The following article was written by my oldest daughter, Rosa Balzamo.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is known for the Amish people and attractions. It is a beautiful area with it's lush fields and carefully manicured farms and landscapes! You'll find numerous shops and small businesses owned by the Amish and Mennonite people in the area. It’s quite clear that they have capitalized on tourism in the area!

My husband and I recently visited Lancaster County to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I had been there a couple times in the past, so the Amish culture there was not entirely new to me. However, I was reminded of several differences between the Amish people in Lancaster County and the Amish people I grew up being familiar with in the midwest.

One of the first differences I saw was the shape of the ladies' head coverings or bonnets (also known as a kopp). While this is likely not what most people notice or even pay attention to, it definitely is something that distinguishes one group of Amish from another. Each Amish community sets their own guidelines for their own community, this includes the way they dress. Anything from clothing lengths and colors to styles of bonnets and widths of hat brims. Having grown up seeing all my aunts wear very simple, "conservative" bonnets, the bonnets of the ladies in Lancaster County were very different!

If I were to set the contrasting bonnets in front of you, you would be able to quickly identify the difference and likely even be able to tell me which community is more strict. While the more traditional Amish bonnet might have flat, pleated sides with a flat back and are nearly opaque; the bonnets I saw in Lancaster County were billowy, appeared almost heart-shaped, and were more transparent.

Another difference that I noticed was the fabric colors of the women's clothing. Traditionally, throughout the midwest, the Amish women choose "humble", earth-tone colors for the fabric of their clothing - black, browns, blues, greens, and occasionally dark purple. I was surprised to see an Amish mother and daughter in Lancaster County wearing matching bright cranberry colored dresses! I also saw fabrics of brighter blues, greens, and purples, almost jewel-toned.

While color of ones fabric clearly seems trivial to us, in the Amish communities it is a matter of great importance! My mom makes reference to this in her new book The Courageous Choice when Rosanna wanted to buy a certain blue fabric, but was forbidden to do so because it was a shade too light. This is actually a common scenerio in more strict Amish communities. Unapproved colors are considered worldly and proud.

It was also easy to notice that due to the tourism in the area, the Amish people of Lancaster County live much more opulent lives than many of those in the midwest. Their farms are beautifully manicured because they know tourists will be driving by; they have lovely farm stands and shops; and they enjoy the restaurants and various forms of entertainment around them. In contrast to that, many of the Amish people in the midwest are either too poor to afford a "fancy" property or would see that as "vain". They may have small farm stands or shops, but they lack the tourism to make it successful. And a visit to a restaurant or local attraction would be a rare treat rather than a way of life.

Visiting Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a stark reminder of how much one Amish community can vary from another, but still be called Amish. And yet, when compared to our "normal" American lifestyles, they are all still very "Amish".