amish

There is an interesting story in the New York Times this morning, No Wiggle Room in a Window War. It's about a community of very strict Amish in upstate New York who are threatened by that state's new building code requirements.

According to the story, because of a recent revision of the codes, their traditional sizing of windows for their bedrooms are about an inch and a half too small on each side. The intent of the law was to make it easier for firemen to squeeze folk in and out of the bedroom of a burning house.

But as the article states: Given the rural location of the Amish houses and the lack of phones with which to dial 911, "there is not going to be much left standing" anyway, Mr. Willcockson added.

This new code means that any new Amish houses can't pass zoning inspection. The village of Chautauqua are supporting the Amish, but the state is not happy about that.

I leave you with this quote:

To the outsider, the solution is obvious: enlarge the windows by a smidgen. "It sounds easy to someone who isn't Amish, but if you're Old Order Amish it's not easy," said Mose Byler, the bishop of one of the two Amish districts in Chautauqua, clad in the traditional male uniform of a navy denim jacket fastened by hooks and eyes. "If you break a tradition, where's the tradition? You're not a faithful member."