Amish Girls Gone Wild

Cleveland Scene ^ | March 14, 2007 | Denise Grollmus

[Dan Evans]

Behind the bonnet is a girl who just wants to have fun -- and another beer, please.

It's Friday night at Twister's. Tina launches the evening with a tallboy of Sparks. Customers eyeball her white bonnet and shin-grazing dress as she sips from her can of malt liquor and caffeine. She's used to the gawking. Impolite scrutiny comes with being Amish.

"Everyone stares at you," she says. "It's not very fun, but I just ignore it."

Besides, Tina's on a mission to get tanked. No amount of rubbernecking can stop her.

The DJ approaches. Rodger Locher, a clean-cut city boy, is what's known as a "Yank," the all-encompassing term for not being Amish. Since he became Twister's resident DJ, Tina's become a regular, obsessed with listening to Beyoncé, the Killers, and Korn over rounds of neon cocktails.

[Dan Evans]

I've been stopped by cops on my bicycle and in my father in law's pontoon boat. If it moves I've been pulled over on it.

No offense but I'm going to go out limb here and suggest that says less about the cops and more about how you operate a vehicle.

[incredulous joe]

Hmmm, I still enjoy getting out to Lancaster and Ahmish areas to take in the beautiful scenery, Pennsylvania Dutch food and the Strasburg Railroad. The kids love Dutch Wonderland!!

The Dutch Festival in Kutztown is also very nice, though obviously owing more to all around PA Dutch culture, not just Ahmish. I had never tasted Pennsylvania Dutch cooking until a few years ago and man is it good!! Especially if you wash it down with an ice cold Yingling Lager.

As you have friends in the area, do you have any take on my question about potential for many of these girls becoming pregnant. Personally, I don't see them running out to "unPlanned Parenthood" for the pill, nor do I think they would undergo abortions in the event they become pregnant..

Maybe they have some kind of "communal adoption pool"?

[festus]

No offense but I'm going to go out limb here and suggest that says less about the cops and more about how you operate a vehicle.

Not really but I see your point. I was a teen in FL riding my bike about 25 foot from the edge of the shoulder of the road but in the theoretical wrong direction.

The boat was a woefully underpowered pontoon boat that couldn't leave a wake if it was required to. Turned out that was because my father-in-law was riding somewhere on the back of the thing where he wasn't supposed to. His boat, his lake he just asked me to take the helm while he took a rest which was just long enough for me to get nabbed by the water equivalent of the mall cops.

When it comes to getting pulled over in a car though..... Yah my driving is usually to blame ;-)

[Constantine XIII]

Well, to be fair, we did read the article, so as a hook it seems to have worked. :)

[Dan Evans]

His boat, his lake he just asked me to take the helm while he took a rest which was just long enough for me to get nabbed by the water equivalent of the mall cops.

His lake? You mean the cops stopped you on his private property? That's a bit oppressive.

[festus]

Nah but he owned property on the lake and thus had lake access. We was just visitin him.

[Dan Evans]

Maybe they have some kind of "communal adoption pool"?

They may just raise the kids in the family. They already have about a dozen people living together, one more wouldn't make that much difference. The pregnancy issue raises the question of what they do with children produced from the occasional incestuous rape. Some Amish girl wrote a book about that a while back claiming that rape was rampant in Amish families.

[supremedoctrine]

I think this piece was written by the notorious Jason Blair, masquerading as a female.
--- I guess it is all true, but probably tweaked a little bit toward the "lurid"/ it's not entirely unbelievable if you look at what happened (by choice) to the "angelic" Charlotte Church/

[RunningWolf]

About 5am he comes to again, and becomes aware of his surrounding's....'

[RunningWolf]

It works that way many times. I have crossed paths with a few over the years.

[Rb ver. 2.0]

It's a family/community thing. If you walk away from it you're walking away from everything.

[IamConservative]

Back around 1998 to 2000 or so there was a Amish band that did parodies of rock n roll songs like 'sweet emotion', it was so funny I bought a few of their tapes.

The Electric Amish. A creation of Bob and Tom Radio. I suspect you can buy the records on their web site.

[caver]

"Leave our religion and we'll never speak to you again. Talk about blackmail."

There are numerous other religions that are the same or worse if you try to leave.

[freedomfiter2]

As you have friends in the area, do you have any take on my question about potential for many of these girls becoming pregnant. Personally, I don't see them running out to "unPlanned Parenthood" for the pill, nor do I think they would undergo abortions in the event they become pregnant..


There's a lot of variation in how far the majority of couples go. In the community where I grew up, it was rare for a girl to get pregnant before she was married. In the community where I live now, it's common and it's sometimes the result of recreational sex not just engaged couples getting an early start. In either case, the couple quickly gets married. Abortion sometimes occurs although I've never heard of it in Amish outside of Indiana.

I build furniture parts for many Amish shops throughout MD,PA,OH,IN and MI so I am familiar with most of the main groups of Amish.

[freedomfiter2]

It's a family/community thing. If you walk away from it you're walking away from everything.


You're right and for those of us who haven't experienced the benefits of a huge close knit community, we really don't know what they give up.

[sauropod]

This is a sad article.

If these girls want to party, they should have at it, just not in Amish dress.

Selfishness writ large.

[Krankor]

If this girl leaves the Amish but gets another girl to take her place, is that like a carbon offset?

[Rb ver. 2.0]

"You're right and for those of us who haven't experienced the benefits of a huge close knit community, we really don't know what they give up."

In the case of the guy I knew, I think that loss fueled the intensity of his vices.

[N. Theknow]

Amish Girls Gone Wild!

Show us your ankles!

[ichabod1]

I think these stories are interesting because, to our eyes, they all look the same, so we like finding out that they're all individual underneath the homespun linen.