More Scenes From The Petitioners

By Kevin Williams

I will wrap up our visit to the Old Order German Baptist Brethren next week by showing you some striking photos, recipes, and stories from a potluck supper I attended.   Today, I'll share with you a few other random photos that were too good not to share in some way.

Betty Garber writes out her tortilla recipe

Here is Betty Garber writing out her recipe for homemade flour tortillas for us.  Very kind of her to take the time to do that.  Notice the dress does have a bit of a pattern to it, something you would not find on the dress of either an Old or New Order Amish woman's.  Note the absence of any jewelry (rings, bracelets) is simila tr to what you'd find among the Amish (although I did once see an Amish woman in Wisconsin wearing a ring and I wish I had thought to ask her about it)

The Old Order German Baptists do go by the name "Petitioners", a reference to their split from the larger Old German Baptist Brethren in 1921 when they "petitioned" to breakaway.  And since Petitioners is a lot easier to type out than Old Order German Baptist Brethren or the more awkward OOGB, I'll be using that!:)

Tractor-buggies are commonly used among the Petitioners

Another distinctive feature of the Petitioners is their use of what I call "tractor buggies."  These are tractors connected to trailers that are usually black or drab gray. Horse-drawn buggies are used for transportation in this church, but so are tractors. Church rules forbid riding them without the trailer and they're just permitted for quick errands into town, like this one parked outside the post office in Gettysburg, Ohio.

Telephones are permitted among the Petitioners, but they have to be located in a faraway outbuilding or shed. I noticed this one out in the middle of nowhere in a snow-covered field, yet it still seemed to be pretty busy at various times of the day.

Stay tuned next week for the Petition potluck pictures, recipes, and stories!