Divine Intervention? Part I

On the Labour Day weekend, when we weren't gardening, Scott and I took a three day trip to the budding metropolis of Arthur, Illinois. I was to meet Scott's gramma and visit the town where she and Scott's father lived. Although I was apprehensive at first (shy I guess I should describe it) I found that she was a wonderful lady who welcomed me with open arms. As a celebration of our wedding, Gramma made us a great lunch, had a wedding cake made complete with the cake top she had at her own wedding,


and a beautiful floral centrepiece.


As a wedding gift, she arranged for us to stay at the most delightful B&B for the weekend. The B&B was run by a Mennonite couple who had the old house restored and furnished with antiques and Amish details. One surprise for me was the fact that before each breakfast (which were to-die-for) we had to bow our heads in prayer--the husband said grace each morning. I don't know if Canada is a land of heathens (apologies to all who are devote Christians) or if it is just my circle--but I am not used to this tradition occurring at a commercial establishment! Anyhow, I chalked it up to experience and ate my breakfast heartily.


Scott and I had not planned to be in Arthur specifically on the weekend of the Cheese Festival. I had no idea what it was all about. To set the scene, Arthur is a small town surrounded by Amish Country (est. in the late 19th century). Plus, Arthur itself is a very conservative town. On its website, among other highlights, it boasts: a population of 2203, 99.4% white non-Hispanic (!!!!), 9 churches (all Protestant but notes there is a Catholic church nearby-ish).

One sees Amish horse-drawn black buggies travelling the streets during the day. At night, the clip-clop of hooves signals that the Amish teenagers are coming into town for their own brand of entertainment. They have until age 18 to make a decision about whether to remain in the community or to venture out into the "English" world. Until then, it seems that the teenagers do their best to get a taste of the "English" world. I was shocked to see one lad driving a buggy wearing jeans and Nikes! I was told that it was not unusual--seemingly, they leave the farm in their traditional clothing and then change into "English" clothes on the way into town. Then they party.

The Amish are very traditional and eschew all things modern--except those items that are used for commerce it seems, e.g./ cell phones and cash registers. Also forbidden are forms of entertainment that we consider in some cases, well, not high on the entertainment scale. I was surprised to see some Amish families enjoying the "Cheese Festival" parade:


I was told that Cheese Festival began when there was a large cheese-making 'factory' in town. The place is long gone, but the tradition remains. Although C.F. is held over a long weekend, festivities were held only on the Saturday and Monday--Sunday was obviously not an option for this conservative town. That was, until this year: 2004. This year, the decision was made to include Sunday. But, would such a big step be later regretted?

to be continued....