have retained from the original inspiration which started the Amana Colonies. What is still the core of the Amana today.

I'd say the thing that we've probably retained more than anything else is even though we have our problems internally small problems that when when the chips are down in effect we all seem to be pulling in the same direction because of the fact that well let's face it because of the prolonged period of time of isolationism most of us through intermarriage are related actually. Christian Metz was the inspired leader who caused the people to leave Germany and settle in America. Perhaps the winds of change when he admonished. Behold the work of the who no longer are. They have bequeath to you lay treasure which is still a blessing but is being forgotten. Let nothing be lost but induce your youth that they renew and rewrite it especially what is not printed. Bring the blessing past into good order and safekeeping.

The simple cemetery of each Amana village is a place where today one senses the simplicity and feeling of communion of the Amana. That was when one leaves the M.A. through death his or her passing is marked with only an unadorned white marker. And since there is no special order in which we arrive on this earth the morn here are buried in the order they depart. The fact that the burial tradition has remained so untouched by modern custom tells us that the church in Amana still plays a significant role in the life of the colonies on any sanity you can see its members arriving at the modest church meeting house still in use in most villages the women young and old still wear black shawls and caps like the ones their grandmothers are great. Mothers were. Inside seating is according to original tradition women on one side and on the other. Young people in front older in the back. And there are churchgoers haven't

heard a divinely inspired leader since 1888. Today they hear the words repeated by elders who themselves are members of the community such as the Amana school superintendent Carl Selzer was also the president of the church society. Mr. Sellers are in this church at Main Amana. It's very stark very simple benches are just plain wooden hard must've been a little difficult in the olden days to sit through several hours. These was not I think so I think it was difficult to do that. But in those days the sermons were much longer than they are now and now I. Hold it to about an hour hour and a quarter. And what other ways have their religious have their religious orientation changed in the M.A.. Well in the olden days they were quite a few elders of the church you see we have no ordained ministers and now we have fewer elders. Sometimes we combine our services and we don't have nearly as many services anymore.

There used to be I would have been every week and yet it was mandated that you go there now two or three. Does everyone belong to the church to know. Not everyone in the olden days just before 1932 practically everybody good lived here in a man belong to the church. Now people have married without the Amana confines of Byron's And so there are some people who belong and very few do not. Does this bode well for the future of the and then as you think. I think the church probably is in a period of revival at the present time. I'm happy to see that younger people are getting interested in doing the work. Also there's a US organization that started to do some work on doing. Reviving some of the old customs and ideas which is good. What does the word and then

mean the word man I mean supply of Croy remain faithful. It comes from the Songs of Solomon. It's also mentioned in second of kings when they very moving to Iowa in the 1850s. Christian Metz who was then the leader decided the name of the villages out here in Iowa should be bleeped. Roy remained faithful and they looked into the Bible Old Testament and found the word mana in the Songs of Solomon and second kings and that was the region north of Palestine. It's been firm as a rock. What you afraid though that that your church membership for instance will die out because you don't go out and recruit. You know I was on go out and recruit. I think it's going to Maine remain steady. In fact I look forward. Forward to increase. You seem to feel that. That faith that it was originally here

and you feel has continued is responsible for the success of the business success really and the farm success of the M.A.. I think it's a foundation of help from the Good Lord. Because face was what brought us to New York from New York to Iowa and usually the Church attendance is very fine and I think that has a great deal to do with caring for each other and also with the way the good Lord looks after all of us. We're in middle man and and I'm walking in front of what used to be the communal kitchen

where the women cooked the meals for everybody. There's an open hearth bakery there too. Across the street here is the cooper shop or the cooper e as it's called. And this of course is where the men used all of the tools to make the farm implements the buckets all of that sort of thing. We're approaching an old grindstone this grindstone by the way in the 1860s was powered by water. Of course they used to sharpen all of the tools. And up here is the great Stomper which they used for why it's very small. Passing by an old plough which took eight oxen at least. To operate and in true the cooper shop itself now this is preserved exactly as it was originally. And over here I'll attempt to pronounce this correctly it was the. Schnitzel Bach. OK we would call it a carving bench. It was very important in those days right in back of me

here is a long table workshop where there are all kinds of tools that were used then in fact they were really used up until in the 1940s. And one of the main things they made of course were water buckets buckets pails for all kinds of things Heres a lathe and news to me inside of it. These are all preserved as they were pretty much in those days and theyre preserved for historical reasons of course theyre not used now but there are other things in the M.A. of course that are used for modern day work. The Amana woolen mills are housed today in the same quarters they were a century ago and the quality of wool and weaves that kept people warm on cold Amana mornings long ago still survives. Each year 130 mill workers

process over a million yards of the finest woman blend to be found according to the national will and council. In fact one woman Mel's operators confessed that the consul has told them they can make a greater profit if they reduce just slightly the high quality of the material which in true Amana society fashion they refuse to do on looms that made back to 19 20 over 30 different patterns are produced to rival any plaids or twill as you can see on a bagpiper in the Highlands of Scotland furnishing a home in the early man as was a fairly easy task. One simply went to the communal carpentry shop and had the necessary pieces made to day. People all over the country must wait a year to have their orders their old man and a grandfather clock or cherry cabinet re-emphasize crafted because the Amana society is quick to point out there is a furniture shop and not a factory with all the implicit attention to custom made detail.

Here at the man a furniture shop and Mary Jane each piece of furniture is individually hand crafted on a on a workbench faces rather than on a production line. You have a lot of machinery here that I have never seen before. What are some of the bigger things here. Well we have some sanding a weapon basically and some jointers But the real quality of AMANDA FRENCH are still in the assembly which is by the by the human being. How do you actually construct the ranger I know that you do it differently than other people. Well basically mortice and tenon joints are mitered corners and of course are dovetailing for draw ours and this this assures the heirloom quality of the amount of furniture. Is that the way we've done originally in the very beginning. Yes the Amana furniture has always been known for its quality and we've we've kept with the old time proven method. How many. Individual craftsman do you have working in this particular room that now we have approximately 15 craftsmen working on workbenches and have about

forty five to fifty people in our higher operations. Ever have any women working in here Ian and. Decided to construct our nature. We haven't in the assembly. Hard now but we do have some working in our inner finishing room. OK. There is one thing over here that really intrigues me. THE GENTLEMAN. Was. Out of it. That's right that's known as a turning lathe and this is different than many of the ones that are used because it's it's all done by hand and pretty much by touch and by all which means that the four legs on a table are not identical in every detail nor the four posts on the bed but it is there so close but it does give it the characteristic of a hand crafted piece of furniture. Now how many steps does he have to go through in order to turn out that particular leg. Well actually starts with a square piece of wood of course and he has different for making different things but. The rough edges with

the sharp knives to make the delicate intricate turnings that on the legs. Danny what kind of wood do you use here. We use only the solid wall of in the solid cherry wood. Why is that. Well they're considered two of the finest woods for making furniture and of course when the Amana people moved there over a hundred years ago this lumber grew in this area are the forests being depleted are you having any problem finding sherry or getting very very hard to find and not too many years will be deflated Yes. What will you do then. Well probably find some other woods to work with. This is the finishing room here and I noticed that there are females working here why. Well they just simply they just do a better job and I think the reason is because a finishing is a matter of touch and feel on the scale just have a very fine touch in their fingertips to end up with a very beautiful soft finish. Do you have any secrets to the way you finish your wood or any

formulas. Well the real secret to a good finish is just lots of hard work and lots of elbow grease. And as a matter of technique in some matter of touch it's not a real secret other than knowing how and just a lot of hard work. Who teaches them. Well it's just a matter we have some people who've been with us 25 30 years who are experts at this and some of the others of course they're taught by the people who've been here longer and. Do they have their own individual secrets probably in a sense I guess you could say that yes. But he's still the most. Well of course as far as Woods I think Wal-Mart is by far the most popular and we do a big business of course and dining room groups and of course grandfather's clocks are very very popular. Where once you go on early models with her own

wine as a matter of fact because we're in Homestead now in the basement with all the kegs in the casks of wine. And. What kind is that that you've got there. This is made from the first pressing of stick wait this is not a night out wine but you also have. Yes which is rhubarb right. And strawberry strapper Yes and then I have something that I'm holding in my hand which is called lover's wine What's that is it's just our own name because I see what it's like is it a special formula how do you actually make wine from just read to a class where the other grapes work in open tanks for a whole week. And then they have to be pressed go into a burlap bag will have to be there to suppress the output in the barrels and then we dissolve the sugar with hot water than we ever toured. And then we let it ferment naturally which takes about a year to do years. You mean the total. Yeah I'm from the time that say the greater body until it's ready

to hear a year and a half. For sure we don't touch it hardly ever under a year. In fact the lighter aged longer please. How do you know when it's ready. Well. We usually tested. Tested with a machine. And find out when you when you expect for a bottle. But we never we never parted on the year but it has to be tested for the alcohol content within a body half a year. Can you tell by the color. Or the clearness of it is that one of the four yes. Ah yeah. I'm going have you been here all my life. Really. Yeah. And I started in about 30. Thirty six My husband started and then I started later. Were you the first winery in the Amana. Yes yes. We were the first winery. Do you grow your own grapes. We used to get I'm lucky. To raise so many grapes and they could use some odds and then we went to Cedar Rapids and picked them up there

but then the spraying came in and that ruined all the grapes on the vineyards. So we had to go to Illinois and to Missouri that's where we get most of our grapes from now. Now you can only sell your wine from this very spot right. Here. You're in this is your home and your business right now is a family thing. Yes that will help you. Yeah. Yeah it is. So strange. Started if more of us who are into a business. At the beginning we were only allowed to make a thousand gallons a year and know about and wait on 15 and then make as much as we want. So what do you do. 977 what we are total output be here. Oh I would say about 10000. Many people come through here and yes but not during the winter time but in the summer there's a lot of people coming through. Have you enjoyed this all these years. I love it.

I have assisted I never never dreamed I'd ever be a wind maker. But now my son in law has taken over as long as I was strictly in the business I left every part of it made a lot of wonderful people and it is really enjoyable abort. Nobody in the family. I hope there's a good girl woman. How do young leaders. On about the past. But. As long as you leave after. Dating you have to. Every day. Lots of it tears. I shed for my. First run Maunder left me and I was unknown. And then when my husband passed away.

I was allowed to grief. But then the Lord had through everything. And gave me better days again. He remembered to do it. And the grandparents before me. To him return from. 1910 to leave me. You could say it does work. Many of the original founders of the Amana Colonies lie here now and one can't help but wonder what they would think of the changes that have occurred over the years due to economic necessity and how they would feel about their original inspired dream being fulfilled. Is it ever possible to enter the future retain the past while doing what the

word Amana means. To remain faithful.