Springtime to fall, the Sinking Valley Amish shops are open to the public from daylight to sunset, excluding Sundays.

Starting on Kettle Road and ending by Route 453, there are in total 22 different stores and attractions made available for people to taste life on the Amish side.

Since 1988, many Amish families have called Sinking Valley home after relocating from Mifflin County. Currently, there are over 300 people from the Amish community who live in the valley, many of them working at family-owned stores to help make money.

Every store is unique; shoppers will find different products at each Sinking Valley Amish shop.

Hilltop Flowers is one of 22 different stores that are part of the Sinking Valley Amish Shops. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“They are like regular stores,” Tyrone Township Secretary Jenn Long said. “Everyone specializes in different things.”

Valuable vegetables

The start of the map lists shops GardenFresh Produce and Barnyard Posies, which are popular spots for fresh produce and colorful flowers.

“Corn, tomatoes and potatoes” are the most common items sold at GardenFresh Produce, storekeeper Mary Peachey, 45, said.

Mary said she was 10 years old when she and her parents moved to Sinking Valley in the 1990s. Since then, she has worked at GardenFresh Produce.

Sawyer Jones feeds many hungry goats a lunchtime snack outside Hilltop Produce in Sinking Valley. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“I enjoy customers and vegetables,” she said. “I enjoy working here.”

Working nine hour days are routine for Mary, usually starting early at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. Her family added the greenhouses for their additional store, Barnyard Posies, in 2021, and she commented that the flowers are another enjoyable part of her work.

The greenhouses host multiple types of plants and flowers ranging from succulents and pepper plants to impatiens and geraniums.

July and August are the shop’s busiest times, but fall also attracts many people for their fall decorations and pumpkins, she said.

Retiree Eric Cover, 70, believes GardenFresh is one of the best places to get fruits and vegetables.

Valley View Fruit Farms offers a variety of produce, including apples. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

He and his wife, Charlotte, 72, are no strangers to the Sinking Valley shops — they live nearby, and they prefer to come here rather than head into Altoona.

“Country is better than riding in the city,” Eric said.

The couple also brought their grandchildren, Zoey, 6, and Zach, 3, who were most excited to see horses in the valley and giggled when one pulling a buggy walked by.

Charlotte said “the kids love to come” to the shops.

GardenFresh Produce and Backyard Posies was busy on a sunny Thursday afternoon, and Mary said she likes when people stop by and shop at her stores.

Mirror photo by Colette Costlow Charlotte Cover (from left) stands with grandchildren. Zach and Zoey. and her husband, Eric, outside GardenFresh Produce in Sinking Valley.

Fruits and farm animals

A little further along the map is where Fannie Peachey, 32, stands behind her store’s counter at Valley View Fruit Farm.

Home-grown peaches and apples can be found sitting in baskets on shelves. “People come back every year for our fruit,” Fannie said.

August and September are Valley View’s busiest time of year because many shoppers want to buy apples and peaches for autumn festivities.

What gets Fannie out of bed each morning, however, is to provide an income for her family.

Rows of greenhouses hold a variety of plants and flowers at Barnyard Posies in Sinking Valley. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

“That’s our business,” said Fannie, who has been working at the shop since she married her husband 11 years prior.

Many shoppers who come to Sinking Valley end up supporting other local businesses as well, said Long, whose husband runs a sweet corn stand.

“It’s about supporting every local farmer,” Long said. “We are an ag community first and foremost.”

Brianna Jones of Williamsburg, 34, said she “likes to shop local,” noting that the Sinking Valley shops are convenient for her location.

She has known about these shops since she was a kid because her grandmother was a fan of the markets. Now, Jones is able to take her two sons, Waylon, 10, and Sawyer, 3, with her to shop.

“The kids and I like to come here, and the kids love feeding the goats and being outside,” Jones said.

Friends Deniese Podrasky and Michael Berndt also enjoy shopping in Sinking Valley because “the produce is always so good and it’s fresh,” Podrasky said.

They were on the hunt for strawberry rhubarb pie, but they also purchased corn and jalapeno cheese bread that day.

“There’s a lot of stuff that they have that you can’t really find in a grocery store,” Berndt said.

‘A community thing’

Near the end of Kettle Road lives Martha Wengerd, 58, who helps run The Little Country Store.

She said the store used to be run by her neighbors, but as the community began to grow and her neighbors started more businesses, they asked the Wengerd family to take over the food shop.

The Little Country Store sells different types of flour, spices and candies, including dried strawberries and organic “chunks of energy.” They also sell copies of the “Sinking Valley Cookbook,” which is a self-published cookbook that includes recipes from the Amish community.

Wengerd said the Sinking Valley Amish shops are “a community thing, and we’re not looking to really try and bring a lot more business in. We can’t handle too much more.”

According to Long, the valley is growing in popularity, but it is “maxed out for space” with the number of Amish shops opening in the area.

“As soon as a property opens in Sinking Valley, it is sold immediately,” Long said. “It’s a popular place to live. It’s a nice community.”

By Route 453, Creative Woodworking is another popular business in the valley, offering kitchen and bathroom remodeling.

Jacob Peachey, 41, said he has been working at his brother’s shop for 15 years, and they are always taking new customers.

He said they advertise their business through word-of-mouth. “If somebody hears from somebody else that we did their kitchen and they want a kitchen too, they come here,” he said.

Like Creative Woodworking, many members of the Sinking Valley Amish run unique shops, but they are vital members to the local community, as well.

Their businesses help promote other local farms and businesses in the area, thus building lasting relationships between both communities.

“We work very well with the community and they do with us as well,” Long said.

She said that members of the Amish community will complete welding projects for the township, and in return, the township will take members of the Amish community to the local bank to manage their accounts.

The Sinking Valley Amish shops attract people from near and far, but the impact shoppers make on the local community is undeniable.

“They are like small local businesses,” Long said. “Shopping local helps local.”

Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.

A sign advertising 'Creative Woodworking' stands outside Jacob Peachey's business in Sinking Valley. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow

Corn fields are seen by Hilltop Produce, showcasing the fullness of Sinking Valley. Mirror photo by Colette Costlow