Lehman's Country Life

A recent study shows that nearly all of the 26,000 Amish living in our area descended from the same 100 people. When a handful of families migrated here from Pennsylvania some 200 years ago, I’ll bet they had no idea they were starting a community that would one day be that large!

One of those legendary pioneer Amish families is the Hochstetlers, who were attacked by Indians during the French and Indian War in 1757. After refusing to shoot at their attackers because they wanted to honor the Biblical commandment to love your enemies, half the family was killed and the other half was carried off to captivity. Nearly every Amish person I’ve met claims they are part of the Hochstetler family. At least one of our employees makes that claim as well, and he’s not even Amish. I used to be amused by these claims. How could all these people possibly be descended from one family? Now it turns out that maybe they are all telling the truth!

Another famous character from Amish history is White Jonas Stutzman. He was the
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September 17, 1937.

A date that probably holds no significance for you, but one that made all the difference in my life. On that date, a young man named Bill, recently discharged from the Army, married a girl named Ann. They were like any other married couple, then or
now, with great dreams for their life together and the youthful optimism to believe that those dreams would come true. And their greatest dream was to have a child.

One year passed, and then another and another, and still their dream was not realized. In all, 17 years would go by as they waited and prayed for the gift of a child. And then one day, the child for whom they had waited so long was born — that child was me.
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My Dad started Lehman’s in 1955. 55 years later, he’s still at it.

My Dad’s an amazing and talented guy. He’s made his way successfully through some huge challenges. He grew up in the Great Depression. He helped rebuild post-war Europe. He faced down loaded guns held by drunken soldiers in Congo. He refused to give in when corrupt agents of the Kenyan secret police threatened to arrest him.

I’ve never really gotten an honest answer from him on why he started Lehman’s. When you ask, he trots out the same old cliché every time.

“No one would hire me, so I figured I’d have to start my own company,” he always says with a laugh.

I have to admit, that’s a little unsatisfying. I don’t know what the real answer is, but I’m pretty sure he would have had no problem finding a job.
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In the fall of 1981, the bulldozer of an oil well drilling company cut into and partially destroyed an ancient stone tunnel not far from our store. Experts have dated the tunnel to as far back as 4000 years old.

Bob Murray, who owned the site when the tunnel was found, buried it to prevent children from falling into it. And, the strange stone tunnel was lost to memory for the last 25 years.

Recently, two of the archeologists who originally discovered the tunnel, Don and Nita

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Local Amish families and other local folks, including some of my closest friends, were apparently defrauded by Fair Financial, which allegedly ran a Madoff style pyramid scheme.

Our local newspaper, The Daily Record, reported, “In court documents filed Nov. 24, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana filed a civil lawsuit, which was later dismissed, accusing Fair Finance co-owner Tim Durham, his companies and associates of defrauding customers by getting them to buy investment certificates, and that the money was used to make interest and redemption payments to earlier investors.”

Many of Fair Financial’s customers face devastating losses. One young Amish family I know of sold their modest home. They planned to live in an aged mobile home and while they built their new home. They parked their life savings at Fair. The company shut its doors the day after the basement for their new home was dug. Now they have nothing but the rusty old mobile home and a hole in the ground.

Another woman I’ve known all my life invested her retirement savings of $30,000 at Fair. When told of their problems, she said, “Oh I’m not worried, I’ll just go down and get my money back.” Her family had to break the news to her that it wasn’t going to be that easy.

It wasn’t too long ago that most Amish frowned on investing in the stock market or any other type of “outsider” business. But, times are a’changin’. Many Amish men (yes, in their community, it’s nearly all men) are leaving their farms and going into business. (For example, Pioneer Equipment and Homestead Furniture.)

A few now have real money to invest. And, most prefer to invest with someone they know and trust.

As it turns out, quite a few thought they knew and could trust the brokers at Fair Financial, outsider or not. Coincidentally or not, many of Fair Financial’s offices were in communities where many Amish lived.

Now it seems that a group of Amish investors might be trying to get their money back, at least according to Indy.com

A lawsuit was filed locally against Fair by a group of investors. (Who can blame them, right?) The unusual thing is that they used a Limited Liability Corporation, which allows them to keep their identities secret.

As it happens, Amish theology (based on Bible passages Matthew 5 and 1st Corinthians 6) teaches that going to court is wrong. Since the suit was filed by a law firm known for handling Amish legal needs (such as real estate transfers and wills), local wags are claiming that Amish investors are behind the suit.

I guess folks figured that out by connecting the dots. First, there is the unusual method of filing. Second, the work was done by a lawyer that has a lot of Amish clients.

It’s all pretty circumstantial, but it sets up a moral struggle for me. If it’s true that the suit was filed by Amish who wanted their identities to remain secret, a cynic could say, “I guess the Amish live by their faith unless it means they will lose money.”

On the other hand, most of the Amish I know would not have invested money with Fair Financial (or anyone else). Many have taken some pretty good-sized financial losses because they avoided going to court.

The whole story leaves a bad taste in my mouth. First of all, no one really knows who filed the suit. Maybe it was all non-Amish folks who were simply embarrassed that they got burned. Maybe it’s none of our business. And, maybe, just maybe, it ought to make each of us think, “If I were faced with a choice between something I believed was morally wrong and losing my life savings, what would I do?”

Galen Lehman, President, Lehman’s


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PS – To get the latest news on the Fair Financial debacle as it unfolds, click here.

Last year I blogged about how I might become Amish just because I love my horses. (Click here to read the post.)

I have a friend who grew up Amish. He’s not Amish any longer, but he still loves his horses! Here he is enjoying the winter weather with his wife and his horse (hopefully, in that order!):

You can see more cool pictures of Amish country here:

http://www.visitamishcountry.com/photo_contest_finalists.php

Hope you get to visit us and take some pictures of your own some day!

Galen Lehman, President, Lehman’s


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I sometimes feel like running is a business is little different from climbing the side of Mt. Everest. As each day passes, the air gets thinner and the stakes get higher. One false step, and we could plunge to our death, pulling our fellow climbers along with us.

A real mountain climber is kept safe by a strong nylon rope, hardened steel pinions and screw-lock caribiners. Here at Lehman’s, we’re kept safe in our “climb” by careful budget planning.

We just completed our 2010 budget. Yes, it’s a little late (since we’re already a few weeks into 2010). We’re late because budget planning is tough work. But, I believe strongly that running a business without a realistic budget is no different from climbing without any safety gear. Climbers can and often do succeed without using safety gear. But, climbing without it is a risk that can lead to death or a crippling.

The most important part of any budget, whether for your household or your business, is accurately determining your income. At Lehman’s, getting a good idea of the income we can expect means we must have a good idea what the economy holds for our future sales. A climber depends on having safety gear with the right load rating. We depend on a budget with accurate sales estimates.

As a result, I’ve been obsessed with studying economic conditions. The way I see it,
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Note: Aladdin is temporarily out of replacement mantles. Here are details on how to make your mantle last and other lighting options.

Aladdin lamps are almost magical. Using a 100-year-old principle of lighting, they run on less oil but provide more light than any other oil lamp. They use a mantle that glows with brilliant white light (like a Coleman lantern), but (unlike Coleman) they don’t use pressurized fuel, which makes them a LOT safer.

They’re also completely silent and very reliable. We’ve carried them for decades. I use them. So do many of our customers, whether they live in Africa or Alabama.

Why? Our customers in the African bush NEVER have electricity. They know that an Aladdin lamp will work night after night and barely use any of their expensive kerosene.

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I’m constantly trying to put my finger on exactly what we do at Lehman’s that makes us successful. I want to root out the mistakes that I know we make. And, I want to build up and reinforce the things we are doing right.

To that end, I’ve been making a special effort to get out into each part of our operation. I want to experience what what is happening in every corner of our operation. I visit our Kidron and Mt Hope stores weekly. I try to stop by regularly in places I don’t normally visit (such as the accounting department and buying department). I’ve also been taking 30 minutes a week to work in the warehouse and telephone customer service departments.

Recently, I worked with Desi, one of the people that takes care of making sure that catalog customer returns are taken care of correctly. I also worked with Kaye, who helps put away merchandise in our warehouse. The combination of working with these two women gave me I had a big AH-HA moment…you
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Not far from our store in Kidron, a friend of mine has a sprawling potato farm. To bring in some extra cash, he runs a fun corn maze. For some reason, I’ve been fascinated by mazes since I was a child. There’s something immensely rewarding about winding your way successfully through to the other side. It takes one good choice after another, reasoning your way to victory and keeping your bearing around one corner after another.

Last year, I was out at the farm talking with the Ramseyers. I noticed that the road past their place has an odd little jog in it.

The Ramseyer’s farm is located along Ohio State Route 585 (also known as Akron Road). It follows an old Indian trail in pretty much a straight line, cutting from northeast to southwest Ohio at about a 45 degree angle. So, why does it take an odd detour in the middle of the flat plains surrounding the Ramseyer farm?

The story I heard was handed down through the five generations of Ramseyer’s that have farmed this land. Apparently, when the surveyors laid out the road back in the 1800’s, one local resident didn’t like the path they were following. It was a little too close (or, depending on which version of the story you hear, a little too far) from his house.

So, he offered the surveyor a bottle of whiskey to reroute the road in a more pleasing way!

Back in the day when most folks traveled by horse or slow train, that little curve didn’t seem like a big deal. In those days, some folks believed that at speeds in excess of 30 mph you could get spontaneous nose bleeds.

These days, with cars speeding by at five and 10 miles over the 55 mph speed limit, it’s another story. That little curve has resulted in dozens of accidents and the death of a small child. All this, thanks to a thoughtless choice by a surveyor who was willing to bend the rules (and the road) for a bottle of whiskey.

With the end of the first decade of the 21st century under our belts and 2010 with its already fading New Year’s Resolutions staring us in the face, it’s a good time to think about what kinds of choices we are making. Forgotten New Year’s Resolutions or not, the start of any year and especially a new decade a great time for making fresh choices.

Because I’ve never been able to keep my New Year’s Resolutions, I don’t often make them. Instead, I’ve tried to make every day choices in the wisest way I can, day in and day out. I’ve not always been successful at that either, but it’s on my mind constantly. I believe that keeping my long-term goals in the forefront and trying to structure decisions on my core values has helped me become a better person.

Whether making New Year’s Resolution or daily choices, let us make them thoughtfully rather than thoughtlessly. And, may we always keep the road straight!

Galen Lehman, President, Lehman’s


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