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\n\t\t<\/div>\nThe cold January air dropped a few degrees as soon as the sun headed for the horizon. I brought CJ back to his stall after a short solo ride in the park, took off the saddle and brushed the horse down. The moonless night fell hard across the countryside outside the barn. I looked over at Pepper standing in her stall. She must have rolled earlier on the half-frozen, wet ground in the pasture since a thick layer of dry mud covered her black coat. When I finished with CJ, I stepped into Pepper\u2019s stall and gave her a once over with the curry comb.<\/p>\nThe time came to pick up my saddle, pads, brushes and bridle, walk through the barn and stow my equipment in the tack room. Now that the gear was carefully put away and horses brushed down, I switched off the barn light and opened the small side door to leave. An arctic wind hit my face as I tried to adjust to the dark. A single, round light bounced up and down, suspended in mid-air. The lightbeam came closer and closer. Although Connie wasn\u2019t visible, I knew she must be holding a flashlight, heading to the barn for her nightly chores.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi Connie,\u201d I said watching the light draw near.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi Pat,\u201d came Connie\u2019s friendly voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got your email about the Amish carriage,\u201d I said flipping on the light switch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI emailed everyone. I saw it on Craigslist. Johnn and I went to a farm outside of Wyalusing and bought it. It\u2019s in the new storage shed if you\u2019d like to have a look,\u201d replied Connie stepping into the barn and closing the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love too when it\u2019s lighter out. Who did you buy it from?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man named John Newhart at Ment2befarms<\/a>. He\u2019s a horse dealer and dairy farmer near Herrickville not far from LeRaysville. He bought the carriage from another farmer and stored it in his barn.This buggy is a Lancaster style carriage which is different from the style the Amish in LeRaysville use,\u201d replied Connie.<\/p>\n
\u201cLancaster is a couple of hundred miles away. I wonder how the carriage came to Bradford County?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. Maybe John could tell you. He said that to get the carriage to his place he arranged for an Amish woman to drive it over. She told him she never wanted to see that carriage again,\u201d replied Connie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess each Amish group has their own style of carriage,\u201d I said pausing and then continued, \u201cDonna must be excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as I bought the carriage I called her. She is excited. When spring comes we\u2019ll hitch Sam up and take the buggy for a ride,\u201d said Connie.<\/p>\n
A few days later, I phoned John Newhart and asked if he knew where the Lancaster carriage had come from. He didn\u2019t know but the man he bought the carriage from might have an idea. John told me that he knew an Amish man who was building two carriages and if I wanted to come down to see the buggies, I could. Of course I said yes and arranged to meet John the following Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The morning light peeked in my window seeping through the cloud covered sky. I dressed, gathered my writing pad, pencil, and camera, stuffing everything into a canvas bag, hurried breakfast and left for Herrickville. The car rolled along Route 220 to the stoplight just north of Ulster where I turned onto Bridge Road, crossed the Susquehanna and headed into unknown territory. The narrow ill-marked road turned and twisted up and over rolling hills through dairy farms, wooded hilltops and creek beds. I made a wrong turn at North Rome and found myself at the Litchfield Volunteer Fire Station where a man gave me directions putting me back on the right road. Finally, I came to the CC Allis lumber yard where I stopped a second time to ask another man for directions to the Newhart farm. He pointed up the road a few yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re almost there. Turn at the intersection, go up that dirt road, turn right at the cemetery and you\u2019ll head down a very steep road to the Newhart farm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I turned up the dirt road. The man had said the street would become steep, but I could not believe how steep, almost straight down, and sure enough there was a huge dairy barn on the left and a house on the right. I pulled into the driveway as three barking dogs greeted me, and met John and his wife Allison. It wasn\u2019t long before I climbed back in my car and followed John’s huge dump truck up the steep hill. A very short trip took us to an Amish sawmill. We were greeted by a good-natured Amish gentleman. The man showed us his workshop where he was constructing two carriages.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it ok to take pictures of the carriages,\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure,\u201d replied the Amish craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust don\u2019t get him in the picture,\u201d John said smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo problem,\u201d I said and began taking pictures. \u201cI understand that each Amish community has their own style of carriage. Is there a problem with using a Lancaster carriage here in LeRaysville?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo not really, there have been Lancaster carriages here. If someone moves from Lancaster they\u2019ll come here with their carriage and might keep it and use it for awhile,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many carriages have you built?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the first two. My brother built a few carriages though,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long will it take you?\u201d asked John.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends.. it might take me awhile since I\u2019m working on them in my spare time, but someone working regular hours would take about 3 to 4 weeks,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see that the front is rounder than the one I sold Connie,\u201d said John pointing to the front of the carriage under construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see. When Connie explained it was more rounded I visualized the carriage being bowed out in front. Now I see what she was talking about,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re carriages don\u2019t have a canvas back that snaps off?\u201d John asked the Amish craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, we\u2019d rather have a door that opens in the back. It makes it easier getting in and out without having to work all those snaps,\u201d replied the Amish craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe back of Connie\u2019s carriage snaps off?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, the one I sold Connie has snaps,\u201d replied John.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far along are you in the building of the carriages?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, not quiet half way I\u2019d say. I still have the sides to finish, the doors, and windows and paint it,\u201d replied the Amish craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is how the sides of the doors are made,” said John walking over to a large wood vise. The claps held identical strips of wood about 1 inch in diameter and bent at the ends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s amazing! How do you get the wood to bend like that,\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use steam and wet the end where I want the wood to bend then clamp the wood in the vise for a few days,\u201d replied the craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have such a well equipped workshop. How do you run the saws and planer without electricity?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a diesel engine which is hooked to a shaft under the floor that runs the tools. The shaft spins and turns belts on a pulley system attached to the equipment,\u201d he replied pointing to a metal shaft exposed and built into the floor near a bandsaw. <\/p>\n
\u201cConnie\u2019s carriage has a pedal on the floor which I assume is a brake,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, that\u2019s the brake. The one Connie has is hydraulic. You have to add fluid for it to work,\u201d said John.<\/p>\n
\u201cMine isn\u2019t hydraulic. It works on a cable system,\u201d replied the Amish craftsman.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you have taillights and headlights on the carriage. How long does your battery last?\u201d asked John.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 8 to 10 hours. I only put the battery in the buggy if I\u2019m going to be out after dark, that way I don\u2019t have to recharge the battery so often,\u201d the craftsman replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what about the wheels, are you going to make the wheels too?\u201d I inquired.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I bought them from a buggy shop near Vicksburg. I just have to put them together,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the carriage has a window and windshield wiper too. Does that run off the battery?\u201d asked John.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, the windshield wiper is hand powered,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
Quickly, the conversation shifted from the carriage to horses. \u201cYou want to buy my horse John? He\u2019s 15 years old and getting too old for the carriage,\u201d the Amish gentleman said lightheartedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you $10 for him,\u201d said John laughing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long can you use a horse to pull a carriage?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019d say 3 to 10 year olds are the best, no more than 15. It\u2019s just too hard on the horse when they get up in age,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow her the type of horseshoe you use in winter,\u201d said John smiling.<\/p>\n
The Amish gentleman picked up a horseshoe from many resting on a shelf and placed it on the table. The shoe had a rough, rounded bit of metal attached to four places on the shoe at the toe and heel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use these most of the year,\u201d he replied. \u201cThe shoe grips the road better so the horse doesn\u2019t slip.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly an Amish buggy stopped in front of the workshop. We walked outside and met the craftsman\u2019s teenage son. The young man cordially sat in the carriage while I took pictures of his horse and buggy. His carriage had only one seat, akin to a sports car, and in contrast to the family three seat carriage. He made short work of unhitching the harness and took the horse into the barn.<\/p>\n
I thanked John and his friend for letting me see the carriages, returned to my car and drove towards home. This time I knew where I was going and which way to turn. The beauty of the quiet Pennsylvania countryside with rolling hills cut by streams sped by until I reached Bridge Street and crossed the Susquehanna at Ulster turning towards Athens on route 220. I drove past the Honda dealership in Milan, and the Dandy Mini Market where people pumped gasoline into their cars. Continuing on, I came to sidewalks and cross streets all the elements of the grid, and although I\u2019ve lived in the \u201cValley\u201d for many years, I suddenly realized there was an entire world I had never encountered only a few miles from home. I thought how strange it was that minutes away lies a peaceful, quieter existence where horses traverse the road pulling handcrafted carriages. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The cold January air dropped a few degrees as soon as the sun headed for the horizon. I brought CJ back to his stall after a short solo ride in the park, took off the saddle and brushed the horse … Continue reading
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