Originally Posted by jdiane318
My best friend lives in Muscatine, IA. I went to Kalona for the first time last Labor Day. Towns like that need to be appreciated. Hit the quilt shops there, time well spent and will probably go aain. The main street was all tore up when I was there last, hopefully it is fixed by now. I did go to Yoder's great items. It was my understanding that the Amish and Mennonnites live on the outskirts of rural Kalona.
Kalona is a great town for quilts. There is a museum of quilts. I always intended to stop and look at it but never have. Yes there are lots of Amish who live in the country. It is interesting to see the buggys and horses tied up to the post at JWs (grocery store) and there is an Amish blacksmith shop at the edge of town where you can usually see a few buggys and horses waiting. If you look at the houses and you don't see any electricity going to the house then it is an Amish house. You can usually tell because they sit back abit and are always wood two story frame houses. At least in our area. They probably vary from area to area. There is a school for the Amish kids you can see as you go by on the road.
Stringtown is an Amish(Mennonite?) Store a little ways up from the Cheese Factory. They don't use electricity. they have unique lights. THey are basicallly a metal can like tube that is set in a square in the ceiling. the natural light comes down through them. They aren't very big probably about 4" across. So it is a bit unnerving or it was for me for the first few times when you go in and it seems really dark. But as you are in there your eyes adjust.