HAGERSTOWN – A local Amish woman caused quite a stir this week in her Amish community outside of Hagerstown, Indiana. Sarah Stultzfoos, 23, was seen Thursday walking around with her ankles exposed.
The controversy has caused outrage within the community, with Miss Stultzfoos’ mother Katherine taking the unprecedented step of speaking to reporters through a channel of seven Englishers.
“Sarah is a good girl,” insisted Mrs Stultzfoos. “She just happened to lose her stockings and, let’s not forget, she's still a growing young woman. She frequently outgrows her dresses.”
Through the same outlet, Miss Stultzfoos 's father commented that, “This is simply Sarah's experimentation during rumspringa.” However, rumspringa – a period of adolescence when Amish teens experiment with courtship - usually lasts from ages sixteen to eighteen, a fact that has prompted many members of the order to say that Miss Stultzfoos 's parents are “in denial.”
“She ain't still growin',” declared local farmer Rick Schmitt. “She's twenty-three. I seen that girl walkin' around with her hairy legs pokin' outta that dress. I even seen her without her bonnet the other day, behind that thar barn.”
According to inside sources, various community members are “afraid to approach Sarah,” but the 23-year-old seems quite popular with the boys. Her mother says that despite her short dresses and lack of stockings, Sarah has eleven suitors if you don't count her cousin James.
One courter, Abraham Stultzfoos (no relation), says, “I don't mind that Sarah likes to show her ankles. I think it's very progressive.” There has been no word on where Mr Stultzfoos (no relation) learned the word “progressive.”
Meanwhile, Miss Stultzfoos has herself refused to comment on the matter and displayed an obscene hand gesture when approached by Tribune reporters this morning.
Article by Nancy Obitoire
Image credit: fair use.