Monday, September 13, 2010

More Amish news from Leon New York.

Amish in the news... Again!

While we were in New York I asked Grandma about the Amish Teen who was arrested for "over driving an animal" see link here.

My mother then told about another incident that was all too scary. An armed robbery of an Amish Couple by a brazen robber who commandeered their horse and buggy and demanded that they hand over their wallet. When they told the robber that they "did not have a wallet" he fired a gun near the the shocked amish couples heads.

It seems that there is a local legend that the amish, who have well kept farms and a "fancy black horse and buggies" carry large amounts of $$$cash$$$ with them, especially since they do not work with local banks. Reason would tell me that their fortune is tied up in cheese, hay and horses!

Once again truth IS stranger than fiction.

Below is a video and two stories of the event and subsequent arrest of the robber...............

Local Amish shaken by attempted robbery

Updated: Tuesday, 13 Jul 2010, 7:15 PM EDT Published : Monday, 12 Jul 2010, 5:28 PM EDT

Luke Moretti

LEON, NY (WIVB) - Sunday morning, an Amish couple fell victim to a terrifying crime in the Southern Tier.

Tonight we're learning more about the case.

Usually Amish county in Cattaraugus County is picaresque and quiet. So when a crime like this happens in this small, rural - predominately Amish community - it raises eyebrows.

"Like the Old West when I was a kid. Bandits on the highway," said Leon resident Bill Scherman when describing yesterday's attempted armed robbery of a young, recently married Amish couple, traveling on a road by horse and buggy.

Scherman continued, "The car had gone down the road and turned around, and came back and pulled right up in front of them and blocked them right, stopped the horse and buggy."

Authorities say one of the men in the car pulled a gun on the couple and demanded money.

The Amish woman's father said, "They saw the flame coming out of the barrel." The woman's father did not want to be photographed but continued, "He had the gun right on them and he asked for the wallet. And then when they told him he doesn't have a wallet he just pointed the gun a little beside her, and he fired."

Authorities say the suspect vehicle is described as a tan full sized car, with 4 men inside.

Captain Robert Buchhardt of the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office said, "After about the third time of him demanding money and their wallets from them they explained to the people in the car that they did not carry wallets and they did not have any money."

News of the incident has the Amish in the area on edge.

"I thought it was terrible and I thought it would scare anybody. It would scare me, big time," said one Amish man who was traveling in the area with his family.

"Everybody in the community is concerned. Everybody hopes these guys get caught. We watch out for each other around here," said Scherman.

The suspects fled the scene empty handed. The young Amish couple was shaken up but not injured. Authorities in Cattaraugus County tell News 4 that they are working some good leads.

Arrest made in attempted Amish robbery

Updated: Friday, 30 Jul 2010, 11:24 AM EDT Published : Friday, 30 Jul 2010, 10:08 AM EDT

Posted by: Emily Lenihan

LEON, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Town of Leon man is being accused of attempting to steal from an Amish couple, earlier this month.

Donald Pfaffenbach, 29, is charged with attempted robbery. The Cattaraugus Sheriff's Office says, Pfaffenbach tried to steal from the couple, displaying a hand gun and demanding their wallet.

The Amish couple didn't hand over their wallet. The defendant fired one round, in the proximity of a horse that was pulling a buggy the couple was in.

The Amish woman's father said, "They saw the flame coming out of the barrel." The woman's father continued, "He had the gun right on them and he asked for the wallet. And then when they told him he doesn't have a wallet he just pointed the gun a little beside her, and he fired."

Related Stories

Local Amish shaken by attempted robbery

Attempted robbery in Amish country

Amish teen caught after chase on buggy

Usually Amish county in Cattaraugus County is picaresque and quiet. So when a crime like this happens in this small, rural, predominately Amish community, it raises eyebrows.

"Like the Old West when I was a kid. Bandits on the highway," said Leon resident Bill Scherman.

"I thought it was terrible and I thought it would scare anybody. It would scare me, big time," said one Amish man who was traveling in the area with his family.

Pfaffenbach has been remanded to the Cattaraugus County jail in lieu of $500 bail. More arrests are pending after the completion of the investigation.to the Cattaraugus County jail in lieu of $500 bail. More arrests are pending after the completion of the investigation.

Garlic Butter Mix

This evening I was asked to do a final test of the Hires Garlic Butter Mix. So far it is only available in the stores but is about to be rolled out to grocery outlets throughout the West and on the Hires Big H website.

So I fired up the BBQ for some roasted corn, garlic bread and burgers. I whipped up some garlic butter with the Garlic Butter Mix or the "magic mix" as we refer to it in the Szymanski home. The recipe is 1 stick of butter to 2 tablespoons of mix. I buttered some home-made whole wheat bread and placed it on the grill along with the fresh corn. I placed the bread, garlic side up on the grill and closed the lid which melted the butter and then turned it over for just no more than 30 seconds with the butter side down. It was wonderful !

I also buttered my corn with magic mix spread which it gave it a rich roasted corn flavor and will add to my spread consumption. I'll give you my final conclusions tomorrow. BTW, we use the dry garlic butter mix as a rub on steaks, yum!

And dare I suggest Hires Garlic Butter Mix with peanut butter, I haven't tried it yet but when I'm daring, oh no !

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Our August trip to Grandma's house!

Aaron, Sarah and I took a trip to visit Grandma Szymanski and my sister's families in Western New York.

We had a relaxing and fun filled week visiting relatives and experiencing the local sites including a county fair, a real maple sugar "bush", an auction and flea market where they actually sold everything from chickens to rocks, a beautiful lake side community, the local Mormon ward which is located on the Seneca Indian Reservation, and much more!

Plus we cleaned up up Grandpa Szymanski's horseshoe pit, mowed grandma's huge 3 acre lawn, were treated to a picnic at my sister's home and played bocci ball, sampled the food at the Amish cheese factory, Timmy Horton's, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Mighty Taco and fresh fruits and vegetables from the neighborhood gardens! The week went by so fast that we look must go back again soon, next spring I hope!

Below are a few photos that I managed to take, I'm sorry I didn't take more.

We began our trip on Friday morning with a stop in Minneapolis. We waited for our plane to be loaded full of peanuts and pretzels to make our flight so much fun!

After we settled in we visited a local Maple Syrup sugar bush called Maple Glen Sugar House in nearby Gowanda NY. Very authentic...

A visit to the Chautauqua Lake community of Bemus Point. I nice lakeside community with plenty of walking paths on the lake shore. The lake is just North of Jamestown, birthplace of Lucille Ball.