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Show it Altunins of fou ii Marriage of the old and the new1 Continued From Page H-- 4 establishing a series of colonies near Buffalo and then, in 1855, here in Iowa Once here they created an economically "utopia based not on Marxist communism but on basic economic communism, that is, communal ownership and the sharing, of skills and talents. It was a microworld without money and with virtually no contact with the "outside. EACH OF the seven colonies was. according to Amana history, essentialwith their own ly bakeries, slaughterhouses, stores and shops for wagonmaking, harness production and blacksmithing. Communal kitchens were established for meals, and a church was built in each village. Houses built 125 years ago are still providing shelter to many of the 1,700 residents here Some were made of quarried sandstone, some of red clay bricks Modern buildings sit somewhat incongruously on the hills among older huildings. It was while the Great Depression was sweeping its way across that the Amanaites experiment with communism began to sour Shoup said that the colonies began to suffer from one in a of the inherent weaknesses not everybody communal situation was working as hard as they should because there was no real incentive. t, THE AMANAITES were confronted about $400,000 in debts and a distinct threat to the way of life their parents had worked so hard to establish So radical was the reorganization that saved the colonies from economic ruin that it is still called the Great Change" here. The church and the business operations (the state) were separated Communism was replaced with capitalism Before the change, recalled Emilie Jeck, 67, "we had more free time and you were satisfied with what you had There were no cares. You were taken care of and there was no money." Mrs Jeck runs one of the general stores in the colonies. "We liked it when the young folk with stayed in the Amanas, said Minnie Setzer. But after the Great Change they went to college and moved to the outside. Before, the schools only went to the eighth grade. BUT THERE WAS no other way, they said We had to change. It was hard for the older folks But I was only 44 years old when it happened Today Setzer lives in an apartment adjacent to the church in High Amana. one of the seven villages She tends to the building, keeping it clean for visitors and ready for funerals. She used to read newspapers, she said, before they became too expensive "Now I listen to the radio. Though her neighbors say the woman enjoys television. she refuses to have one because pictures are not allowed in the church During the Great Change, the Amana Society was established to run the business enterprises, and each member of the society, a closed corporation, was given one free share of Class A common stock with an initial value of $80 a share. Today each share is worth about $65,000. and the stock is held by 525 persons, all descendants of the original colony settlers THOUGH THEY are well off, and many are millionaires, Shoup said, "Most live frugally. And most still live and work in the Amanas. "I can remember the old communal system, said Ralph Zuber, 59, manufacturing manager at the Amana furniture workshops. Theres nothing like capitalism," he told a visitor with a smile. "The outside influences of the world were being felt here, and had we not provided an economic entity for what (people here) were contributing, many of them would have left, said M. A. (Benny) Bendorf, 53, a church elder. joint-stoc- - RESIDENTIAL ENERS I00o SOME CUSTOMS persist. Men and women still sit apart in the churches, where there is absolutely no ornamentation Everybody sits on the same benches that were hard, rough-hewmade with simple hand tools and without nails 125 years ago But instead of 11 church services a week, including at least one daily, there are now only all on Sunday Two are three conducted in German and one in English. The focus of the community, at least to those from the outside, appears to be business and tourism. During the summer the colonies attract about 4,000 visitors a day, making them Iowas biggest tourist attraction The biggest business enterprise is farming, accounting for about half of the Amana Societys profits in an average year. The Amanaites raise 4,000 head of cattle and between 10,000 and 12,000 hogs each year, in addition to planting about 6,000 acres of corn and up to 2,000 acres of soybeans. THE FURNITURE workshop, where most of the items are handcrafted, is another major enterprise. including the various Amana industries come from outside the community. The Amana Church Society was established during the Great Change to run the church which, like the business ventures, has evolved, changing its but not its beliefs ways and customs hunting and fishing privileges. The society also once owned the factory for which the colonies are most famous, the Amana refrigeration plant Through a complex series of business transactions that plant, while still located here, is now owned by a corporation bigger than the society, the Raytheon Co. Business has become so good that many of the raw materials once produced on Amana land are now imported. Grapes for the wines produced here no longer come from Iowa vineyards. Wool for the mill is imported, as is most of the walnut used in Amana furniture. AND WTIILE the colonies are not as isolated as they once were and the lives of the residents are not as spartan, there is one place where everyone is treated equally: No matter what their stature was in the community, Amanaites are buried in military fashion, each grave identically marked with a simple white stone. There are no monuments, only the prosperity of the n ROOM ADDITIONS 5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD CALL US NOW: 1. Planning and Design 2. Quality Workmanship 3. Fast Completion 4. Reasonable Prices 5. Financing Available ARE now allowed to OUTSIDERS live in the Amanas and most of the more than 4.000 persons who work in FREE PLANNING SERVICE ON INTERIOR ROOM ADDITIONS KITCHEN REMODELING LICENSED CONTRACTOR & Pendleton Builders CARPET CLEANING STEAM k Though there are several wineries here, only one is owned by the Amana Society, which also owns the woolen mill and some of the shops on the colony grounds. Other business enterprises are privately owned but operated only with the permission of the society, which controls just about everything that takes place on Amana land, to accommodate the influences of a changing world Divorce was once prohibited While not encouraged, it is now allowed. Amanaites may also now marry The practice of causing "outsiders. someone to be locked out of church services for punishment has vanished. 3551 So. West Temple, S.L.C. 84117 268-46- 46 The Salt Lake ONE DAY SERVICE COLOR BRIGHT DEODORIZER FURNITURE MOVING COMMERCIAL (Special Rates) MONEY BACK GUARANTEE ANY 2 ROOMS W WVlI) ) Carpet Care 355-020- 2 ... Senioi Citizens lu;.-- UTAH COUNi 224-144- 5 OH Y " VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AND SEE OUR COMPLETE LINE OF CULTURED MARB! E TUBS AND SPAS. 420 West 1700 South Salt Lake City, Utah 84115 HernaXa MON. FRI: 8 5 0 SAT 8 12 (801)487-997- 3 10. 1980 II I |