We very much enjoy the Amish community. They are a life-giving, generous, friendly group who seem to thoroughly delight in serving people.
With a freewill offering, one can enjoy a breakfast hosted by the these sweet folks, located in rural Marion. Homemade pancakes accompanied by scrambled eggs (with ham and cheese), ham slices, porky links, orange juice and coffee are on the menu, along with a melt-in-your-mouth glazed doughnut.
For quite some time, the Amish community only sold baked goods out of a member’s home. Realizing a need to expand, in 2020, they built their existing structure on a 10-acre plot located at E6778 Neitzke Road.
The breakfasts provide funds for teachers’ salaries, materials, school dues and upkeep in the schoolhouse located just down the road. Each child goes to school through eighth grade. Pennsylvania Dutch is spoken at home; at school, the children are taught to learn the English language.
Haystack suppers — held separately at the same location — consist of a base of crushed crackers and/or rice and browned hamburger topped with a varied choice of garnishes that suit one’s fancy, such as beans, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, lettuce and cheese and may be capped off with crushed Doritos. These occasional fundraisers normally help with medical bills in the community.
Members helping and eating at the events arrive using various modes of transportation, which include walking, horseback riding, open and closed carriages and even roller skates.
For each breakfast, every family is obligated to bring baked goods totaling $36, which may include anything from breads to cookies to various pies. Every family also contributes five dozen eggs. Close to 150 dozen eggs are needed to complete the breakfasts.
Every family unit takes a turn. The Amish Board of Directors keep track of who is responsible for details of the meal preparation. There are stations for every part of the meal — a pancake station, an egg scrambling station, a coffee station, a porky link station. The porkies are deep fried in oil — kept at a certain temperature. The donuts are done at their own station before the breakfast is served.
Dutch honey and pure maple syrup are offered at each table. Dutch honey is a thick syrup made up of equal parts of brown sugar, fresh whole cream and corn syrup, warmed but not boiled. Also on each table are pitchers of cold orange juice.
Ladies take turns arriving by 4 a.m. the day of the breakfast to start the glazed donuts. To prepare for the day, they mix all the dry ingredients the night before — such as flour, sugar, yeast and salt — in a bowl, filling 20 bowls. Coming in the next morning, they add milk, butter, flavoring and eggs. Stirring by hand, they mix each batch, with one batch making six dozen deep-fried, glazed donuts.
Two griddles full of pancakes go nonstop with three workers barely keeping up with the demand. The breakfasts involve making 34 batches of pancakes which require 72 dozen eggs alone.
Scrambled eggs are made by mixing salt, water, ham and cheese, cooked on an oversized, hot griddle. Chopped ham is placed at the edge of the griddle, forming a little dam so when the egg mixture is poured, it doesn’t run off. The cheese added to the hot scrambled eggs softens, crafting a dish that melts in one’s mouth. Four dozen eggs per batch are needed for the scrambled eggs.
Breakfasts were held in March, April, May and October. In addition to breakfast, in June there was a consignment sale which included a large auction. The next scheduled breakfast will be held Nov. 8, serving from 7-10 a.m. Also included at each event is a bakery table selling homemade pies, glazed donuts and breads. We never fail to bring a bag of glazed donuts home with us. They’re ambrosia.
If you’ve never been, I highly suggest you attend one, especially their breakfasts. Go hungry and you won’t be disappointed. You may even have to take a nap.
(“Be hospitable to one another without complaint.” 1 Peter 4:9)
Kay Reminger was born and raised on a dairy farm, and she married her high school sweetheart, who happened to farm for a living in Leopolis. Writing for quite a few years, she remains focused on the blessings of living the ups and downs of rural life from a farm wife’s perspective.
