Saturday Reads - Lancaster

Today's Saturday Reads focuses on Lancaster PA. The book, After the Fire: The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish by Randy-Michael Testa follows one man's travels through Lancaster County in the late 1985 (the same summer as The Witness was released). With that said, the book is out-of-date, but due to the quirky nature of Lancaster County, it is still very much in date.

I picked the book up through my library system for some research. Having grown up in the area, I knew more than the average visitor might know, but I never had any Amish friends. I knew the Amish the way one knows about America - the culture permeates the world in ways that we don't readily recognize.

The book was an enjoyable read, more travelogue than anything else. We follow Testa as he talks, visits and travels around Lancaster County. Here, we see the initial reaction to the film, The Witness which basically set the Amish community on the world stage.

They haven't left the stage yet.

For me, it was interesting to read a book about Lancaster Pa, during a time when I lived there. As an adult reading it, I found insight into the culture that I wouldn't have otherwise. If you're looking for something that goes beneath the surface of Lancaster County, this is a good book. I also recommend reading books by those who have left the Amish community ... but those reviews are for another day.

By the way, it's warm in Western NY, and Lancaster County has dug itself out of the snow. Spring is a month away, and hopefully, this will be all the snow we receive until December.

One can only hope.