amish communities of central pennsylvania

For over 25 years I have visit Woodward Camp in the small central Pennsylvania town of Woodward. Woodward is about 30 miles East of State College, and usually my visits would begin with a commuter flight landing at State College airport and driving the rural two lane road of PA Route 45 towards Woodward. Headed East, by the time you reach Spring Mills you would usually see the familiar sight of the Amish buggies plying the gravel side strip of Route 45 and the Amish farms on each side of the road growing tobacco and corn. It was a nice, foreign sight to se the Amish, but usually it was just a passing blur in my excitement to get to Woodward. After returning to Woodward year after year I became more curious about the Amish communities I often raced past. I started to notice the intricate differences in their horse drawn carriages. I marveled at their work ethic and admired their stylish dress. In 2015 I started taking my camera on these trips through the backroads of the small villages around Woodward. Becoming more brave and comfortable with each trip, I was also trying to respect their privacy and religion while capturing the beauty of the way they live and work. I found that some of the side roads I had driven past for years led the way into some amazing Amish communities with their own schools, stores and churches. There were always some noticeable characteristics in the Amish areas such as the well worn tracks from the buggy wheels and the ramshackle wooden booths where the Amish made their phone calls. I learned they could not have phones in their house, but could have a community phone that was shared and detached from the house. These communities are only 200 miles from the center of New York, and literally 200 years apart in the way they live. I couldn’t live like they do, but I respect it and it has reminded me to always take the side road, you’ll always be surprised with what you find.

info

prev / next

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·