1/13/2003: Amish barn move
 

http://cellar.org/2003/amishbarnmove.jpg

Tip o' the hat to Slithy Tove.

Dateline rural Iowa. A couple buys a load of farmland to put up a new cookie-cutter housing development. They buy the buildings on the land too, but they don't need the 160-foot-long turkey farm so they auction it off.

At 9:30 ayem the Amish folk arrived, divided the building up into four parts, then "on three - 1, 2, 3", they picked up part number one and marched down the highway.

And they steered it, too - "on west, brother" and all 150 of them turned right.

http://cellar.org/2003/amishbarnmove2.jpg

Hup, hup, hup. With only human power, they get the job done. How did they know it would work, or how many man to bring to the task? Who knows?

But four hours later, the barn was moved, one mile west.

full story

What would make this story funnier is if they had won it via Ebay.

They're allowed to use arithmetic, right?

Looks like some sort of Flintstone's mass transit system.

This is a great Monday image. I hate to throw stuff away too. thanks!

How about Stonehenge? As I recall from my last visit to show my wife and son, the big upright blocks came from Wales and were moved 150 miles by pre Bronze age people.

I don't think they got a pic of them doing it though.

Ok, I'll set it up, you guys finish...

"How many Amish does it take to move a barn?"

:D

Quzah.

I thought the Amish did not appreciate having their pictures taken.

The trick is to take it while they're busy and have their hands full, then run.

The Amish have some modern conveniences, they're just very choosy about what they introduce. You'll find some Amish tooling around on rollerblades. It's good exercise. They do have a few cell phones, but it's mostly for business and emergencies, and strictly controlled of course.

the picture looks like an Amish version of a motor home.

Amish on rollerblades?
 

I'm really having trouble forming that image in my head. Wow. That's a picture I'd really like to see.

A few years ago I saw two Amish women rollerblading in the parking lot of a small auto repair shop in rural Missouri. We came around the bend on a backwater county highway, and there they were. I almost drove off the road.

I have always wished I had a camera ready that day.

A company called Zephyr Tours does in-line skate tours of various places. One of the less-interesting places is Lancaster County -- and they use rollerblading Amish guides.

I believe the Amish objection to being photographed only extends to their face. In any case, the Zephyr brochures have plenty of pictures of the backs of the Amish guides.