2012 Tours will be posted February 2012

2011 Tours & Attractions

Tours will take place June 30th, 2011
The cost of the bus tour is $75 per person and includes a noon meal in an Amish home.
Call to make a reservation and send payment to:

Dutchie Travel
162 East Main Street
Leola, PA 17540
877-812-3123

Tour Schedule:


Farm Built Machine

This company began operations in 1974 on the Beiler home farm in Ronks, PA. It started out making auto turn forecarts in a 20’ x 28’ shed. It was one year later, 1975, when the first of what would become the main product of the company was built, wagon gears. A new 32’ x 48’ shop was built the next year, 1976, and mig welders began to be used. Three years later, 1979, a 50’ x 94’ addition was added and in 1982 the company began to make steel wheel rims with a new Ronndo Angle Roll which is still in use today. In December of 1986 the company outgrew it’s facilities again. The business was divided into two companies, Farmco Manufacturing took the 8, 10, and 12 ton wagons with the kicker bale bodies and hay feeders (about 60% of the business), and Farm Built Machine kept the 6 ton wagons, steel wheels, and custom fabricating. The forecart business, along with the baler engine mounts and parts were sold off at that time as well. In January of 2006 Farm Built Machine made its biggest move yet; from Ronks to Gap, PA. Today the main focus of the shop is 3-6 and 9 ton wagon gears, some on rubber, some on steel, making steel wheels and rims, distributing ag spindles and hubs, and custom steel fabricating. (This includes the Aqua Cow Rise System.) An engine repair component was added in 2006 along with retail sales of lawn and garden equipment. Farm Built Machine thanks you for your time and, if you are on the tour, look forward to greeting you.
The company is found at 633 Quarry Road Gap, PA 17527 and can be contacted at 717-442-5020.

Mose F. Stoltzfus Broom Shop

Here is a fine example of a father and son working together operation, and is a good example of efficient use of space for profitably sustaining oneself. This shop was begun in 1973 when Mose’s father found he could no longer “work” so he started making brooms. For the last 7 or 8 years Mose has worked in the broom shop full time and now his son Daniel works there full time as well and his son Lester part time. The brooms are made from the tassels of a crop grown in Mexico called broom corn. It is a member of the sorghum family. Mose buys the broom making material from a dealer in Pittsburgh, PA. There are several old pieces of broom making equipment to be seen in this shop; a broomwinder, broom cleaner, and a broom stitcher. The Stoltzfus’ learned their broom making skills from an old man in Nickle Mines, PA. When they are caught up in the broom making department, they go upstairs and weave things on the two looms there, one of which was built by Mose himself. They do not know the age of the old loom they use, but it has wood bearings which means it is very old. The Stoltzfus Broom Shop sells most of its products wholesale, but there is a small retail area and if you see something that suits your fancy, you can buy it.

Peach Lane Harness

Operations at Peach Lane Harness were launched in 1992 after owner/operator Abner Esh had worked in another harness shop for three years. He continued work in the other shop for three more years before going full time in his own shop. The harness at Peach Lane is all Bio-thane ( a synthetic product) or nylon. Abner says he thought there were probably enough leather harness makers in business, so he chose an alternative. Today Abner and his foreman Mose Beiler are full time in the shop, there are two part timers and the children help too, there are 7 of them from 1 year old to 17 years old. Various styles of harness are made; New England style, belly backer style, harness for work, parades, weddings, and show. The majority is team harness for Draft Horses, but this shop makes any size, harness for the smallest mini horse to the largest Draft. Customers come from all over the world; Australia, New Zealand, England, Sweden, Canada, and across the USA. Abner and his crew also make nylon halters in the shop, some to retail, most to wholesale. Abner and his wife Mary, their children and all the shop workers welcome you today. You will see the shop in action. They will answer any questions you may have, and if you have more questions, be sure to attend the harness seminar Abner will be conducting at Horse Progress Days Friday and Saturday.

Noon Meal with the Allgyer Family

Abner and Katie Allgyer and their children Benuel, Matthew, Miriam, Susan, Lavern, and Sadie will be your hosts for a delicious noon meal in their home. They will be serving dinner, not lunch, so bring your appetite with you. You will want to try the two meats, locally grown vegetable, (maybe peas, green beans, brocolli, whatever is on the menu that day) homemade noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, seasonal salad, applesauce, homemade bread with peanut butter spread, and for dessert, pie, cake and ice cream. The Allgyers have been feeding groups of people in their home for about six years. They feed many tour groups like ours. Abner works at B&B Structures building sheds when he is not helping to serve, and sons Benuel and Matthew like to work in their wood shop making things. Maybe you will see something they have made that you will want to take with you today. The Allgyers call their place Rocky Ridge Farm. They like Morgan and mini horses and will be glad to have you visit with their horses as well as the family.

Leroy Zook Farm

This farm is farmed with Belgian horses now for three generations. Leroy’s father Sam and mother Annie bought the farm in 1959 for $500 per acre. This was a pretty high price for the times and even though Sam had 1/3 of the money to put down, commercial banks would not give him the financing he needed to complete the purchase, so the owner said “no problem, I will finance it for you.” Sam paid off $2000 the first year and $6000 the second year and in a relatively short time he had the farm paid off. At one point Sam was offered the neighboring 46 acres to the farm for free if he wanted it. He didn’t want it since it was all wooded and had big piles of slag on it from the nickle mines nearby, (Leroy says there are still some slag piles visible in the surrounding woods.) and he would have to pay taxes on it for no return. Looking back, you might say that was a bad decision, but when you see this well kept farm and it’s well cared for animals, and meet the folks who represent Sam Zook’s legacy, you will agree, he most certainly made more good decisions than bad. Owners of the nickle mines
in the vicinity had to buy up the farmland because their mining activities contaminated the land. Since then, it has all recovered with the help of mother nature.

This farm supports 40 milk cows and the young stock that comes with that size herd. Belgians are the preferred power for farming the 65 acres of tillable land and when not working can often be seen in the 10 acre meadow, sharing it with the cows.

Several foals are raised every year, there should be some in the pasture when you visit. The dogs are one Australian Shepherd, two Jack Russels, and one Yorkie named Daisy who lives in the house and has more rights and privileges than any other creature on the farm, man, woman, child or beast. You will be interested to know that this farm is right around the corner from the Nickle Mines School where tragedy struck in the form of a disturbed young father with a gun several years ago. In fact, Leroy and Barbie’s daughter Emma May was the teacher in the schoolhouse the day that the shootings occurred. As you know, the forgiveness offered by the local Amish community to the families of the shooter have helped return life to a sense of normalcy, even though the most scathing scars left will never heal completely.

Miller's Misty Meadow Goat Farm

Take a look around here! How much land do you see to support this handy little operation? Would you believe, this operation exists on 2 acres of land! Here is a family of 13, Amos Miller, his wife Becky, and their 11 children who are making a living off of two acres and 175 plus goats. The dream of a goat farm came from Amos’ mother. In 2000 Amos started milking a few goats as a hobby. In 2003 he began to sell his goat milk to a commercial processor, but this was unsatisfactory since he had no control of the price he was paid, and it just wasn’t enough, so in 2004 he got his raw milk license and began selling from the farm. In 2005 he began making cheese as a way to further increase profitability. He started out by sending milk to licensed cheese plants already in operation to process it for him. In 2008 he got licensed to make his own cheese, hauling his goat milk to a place 7 miles from his home in a bulk tank on the back of a four wheeled wagon pulled by two horses. He bartered with John King of Millport Dairy, exchanging his labor toward John’s cheese making operation for the use of John’s equipment to make his own cheese. John King uses his son Ike’s dairy cow milk to make cheese. Amos did this for two seasons, and looking back realizes what a valuable experience it was to work alongside John in making cheese. In April of 2010 he started making cheese at home. He makes Cheddar, Monterey Hot Jack, Colby, and other kinds of cheese. Amos likes to experiment and recently developed a cheese he calls Misty Lovely. He says it was a Feta cheese he was trying to make that went wrong. He gave it to one of his friends Howard Field to try and Howard said “it tastes lovely” and the cheese was named! Another thing he is working on has to do with feeding the goats. He learned somehow that goats really like eating Weeping Auzzie trees, so he has planted about 500 of them. At the proper stage he will cut them way back so that they develop shoots that the goats can feed on. He anticipates that the Auzzie Willows will provide food for the goats for quite some time. Stay tuned on this one. Some time ago he ran across this guy named Howard Field. Howard had lost his job in the home heating oil business because of the downturn in the economy. Since Howard was already interested in cheese and the tasting and making of it, he was intrigued with what Amos and his family were doing. Howard hit the road as a sales advocate for Misty Creek Cheese and is now helping to put the goat milk operation in a position Amos describes as “about maxed out”. Enjoy yourself, and be sure to ask all the questions you want and try as many cheese samples as you are able to. And by the way, just around the corner from where you are is a nice little harness shop on the farm of Levi Miller. If you have time before the bus leaves, you may want to visit there too.

Country Housewares Store

“Something for everyone” goes the slogan promoting Horse Progress Days. Here’s a stop planned expressly for the ladies on the tour, but men, you might enjoy it too, probably will, in fact. Housewares, toys, books, locally made items like wooden trash cans, magazine racks, and wooden toys line the shelves of this Amish owned store in the country. And don’t miss the clocks! They are Rhythm Clocks purchased wholesale from a broker in Georgia. They play tunes instead of chimes; hymns, pop, classical, Christmas, and their faces open up on the hour. Some of them open in two parts, some in three, and some not at all. They’re expensive, but very popular with the store’s customers. Made in China, these clocks demonstrate the fact that the world is smaller than it used to be. Owners of stores like Country Housewares make suggestions to the brokers on tunes that will sell. The brokers get the tunes to the Chinese, and the Chinese put them in the clocks. How about that for working together! This store is unique in that you will find no electrically run things here, except for battery. Amish people shop here as do many black car driving Mennonites and other “plain” Anabaptist groups from the eastern part of the country. Do they take credit cards? I don’t know, but probably. Don’t be afraid to ask. Their address is 589 Musser School Road Leola, Pa 17540.

Scottish B&B

Carlisle Inn