Anna's Healing (4 page)

“Brian is a special man, though no doubt the changes are difficult. We should keep them both in our prayers.” Rebecca handed her the receipt and change, and then she reached under the counter and pulled out a copy of the
Mayes County Chronicle
.

“I was hoping you'd come in today. I saved you a copy of the paper.” Rebecca opened it up across the counter and pointed to an article on the top of the second page. “The writer mentions your
onkel
's farm.”

The article was titled “Plain Produce.”

Anna couldn't help rolling her eyes at the heading, but then she caught site of the byline—Chloe Roberts.

“Take it home with you.” Rebecca tapped the paper. “No charge. I thought you'd like to read it.”

“
Danki
, I will. Though it may be best to do my reading in the tractor.
Onkel
can't abide
Englisch
papers, only the
Budget
. He doesn't outright forbid such things. In fact, he caught me reading a library book last week and simply walked away mumbling about young girls and wasted time.”

“I don't mean to suggest you go against Samuel's wishes, but I think he may be interested in this article. It's bound to bring more tourists out to your place.
Gut
news,
ya
?”

“It is.” Anna carefully refolded the paper and placed it in the sack with her purchases. She glanced left and right. Assured that they had the store to themselves for the moment, she plunged ahead with something that had been circling her mind.

“I'd like to ask you a personal question, Rebecca.”

“I'll answer if I can.”

“Why is
Onkel
Samuel so harsh? I've been here for more than two months now, and I rarely see him smile.”

Rebecca didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled out a roll of “New Product” stickers and began placing them on a stack of cookbooks. “I wouldn't be judging your
onkel
, Anna.”

“
Nein
, of course not. It's only that I've been wondering… is it me? Is it because I've come to stay with them? When we wrote to ask about my coming, it seemed as if they wanted me, but—”

“There's no doubt they do want you.” Rebecca set down the roll of stickers and met Anna's gaze directly. “It's as you say. Samuel and Erin have always had a serious disposition. Perhaps they were born that way.”

“But
Mammi
is so joyful.”

“
Ya
. It's true. Though her husband, your
Grossdaddi
Menno, could be a very somber man at times. I believe Ruth had a positive effect on him. But though she taught him to smile and to appreciate the blessings of our life, his natural temperament was more serious.”

“So that's why Samuel and Erin are so sour?”

Instead of being offended, Rebecca laughed. “I don't know if ‘sour' is the right word, but I understand why you would use it. Some of that answer lies in the past, and it's not my place to share it.”

“My
dat
and Samuel are
bruders
. I always thought
Dat
was a bit strict and even a little somber at times, but next to
Onkel
Samuel,
Dat
looks like a blushing schoolboy.”

“Speaking of blushing boys…” Rebecca nodded toward the door, where three of the boys from their district were stomping dirt off their boots before stepping inside.

Each boy had asked Anna to the singings, and she had turned down all three. The reason that she'd given her
aenti
was they were too young, and it was true they were one to two years younger than she. But the real reason was she wasn't ready to settle down. She hadn't even lived yet. How could she be expected to begin dating—which would no doubt lead to marrying—one of the local boys? She didn't even know if she wanted to stay in Oklahoma.

So she said goodbye to Rebecca, tucked her package under her arm, and only offered a brief nod to Neal, Adam, and Thomas, who were indeed blushing.

Anna walked to her tractor without looking back, though she suspected they were watching her. Was she that odd of an occurrence? An out of town Amish girl? She couldn't get used to being a minor
celebrity among the boys. In Goshen, most of them didn't give her a second glance.

Or perhaps she was remembering that wrong. She'd had no more interest in dating back home than she did here. The difference was that when she was still on her parents' farm, she'd thought a change of scenery would calm the restlessness in her heart.

It hadn't.

She climbed up into the tractor, but instead of putting in the key and fighting the clutch, she opened the paper across her lap and found the article she was looking for.

Plain Produce

By Chloe Roberts

Mayes County Chronicle

CODY'S CREEK
—
If it's wholesome food and fair prices you're looking for, you need look no farther than a few local Amish farms.

Corn, green beans, tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, radishes, and squash—plump, fresh, and picture-perfect—can be had when you pull over to one of the small produce booths that dot the countryside. Amish farmers do not use insecticides or chemically produced fertilizer on their crops. What you buy will be organic in the truest sense of the word.

The Amish population in Mayes County has doubled over the last ten years, bringing with it a resurgence of small farms. Unlike conglomerates with vast acreage and the latest technology, farms owned by the Amish insist on using the old ways and only farming what each family needs to earn a living and feed their own. Though they remain faithful to the Amish faith, their day-to-day practices differ somewhat from larger Amish communities in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

You have probably seen the canopied tractors pulling the bed of a pickup truck. Amish in the area use tractors for
farming and for local travel. However, a horse and buggy can still be found on most homesteads. Their life here in Oklahoma is one of necessary compromises due to the difficulty of the area's claylike soil.

If you've visited the area on Sunday, you've no doubt had to slow down behind the iconic horse-drawn buggies and Plain-clothed families making their way to church or visiting neighbors. What you may not have realized is that this community east of Tulsa is now home to four Amish church districts and more than six hundred Amish people.

City manager Lex Carlson considers that a plus. “They make good neighbors. Not too much crime among the Amish, and what many folks don't realize is that they pay the same local taxes as everyone else.”

Judy Scotts with the Cody's Creek Chamber of Commerce also believes the Amish community is a real asset. She explained that Amish families have been a plus to the local economy. “It only takes one stop by the Amish Cheese House, Dutch Pantry, or Ropp Farm and Bakery to win folks over.”

Located near the intersection of Highways 69 and 412, Cody's Creek has become a stopping point for travelers in the market for handmade furniture, fresh produce, or a piece of homemade pie. But not everyone is happy about the Amish move into local tourist, restaurant, and produce businesses. Local farmer Leo Stuebner III admitted, “You cannot underprice these people. Family members work for extremely low wages or nothing at all.”

The Amish of Cody's Creek have indeed made a name for their community in the produce business, and their businesses are usually family owned and operated. Anna Schwartz recently moved to the area from Goshen, Indiana. Anna is twenty-four and lives on her
onkel
's farm. She has chestnut hair covered with the traditional
kapp
, and a
pretty round face. Standing a few inches over five feet, she could be the cover girl for Amish women. When asked about the rise of cottage industries among Plain folks, Anna said, “What we're doing is not unique to the Amish. Folks have been selling their extra produce in stands like this for ages.”

See the enclosed map for locations of various produce stands, including the Schwartzes'. In addition to fresh vegetables, you can find homemade sweets and the occasional quilt or birdhouse. Mr. Schwartz will also be offering tourists a walk through their corn maze beginning next weekend for a nominal fee.

Anna wanted to reread the article, but she realized her
aenti
would be worried about her if she didn't hurry home. So she folded the paper, set it back inside her shopping bag, and started the tractor, pulling out onto the blacktop and turning it toward the farm.

She didn't know if her
onkel
would be pleased about the article, but she imagined it would increase the number of folks who stopped by the produce stand. In Anna's mind, publicity could be a good thing. She was in favor of anything that would keep her busy enough that she didn't have to mend socks or sew patches on work pants.

CHAPTER 4

S
amuel hadn't, in fact, been particularly pleased about the article. As usual, his expression drooped into a frown, which looked rather comical to Anna. It caused his beard to fall even lower, and often it seemed in danger of reaching his plate. In contrast, the top of his head was as bare as that of most newborns.

At six feet, he was a large man and still fit and able to do the work in the fields. Anna wondered who would help once he was too old. He and Erin had no sons, no children at all.

“Best not to have long conversations with the
Englisch
,” he had muttered at dinner that evening.

Her
aenti
almost smiled at Samuel's conservative response to the article in the
Mayes County Chronicle
.

Mammi
, though, was thrilled.

Anna's grandmother sat across from her at the dinner table. Her blue eyes sparkled behind large glasses, reminding Anna of an owl she'd seen the day before. As usual,
Mammi
's face crinkled in a smile. To Anna, she looked like a child in adult clothes. Though she claimed to have once been five feet two inches, the top of her head barely reached Anna's shoulders. As further proof that she was getting smaller, her dresses nearly reached the tops of her shoes. With skin wrinkled like the pages of an old book,
Mammi
looked every inch of her eighty-nine years.

In Goshen, Anna had had the support and guidance of her parents,
her four siblings, and the other six
onkels
. All of
Mammi
's sons were married with large families of their own. Only Samuel and Erin were childless, and only Samuel and Erin had moved to Oklahoma. Anna knew that
Mammi
missed her other children and grandchildren. Once a year she traveled to Indiana to visit, and each day she wrote a letter to a different family member, always inviting them to visit Oklahoma.

Why had Anna taken
Mammi
up on the offer? Why had she left so many relatives to live with this small family of three in the middle of northeastern Oklahoma?

She supposed there were several reasons for her decision to move south—and she'd explained all of them to her family several times. Although large families could be a blessing, Anna often felt smothered by hers. Everywhere she went there were family members, and always they asked the same thing—“When are you marrying, Anna?” This would be followed by a smile and a hug. No one meant any harm by the inquiry. Still, each time she would clench her teeth and dream of living in another place.

Also, she wanted to see more of the world than Goshen, Indiana. Was that such a sin? She didn't know, but even with Samuel and Erin's gloomy dispositions she was glad she had come. Though she often found herself bored on the farm, she was determined to remain in Oklahoma the twelve months she had committed to staying.

But the single biggest reason that Anna was glad to have taken
Mammi
up on her offer was sitting across from her, smiling behind her oversized glasses as she looked up from the chicken leg she was holding.

“
Gotte
can use that article in the paper. Perhaps more of the
Englisch
will bring their children to the maze, Samuel. That would be
gut
. Children need a chance to run through the fields.” She took a bite and then chewed thoughtfully before adding, “Even though we live in a rural area, it seems that many of the
Englisch
children know nothing about farming. They should learn how food is grown and harvested.”

Samuel grunted,
Mammi
chewed, and Erin pushed the platter filled with chicken she had battered and fried toward Anna.

Anna had passed on the chicken the first time her
aenti
had put the plate in her hands. It seemed to her that no matter how carefully she
watched what she ate, the waistline of her dresses grew tighter. She'd settled for one spoonful of potatoes, some of the baked carrots, and a slice of Erin's homemade bread.

She nearly passed a second time on the chicken, but decided a single piece couldn't hurt. Her
aenti
's cooking was nearly as good as her mother's, and the smell of the chicken frying had reached out to the front porch when Anna had returned to the house. She'd been envisioning it for hours. Taking the first bite, she closed her eyes and savored the rich, crisp taste of the batter.