The Mennonites are known for their craftsmanship and honest business dealings.   Today, down at a local planing mill it was interesting to watch how important the social negotiation process was to doing business as my uncle and cousin figured out how to go about getting some raw planks from their tree farm turned into floorboards.  “Are you related to ….?” and “my daughter lives over on your road” mattered more than I’m used to in the west, where few have lived in the area for even a single generation.

I thought how far I was in so many ways from next week’s Google party in Silicon Valley.    Somewhat like the Amish, Old Order Mennonites often travel in horse drawn buggies, foresaking even the most basic technologies the rest of us take for granted.