Even with horse and buggy, Ohio Amish still feel the gas price pinch

‘Everything’s going the way of oil,’ an Amish lumber yard owner says.

UNITY, Ohio (AP) — They may use horses instead of autos for transportation, but the rising cost of gasoline is still pinching the wallets of members of an Amish community in Ohio.

“I never realized when fuel prices started going up how much stuff it would affect,” said Dan Miller, 42. “It affects everything.”

Miller, a carpenter and horse breeder who bought Keim Family Market in Adams County last July, said several items have doubled in price from 2007 to 2008.

“The care and feeding of one horse, from $1,000 to $2,000,” he said. “The cost of propane we use to run our refrigerators. Diesel fuel to run our coolers at the store and the big mixers in our bakery. The fuel bills are about $8,000 a month. Last year they were $4,000. ... It all adds up.”

The Amish are known for relying little on the outside world. They grow their own food, raise their own barns and sew their own bonnets.

“The price of material has not gone up, yet,” said Irene Yoder, owner of the Unity Variety Store. But, she said, the cost of shipping has tripled.

“It’s killing me,” she said.

She said the high cost of gasoline means fewer tourists visit her store to buy handmade quilts, and the doubling in price of hay and oats means fewer local Amish people are driving to the store by horse-and-buggy.

“Everything’s going the way of oil,” said Aden Yutzy, who owns a lumber yard. “The nails we use to make pallets have almost doubled.”

It has sparked widespread worry.

“It feels like a little red wagon going down the hill faster and faster,” Yutzy said. “You know what’s going to happen.”

Even so, many Amish say they will rely on what they know.

“You have to keep your priorities straight,” Yutzy said. “Keep your faith. The good Lord created heaven and earth. Make the best of it.”