Rachel Bontrager was almost 18 and considered by many the prettiest girl in Lagrange County. She enjoyed being Amish and was engaged to a handsome Amish boy Amos Hostetler. Her only problem was that they were not allowed to read novels, so she had to hide her Gene Stratton Porter books.
On the evening of July 3, 1928, Rachel talked Amos into slipping out and sleeping under the elm tree in the backyard. They were able to slip back in before anyone was up and looked forward to a wonderful 4th. In the evening they had planned to go to town and watch the fireworks in the park. As they left her mother asked them if they would do a favor and get her a spool of white thread.
After a picnic, and watching the festivities in the park, Amos said they must go as the stores would be closing. Town was crowded, and they could find no place to park. They decided Amos would wait in the buggy in the alley behind the hardware, while Rachel went to the Dry Goods store.
Something went horribly wrong at the fireworks. A cannon was accidentally knocked over and a rocket was shot horizontally over everyone’s head. The rocket went through a window in the back of the hardware, and hit a stash of dynamite that had been stored for a road project.
The explosion knocked out every window for miles, and the dry goods store was in shambles. When Rachel got back she was not allowed to go in the alley. Amos was the only one killed in the incident.
In succeeding days the funeral was a blur, and a couple weeks later Rachel discovered that she was pregnant. A couple days later the Bishops showed up at their house. Rachel must marry an Amish boy to give the baby a name, which she absolutely refused to do. After much discussion, they offered her an alternative. A bachelor, Jonas Lambright had just learned he was dying of cancer. She agreed to marry him, in name only.
After a wedding she moved in with Jonas to care for him, but she stayed in a separate bedroom. She took good care of him, and helped him sell his cattle and get the farm in order. As Jonas got worse, she made things as comfortable as possible for him, even using some decorations that were not allowed by their church.
When Jonas wanted to go to town, and they returned he told Rachel that he had willed the entire farm to her. There was also some money buried in a milk can, which the lawyer had directions to. A few weeks later Jonas passed, and in a few weeks she was called to the lawyer’s office. Rachel was rich beyond her wildest dreams.
In the subsequent weeks Rachel stayed on her farm, visiting her family quite frequently. Then came a day when she became ill and was taken to the hospital. While she was in the hospital she had a miscarriage, and during recuperation made a life changing decision. She sent a nurse to buy her an entire new wardrobe, and dispose of her old clothes. She went in the hospital an Amish girl and came out English.
Part 2 to follow.
This story is based on an actual happening, at a fireworks in Walcott’s Mills. The town is now called Wolcottville and is on Indiana 9, 4 MI south of LaGrange, Indiana.
—James Neuhouser
