By Christopher J. Jackson
Rodney Lewis’ alarm sounds at 5 a.m. as he prepares for an 800-mile trek to Holmes County, Ohio. He hitches a trailer to his 14-foot box truck and heads north on I-77. A smile stretches across his face as he crosses the Ohio River because a job confined to a desk just isn’t for him.
Lewis makes this journey weekly from spring through fall to stock up on Amish goods to bring back for sale at The Amish Barn on Robert C. Byrd Drive in MacArthur.
“I’ve never had a job that’s been in one place,” he said. “I’m always moving around, whether I’m traveling or selling furniture outside.”
Bringing back the goods may rest on his shoulders, but once they’re unloaded it’s a family affair.
“I enjoy traveling and dealing with the Amish,” he said, “but the neat thing is having the whole family involved.”
Lewis’ wife Linda does the accounting and his two daughters, Leigh Korn and Lauren Lunsford, are sales managers.
The Amish Barn offers quality furniture that people can’t get just anywhere, Lewis said. They have a plethora of furniture from cherry and oak hardwood tables to the popular Amish roll and glow heaters.
In fact, the heaters are in such high demand that Lewis makes separate trips just to pick them up, he said.
They come in a cherry, oak or a black and white finish.
“It’s a beautiful piece of furniture,” he said. “But it’s more than furniture. It can heat an 18-by-18-foot room and is on wheels.”
Lewis said he loves to see new customers come into the shop. He said a lot of their items remind people of yesteryear.
“People are really surprised to see all the unique products and we hear almost daily ‘this is Beckley’s best kept secret,’” he said.
Though in the age of Google and Twitter how does one exactly do business with people content with candlelight?
“It takes a long time,” Lewis said. “You can’t communicate with these people because they don’t have phones. But if there’s a certain product you’re trying to find, they’ll help you. There’s a good network without having phones or fax machines.”
He said he normally drives 300 miles going from farm to farm looking for certain products. The Amish, he said, only do one particular thing. One person may only make rocking chairs and the other only dressers.
Lewis said after almost three years of dealing with the Amish, he’s amazed by their hospitality and tireless nature.
“I’m impressed with their great work ethics and family values,” he said. “Their entire culture and simple lifestyle is very interesting.”
When asked if he’d like to be Amish he said “no, those folks work too hard.”
The Amish Barn, however, isn’t limited to furniture. It includes a deli with 52 different kinds of meats and cheeses delivered weekly from the Amish country.
Lewis said he has a loyal customer base.
“It seems each day we have a larger customer base,” he said. “Once people have eaten a sandwich out of the deli prepared just the way they want it, they always come back.”
There is a picnic area with tables outside, but Lewis is planning to add an indoor dinning area soon, he said.
The Amish Barn is open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. They take custom orders and can be reached at 304-573-4421.
— E-mail: cjackson@register-herald.com
