Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1902-05-15
BETWEEN TWO RIVERS.
! Amana Society. !
" Customs and Odd Mode of Y
" Life of the People.
Al n
BY ALEX. MILLER.
Copyrighted, 1902, by Alex. Miller.

In the Hawkeye State there is a
colony known far and near as the
German Colony. They live in the
most simple and primitive manner. as
becomes children of nature, for such
they truly are. Their tastes have not
been corrupted by contact with the
outer, everyday working and laugh
ing and crying world. They live alb
solutely unto themselves and do not
care whether school keeps or not.
Their leaders are fairly intelligent
Men: but the common herd, the plebe-
1ans, will never be shot for knowing
too much. Indeed, they have no need
to know anything above eating when
they are hungry, and there is plenty
provided to eat; and coming in out of
the wet when it rains, and for that
Toofs are provided by the overseers.
Their mode of living has not chang
ed in half a century and shows no
signs OF changing in the next half
century. They know but little of the
outside world, and care less. They
are happy, according to their own
light. but it would not be much en-
joyment to one who has lived as the
world lives.
These people settled first in New
York State in the early fifties. whittier
they had been driven by religious per-
secutions IN Germany But they We're
not only firm believers in religious lib
cpty h,,t oil IN,
ing land. hence they pulled up stakes
and came West. where they bought
$4,000 acres of land in Iowa County,
about twenty miles west of Iowa City.
on the Iowa River. The first town is
called Amana, which means remain
true" 1t is absolutely communistic.
that is, they all live as one big family.
Nobody has any money and nobody
gets anything for his work Every
thing they earn goes into the general
fund, and if a boy want a dollar to 90
to a Fourth of July celebration or to
the circus, or if he wants to take his
girl to the theater, he has to ask the
treasurer for the price. And if a girl
wants to buy a new hat or if she wants
to buy a package Of Lowney's choco-
lates, she is obliged to ask the treas
urer for the money. But they don't
do these things. The girls do not
Wear hats, nor any other kind of
hnery. They wear only the plainest
kind of garments. and nothing is pref
Tily colored. but has a gloomy. unin-
teresting look. which [ apprehend
would not be pleasing to the girls of
this community, OF any other Ameri-
can community. The boys never saw
a theater'or circus. and do not care
to. That is. they hardly know what
they are missing. Just think of be-.
ing deprived of ever following a
circus band or an Uncle Toms Cabin
around town; and be expected to work
every day in the year! How would
you like it?
There are no houses along the high
way from one town to the other. They
ali live in settlements, of which there
are eight The old town. or Old.
A,rnana. is the capital where the presi-
dent lives. His name is DR.. Winzen-
ried; he is quite an intelligent man,
and also a physician. There are two
doctors in the colony. All the people
live in these settlements and what
funny looking places they are. They
are built without any system, or style,
or plan. The largest town, or settle
ment., is Old Amana, which has a
population Of about eight hundred.
The houses are built along two princl-
pal streets. They run through the
town without any regularity, turning
this way, or that. just as their fancy
seems to take them. But there are
no stores in the town. There is just
one general store, which is kept about
the center Of the settlement, and every