The past and the future are within walking distance of each other at the Geauga Amish Historical Library and Gift Shop at 15848 Nauvoo Road in Middlefield.
The past and the future are within walking distance of each other at the Geauga Amish Historical Library and Gift Shop at 15848 Nauvoo Road in Middlefield.
On the west side of the tidy white structure, just east of state Route 608, is a treasure trove of Old Order Amish history and genealogy.
But on the east side — and what greets visitors as they come through the door — are shelves full of hand-crafted wood carvings, colorful baskets, signs bearing homilies, quilted placemats and hot pads, knitted scarves, wooden toys and all things Amish for sale.
Librarian John Gingerich is taking his first steps into retail sales behind the cash register starting March 25, hoping the shop will fund a permanent home for his library at some future date.
Many of the items are made locally. Gingerich pointed out the baskets made by octogenarian Mahlon Byler.
“We have items made by a 13-year-old boy and a 90-year-old woman,” Gingerich said.
Two quilts for sale hang on the walls.
Not everything is locally crafted. Many of the painted wooden signs — ‘Drink coffee and do good’ and ‘Love never fails’ — are produced in Holmes County, he said, adding more inventory is needed.
Gingerich admitted to being a novice in the business world. A week before the grand opening, he realized he would need bags if shoppers are going to take their purchases home.
“We’re kind of figuring things out as we go along,” he said. “We have a group of volunteers taking turns, so I don’t have to be here all the time.”
The shop and library are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays, and will be open during the Home Show next door on March 25. It could be a good sales day with a lot of foot traffic, Gingerich said.
“Hopefully, we will run out of inventory,” he said, adding if that happens, he will have to collect more items to stock the shelves.
Gingerich, who is not Amish, said there are five Amish members on the seven-member library board, one Mennonite member and himself.
The goal is to raise enough money to build a permanent home for the treasured Bibles and research materials, some of which are displayed under glass in cases donated by Middlefield Original Cheese Co-Op years ago.
“They were going to trash these,” he recalled as he admired the handcrafted oak and glass cases made by an Amish carpenter.
When the building was being remodeled in 2014, someone called him and asked if the library, then housed on Shed Road, could use them, he said.
Gingerich rounded up a truck and salvaged them.
Along one wall are Anabaptist testaments — small, leather-bound books with metal corners. In the 1700s, they were illegal in Switzerland and anybody possessing one could be severely punished, he said.
The state considered them “false and dangerous publications” because the wording was different from the approved state religion.
Gingerich said he saw his prize copy being auctioned off online in a lot of 600 books and he couldn’t justify the purchase. Someone else won the bid.
“Within a few days, it was on EBay and I got it from him,” Gingerich recalled, noting he now owns two of the four testaments known to have survived the centuries.
A Swiss Bible printed in 1534 and a 1763 German Bible from Somerset County in eastern Pennsylvania are preserved in the cases. Traditionally, births and deaths were recorded in the family bibles, he said, adding that makes the old bibles valuable for genealogy studies.
A large part of the library shelves are dedicated to Amish history and tracking family trees, but college students occasionally visit and school field trips include the library, as well.
A back room is being remodeled as a reading room, Gingerich said.
Many of the reference materials will be stored there, making it a handy place for researchers to sit by the fire and learn all about Amish history, he said.
Meanwhile, the gift shop revenue will be saved against the day when a permanent home can be built for the historic collection.
Gingerich said such an effort will probably cost at least $300,000, but he believes in the mission and is making use of modern conveniences to see it happen.
“The shop takes credit cards,” he said with a smile.
