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Amish live is the horse and buggy. Kraybill27 has observed that one of
the most effective boundary markers is the preservation of a horse
culture. In his words, a horse is "a striking symbol of nonconformity, [as
it] separates the Amish from the modern world and anchors them in
another one. . . . Safeguarding the horse culture is one sure way of
preserving the continuity of tradition." In part because of the difficulty
in finding a suitable place to stable horses in town, some of these "urban
Amish" do not own horses. They walk to work and to church. When
they need to go elsewhere they simply hire a driver.

Table 8. RETENTION AND DEFECTION BY RESIDENCE IN
SHIPSHEWANA
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Shipshewana Other Towns Total
N=149 N=443 N=592
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Amish Retention 66 84 80
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TOTAL 100 100 100
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Chi Sq.= 21.07 P < .001

Since Shipshewana is a major tourist attraction in northern

Indiana,28 more than 25,000 people invade this small town each week
during the summer months. They visit the flea market, horse auction,
and many tourist shops; and some of the community's Amish have
extensive contact with these outsiders. Many of those Amish work in
shops, restaurants, and the sale barn; or they sell goods to tourists along
the roadsides.


27 . Kraybill, 60-61.
28 . For a description of the growth of tourism in northern Indiana, see David Luthy,
"The Origin and Growth of Tourism in Northern Indiana," Family Life (Oct., 1991), 21-23.
For a more general discussion of the impact of tourism on Amish society see Roy C. Buck,
"Boundary Maintenance Revisited: Tourist Experience in an Old Order Amish
Community," Rural Sociology, 43 (1978), 221-34, and Roy C. Buck, "Tourist Enterprise
Concentration and Old Order Amish Survival: Explorations in Productive Coexistence,"
Journal of Travel Research, 18 (Sum., 1979), 15-20.
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