YouTube Friday: Amish Auction, Hundreds of Buggies, Baby on Board??, and Harvest Time

Okay, this is time for our weekly peek at video clips out there related to Amish and Mennonite life. Some are documentary, some are wacky, all are interesting...so let's get right to it:

AMISH AUCTION:  this is just a short video clip of an Amish auctioneer near New Holland, PA in 2009.  The New Holland area is home to some of the most progressive Old Order Amish.  The auctioneer is pure art to watch as his rhythmic cadence fills the air. But I was almost more intrigued by the man sitting silently next to him, he just seemed so comfortable, like he had done this a billion times..also illustrates how things like a phone, computer, etc can be second-nature to the Amish in business settings...check it out here. 

HARVESTING:  This video clip is only about 30 seconds in length, but it's racked up an impressive 80,000 views....I think the popularity of the clip is its simplicity and respect.  And it also shows that despite all the commercial and suburban pressures on Lancaster County, there is still good old-fashioned farming that occurs right there near Bird-in-Hand. Check it out here.

BABY ON BOARD?  Okay, this made me do a double-take. Is there really a baby  in the carrier on the back of this buggy?  If so, it doesn't look very safe, that is for sure, and that would be something you don't see often.  If a baby would be in a horse-drawn buggy, more often than not it would be being held by someone.  Check out this incredible footage here from this very suburban setting near Harrisonburg, Virginia.

GOING BUGGY:  This is a short clip from neat St. Jacob's, Ontario, which is Old Order Mennonite country.  This film clip captures dozens (the videographer says "hundreds", that might be a stretch) of horse-drawn buggies...at first I thought it was a funeral procession because you would get a huge number of buggies participating...but after watching it doesn't seem to fit that somber, processional mold, so I'm not sure what was going on!