When ever we go to visit our family who is still Amish I always dread dusk. That time of day when you can barely see, but because there is still a little bit of light they keep going until it's actually dark before they light their lamps.
A lamp using Coleman fuel was usually used in what ever room the family decided to gather in, in the evenings. The rest of the rooms were lit with dim oil lamps.
There was something comforting about winter evenings as we gathered in the kitchen to enjoy popcorn and apples as Mom would read a chapter or two from a book and the gas lamp would be hissing noisily. As the evening wore on the light would get dimmer and quieter, so Dad would take it down from where it was hanging above the table and pump more air into its tank.
Every Saturday we would get all the lamps and bring them into the kitchen where I would trim their wicks and wash the chimneys and fill them with kerosene.
Sunday evenings the soft glow from an oil lamp gave the perfect light for LV and I to enjoy our date.
Part of my morning routine this month is reading your blog and I so look forward to it. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat actually sounds lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteThat actually sounds lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid, we always ate on the road to save money, and we had a Coleman lamp to use at dinner time. I remember my dad pumping air into the tank - that was his job and his alone.
ReplyDeleteWe live at the very end of the electric lines, and we have oil lamps in almost every room. We had an exchange student come stay with us for a year, and the first night I broke out a jigsaw puzzle - and the lights went out. We just got four oil lamps, one for each corner, and kept on "puzzling".
Lovely imagery. Sends me back in memory. I grew up by lamp until I went to school.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely story about the lamps! I love the covers of your books
ReplyDeleteSounds like a lot of work!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful blog you have. I live near a community of Amish...Yoder, Kansas. I will bookmark you and come back to dig in a bit deeper. I've often wondered about the houses when we see them from the highway!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have that even in this day and age. The smell of the lamps bring back memories of blackouts and special events.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your column each time it reaches my email although I do not post on each blog. Just wanted you to know. :)
ReplyDeleteThis brings back precious memories of long winter evenings sitting by the fireside and reading in the dim light. We always went to bed early.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of camping trips when I was little. There's something wonderful about family gathering together next to the light. Very peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me a little of when I was a child and there was a thunder storm at my grandparents' place and the electricity would go down. We'd have to find the candles, and light them, and we'd eat by candle light. We often put the candles in front of mirrors to get more light. I always found it exciting to eat by candlelight, it always felt like a scene from a book when we did.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective -- thanks for sharing. I hope you are enjoying A to Z!
ReplyDeleteYvonne
Very interesting! I'm intrigued to read posts from a woman who used to be Amish. I am going to have a look at more blog posts where I'm sure to enjoy more of your posts. I'm glad I found you! :)
ReplyDeleteThe soft lighting does sound quite romantic!
ReplyDeleteSounds lovely. Although, I'm one who has lights blazing at night (it's hard to knit in the dark), so I'm not sure I would enjoy the actuality of it.
ReplyDeleteLiz A. from Laws of Gravity