By Kevin Williams
The area around Frankfort Ohio (generally south and west of the town) is home to about 16 Old Order Mennonite families.  The community formed 10 years ago as  a"daughter settlement" of the much larger Old Order Mennonite community (Groffdale Conference) outside of Dayton, Virginia.  The Mennonites outside of Frankfort are generally farmers and came here because of affordable land prices.
This is an area where the pancake flat fields of the rest of Ohio butt up against the farthest west hills of Appalachia. Â So there is a rolling beauty to the landscape of this community.
The pictures here are from the Mennonite church, or rather what they refer to as a meetinghouse. Â This is one of the biggest differences between the horse and buggy Mennonites and the Amish, the Amish worship in their homes, while Mennonites do not. Â The Mennonites here do rely on horse and buggy for transport, but they do use tractors when farming and electricity is permitted in the home. Other difference: Unlike Amish men who generally wear beards, OOM men do not. Â Here are some scenes from their church on Parrett Road.
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