Almost overnight, a fever seems to have gripped the region. People are flocking in droves to special produce stands, markets and farms across the Northern Neck. Shoofly pies, Zwieback buns, old-fashioned bread loaves, over-sized donuts, and fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow are being scooped up by discerning customers. Where are these unique and amazing goods coming from? Plainly speaking, that would be the newest addition to our amazing community, the Mennonites.
Coming from Maryland, Western Virginia and Pennsylvania, nearly a dozen Mennonite families have recently resettled to the area, mainly in Northumberland and Richmond counties. The draw is easily understandable. The region is rich in fertile land, welcoming to new neighbors, and has a lifestyle that agrees with these quiet, humble and hardworking people.
An Amish mother and her child having a moment of fun at the riverbank. Photo courtesy of Alan Kotok.
Although business at their markets and farm stands is brisk, it can be daunting for the average person to initially greet these newcomers. As a community that finds its strength in embracing all of its members, many locals are cautious or unsure of how to best interact with the group. But in conversations with these new families, one phrase kept popping up... “We are just people, regular humble people who just show our faith in a different way.”
Lamar Martin, who owns and operates Colonial Point Farm in Richmond County — right on History Land Highway, just west of Farnham and east of the Town of Warsaw — echoes the statement, saying that he and his family are just like everyone else. They prefer to be treated as neighbors, not oddities. That includes greeting them just like other proprietors and being respectful — especially with dress code and language — at their businesses. Perhaps most importantly, they ask visitors to abstain from taking photographs of the men and women, no matter how tempting it is to memorialize the images of these unique and beautiful people clothed in their traditional garb or riding through town on their horses and buggies. This is not meant as a slight, but rather a reflection upon their religious beliefs and a request to be treated with dignity.
A young Mennonite boy’s hat rests near the produce he recently picked and is selling at the Mennonite Market in the Town of Warsaw. Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison.
Their humble demeanor, hardworking practices, deeply rooted faith, plain clothing, and abstention from many technologies are a normal part of their daily lives — a lifestyle that has changed very little since the Mennonite faith emerged in the mid-1500s.
Mennonites are of the Anabaptist denomination. They do not believe in infant baptism, rather that it is valid only when a person is old enough to profess their faith, confess and make a conscientious decision to be baptized. Traditional Mennonites and Anabaptists believe in the full authority of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, salvation through conversion by the Spirit of God, baptism, strong discipline in the church, and the Lord’s Supper as a memorial rather than as a sacrament.
Throughout the region, road signs have gone up cautioning drivers to be aware of the horse and buggy traffic from local Mennonite and Amish families. Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison.
Although similar to the Amish, some may be surprised to learn that Mennonites predate the more seclusive sect by more than a century. Mennonites trace their origins to the Swiss Brethren, an Anabaptist group and Protestant offshoot that formed near Zürich in 1525. In the face of persecution for their rejection of infant baptism (many authorities feared the new sect’s belief would lead to religious anarchy), the Swiss Brethren scattered across Europe, becoming known as Dutch Anabaptists. Their doctrinal views appealed to the many new people they met, one of whom was a priest and scholar by the name of Menno Simons.
In 1524, Simons was ordained by the Roman Catholic Church; however, after being exposed to Anabaptist theology, he began researching scriptures and reflecting on his personal beliefs. After the violent murder of his brother Pieter, an Anabaptist entrenched in a group that was being persecuted and had laid siege to a Catholic stronghold to forge a safe haven, Simons had a crisis of faith. In 1536, he renouced his church, joining the Dutch Anabaptists and preaching a doctrine based deeply in non-violence, separation from the world, and righteous living in servitude of Christ and the aid of the downtrodden. Simons’s influence quickly rose, and by 1544, the Dutch Anabaptists became known as “Mennonites.”
Early Mennonites in Europe were good farmers, famed for their ability to take over poor soils and enrich them through hard work and good sense. Their dedication, however, soon caused devastation as governing bodies jealously took back the now fertile land. At the same time, the Catholic Church and authorities across Europe fostered growing fears and hatred towards the pacifistic group. For more than a century, Mennonites were persecuted. In 1683, encouraged by offers of land and the promise of religious freedom to colonize a new country, the first Mennonites to arrive in America disembarked from their ship, The Concord. They settled in Pennsylvania, founding Germantown, now a part of Philadelphia.
Menno Simons, a deeply faithful priest, left the Catholic Church in the mid-1500s after much reflection, becoming an Anabaptist preacher and the founding leader of the church that now bears his name.
Since their beginnings, many schisms of Mennonites have developed, including the Amish who felt the Mennonites were neither as strict or separate as the Bible decreed. The faith now has multitudes of sub-groups, from progressives like those at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, who are indistinguishable in dress, technology and community interaction; to “Old Order” Mennonites, a conservative and austere group who adhere to the preaching of their founding fathers.
Worldwide, there are over two million practicing Mennonites of varying denominations. Despite their differences, nearly all Mennonites are devoted to strong relief efforts which have helped millions of people around the world in times of famine, strife and natural disasters. The most notable of which are the Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Disaster Services, who recently sent aid workers to Saipan after Typhoon Yutu, Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and South Dakota after massive storms devastated a region.
The newest communities to the Northern Neck are the most recognizable of the “Plain People.” They are “Old Order” Mennonites and are little changed from those who arrived to America over 230 years ago. Still deeply rooted in agriculture, their style of dress is for convenience and little changed from colonial times. The women are most recognizable, with their heads covered in an old-fashioned style bonnet called a “kapp,” or the most reserved black bonnet worn over the “kapp.” They wear truly modest dresses, with long skirts and minor variances in prints. Mennonite men wear plain frock coats and flat rim, straw hats. Their faces are smooth, with no facial hair, and they often wear long sleeve shirts, pants, suspenders and black boots.
Fresh baked goods sell fast to eager customers.
These “horse and buggy” folk are also characterized by their practice of separating religion and the world, which stems from their belief in “Two Kingdoms” — one of God and the other of the world. They have their own private schools and houses of worship. They stay very close with their family, often sharing chores and duties, including child rearing for the women and the teaching of a trade for the men. Their ancestors were forced to withdraw from society in order to survive, and the mentality prevails in many ways, although many of the “Old Order” have found innovative ways to be “in the world, but not of the world.”
Run by the Martins, the Colonial Point Farm on History Land Hwy is a local favorite for fresh Mennonite goods. Photo courtesy of Dianne Saison.
In Richmond County, the Martin family, which includes his ten children, are joined by their close relatives, the Stauffers, who have started their own farm on nearby Folly Neck Road. Along with at least two other close family groups, they work together to join in praise, working the various farms, baking goods for sale, animal husbandry, maintaining the saddlery and farm equipment, woodworking and child rearing. Martin’s eldest daughter plans to become their school teacher, and family members all help to operate their new store, The Mennonite Market, on Main Street in the Town of Warsaw.
Another group, unrelated to the Martins, moved to Kinsale and are often seen in their carriage on the way to The County Line Market in Village, where their homemade cinnamon buns and Shoofly Pies, a distinctive Pennsylvania Dutch crumb cake dessert made from molasses, regularly sell-out almost as soon as they arrive.
These are families who love to smile, are quick to laugh, and welcome everyone who visits their farm stands and store. They have no qualms answering general questions, and with their distinctive accents, due to their everyday use of the Pennsylvania Dutch language, they are quite interesting to listen to and learn from. They openly call to each other for help and to offer assistance throughout the day and maintain loving and peaceful demeanors, despite waking up at five a.m. each day to start work and chores. Although they normally take horses and buggies for travel, they can ride as passengers in a car in special circumstances. Their stoves and electricity at home are powered solely through propane; however, they do use some modern farm equipment such as tractors to work their acreage. Despite the use of limited technology, photography is frowned upon for a very faith-based reason. According to their doctrine, they follow the commandment in Exodus 20:4, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing...” Furthermore, they believe that being drawn into photography is being drawn into the world, which opposes their main values. These are a peaceful people at heart and, they strive to make life better for everyone around them.
Fresh tomatoes are ready for market.
Although keeping “separate,” the area’s new Mennonites have found their own way to fit into the community and are quickly becoming an intrinsic part of the local life. They are on a first name basis with many of their customers, remembering their favorite goods and offering advice on gardening and home repairs. They are the new faces in a region with a portrait that fits their lifestyle perfectly. In what some believe to be a true test of local courtesy, these Mennonites are now also part of the “wave to everyone you pass on the road” culture of the Northern Neck. So, wave back, tip your hats, embrace the “Plain People” for their amazing addition to the local landscape and culture, and remember, they are just regular people with their own unique story to tell.