Amish Barn Raising Prep

So the next big thing is the barn that the Ag Society is having an Amish construction group from Lancaster County, PA build. I'm helping find houses for the group to stay in and arranging food, transport and other "necessaries". It has been more than a little confusing -both on our end and on theirs about what is expected. We had thought that the work crew could stay in peoples' guest bedrooms, and that is how I first got involved when we volunteered our guest bedroom.  Then I was asked to coordinate the housing end of things and, when I talked to the head of the construction group, I found out that staying in peoples' homes was unacceptable. The group (35 or so including families) needed to be in separate houses.  That is a little difficult because a lot of the guest houses on the island are still rented out - those in the know know that Sept is a very nice time to be on island.

But I've rounded up 5 houses and have been promised another 2 or 3 (and have an apartment in reserve). The single men can't stay in a house, I gather, with women they aren't related to, so one house will be bachelor quarters. Another fairly large one will house the main family of 10 or 11, and the rest get scattered around. The idea is to find houses as close to the Ag Hall as possible, since the Amish do not drive and will have to be transported around. We are trying to find vans and van drivers to bring the workmen to the job site and the wives to the Ag Hall at least twice a day to feed the men. I won't go into details here, but if you are in a similar situation, email me and I will tell you what is and isn't working for us.

The group arrives on Monday (leaves on Saturday) and several of us involved in the non-construction end of the project are well into a quiet panic. I think housing is OK (but without a firm head count of bodies - and their ages and genders and religion [some Mennonites are coming to drive the Amish group down and operate the crane and truck down the construction supplies and those people I think need separate housing]) I'm not sure. Transportation is uncertain - even if there are enough vans, finding people who are willing to drive around up island at dawn and pick people up and deliver them to the Ag Hall is iffy (cabs have been suggested if the Ag Society is willing to pay for them). And the whole food/feeding thing is not quite settled. 

I think the group will have a light breakfast before dawn in the houses, then mid-morning the wives come with egg sandwiches. Not sure about lunch. Then in mid-afternoon the wives come with submarine sandwiches/pizza. Then dinner around 7. The Ag folks are trying to arrange with the Slow Food folks to fix a traditional New England shellfish dinner for Wednesday. And maybe hot dogs and marshmallows on the beach on Friday.  I plan to have a light lunch of ham, biscuits and coleslaw waiting when they get in on Monday and stuff for the light breakfast in the houses for Tuesday, since they won't have had time to shop and we won't have had time to transport them to the grocery store. The food thing has me worried, though one of the guest houses I found has a small but splendid commercial kitchen on the ground floor, and of course the Ag Hall has a kitchen, though it has nothing in the way of cooking pots, utensils or supplies.

 Everyone tells me it is all going to work out, but some of the details are just going to have to be worked out when the time comes.