Where to shop when visiting Amish country
NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — Shopping at stores the locals patronize — rather than at kitsch merchants — gives you a better vantage point to reflect on a different way of life. And in Amish country, you’ll likely hear the action unfolding in the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect, a fact that has a distinct charm.
Something you may observe, especially through repeat trips, is that in the Amish-Mennonite worldview that has so shaped this area, nothing is wasted. Anything that can have multiple uses does, and the thrift and industriousness go hand in hand with constant giving. That’s why the first of my top three recommendations is the Re-Uzit Shop on this town’s West Main Street.
This nonprofit thrift store, a Mennonite charity, carries pretty much everything — clothing, toys, furniture, even potted plants in spring and summer — all at very good prices. I have bought Lenten roses, now thriving in my garden, and a high-backed love seat ($195) that I had reupholstered for our great room.
Valuable collectors’ items and antiques go into the store’s “Silent Auction,” operated via a notebook and assigned customer numbers. If you have a friend in the area who can keep an eye on it and manage your bids, it can be worthwhile. One of my most prized possessions is a tiny creamware pitcher from a New York railroad dining car that my motherin-law, Renie, won for me.
Second on my list is Paul B. Hardware in Lititz, Pa. The depth, breadth and detail of this independent store’s inventory put the big box guys to shame.
Two big sections, “Lawn & Garden” and “Farm & Ranch,” are cushioned by a shared aisle, both sides of which contain nothing but replacement wheels of every size — for anything from your little red wagon to your smallish tractor.
A few aisles away, the selection of carabiners, spring hooks, swivel-eye bolt snaps and turnbuckles is amazingly comprehensive. Quite a few of the items come in psychedelic colors — a nod to modernity and dilettantes like me. This is a store where you could browse for hours. You won’t come away empty-handed.
The third is the Clay Bookstore. The hamlet of Clay lies northwest of Ephrata, and if you blink, you’ll miss this modest little shop. It caters to the religious community, especially homeschoolers, and carries many old-fashioned school supplies.
Remember the lined cards tucked into paperboard pockets inside your childhood library books? The tablets of paper ruled in red and blue lines, solid and dashed, to help you learn to write? The chalk holders your music teacher used to draw musical staves on the blackboard?
This store has all those things, plus “Faith That Sticks” stickers and children’s books such as “Anthony Gets Ready for Church” and “Elsie Waits Patiently.”
Special drawers near the front door contain scores, maybe hundreds, of large maps of the state’s various counties or regions. Perhaps 40 or 50 years old and slowly dwindling in number, they may still include a locale that has sentimental (frameable) value to you.
Two more shops deserve mention; they are not peculiar to Amish country, but like everything else here, they are extremely well done. The first is Country Knives, on Route 340 (Old Philadelphia Pike), just east of Intercourse. It has more knives, scissors, swords and other sharp-edged tools than I’ve ever seen.
The other is Shirk’s Bike Shop in New Holland, which my husband considers one of the best and fairest anywhere. He gets replacement parts and even has repairs done here. He’s not alone — there’s always a crowd.