Tourist farm
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fancy life offered almost anywhere they may go. These
professional people don’t usually want us to even know
they are doctors or lawyers. They want to be totally lost in
this farm experience,” Roy Neff relates.
From March 20 through November 30, the Roy Neffs
open their home to guests and also open their way of life to
the scrutiny of outsiders and strangers as well as
frequently returning acquaintances from previous visits.
For Mrs. Neff this means an average of three hours a day
of laundry and cleaning in addition to her usual full day of
homemaking for a family of six.
When asked what impact this business has made on the
children, Mrs. Neff replied that the children have gotten
to make a lot of friends because of this.
“Our children have also gotten to know what life is like
in the city. It has made them more appreciative of our
way of life. They have learned how to get their work done
and to get along with people.”
The children give the tours on the farm, and the tourists
say they are surprised that they know so much about
fanning. The difference between heifers, calves and cows
as well as hay and straw are always topics of dicussion
says Roy Neff.
As a result of their experience on the farm, the guests go
away with an updated idea about mechanized and
modernized farming as the Neffs practice it, but they are
always curious about the Amish neighbors’ way of life.
Having lived among them all his life, Roy Neff can usually
answer their questions.
“Our guests are glad for the opportunity to ask
questions and know they are getting answers first hand,
says Ellen Neff. Occassionally, some of our guests are
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 6.1977
recently widowed, or divorced, or suffering in some way.
Some just want someone to talk to. Over and over we hear
that they don’t even know their next-door neighbor and
that they have no one to share with. If they have a
problem, we try to help if we can. Many have written to us
and said they really appreciated our council and that their
visit here was something they will always remember. We
share our faith with them when we can. They say we offer
them something they can’t get by staying at a motel.”
concluded Mrs. Neff.
“People enjoy the peace and quiet here, they say. To us,
it is noisy with the road traffic and the sounds of the
animals, but to our guests it is quiet,” she adds.
The sharing of two different worlds and making friends
are perhaps the greatests benefits of a tourists farm
experience for host and guest as well.
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