friends to see a movie in Akron. When they arrived at a club, it was obvious that they weren’t going to be seeing any movies that night. Stutzman had taken them to a strip joint. Stutzman sat near the stage as a half-dozen women performed. It was clear that Stutzman was not a stranger to this kind of entertainment.
Liz Chupp called the hospital when she discovered that Stutzman hadn’t slept in his bed on the night of November 1. The personnel office told her that Stutzman had clocked out at 11:30 P.M .
“I’m sorry. I should have called,” a sheepish Stutzman explained when he returned at 8:45 A.M . “But I fell asleep at a friend’s place.”
He also shared a bit of other news. His classification had now changed and he was no longer CO. He planned to tell Ed Stoll that he was ready to return to farm work. Three days later, he was on the dairy job.
If any of his close friends doubted that Eli Stutzman had odd ideas, they became believers at a birthday party in December 1973. John Yoder was turning 23, and Stutzman showed up wearing a brown plaid jacket, jeans, zippered boots and bearing a gift that would be remembered years later by those who attended.
Yoder unwrapped the small package and revealed a box containing men’s red bikini underwear. Even the outside of the box seemed X-rated to the Swartzentruber boys in attendance, who had been raised without underwear of any kind.
Stutzman cozied up to Yoder on the living-room armchair and urged him to put the bikini on, but Yoder refused. He was embarrassed and didn’t know what to make of the gift.
“Maybe it would be okay to give something like that to a girl,” Yoder later said, “but to a man?”
In February 1974, the Chupps, Stutzman, and his friend Chris Swartzentruber made the 3,625-mile round trip to Orlando to see Disney World and Epcot. The week after they returned, Stutzman traded his Olds’ for a new ’74 Gran Torino. Friends wondered where he had gotten all the money.
Abe Stutzman left Stoll Farms for a job with a silo company in Greenville, Ohio, and Stutzman followed a month later. Before leaving, he told the Chupps he had gone to see his parents and had parked his car at a neighbor’s so he wouldn’t cause them more embarrassment. The visit was a disaster.
“My dad told me I’m not welcome at home anymore,” he said.
Stutzman lasted barely a month on the silo-building job in Greenville. He returned to Stoll Farms on July 27, 1974, complaining that his cousin and the owner of the silo company were involved with drugs.
Liz Chupp doubted his story; Abe Stutzman didn’t seem like a drug user to her. “We knew Abe, he was a good man. He wasn’t using drugs that we could imagine,” she said.
The situation became more confused when word came up from Greenville that it was Eli Stutzman who had been using drugs and had been fired because of it. The New Order Amishwoman, who was a trusting and faithful friend, found that hard to believe, too.
In late August a new employee was hired at Stoll Farms, a former Amishman named Henry E. Miller, whom Liz Chupp felt “had as much get-up-and-go as a lazy dog.” He stuck mostly to himself, but in time Stutzman befriended him.
The following months would later become a blur. Years later Liz Chupp sorted them out with the help of her diary.
On September 5, 1974, Stutzman dropped a bomb whenhe told the Chupps he had ordered a buggy and planned to return to the Amish within a year. It didn’t make sense. Stutzman had just spent thousands on a new car. Further, he continually spoke of the rigors of the Swartzentruber world and how happy he was that he no longer had to endure their harsh, archaic ways.
The day after his out-of-the-blue announcement, Stutzman broke his collarbone in a farm accident. He told everyone that a cow had forced him into a wall while he was milking—although no one had seen it happen.
Jim Frost used to tell people he had dreamed of being a cop from the time he was 13.
Liz Chupp called the hospital when she discovered that Stutzman hadn’t slept in his bed on the night of November 1. The personnel office told her that Stutzman had clocked out at 11:30 P.M .
“I’m sorry. I should have called,” a sheepish Stutzman explained when he returned at 8:45 A.M . “But I fell asleep at a friend’s place.”
He also shared a bit of other news. His classification had now changed and he was no longer CO. He planned to tell Ed Stoll that he was ready to return to farm work. Three days later, he was on the dairy job.
If any of his close friends doubted that Eli Stutzman had odd ideas, they became believers at a birthday party in December 1973. John Yoder was turning 23, and Stutzman showed up wearing a brown plaid jacket, jeans, zippered boots and bearing a gift that would be remembered years later by those who attended.
Yoder unwrapped the small package and revealed a box containing men’s red bikini underwear. Even the outside of the box seemed X-rated to the Swartzentruber boys in attendance, who had been raised without underwear of any kind.
Stutzman cozied up to Yoder on the living-room armchair and urged him to put the bikini on, but Yoder refused. He was embarrassed and didn’t know what to make of the gift.
“Maybe it would be okay to give something like that to a girl,” Yoder later said, “but to a man?”
In February 1974, the Chupps, Stutzman, and his friend Chris Swartzentruber made the 3,625-mile round trip to Orlando to see Disney World and Epcot. The week after they returned, Stutzman traded his Olds’ for a new ’74 Gran Torino. Friends wondered where he had gotten all the money.
Abe Stutzman left Stoll Farms for a job with a silo company in Greenville, Ohio, and Stutzman followed a month later. Before leaving, he told the Chupps he had gone to see his parents and had parked his car at a neighbor’s so he wouldn’t cause them more embarrassment. The visit was a disaster.
“My dad told me I’m not welcome at home anymore,” he said.
Stutzman lasted barely a month on the silo-building job in Greenville. He returned to Stoll Farms on July 27, 1974, complaining that his cousin and the owner of the silo company were involved with drugs.
Liz Chupp doubted his story; Abe Stutzman didn’t seem like a drug user to her. “We knew Abe, he was a good man. He wasn’t using drugs that we could imagine,” she said.
The situation became more confused when word came up from Greenville that it was Eli Stutzman who had been using drugs and had been fired because of it. The New Order Amishwoman, who was a trusting and faithful friend, found that hard to believe, too.
In late August a new employee was hired at Stoll Farms, a former Amishman named Henry E. Miller, whom Liz Chupp felt “had as much get-up-and-go as a lazy dog.” He stuck mostly to himself, but in time Stutzman befriended him.
The following months would later become a blur. Years later Liz Chupp sorted them out with the help of her diary.
On September 5, 1974, Stutzman dropped a bomb whenhe told the Chupps he had ordered a buggy and planned to return to the Amish within a year. It didn’t make sense. Stutzman had just spent thousands on a new car. Further, he continually spoke of the rigors of the Swartzentruber world and how happy he was that he no longer had to endure their harsh, archaic ways.
The day after his out-of-the-blue announcement, Stutzman broke his collarbone in a farm accident. He told everyone that a cow had forced him into a wall while he was milking—although no one had seen it happen.
Jim Frost used to tell people he had dreamed of being a cop from the time he was 13.
Similar Books
