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[sjc <indexer AT fairpoint.net>]

bob ford wrote:
> That was all very interesting Susan.  I didn't know nuch of what you wrote.  'just a curiosity about the obvious.  The groups are not large.  How do they keep new bloodlines?. 
Historically, rather poorly, but now that they are wiser, better.   But 
for all the things they let themselves open to genetically, they win 
environmentally:  things pretty common in the english are unknown to the 
Amish:  "hyperactivity" (seen as: kid needs more work than average, 
usually works slick as a whistle), autism, and social pathologies are so 
rarely seen they are so far uncountable.  I can credit them and their 
ideas (and patience) with the fact that I was able to rear an autistic 
kid through the seventies and into the Marine Corps, where his ASFABs 
stood at 98.  He is now an air traffic controller in the VA Air National 
Guard.  Wouldn't have been their goal, but every uncle, aunt, cousin, 
Dunkard or Amish, is proud of him.  I don't think it would have happened 
that way in an english world.  So what they've given up in one arena 
they've made up in another.  David (my son) wins.

>  Do people come from state to state or whatever to date and marry?
>   
Yes.

The German Baptists do it better though:  they have an annual meeting, 
all members attend.  We used to snidely call it the 
"Bring-Your-Little-Dunkard-to-Meet-My-Little-Dunkard" meeting when we 
were kids.  But that group has always been more open to interaction with 
the world and more apt to educate (note they have 6 colleges, even), so 
they caught on a lot sooner.

Annual meeting last year was held 2 farms away from the one where I grew 
up, and how I wished I could have gone to the 
Bring-Your-Little-Dunkard-to-Meet-My-Little-Dunkard meeting.  How one's 
perspective changes over time!

Just went looking for a pic of annual meeting, try:  
http://www.scrollpublishing.com/store/Brethren.html

The group discussed on that site is a notch 'up' from the group south of 
Dayton, VA, which is itself 2 notches 'up' from the group I grew up in, 
which was very conservative.  Not worth it to the incomer to try and 
keep track of groups, too many.

SJ