Story by: Richard of www.PureCountryLiving.com
I had no idea at the time these pictures were taken that this post would be the last one that I would be doing, so this one will be the last for Amish Stories in this original format as Amish Stories will return as a photography only blog . Always wanting to see how Amish buggies were made and never really seeing any information (in pictures) online or even in books I decided that it was time I tried getting inside one for a post on this blog.
Lapp's buggy shop is located in Lebanon county and the owner is named AARON LAPP , and I believe it may be the only Amish owned and run carriage shop in this county. Since Lebanon county is right next to Lancaster I would say most of the buggies seen on the roads in my area would be made there, so it was a pleasant surprise finding out (I talked with some of the Amish) that Lebanon had a shop. This is a family operation with AARON'S wife and son helping, so his wife does all of the sewing while his son does most of the electrical work and painting.
At the time these pictures were taken AARON'S son was finishing up Rumspringer and was about to join the Amish church, during my stay there I was very surprised in finding out that Lapp's offers among the many options "air suspension" on their buggies. AARON told me that this set-up gives its owners a better ride and handling (makes sense), but because its more expensive most of his Amish customers will stick with the tried and true method of using leaf springs.
Something that's been around for a very long time on buggies, and is also still used on many new pick-up trucks sold today like the very popular Ford F150. Enjoy folks and I hope to be back occasionally sharing my own images on Amish Stories sometime in Spring. Richard
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New buggies waiting for their owners
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Reminders of AARON'S rural roots
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The front of Lapp's buggy shop
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Some materials for making the wheels
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After painting and now needing electrical work (lights)
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Inside being worked on
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The sewing area where AARON'S wife mostly works
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Electrical parts
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A view of AARON'S farm that's next to his shop
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Material for the buggy tops
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Wiring work being done
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Different types of mirror options
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A fairly simple but effective form of air suspension (I love that), a very nice option that's hardly seen!
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The beginnings of an Amish buggy
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Disk brakes as an option, much better than using drums!
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A view of how everything first started, yet still remains
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As many know the Amish love these bird houses
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Another look at those disk brakes
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And of this really nice shot of the air ride suspension, a must have for me if I were driving a buggy myself!
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So simple yet offers a lot in comfort!
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AARON'S son working on a wheel
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Painting area, and like the very early days of Henry Fords cars black would be the dominate color used
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Conventional buggy leaf springs
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Painting area
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More of the parts area
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Finished buggy wheels needing the steel bands,some of the Amish do use rubber. (depends on the rules of that particular church)
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AARON'S clean but modest home from the back
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The barn
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Full view of the buggy shop
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Front view of AARON'S home
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| Got to love those bird houses, and I bet the birds are happy staying in them! |
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Part of a price list of options from Lapp's, with the price of a brand new buggy starting at $6,200. With options the price of a standard buggy goes up considerably. I have seen pin striping done by hand along with fancy lights among those options desired by the Amish and old order Mennonites, and some bigger side and rear windows that were tinted.
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The End
