c. 1999 Religion News Service

WILMOT, Ohio _ For more than four decades Abe Keim raised his family and ran a 91-acre farm and woodworking shop following the tradition of his Amish ancestors in this agricultural community in the northeastern part of the state.

Now the 73-year-old Old Order Amish man manages the Wooden Toy Shop in Amish Door Village, a sprawling complex of shops, a 50-room hotel, a restaurant and a banquet room.

Keim said he never dreamed he’d operate a retail store, or that so many Amish people would work alongside non-Amish people in such developments.

Tourism is driving the economy in Wilmot and nearby towns in what is commonly known as Amish Country. It includes Stark, Holmes, Wayne and Tuscarawas counties.

The area’s 50,000 Amish people make up the world’s largest Amish community.

The influx of restaurants, bed-and-breakfast inns, and antique, craft and furniture shops is changing the way many Amish make a living. A growing number earn money by either working in tourism developments or peddling such items as vegetables, maple syrup and wood products to tourists. Even quilts made in Amish homes are often sold at non-Amish shops on consignment.

Keim and others are uneasily watching their rural agricultural world shift from a farming community to a commercial setting that even includes a few fast-food restaurants. Although farming is still the biggest industry in Amish Country, tourism is rising.

Last year, an estimated 4 million visitors spent nearly $20 million in Holmes County, 20 percent more than in 1997, according to the county’s Chamber of Commerce.

“We used to stress trying to keep our people on farms, but it’s just not enough land unless some of them move out,” said Keim, standing behind a cash register surrounded by wooden toys.

Amish families are turning to tourism to generate money to feed and shelter large families, primarily because undeveloped land for farming is scarce and expensive. Keim, for example, has 11 children and “81 or 82 grandchildren.”

More land than ever is being used for new home development, small businesses and major tourism projects. Large retail developments throughout Amish Country are generally operated by non-Amish people who have Amish roots.

Take the Amish Door Village. In 1977, Milo and Kathryn Miller opened a 48-seat restaurant that had about 16,000 annual customers. Today, the building is part of a multimillion-dollar village of shops, including a 950-seat restaurant and banquet center that serve about 550,000 customers annually.

Jo Ann Hershberger, whose parents were once Amish, runs Schrock’s Amish Farm & Home in Berlin. An estimated 40,000 people annually visit shops on the farm or take a ride on an Amish buggy. The Schrock family also owns a 50-room inn, a bed-and-breakfast, a restaurant, a quilt shop and two furniture stores.

“We buy 70 (percent) to 80 percent of our furniture from Amish people who make it at home,” Hershberger said. “Ten years ago, most people here didn’t like tourism. But because of scarcity of (undeveloped) land, many of them now support their families by other trades like the wood shops.”

In the last 15 years, at least 200 shops have opened in Holmes, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties. The businesses include small woodworking shops throughout the countryside.

Although tourism has helped Amish and non-Amish alike, Hershberger is always mindful of respecting Amish culture. That’s why she asks tourists to refrain from photographing Amish men driving the two buggies on her farm, including her father-in-law.

The business owners must perform a delicate balancing act. They are trying to attract business by advertising all things Amish while seeking to respect the culture and customs of the Amish people.

“You’ll never see a place owned by an Amish person that says the word Amish out front,” said Red Lichteberger, owner of Alpenstock gift shop and embroidery in Wilmot. “It’s not permitted. Amish people benefit from tourism too, but it can be overkill.”

Most of the Amish forefathers come from Germany and Switzerland. Religious persecution drove many people from their homes, and hundreds immigrated to the United States around 1730. Amish people believe the Bible teaches a life of simplicity and a distinct separation between the church and the world. They’ve chosen to refrain from technology and other cultural changes in an effort to maintain cohesive family structures and stay true to their faith.

That simple lifestyle is an attraction for the increasing numbers of tourists who drive throughout scenic open farmland and green rolling hills while gawking at Amish people riding alongside in horse-drawn buggies. A lot of tourists come to the quiet area to relax, shop and eat the large portions of Amish-style meals.

But a growing number of tourists are heading to the Mennonite Information Center to learn more about the Amish and Mennonites, who have the same religious origins. Housed in the center is a 265-foot-long mural of Amish and Mennonite history by Heinz Gaugel. The information center got about 25,000 visitors last year, up from 16,000 when it opened in 1990.

One thing tourists learn at the center is that Amish people are serious about their desire to live their lives according to their strict biblical interpretation. That’s one reason it’s difficult to find a restaurant or shop to visit on Sunday, when about 95 percent of Amish Country is closed. On Sundays, Amish people worship and rest, so the few restaurants that remain open are staffed by non-Amish or “English” people.

“Tourism benefits everyone here,” said Gaugel, 72, the historical painter. “The nice thing is that tourists disappear at 5 p.m. You can drive through the countryside and it’s just as serene as it always is.”

Perhaps the rise in bed-and-breakfast inns is one of the best growth indicators. A decade ago, only a few small inns were in the area. Now tourists often find it difficult to find a room on Friday nights, although there are about 100 bed-and-breakfast inns, according to the Holmes County Chamber of Commerce.

At least two small inns are run by Amish families on their farms without electricity, while some inns and hotels are quite elegant, complete with two-person Jacuzzis or heart-shaped tubs.

Deanna Bear, 54, innkeeper at the Breitenbach Bed and Breakfast, said she convinced her family to keep the Sugarcreek cottage home they grew up in and open it to tourists four years ago.

“My father built this home, and it’s nice to have people from all over appreciate his workmanship and our family heirlooms,” Bear said. “It’s a way to meet people from diverse backgrounds without leaving home. One week we had visitors from Japan and Germany.”

DEA END PLEDGER