For various reasons, both religious and social, electricity is absent from every Amish household in America. Instead, they use bottled gas to light their homes, shops, and to power their appliances. However, there are several small exceptions to their strict rules outlawing electricity. They are allowed to use electricity to power flashing red lights on the back of buggies warning approaching traffic. Electric fences can be used to keep cattle in pastures. The milk in bulk tanks is stirred by elec

adjustments and amendments have been in the best interest of the Amish community in the goal of preserving their history.

The ban of electricity however, sometimes had to be lifted in order for the Amish to stay close to their faithful traditions. One key exception was when the church allotted the privileged use of a generator under certain conditions. As the world around the Amish began to advance rather quickly, the Amish were left with the problem of purchasing horse-drawn farm equipment. In order to convert tractor-drawn machinery to horse-drawn the use of electrical welders was pertinent. Welders were also needed to repair broken machinery. Electric generators were seen as an important source to produce the energy needed to power the electric welders. The church viewed the purpose of maintaining and adapting farm machinery for horses as an important one, so they in turn allowed electric generators. However, farmers and mechanics began to take advantage of this powerful technology by bending the rules of the church, using the electric generators for other purposes. The Amish began usin!

As time progressed several Amish families began to approach the church to request permission to share a phone, describing the necessity for use in case of an emergency. Permission was granted, and community phones gradually appeared in small shanties. These telephone shanties resemble outhouses and are often found at the end of lanes. The shanties are shared by an average of two to three families. Numbers are typically unlisted and the telephone is to be used for outgoing calls only, thus "call bells" announcing incoming calls are prohibited. However, a few Amish individuals have admitted to prearranging times with other individuals in which they could be reached by telephone.

Another dilemma that made the Amish question their Ordnung was when milk companies required farmers to use stainless steel bulk tanks for milk storage. Bulk storage tanks were necessary for freshness, safety reasons, improved efficiency, and lowered transportation costs. The Amish were used to using traditional milk cans that served a similar purpose but were not nearly as efficient. The adoption of milk tanks was necessary in order to keep up with the pace and increasing demands of the milk industry. One of the reasons the Amish opposed the use of the stainless steal bulk tanks was because they "didn't want electric or have to tap into public lines." (Kraybill, 1989) The milk industry forced the Amish make a difficult decision by either accepting to use the large bulk tanks or lose their entire place in the milk market. Although it seemed that the milk companies were in complete control, they were still dependent on the Amish farmers' milk. Through tough negotiations!

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e economic survival while at the same time maintaining traditional values of humility, simplicity, and separation from the world. Rules about appropriate telephone use attempt to preserve the boundary between the Amish community and the outside world." (Kraybill, 1994)

Hostetler, John A., Amish Society. John Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1993.

Another debate that plagues the Amish community is the use of telephones. The Old Order Amish have engaged in ongoing debates about how and where to draw the line on telephone use. After endless negotiations abo

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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)