Today, July 5th, 2021, was a delightful day — you may not hear about it right away; however, I would like to write about it while everything is still fresh in my mind.

Last week I made plans to visit a dear friend I have not seen in ages who has been dealing with an exceedingly rare health issue. As our homes are over a hundred miles from each other, we planned to meet at a restaurant halfway.

We shared a wonderful meal, talked about everything that we could think of, and then it seemed time to head home. We hugged goodbye and got into our cars to leave — vowing we would do this again before so much time had passed.

I got in my car, ready to pull out of the parking lot and head home. Instead, I decided I wasn’t in the mood to go home. My parents always liked to escape to the hills in Ohio, where many Amish and Mennonite people live. They loved the hills, the pies, and truth be told — my Dad loved a store there. We always needed to stop at Lehman’s. I decided perhaps I needed to stop at Lehman’s as well.

Here are a few pictures of Lehman’s, in Kidron, Ohio — and then perhaps you would like to see the two items that I bought.

This is Jay Lehman, the Founder

There isn’t much you can’t find at Lehman’s!

Do you need a lantern?

Amish people don’t use electricity — so perhaps you need a mixer.

Maybe you need a rocking chair or oil lamp?

Perhaps you need a little help with your laundry. . .

Way back in 1982, when I got married, one of my college history professors & his wife gave us a gift of a hand-turned ceramic pot to hold honey. It had a long and happy life with us until, alas, it broke. Decades later, July 5th, 2021 — I found a new one at Lehman’s that seemed to want to come home with me.

The second thing I bought at Lehman’s was something I’ll enjoy hanging either above the stove in the kitchen or above the window in the room behind the kitchen, which leads to the back yard.

On my way home from Lehman’s, I saw three boys — relatively young, alone in a buggy pulled by a single pony. The road we were on had no special lane for buggies, and it was a very hilly road, and hard to see what was ahead.  So I slowed way down, until I knew it was safe to pass.  The boys waved at me.  I didn’t get a picture of the boys I passed, but the children in the picture below are about the same age.

That isn’t out of the ordinary in that part of Ohio. One of the reasons that people in cars need to be especially careful.

This trip cheered me enormously. My friend and I decided that the next time we got together, instead of meeting at a restaurant, we would meet at Lehman’s and then go in search of some delicious Amish-made pie!

Every time I think about Amish made pies — I think of my Dad.  I think I have inherited my Dad’s love of pies and his love of the rolling hills in Ohio.