A longtime friend of the Amish, Judy Stavisky has compiled a thorough, thoughtful picture of these “plain people” in her new book, IN PLAIN VIEW. She appropriately focuses her attention on women and their work, which, it often seems from her depictions, is never done, but is always done with cheer and a will to share within the community.

Amish women in the region of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, learn discipline from their earliest age, so much of Stavisky’s observations concentrate on the lives of their children. It takes a strong, love-based determination for children from two years old onward to sit quietly for lengthy church services; tend to younger siblings; clean up the school room each day after classes; shop for and sew the plain colors and materials needed to clothe a very large family; cook and set table for regular church meeting meals; wash clothes with a wringer and hang them on outdoor lines; rise before dawn; work year-round on the family farm; and cement friendships that will last throughout their lives.

"Readers will feel assured, from Stavisky’s deftly drawn portrait, that hard-working Amish women modestly practice what is preached."

Amish mothers spend hours shopping, beginning with hitching up the buggy. They go to communal freezers and fabric stores, gathering a supply of groceries that can cost $500-$1,000 in one visit. All shopping is done with every single necessity in mind --- no rushing back for a forgotten condiment as an “English” mother might do in her car. Nearly all Amish folk eat three meals a day at home, in a spotless, large open kitchen with no fancy equipment, diligently prepared and cleaned up afterwards by mothers and daughters.

Stavisky, a philanthropist and educator, “studied” the Amish by associating among them over a number of years. She was fortunate to have consulted with noted Amish author Donald Kraybill, who has written the book’s foreword. She opines that in all aspects of the Amish lifestyle, simplicity is the key. Mothers teach their offspring to avoid even the smallest displays of pride, and though some computer technologies may be needed for work outside the home, they have no place within the large, plainly furnished, comfortable --- and immaculate --- houses.

Women’s responsibilities afford few moments of leisure, and indeed, leisure is not prized so much as the quiet satisfaction of cooperation and communication within the family unit and the religious community. Men, too, take on extra roles, from running the family farm to keeping the schoolyard mowed to acting as church leaders --- positions they earn by mutual respect, not by self-aggrandizement. And, Stavisky notes, though men officially run the school committee or board, “their wives offer their opinions, too.”

IN PLAIN VIEW is filled with and covered by colorful photographs, though no real persons or names are identified. These illustrations, along with lively remarks from the women observed (“There is nothing that cleans a house like company coming”), add further understanding of the Amish woman’s life. Readers see women steering a buggy, donning simple hand-sewn black aprons, solid color dresses and many different forms of bonnets, helping with the harvest, overseeing play in the schoolyard, and preparing multiple plates of food for the twice-monthly church services held in individual homes.

Readers will feel assured, from Stavisky’s deftly drawn portrait, that hard-working Amish women modestly practice what is preached. They have been doing so, remarkably, for generations and have no plans to significantly change their admirable --- at times enviable --- lifestyle, direction and purpose.