The following is an account of the daily activities in the life of Katie Schlabach, a young Amish woman in Holmes County. We published this series in Amish Heartland magazine several years ago, and we've gotten many requests to repeat it. Week one appeared in our January-February issue, week two in the March issue, and week three in the April issue. This is the final week.
This story, in its entirety, was originally published in a book, "The Amish of Holmes County," published by Spectrum Publications in 1996. It is currently out of print, but can sometimes be found in used-book stores.
Sunday, May 22
What a beautiful morning. It's 60 degrees and not windy, but sunny. Heidi went with Lydia to her church. The rest of us went to Sunday school. We had a carry-in dinner, so we had a feast. It was 2 o'clock when we got home, so we were all resting when some neighbor children came along home with Heidi. The quietness was past for us. I popped some popcorn and made lemonade. After chores, we ate supper outside between our two houses. I made veal sandwiches with cheese, lettuce and onions.
What a quiet and peaceful evening. Lydia and we just sat, read and visited for awhile, and the children were playing kickball and hide-and-seek.
Monday, May 23
I watered the flowerbeds and did laundry before breakfast. Jerry got the barn ready for the fly sprayer. He is a guy that comes once a month during the summer and sprays the barn and the front porches. We sure are happy about that, as it really helps. The flies aren't quite as bad yet because of the cool weather we have had.
Duane came down again this morning to help put the hay in the barn. He raked it up in the forenoon; then about 3 o'clock, they started to bale it. Duane drove the horses to bale, and Jerry and Jeremy unloaded it. Guess I slipped out of baling. Usually, I do the baling.
In the evening, I helped Lydia mow the graveyard. There is a family graveyard on our farm, so Lydia takes care of it. She mows a few times in the spring, and then some of the relatives take their turn, too.
Heidi got her first mailbox club back from the mail today. She was quite excited about that. She did her lesson and got it ready to send again.
Tuesday, May 24
We had a fresh cow this morning out in the pasture. Jerry and Duane went with the tractor and trailer to bring up the calf. The mother cow followed it up in the barn.
Jerry planted his last no-till corn today where we took hay off yesterday. Now, he has to spray it. That is a relief once to have that on the side. We planted around 25 acres all together. We have about 25 acres of hay to do yet.
Duane took the soil out of one of my flowerbeds, and we want to put other soil in. The flowers never did too well in there, and we want to see if it's because of the soil. This afternoon, I cut the bathroom curtains and the girls each a dress. I want to make new curtains for the bathroom. I didn't have to help with the chores tonight because Duane was here until 6 o'clock.
In the evening, Jerry went down to the woods and got some topsoil and put it in my flowerbed. It was dark "til he came in.
Wednesday, May 25
After the children left for school, I washed my hair and then got Keri up. We were ready at 8 o'clock when my uncle picked us up with his van. We went to get my mom and dad and four sisters. One of my sisters has a birthday on Friday, so we took her to Dutch Valley Restaurant for breakfast. There were 20 of us.
After that, we stopped and visited my aunt who had a heart attack a few weeks ago. We then spent the afternoon with Ella, the sister who will have the birthday. We washed all her dishes in her hutch and cleaned windows. Some of us walked to a dry-goods store about one-and-a-half miles away. In the evening, our husbands came for supper. There were around 33 people. I think this is one birthday Ella won't forget.
Thursday, May 26
We had a thunderstorm and hail early in the morning, so I didn't start my laundry until about 10 o'clock. I should have started earlier because then it rained before they were quite dry. I cleaned the bedrooms and the living room, and then when Jeremy and Heidi got home from school, we went out and started to work in the yard.
After supper, Jeremy went to one of his school friend's with the bike to stay overnight. Tomorrow is our school picnic, so they want to bike to school together in the morning.
Friday, May 27
Keri and I bustled around trying to get some eats together for the school picnic. Jerry hauled a load of manure and finished working on the no-till corn planter before we left. Now the planter is ready for other guys to use. We are finished with it, but we rent it out some.
It was 11:15 until we left home, and they were starting to eat by the time we got to the picnic. There are around 156 students, and I bet there were 300 or more people there today. It takes a lot of food. The rest of the day they played ball. Usually in the morning, the eighth-grade boys play the teachers. After that, the pupils just play until lunch. Then after that, the married men play the boys. Jerry didn't help today.
We stopped at Boontown Sprayer on the way home to get some spray things for the corn. Then it was time to chore. After chores, I mowed the inside yard and Jerry mowed some hay. Jeremy and the girls finished the chores and played "Andy-over." In the evening, I read some in The Budget and soon went to bed. We were all tired.
Saturday, May 28
We were late getting up this morning. My, I don't like that, if you have a lot of work lined up for the day. Seems this time of the year, if you take a day off, then you really have to dig in the next day.
The first thing Jerry did after breakfast was spray his corn. Jeremy finished up in the barn, then started to mow the yard, but when Heidi got up, she finished it. This year is the first year she mows some. She still enjoys it, but watch out until the end of the summer. The girls didn't get up until 9:30, so they should be rested.
I did my laundry again today. I don't like to have much dirty clothes lying around over the weekend. Then I cleaned the basement, porches and kitchen before noon. The girls helped me with the lunch dishes, and then they walked down in the woods to play for awhile. I baked a cake for the weekend, put my wash in and put everything away.
At 3 o'clock, I went outside to work in my flowerbeds. There was still one I haven't put in flowers, so I did that and put peat moss in all the others. I didn't help with chores; just worked on my project until I was finished. I came in at 7:15 and was a sight to be seen. I went to the shower right away and washed my hair before supper.
Sunday, May 29
Jerry and the girls went to church this morning. My back hurt, so I was afraid I couldn't sit that long. Jeremy has a bad head cold, so he decided to stay home, too. After the others left, I straightened up the house. I wanted to read awhile, but my eyes just dropped shut. So, I rested first before I read.
When I woke up, there was no Jeremy around. He was in bed, fast asleep, too. We should be rested for the rest of the day. A neighbor boy called and asked if Jeremy and the girls wanted to come to their place to play for awhile. Of course, they all wanted to go.
Monday, May 30
Keri was excited that the children didn't have to go to school. She is so ready to have someone home to play with. This afternoon, Jeremy raked the hay, and Jerry baled it. He got it all in two loads. I baked cowboy cookies and made rhubarb squares for supper. The children didn't know what rhubarb was, but we all enjoyed it. After supper, Jeremy tilled the garden and Jerry and I hoed the things that are up and growing.
I made some garden tea before we went to bed.
Tuesday, May 31
I worked in the garden until 9 o'clock, and then it was time to get ready for my doctor's appointment at 10. The girls just got up before I left. Jerry and Jeremy worked on the hay chopper this forenoon. You should have seen them " they looked like grease monkeys. I guess that means clothes scrubbing for me.
In the afternoon, they cleaned out the machinery shed. That's another dirty job. I sewed a dress for Keri. The girls went to the neighbor's to play for an hour. Jerry and the children played some basketball after supper.
This is the last day of writing for this diary. Hopefully, you enjoy reading it.
The Schlabach family wishes you all God's blessing and a beautiful summer.