SLOW-PACED LIFE OF AMISH ATTRACTING MORE TOURISTS.

Byline: M.R. Kropko Associated Press 

As the Ohio Central Railroad's steam-engine excursion train glides through the pristine Amish countryside, riders pass straw-hatted farmers working with their horses in abundant wheat fields.

Buggies roll along the narrow roads, and children in their distinctively plain clothing play ball near a schoolhouse as the train puffs by.

Just a few years ago, the train would have carried fewer riders through picturesque Tuscarawas County, about 75 miles southwest of Cleveland. But something has happened to increase the Amish region's attraction.

A train ride through Amish country has become popular for those who want a peek at a less-complicated era, said Dick Marshall, a part-time tour guide.

About 150,000 people rode on the Ohio Central during the May-October tourist season. That was up from about 60,000 eight years ago, he said.

For $7 per adult and $4 per child, the train goes on a one-hour tour six miles into the world's largest Amish community. Nearly half of all Amish people reside in Ohio, mostly in the northeast and north central counties of Tuscarawas, Holmes, Wayne, Stark, Medina, Ashland, Geauga and Ashtabula. Other large settlements are in Lancaster County in eastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Indiana.

For Marshall, it isn't hard to figure out the appeal of the Amish lifestyle, which shuns electricity, cars, telephones and other conveniences in favor of simplicity in conjunction with devout Christian faith. The Amish and more modern Mennonites share doctrines of founders of the Anabaptist movement in 14th century Europe.

Persecution in Europe resulted in Amish and Mennonite emigration starting in the 18th century. In their new homes, they spurned worldliness.

``Here the pace is slower,'' said Marshall, a public school teacher who is not Amish. ``It's a different world completely. Tourists are fascinated in the way the Amish people live.''

That fascination led Jim and Vicki Gattuso, owners of Excellence in Video Productions in Akron, Ohio, to make four travel videos about Ohio's Amish heartland.

``People in our society say we have all this technology, but are we any happier because of it?'' Jim Gattuso said. ``It gives one pause to wonder if all this technology is really improving the quality of life.''

Atlee Raber, an Amish man who owns a gardening store in Berlin in Ohio's north central Holmes County, has noticed tourists' interest in his way of life.

``Yes, it seems as if the outside has found us,'' he said. ``It's a testimony of what we live for. We want to express our love for Christ and our following of God.

Raber, who sells handmade wooden landscaping items, usually shuns things like TV and videotapes. But he watched the Gattuso video ``An Amish Country Adventure'' at a friend's home, and found it to be authentic.

``Those shots were people just going about their business in normal life,'' he said. ``The Amish didn't step forward to be interviewed or boast about what they were doing.''

Gattuso said the videos were developed during many visits to Amish communities during which he gained the trust of people who normally avoid the camera.

``When I first talked to one blacksmith I didn't think he would let me videotape at all,'' he said. ``I told him I would shoot him from behind so as not to show his face. He laughed then and said he didn't want me to shoot his behind. He let me make the video from in front.''

Two of Gattuso's videos give a rare start-to-finish view of a traditional barn raising: Amish community members gathered to build a barn in one day for a neighbor. The camera was kept at a distance.

While the Amish do not seek publicity, they are finding ways to quietly take advantage of tourism, Gattuso said.

``It used to be almost every Amish man used to be a farmer,'' he said. ``Now you have people in the catering business. Many make Amish quilts, homemade furniture, candies and baTked goods. Their entrepreneurial spirit has led them in various business directions.''

Dave Beachy, president of the Amish Heritage Foundation in Sugarcreek, said members of the community ``just want to be more understood. They feel they have a good lifestyle and one that should fit everybody.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Livestock graze on a farm in Ohio's Amish country, which has become a popular tourist destination.

(2) Blacksmith Dale Schlabach shapes a horseshoe in his shop.

Associated Press