One of the biggest thing I missed during my little break from writing a weekly column was telling readers about the Breitsprecher's annual "Veducation" (educational vacation). By my reckoning, this is the fifth year the kids and I have set out on a summer adventure to have fun and learn about local history. So--here is my recount of our annual trip--a little late.
This year we chose to go to the Amana Colonies and in the waterpark hotel located there. We had stayed in the hotel before (I had even written a glowing column about it several years ago) and always had a good time. I figured after a day of learning about socialism, my kids would be eager for water slides.
We visited several sites in the seven Amana Colonies, including the last remaining communal kitchen. It was emphasized over and over again that the Amana colonists were NOT Amish. It is easy to see how a person could confuse the two: The two groups both dressed in similar fashion, settled about 50 miles from each other in Iowa, spoke German, and had separatist views. They also have very similar names and both like saurkraut.
The Amana Colonies were based on a communal lifestyle--as many as five families lived in one home, most of which did not have kitchens. All eating (five meals a day!) was done in communal kitchen. Washing was also done (for a time) in communal was centers. At age 14, girls were taken from school and sent to work. Boys might get to go to school longer--even to professional training like dental college--if they promised to come back and practice in the Colonies. The people of the Amana Colonies--called Inspirationalists--were also pacifists. The Amana Colonies voted to "break up" in 1932, primarily for financial reasons.
The Old Order Amish Community located near Kalona descended from the Anabaptist religious movement of the 16th century. One big difference between the Amanas and the Amish is that the Amish still dress, act, and worship much as they did 300 years ago, while the Amana Colonies are no longer a functioning communal society. There are no horse and buggies in the Amanas and the Amish don't sell wine.
Cody, Josie, Patrick, and I took a tour of Amana, led by a history teacher from Clear Creek Amana Junior High School. Most of the old homes had trellises on the sides of their homes, covered in grape vines. It is from these grapes that much of the famous Amana wines are made. We then ate a HUGE German lunch at the Ox Yoke Inn and headed back into the heat and humidity to buy some souvenirs, including multiple bottles of wine for me.
We then headed to the hotel, which was much shabbier than when we last stayed there three years ago. It was no longer a Holiday Inn, but now a Clarion Inn and although we still had a lot of fun, it was obvious things were in a state of disrepair. From our television remote to hole number nine of the mini-golf course, items were broken. We still had a good time and Josie was thrilled she wasn't asked to leave the hot tub, which was for "16 and over" only. I didn't even finish dead last in mini-golf (that honor went to Patrick, who had 17 strokes on hole 12).
The next day we started our back-to-school shopping at the outlet mall in Williamsburg and then headed home to Dayton. It was an inexpensive trip and the kids learned a lot about the 1800's, socialism, and communal living. This is another trip I recommend to anyone interested in having a little mini-vacation close to home. I even still recommend the Waserbahn Water Park, even though it is shabbier than it once was.
Next year is the last year Cody will be going on the veducation and we want to make it special. I am now taking suggestions from readers on where we should go on Veducation 2011. It's gotta be close to home and it has to have at least nominal educational value. Any ideas??
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