page_24 < previous page page_24 next page > Page 24 The developer-versus-farmer competition for land has stepped up over the past thirty years. As a result, nearly 1,300 Old Order families have left Lancaster County and are living in other Pennsylvania or out-of-state settlements where farmland is cheaper although not as productive as Lancaster County soil. 24 More of these are Old Order Mennonites than Amish, although a more recent exodus by the Amish has also accelerated in numbers.25 A recent study of ten years of farm sales information in Lancaster County26 shows that during the period 1984 to 1994, Old Order Mennonites gained 2,347 acres of farmland. The Old Order Amish gained 10,564 acres of land. Mainstream Mennonites (Lancaster and Atlantic Coast Conference) lost 2,215 acres. The study also shows that "corporations" comprised mainly of "developers and builders" gained 1,660 acres of farmland. Many of these are mainstream Mennonites.27 Yearly, traditional Plain groups gained 1,173 acres, while corporations gained 151 acres. The Amish have the highest rate of within-group farm sales. Since 1984, 82 percent of Amish farms sold have stayed in Amish hands. The rate is only 27 percent for Mennonites. The majority of these are being sold to outsiders. Of all Plain groups, mainstream Mennonites sold the highest percentage (34 percent) to English corporations and others. The Amish sold less than half that amount (15 percent) to outsiders.28 Zimmerman told of "at least half-a-dozen [families]" he knows of who are talking about selling and moving away if Garden Spot Village goes through, especially with its accompanying increased traffic. He said the road in front of his farm "won't be no more, as a back country road. It will be a team driver's nightmare."29 On Monday night, November 9, 1992, it was over in five minutes. A crowd of about 250 people was on hand as the three supervisors finally voted on the 270-acre parcel of land that included the Eberly farm, the tract on which they had tabled a decision earlier in September. Sixty-one people crowded into the tiny Earl Township municipal building while the rest stood in the adjacent garage. Most of the Old Order people stood in the back, well out of view of WGAL's television camera and reporter. Signs sprinkled throughout the crowd read: "SAVE OUR FARMLAND!" and "LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE AND YOUR FUTURE!" One sign said, "I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP OUR RURAL ATMOSPHERE. GROWTH HAS BEEN SLOW AND I WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY." Below this quote it cited the man who had uttered it: ''ROBERT ANDERSON, PRIOR TO BEING REELECTED TO SUPERVISORS, EARL TWP." In the crowd were Lydia Lapp, Frank Ludwig, Doris Goehring, Rachel Petersheim and her brother and father, Keith and Robin Olin, and Ivan  < previous page page_24 next page >