Motorists driving through this small northern Christian County community, population 825, likely will notice first the railroad tracks that parallel U.S. 41 and the military park that boasts a reconditioned howitzer.
But when they take a closer look around this one-stoplight town, they'll see the cabinet shop, the lumber yard, the pallet factory, the grocery store, the greenhouse and the furniture store.
Amish head wear, both yellow and black straw, are big sellers at the Crofton Country Cupboard, an Amish-owned business run by Marvin Yoder in Crofton, Ky.
"Our religious community started in this area in 1973," said 39-year-old Melvin Kauffman, who owns Pennyrile Pallet. "It's largely grown from within. Our young people marry and stay here. The land is good and fairly priced. It's a good place for business. That's why we have so many shops."
Kauffman also is a bishop, the person who helps decide the rules the sect will follow.
Unlike at some Amish communities, Crofton-area families are allowed to have electricity and telephones in their homes. Bicycles are the prime conveyance, although tractor-powered flatbeds are used on the job as well as to take children home from school.
"For us, horses and buggies are mostly for visiting on Sundays," Kauffman said.
These Amish follow traditional guidelines that require plain dress and only eight years of school. No business is conducted on Sunday. They aren't allowed to own vehicles, although it's OK to accept rides.
But no computers.
"Our plant's accountant uses them," Kauffman said.
"We send our payroll information, and he takes care of it. People like to say that coming to an Amish community is like going back 50 years or more in time. We're proof that it's possible to live without modern devices like computers."
Myron Yoder, 35, helps run the Country Cupboard that's owned by his father, Marvin. Also in the complex is a bakery and a furniture store.
"There are probably between 40 and 45 Amish families in this area," Yoder said. "I was only 5 years old when we came here, so Crofton is about the only place I've known."
There are two church houses and an Amish community building that hosts a dinner on the first Friday of most non-winter months.
Two large auctions are held each year at the community center. One is for quilts, and the other features farm equipment and livestock.
"We're a little more modern than some Amish," Yoder said. "We farm with tractors instead of horses. And some communities don't allow bicycles like we do."
Amish settlements in Daviess County, Ind., and Crittenden County, Ky., have distributed tourist brochures that show the locations of shops and stores.
"We're not interested in anything like that," Yoder said. "We don't need all the traffic. We like things as they are now."
He estimates about 25 percent of Country Cupboard's customers are Amish.
"We do well with what we call our bent-and-dent store," Yoder explained.
He reaches for a can of soup that's caved in on one side.
"Wal-Mart would throw this out, but we'll take it. As long as the seal isn't broken, it's legal to sell. We try to stay underneath the prices of the other stores. We buy from reclamation centers. Big trucks haul the merchandise in."
There's a special section for straw hats that Amish men wear in warm weather.
"A strong seller, these hats," Yoder said, smiling.
Sheryl Byrum is Crofton's city clerk.
"This is a nice, quiet place to live, and I think that appeals to almost everybody, including the Amish," the 51-year-old woman said. "Why so many Amish shops and stores? This is a farm area. Their businesses cater to those kinds of customers."
The Amish, Byrum said, are "wonderful people who always keep their property neat and well-maintained."
She hasn't seen any studies on the impact of the religious group on the local economy, "but I know it's big. They're into everything from woodworking to mulching. We'd hate to do without them."
At a little after 3 p.m., Jason Schlabach stands outside the Crofton Amish Parochial School and watches for cars and trucks. When the way is clear, he sends bicycle-riding youngsters home in groups of two and three.
"I don't want to put too many on the road at one time," the 21-year-old man explained. "We need to be safe."
The first-year instructor is one of three teachers at the school. His charges are in the third, fourth and fifth grades. The learning day begins at 8 a.m.
"All the classes are with each other. Math and English in the morning and reading, social studies and some spelling in the afternoon."
Two little girls put their schoolbooks in old-fashioned baskets next to the handlebars and take off. It's a hard pull up the hill, and their long dresses don't help them gain traction.
"See ya," they hollered as Schlabach waved back at the students.
"I trained horses for carriages before I started teaching," he said. "I've always enjoyed being with animals, but teaching is good, too. I like being around the little ones."
There's no yellow school bus. These Amish make do with tractors hauling loads of children in large, boxlike structures that sit on flatbed trucks.
"Gotta get them home somehow," Schlabach said, smiling.
Pennyrile Pallet has a work force of about 20, including the sawmill crews. About half are Amish.
"This is one of the larger employers in Crofton," Melvin Kauffman said. "We use local logs, and our products are shipped as far as Wichita (Kan.) and Memphis (Tenn.)."
On a recent day when there was no production, two Amish men were in the warehouse playing basketball instead of hoisting pallets.
"The economic market affects us, too," Kauffman said. "One way we adjust is to not do production on some days like today and do maintenance instead."
While the Amish don't have direct access to television and radio, they are well aware of the financial problems of the three major automakers and the trickle-down ramifications in other related industries, Kauffman said.
"Hopefully, being diversified will help us out. GE Plastics (which is now SABIC-Innonative Plastics) in Mount Vernon (Ind.) is one of our oldest customers, and we also work with companies that deal with Sony."
The plant produces about 2,500 pallets a day, or three tractor-trailer loads. The wood must be heat-treated if it's shipped out of the country.
"It's the Amish way not to be involved in politics or the civil government," Kauffman said. "But at the same time, it's our responsibility to comply with regulations. We pray for America's leaders just like the Bible says."
Several children in the office have biked there from school. A little dog had the run of the building.
"We're big on fellowship," Kauffman said, grinning, "and not just at church time."
