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Hats Off wrote:When driving in Southern Ontario, drivers of other vehicles or buggies wave because they see the hat in my vehicle.

Is the hat on the dash, or the shelf inside the rear window, or perhaps hanging on a coat hook or spare headrest? Where would one place it for maximum visibility and the most potential waves?

ohio jones wrote:

Hats Off wrote:When driving in Southern Ontario, drivers of other vehicles or buggies wave because they see the hat in my vehicle.

Is the hat on the dash, or the shelf inside the rear window, or perhaps hanging on a coat hook or spare headrest? Where would one place it for maximum visibility and the most potential waves?

I suspect he has one of those models which, when in motion, generally has a hat-rack conveniently located about 24 inches above and to the rear of the steering wheel.

ohio jones wrote:

Hats Off wrote:When driving in Southern Ontario, drivers of other vehicles or buggies wave because they see the hat in my vehicle.

Is the hat on the dash, or the shelf inside the rear window, or perhaps hanging on a coat hook or spare headrest? Where would one place it for maximum visibility and the most potential waves?

Where I come from, and at least during that time, we waved at anyone in any car we met. If we were traveling someplace and saw another car from Oklahoma, we would wave, or talk to them if they were parked. My dad knew all of the county tag prefixes, so we didn't need to ask where a bouts they were from in Oklahoma. Once in North Carolina I saw another Holmes County (Ohio) tag, and I followed the car to talk with them. My wife later told me that people around here don't do that.... I always say Hi to people I meet in the Post Office here, and once a woman was surprised that I knew her - I didn't, actually, but it turned out she attended the same congregation as us (too big) . I guess it is improper here in the North to act friendly to people you don't know, but it's such a part of me that I don't think I can ever shake it. I always say that the friendliest people in this area are the Swartzentrubber Amish. They are about the only ones who act like they could be from the South.

ken_sylvania wrote:

ohio jones wrote:

Hats Off wrote:When driving in Southern Ontario, drivers of other vehicles or buggies wave because they see the hat in my vehicle.

Is the hat on the dash, or the shelf inside the rear window, or perhaps hanging on a coat hook or spare headrest? Where would one place it for maximum visibility and the most potential waves?

I suspect he has one of those models which, when in motion, generally has a hat-rack conveniently located about 24 inches above and to the rear of the steering wheel.

For just about anyone else, I would have assumed that explanation.

ohio jones wrote:

ken_sylvania wrote:

ohio jones wrote: Is the hat on the dash, or the shelf inside the rear window, or perhaps hanging on a coat hook or spare headrest? Where would one place it for maximum visibility and the most potential waves?

I suspect he has one of those models which, when in motion, generally has a hat-rack conveniently located about 24 inches above and to the rear of the steering wheel.

For just about anyone else, I would have assumed that explanation.

You're always at least dozen steps ahead of me, OJ....

We live in a city where we go to the ONLY conservative Mennonite church in town. My wife enjoys when we are in more "Plain" areas because "Here, no one thinks I am a Nun."

J.M.

I would describe it as feeling slowly suffocated.

Pro's: Everyone is in your business.

Con's: Everyone is in your business.

(For those that live in a populated area, you know what I mean by that!!)

Hats Off wrote:One of the cons would be that when outsiders observe the huge array of flavours, with all claiming the name Amish or Mennonite, they find difficulty in understanding the 50 Shades of Mennonites.

My wife makes the same sort of comment regarding Mennonites here in the Cumberland Valley, as she didn't grow up around any.

ken_sylvania wrote:

Hats Off wrote:Same type of thing happens in PA.

In heavily populated areas, there are too many Mennonite/Amish to talk to everyone, so we tend to initiate conversation when a person (a) looks like [similar to, as in might be related] someone we know, or (b) looks like they might be from another congregation we fellowship with, etc. Its kind of a filter mechanism that keeps us from sensory overload.
In outlying areas, if we see another Plain Person in town, we're a lot more likely to go talk to them, find out why they are in the area, who they are, and so forth.
None of this has to do with divisions, discord, and not getting along. It's just that a person can't be "close" to 25,000 people.

Ken_Sylvania - "None of this has to do with divisions, discord, and not getting along." Apparently that blessing only becomes the case after you get north of Harrisburg... Down here in the Cumberland, I'd disagree with that statement about 75%.

On a separate note, as I heard an Old Order preacher say once (he was approving in his statement), "plain dress sets us apart from the world, and Plain dress sets us apart from other church groups."