Amish Acres

Amish Acres® Historic Farm and Heritage Resort is Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is America's most complete Amish heritage experience featuring historic interpretation, culinary and performing arts, lodging, and shopping.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Breakfast with Santa Kids' Lists

Cole
Football suit, helmet, shirt, pants, pads, mouth guard

Grady
Nike sport outfit, Wacky socks, Nutcracker, A baby, a picture, a mobigo of my own and some new toys

Blaine
A DS


Ryan’s List
Big Nerf gun, Walking Iron Man, Glow in the dark crayons, Zhu Zhu Pets, Walking Kitty, Guy who bangs on window (big foot), Walking Magatron, Flying reindeer, Snowman who turns off decorations

Cybil
Barbie house, Book Nora, New coat, Barbie

Alivia
Scooter, Littlest Pet shop, Barbie, Movies, Fairytopia, Zoo Zoo pets (2 of them), Books, Strawberry short cake, Barbie, Random Poly Pockets, Doll house that talks, My little Pony, Rainbow Dash, Wigs, Dress up clothes, Lotion hair ties, Stuffed animals

Kolton
Grill, Remote control crane, Jumping Pillow

Jouan
Army set
X box 360 split second
Ant farm
Logo set

Dear Santa,

I was very good this year. Please can I have a little cook-up for my babies? I would also like a muffin holder, toy muffins for my babies, a make juice-thing, a little train pet, another baby crib for Lily’s baby, a little Christmas tree for my twin babies, toy Christmas decoration for the toy Christmas tree and don’t forget the star for the top, a little gate for my babies, a little baby table too, baby seats for the chairs, a little TV for my twin babies to watch while eating their muffins, two toy horses, a big pillow pet, Uno Moo game, a little poky ball with my name on it, my own Tinkerbelle with a toy grasshopper, a toy lamp, and a doll house for my toy Tinkerbelle. And a little picture farms.

Thank you.
Love, Aveela

I'm bettin' on Aveela

Monday, December 06, 2010

Exit Laughing

Remarks made by Richard Pletcher at The Round Barn Theatre's 2011 Preview Party, November 1, 2010.


If you read TIME magazine this week, you know that we come with heavy hearts tonight. Our inspiration, mentor and friend Joseph Stein who wrote Plain and Fancy and for whom this stage is named, died a week ago yesterday at the age of 98 in Mt. Sinai Hospital. I had the honor of attending his memorial celebration at Riverside Chapel in New York City last Wednesday.

(Joseph Stein wrote Plain and Fancy, the 1955 Broadway musical about Amish life and love. It ran for 462 performances and was nominated for the Tony award for Best Musical. He went on to write Fiddler on the Roof, Zorba and many other musicals. His first Broadway hit was Enter Laughing, based on Carl Reiner's autobiographical book. Enter Laughing won the Tony award for Best Actor for Alan Arkin. Enter Laughing: The Musical is the last of Stein's shows that he was reworking and it is scheduled for an upcoming Broadway revival. Plain and Fancy has been produced on The Round Barn Theater at Amish Acres for 24 years before audiences totaling over 300,000, making it one of the longest running musicals in history.)


Tributes were given by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, with whom he collaborated on Fiddler on the Roof; Stephen Schwartz who wrote the music and lyrics for The Bakers Wife plus the lyrics for Rags; Charles Strouse, composer of Annie and Bye, Bye, Birdie, and Stein’s Rags, John Kander, who with the late Fred Ebb, are best known for Chicago and Cabaret, wrote the music and lyrics for Zorba, which is returning to Broadway next year and Stuart Ross, creator of Forever Plaid and Forever Plaid: Plaid Tidings, who is directing the rewrite of Enter Laughing: The Musical that is slated for an upcoming Broadway opening.


We have produced eight of Joseph Stein’s works, perhaps more than any other theatre in America. And tonight can say, literally, he is looking down on us.


Having just returned from New York Friday night, I have not had time to write my usually hilarious jokes for this event you have come to expect and love. Luckily I can use some of Joe’s most recent ones for you tonight. During his illness he told his son Harry that some of his best material came to him on his way to the grave. Several years ago on his way to an opening of his newest show All About Us in Connecticut he began having the first symptoms of his heart problems that would eventually require bypass surgery. An emergency medical team was waiting for him upon his arrival.


A nervous nurse opened the car door and said, “Mr. Stein, How are you feeling?” Joe said, “I feel bad that George Bush is president.”


Recently he fell backwards down a flight of stairs, crushing his shoulder. Mel Brooks called and said. “I didn’t know it was possible for someone of your age to survive such a fall.” Stein replied, “It’s not only possible, I know a number of people to whom I would highly recommend it.”


Several weeks ago as he lay crumpled up in his hospital bed, an acupuncturist arrived and seeing his awkward state asked if he was comfortable. Stein replied, “I make a living.” She said that is a really old joke.” He said, “For all you know I wrote it.”


Upon reaching Joe in the hospital by phone, Sheldon Harnick said the information operator had first given him the number of the Mt. Sinai animal hospital. Stein said, “I tried to get in there, but it was full.”


His son Harry and his family recently arrived at Joe and Elisa’s one Sunday for lunch. Joe was not looking himself. He said, “What’s wrong dad?” Stein replied, “Another of my good friends died yesterday, and they are using it as an excuse not to join us.”


A woman was laughing so uncontrollably at Enter Laughing: The Musical at the York Theatre that she had an asthma attack and had to be escorted out. Upon being told of her misfortune, Joe said, “That’s wonderful! Is she O.K.? That’s wonderful!”


A number of Stein’s phrases are now absorbed into the English vernacular. For Tevye he wrote, "If everyone lived by 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,' the world would be blind and toothless." If you Google the phrase, It is now attributed to Mahatma Gandhi.


Jenny Lyn Bader, Stein’s stepdaughter, in listing lesser known accomplishments that Joe was most proud of began with his pride that Plain and Fancy has been produced at a theatre in Indiana for over 20 years and ended with his pride that Fiddler had give employment to nearly every actor in America.


John Kander said of all of Stein’s characters, Joe felt closest to and learned the most from Zorba who explains to his protégé, Nikio, that life is what you do until the moment you die; that one must accept death as one accepts life, and all there is left to do is dance. And so tonight for Zorba, for Joe, we shall sing and dance for you.

Simple rewards

The entire Burlington Amish school came to Amish Acres to vote for their scarecrow contest entry, hence they won the $500 cash prize.

They rewarded themselves by lining up to play with the ring toss at the farm's entrance. For over a half an hour they took turns trying to swing the ring from the string onto the hook.

They then took a tour of the farm and became entranced by the many historical artifacts that have been preserved on the farm, that their teachers decided to get them a souvenir mug for Christmas presents.

Better Homes and Gardens finds Amish Acres

Online shopping in Amish Acres General Store is old fashioned in a new fangled way. Avoid the Black Friday Blues, shop online for nostalgic Christmas gifts that harken back to wood fires in the fireplace, sleigh rides with bells on the horses, ice skating on the frozen pond, snow globes, strings of popcorn and cranberries, sleds with metal runners and real trees cut from the woods.

Our products come right off our our store's shelves. We take a shopping basket around to the stores and fill it to fill your order. Candies are made in a log cabin candy kitchen, cookies, pies, and other baked goods are baked fresh to fill your orders.

Better Homes and Gardens chose a three pan baking tin to feature in its "Holiday Get Organized" article.

November 30, 2010

Kim

I just wanted to let you know I received the boy and girl dolls today. They arrived in perfect condition and I can't tell you how much I really like them. They are exactly what I wanted. Thank you very much for getting my order out so quickly. I appreciate the wonderful service you have given me. Thank you.

Randy B.

Two missions meet

Thirteen members of the Texas National Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team that is training at Camp Atterbury in Indianapolis visited Amish Acres prior to its upcoming deployment to Gazni, Afghanistan. Their mission calls for military members with expertise in farming, raising livestock and cultivating natural resources to help develop and monitor projects which will improve the agricultural production Afghanistan’s rural farming communities.

The team spent several hours with Richard Pletcher, founder and CEO of Amish Acres, touring the historic farm. The purpose of the visit was to learn more about Amish culture and sustainable farming practices that relate to the culture and conditions they will encounter in Afghanistan. Amish Acres preserves the farming methods used for 137 years on the Stahly-Nissley-Kuhns farm which is listed in The National Register of Historic Places.

The tour covered food preservation, weaving loom construction, egg incubation, water cisterns, barn building, and private educational system. Much of the agricultural infrastructure of Afghanistan has been destroyed by decades of war where the average life span is forty five years. The team is made up of specialists that include small and large animal veterinarians, a bee keeper, female empowerment officers, engineers, agronomist, and public relations officer. They will be charged with teaching Afgans how to build grain mills, introduce new wheat seed, developing canning and juicing factories for harvested vegetables and fruits, building cool storage facilities to store harvested crops operated by solar panels, overseeing micro-slaughter facilities to increase sanitization of livestock meat, launching vet clinics focused on de-worming livestock, advising on reforestation projects, and increasing crop yields for commercial use.