MERCER COUNTY A more liberal group takes root in region

Experts say it's not unusual for Amish to move.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
STONEBORO, Pa. -- The Old Order Amish have populated central Mercer County for decades, but in recent years there has been an influx of a new Amish people.
Amish families from Michigan, Delaware, Kentucky and Wayne County, Ohio, have been moving to a new settlement in northern Mercer County.
Their non-Amish neighbors, often called English or Yankees, say this group differs from the Amish that have populated that section of Mercer County since the 1940s.
"They have little differences. For instance, they will use power mowers. Our regular Amish do not do that," said Norma Fischer Furey of Stoneboro, Pa., who grew up in the area and has written two books on the Amish: "A History of the Amish People and Their Faith" and "The Amish Family."
Neighbors say their buggies differ from the traditional Old Order Amish with rubber tires instead of the wooden pinwheels and many have telephones near their homes in barns or outbuildings, something not done by the Amish who have lived for decades in that section of Mercer County.
Founder: Mahlon Miller, founder of the more modern settlement, said he moved from Kinsman, Ohio, to Fredonia Borough in 1990 with his, wife, daughter and two sons to start a new Amish enclave.
Miller, 83, said he was unhappy with the direction of his community in Kinsman.
"These days the church is drifting and that's something some don't want to see. Some want to hold onto what we've got," he said.
He explained that some Amish believe their communities are "moving towards the world" and want to avoid it by moving to another area.
His sons left after a few years when no other Amish followed, but Miller, his wife and daughter remained.
However, by 1997 more Amish started moving to this new enclave from different states, he said.
On the move: Donald B. Kraybill, a professor of sociology and Anabaptist studies at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., said this is not unusual.
"It's very normal for small groups of Amish to be moving and setting up new settlements all the time. There are more than 250 settlements nationally and probably 20 or more start or fail each year," he said.
Kraybill has written several books on the Anabaptist religions, which include the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites and Brethren religions that sprouted out of Catholicism and Protestant Reformation movements in 16th century Europe.
Kraybill said it's not unusual for groups of three or four families who are disgruntled with their communities, whether it be too liberal or too conservative, to move to another area and set up a new congregation or join one that is more to their liking.
"What they must do is move. They cannot live in a district and drive their horse to another district for worship. They must worship with the district where they live," he said.
Group's size: Miller said once word of his new settlement got out, more people started moving to the area.
There are 26 families, with adults ranging from age 20 to 60, who live in Fredonia Borough and Delaware, Fairview, Otter Creek and Perry townships in Mercer County, he said.
Forty-eight children are taught by Miller's daughter in the one-room school house behind his home, he added.
Allen Byler, 47, moved his wife and 10 of their 12 children to Fredonia to join Miller's Fredonia Amish Church in June 1998.
"It was what we were looking for as far as church matters," he said.
Before moving to Mercer County, Byler, a carpenter by trade, had lived in Michigan, Missouri, Canada and Delaware.
He said he learned of the new Amish settlement through other family members who had moved to the area.
Miller said the group consists of farmers, carpenters, saw mill operators, harness shop owners and horseshoers. He's unsure if more will follow.
"It's getting hard to find property. Prices really went up since people started coming here," he said.