Plain Secrets by Joe Mackall

This is a very close look at the Swartzentruber Ordnung of the Amish people.  Joe Mackall lives in West Salem, Ohio where a large number of Amish live today.  Many believe that Amish is Amish is Amish, but Joe shows us that different ordnungs have different ways of living.  The Swartzentruber Ordnung is the most strict of all the Amish ordnungs.

Mackall presents many details of the Swartzentruber in comparison to other ordnungs among the Amish.  He also gives us the history of the Swartzentruber group and how they broke away from the Old Order Ordnung.  The differences are astounding.

For example, and Old Order obeys the law of the state to post an orange triangular sign on the back of their buggies to warn fast zooming cars that they are approaching a slow moving vehicle.  The Swartzentrubers believe that the signs are too showy, so they refuse to post them on their buggies.  The Ordnung finally agreed with the state to run a slim line of reflective tape on the back bottom side of their buggies to warn vehicles most especially at night, when their black colored buggies are hard to see.  The Swartzentrubers still see many of their people killed in accidents every year by colliding with cars.   

Mackall gives a lot of other examples of how the Swartzentrubers live by following Samuel, who is a Swartzentruber bishop and Mackall's neighbor, during his daily routine of chores, prayer, dining, and family entertainment.  The two men become fast friends, but Mackall notes that it is limited whenever other Amish are present.  Mackall has a deep founded love for his Amish friend and his family, but he's also very understanding of the boundaries that Samuel places around his loved ones.

Mackall takes his readers on a 1 1/2 hour trip in Samuel's buggy to travel 10 miles to the local Home Depot.  He spends a few hours helping Samuel save every penny he can on the building supplies that Samuel is purchasing for the house he is building to Swartzentruber specifications, then they make the 1 1/2 hour trip back home.  The trip takes more than 1/2 the day to accomplish by horse and buggy.

The author comes in contact with a youth, Jonas, who has left the Amish way of life, but is finding it ever so difficult to break into the "English" world.  Jonas felt he could no long be called Amish, but he most definitely couldn't be considered English either.  The young man becomes one of the many that are known as the "ex-Amish" trying to make a life in the English world.  The Swartzentrubers don't have any identifying markings of the world, so the children do not get social security numbers, driver's licenses, and other documents that the average teenager in the world has easy access to.  Unfortunately since Jonas was born in Canada, he had a two year battle just proving he was an American citizen so he could qualify for a social security number.  Due to that, Jonas could only work jobs that paid cash under the table to support himself.  Mackall gives us a peek into the other side of the fence by describing many of the issues that arise in Jonas' life.

Mackall walks a slim line of possibly alienating his good friend, Samuel, and trying to equate the value of the Swartzentruber's way of life.  Mackall's book oozes with the love and affection he has for these simple people, but he also doesn't understand the hazards that they place themselves and their families in by some of the 'rules' from the Ordnung. On the other hand, Mackall does quote verses of Scripture to explain the beliefs and decisions that are ordained by the Ordnung. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has even remotely been interested or intrigued by the Amish way of life.