HISTORY OF AMANA!

     Today, just for the fun of it, I drove to Amana to eat one of my favorite lunch specials at the Ronneburg Restaurant. Later I will tell about the delicious meal I enjoyed just because I could.
But, for know I want to pass along the Amana history that I obtained off the place mat at the restaurant. If you don't know how it was established or need a little refresher here goes.

     Amana was established by a religious movement in the early 1700's in Germany by Lutheran clergymen and their followers. After breaking away from the church, this group faced unyielding persecution which forced them to immigrate in 1842 to Ebenezer, New York. Wishing to establish a permanent home, the leaders moved the group west to the fertile lands of Iowa, establishing the Amana Community of True Inspiration in 1855.

     Amana installed a communal system motivated by deep religious convictions. They became a completely self-sufficient society, requiring little contact with the "outside" world.

     This system thrived for over 80 years before economic and social changes forced the leaders to develop a new plan. They changed y becoming a corporation allowing private ownership of property. After this change, every home had its own kitchen and the communal kitchen of the past became a memory.

     The Ronneburg Restaurant served their first customers in this building in 1950. The restaurant's name comes from a medieval fortress in Hesse, Germany. The Ronneburg sheltered and sustained Amana's ancestors during their persecution over 200 years ago.

     Our dining room's atmosphere differs considerably from that of austere communal days. Back then, men ate at one table and women and children ate at another. Only fifteen minutes were allowed for a meal and conversation was frowned on and music was strictly forbidden.