Photo Essay Draft

 Katherine Wathen

Ms. Rolfes

WRD 110

25 September 2021

Casey County Faith Community

Casey County, Kentucky. One of the most peaceful faith filled places I have ever known. I know the kind of people who live there, but do I really know all about here? Do I know each and every person’s choice of faith and their stories? No. I wanted to dive deeper into the faith aspect of Casey County since this is the place my faith took off into what it is today. I think learning some of its history related to the different religions and overall daily life could help me know more about this place I love. Learning every single thing would take much longer than the time I have at hand, but I want to start with an online look at what I can find about Casey County. Then since my grandma Nonnie is very knowledgeable about her home town, I’m going to interview her and see what she can teach me.

On http://explorelibertyky.com/genealogy/ , It said how Casey County was one of the first areas of Kentucky that followed the Wilderness Trail, forged by Daniel Boone, that was settled by Pioneers. But on https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/63996/JAPAS_Donnermeyer-Anderson_vol2-issue2_pp215-244.pdf?sequence=1 it went into depth more on what the Amish lifestyle is like since this is a great part of Casey County I have gone to visit many times.  I already knew a little bit about the Amish but this website informed me much more about it. It said that the Amish can be described as a subculture, religious sect, and ethnic group. They are not compatible with mainstream American Culture, making abiding with certain laws sometimes difficult. They compromise to make things compatible but make sure that they go with their religious beliefs. Basically, they think technology is connected with the devil. They don’t want that temptation and they don’t have any electricity or technology at all. They think that the effect of their no technology idea on social structure underpins the beliefs, values, and ideologies of a large scale complex society. Kentucky is one of the only few southern states where the Amish is a sizeable population. The Amish also like to refer to their community as a “settlement” which conforms to older sociological definitions of community. 

 

There are so many different churches in the Casey County Community. My Nonnie told me there is: Dunnville Christian, Dunnville Church of God, Dunnville Baptist, Thomas Ridge Christian, Tabernacle Christian, Antioch Christian (Disciples of Christ) First Christian (D of C), First Methodist, First Baptist, Westside Christian, Atwood Chapel Methodist, Brush Creek Christian, Bethel Ridge Methodist, Casey Amish Mennonite, Church of Christ, and Jehovah Witness Kingdom of God. My Nonnie said in our interview that no matter what church anyone went to, or even if they didn’t go at all, they were all one big community who were there for one another. Being brought up in Casey County as an only child, my Nonnie told me specifically that this place being her place upbringing is what she credits to why she is the woman she is today. She said to me that the older she gets, the more she goes back to Casey County to visit since she misses that way of life that she always had growing up. This place is the most community feeling place she has and she explained to me in more depth as to what made this place feel so tightly knit.