Amish influx to eastern P.E.I. gets underway

Two groups of Amish people have begun arriving inSummerville, P.E.I., near Montague, and inthe Dundas area, lured by affordable farm land.

"It was four o'clock this morning when we arrived, and they saw the flashing temporary signs letting people know that the Amish will be on the roads with their horse and buggies, and they all had a good chuckle," said TonyWallbank, who has worked with the Amish for years in southern Ontario and is helping them move here.

The Amish people and the Islanders are not a lot different. Tony Wallbank

"They're most appreciative and had a lot of smiles and comments."

Wallbank, who moved to P.E.I. with his wife in November, ushered a busload of 15 Amish newcomers to P.E.I. Tuesday for a week ofscopingthings out.

The first Amish newcomers settled in to their new home inSummervillelast week, and their parents are expected to arrive any day.

Others have purchased five farms in the area, as well as three farms nearDundas, and are looking for three more there.

Wallbackexpects there will be 12 or 13 families on P.E.I. by the end of the year.

Islanders are trying make the newcomers feel welcome by planning to install hitching posts and shelters and designating streets for horses and buggies.

"It's been quite positive. It has helped them decide to move to the Island," saidWallbank. "The Amish people and the Islanders are not a lot different."

In Ontario, modern life andfarming methods predominate another reason P.E.I. is a better fit, saidWallbank.

"Here on the Island, there are still lots of older folks that remember the good old days of farming, and relate to the Amish coming here."

Good to know

While Islanders like to know one another's business, saidWallbank, the Amish people, while friendly and peaceful, are quite shy and private.

They have requested people not take their photographs, and are unlikely to attend public events, although Wallbank said country fairs like the one at Dundas may be an exception.

"I've warned the Amish families that when they have the first 'eggs for sale' signs up, there could be 40 or 50 cars show up for a dozen eggs," he said with a smile. "But after a while the novelty will wear out and it'll be a normal community relationship."

Their children will at first be home-schooled,Wallbanksaid, but when there are more, the Amish will build a one-room school house and have their own teachers.

"You'll see the young girls all prim and proper walking down the side of the road, and the boys will be dragging along behind about a quarter mile or so,"Wallbankrecalls of Amish children heading to school in Ontario.

"And the nice thing too is that they wave," he smiled.

The Amish shun the modern conveniences of automobiles and electricity. They heat their homes and cook with woodstoves. One group will use outhouses,Wallbanksaid.

They light their homes with kerosene lanterns and use portable LED flashlights to get around in the dark, saidWallbank, adding they refer to all non-Amish as "English."

They're also sourcing horse-drawn farming equipment, which will be drawn by Percheron horses.

Amish create a draw

It's typical for others to want to settle near Amish communities, saidWallbank, and it's already creating interest in nearby real estate.

Two non-Amishfamilies are making the moveto P.E.I. from Southern Ontario, he said.

"They tend to want to be around the Amish lifestyle," he explained. "Everything from shoo-fly pie to Amish furniture to knowing Amish neighbors."