Wall Street Journal Article: Hutterite Colony Allows Technology — for Work

September 4, 2007 · Filed Under Hutterite Technology, Hutterites, Hutterites In The News 

A few months ago I got a call from a reporter at the Wall Street Journal who said that she was interested in writing a story about Hutterites and Technology… Mainly Texting..

We visited several times on the phone and her editors approved her coming to Montana a few Sundays back. We went to the colony where I was raised, and hence the story below was born…

This Story was written by Elizabeth Holmes of the Wall Street Journal and can be found on the front page of the Tuesday, September 4, 2007 edition.

View The Photos From The Story (Most of the people in the pictures are my family and the first little girl in the first picture (the really cute one:) is my niece ..my lil’ angel Chubba aka. Katrin)

Picture number 5 is good ole pops … My Father… and NO he had no idea he was going to be in the paper. He does not like the idea at all but ah well, there is nothing he can do about it and I apologize to him for any backlash he may have received.

I would like to add that some of the people in this story, are upset with some of the personal information that is shared…. I personally think it is no big deal but unfortunately some people have blown this whole thing out of context. WOW! Big Surprise… lol.. (I know only a select group of people will understand what I mean by that and we will leave it at that)

One more sidenote: To those people who think this story is pointless, please focus your attention on the important things in life and not petty little things like a Hutterite being featured in the Wal Street Journal... Like I told my sis, “You have accomplished something that most people can and will never do in their entire lifetime, (you were on the front page of the Wall Street Journal for Gosh Sakes:) so appreciate your 15 minutes of fame and do not let the dream-stealer’s and naysayers get to you”

——–Here is the story——–

For Montana Sect, Cellphones Send Mixed Message

Hutterite Colony Allows Technology — for Work; Elsie Asks, ‘How r u?’

By ELIZABETH HOLMES
September 4, 2007; Page A1

MARTINSDALE, Mont. — Elsie Wipf lives a simple life, picking vegetables, sewing clothes for her brothers and sisters and butchering chickens. She also goes to church every day and knits slippers in her spare time.

That is, when she isn’t sending her friends text messages, like “btw how r u 2 day.”

The 35-year-old Ms. Wipf, who got her first cellphone three months ago, is a Hutterite. The roughly 49,000 members of the Anabaptist Christian group, living in colonies in the northern U.S. plains and in Canada, are related to the Amish. They strive to live lives built on faith and family. They grow their own food, make their own clothes and shun many practices of the outside world.

But unlike the Amish, who live mostly unplugged, the Hutterites embrace technology — as long as they feel it improves their colonies. Farming equipment is allowed, for instance; TV sets and other entertaining electronic equipment aren’t.

Now that cheap cellphones have come to rural areas, the question is being asked throughout the roughly 470 Hutterite colonies: Are cellphones useful? Answers differ. A colony outside Winnipeg, Manitoba, allows just five cellphones, and they are shared by 126 people. The Warden Colony in Washington bought its combine drivers Bluetooth wireless headsets to talk while tilling the colony’s 25,000 acres.

In Martinsdale, cellphones are dividing families. Ms. Wipf says that she sent more than 150 text messages in the first two days after she got her phone — much to the consternation of her father. His opinion matters greatly: He is the head preacher of the colony. “It’s against our rules,” Ms. Wipf explains.

Hutterites, named after Jacob Hutter, who was burned as a heretic in 1536, had for years banned conventional telephones. Many homes didn’t even have indoor plumbing. But although Hutterites still speak in their own German dialect, their colonies have changed with the introduction of advances like tractors and automobiles.

Cellphones have had a different effect: The array of available devices with different accessories goes against the communal colony dynamic. Features such as cameras and Internet access — which are banned or severely restricted in nearly all colonies — open up a tantalizing window to the outside world.

“They can phone whoever they want,” says a colony elder, “and have somebody pick ‘em up and go places where they shouldn’t go.”

In this 48-year-old colony, 120 miles northwest of Billings, the 141 residents are members of the Lehrerleut branch, the most conservative of the four types of Hutterites. The neutral-colored metal buildings, including four apartment complexes, a church and barns for hogs, chickens, cows and turkeys, dot a small section of the 15,000 acres of hilly farmland. Each of the 29 families got individual land lines for the first time in November.

Cellphones began to appear here nearly a decade ago and have slowly made their way into the hand-sewn pockets of the residents. Between cellphones provided by the colony and those supplied by outsiders, a total count is hard to come by (it’s somewhere between six and 30, depending on whom you ask). Just six of the phones are paid for by the colony; the rest are spirited in by residents.

Paul Wipf, Elsie’s father, carries one of the colony-sanctioned cellphones. He uses it to do business. But Mr. Wipf, 67, says cellphones in his colony have gone “too far.” They can be a distraction and — of great concern — a link to the outside world that makes leaving the colony easier. Mr. Wipf has yet to enforce strict rules on “illegal” cellphones or discipline users, because, he concedes: “I don’t think we’ll ever get rid of them.”

The most obvious threat cellphones pose is to productivity. The sprawling farming operation turns out 19,000 pounds of milk to send every other day to Meadow Gold Dairies and tons of potatoes that it sells each year to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The fear is that more texting will mean less working.

Ms. Wipf carries her cellphone most days as she does her chores. She keeps it out of sight, tucked safely into the folds of her long skirt. Weeding a row of beets by herself in the 11-acre vegetable garden gives her a chance to get in a few text messages.

Over the course of a month, Ms. Wipf sends hundreds of text messages, occasionally exceeding her allotment of 1,000. Alltel Corp. is her service provider. She texts mostly within the colony but also sends messages to friends and family elsewhere. “She’s constantly on the cellphone and not doing what she’s supposed to be doing,” said Mary Wipf, her mother, one Sunday recently. Elsie laughed off the jab as she jumped up to get a glass of water for her brother.

Cellphones also upset a social order that blurs differences between individuals. The Hutterites’ communal lifestyle means everybody owns everything, and nobody owns anything. They wear the same garb, eat together in one dining room and live in cookie-cutter apartments. The colony elders distribute things by family, from handmade furniture to Haagen-Dazs mint chip ice cream.

To pay for cellphones not provided by the colony, Hutterites seek outside help. Ms. Wipf’s cellphone, an LG AX-490, was furnished to her by a brother who left the colony more than a decade ago. Other women tap their ex-Hutterite boyfriends who have left the colony to earn money and live on their own. The beckoning oil fields, where many of the teenage boys go, pay as much as $40 an hour, according to one Hutterite. Typically, they come back to the colony after a few years to get married. Some of their new discretionary income pays for their girlfriends’ cellphones.

The setup allows men to stay in contact with the colony and gives the women a peek at life on the outside. Rita Wipf, a colony resident, has such a boyfriend outside who pays for her cellphone. She sends more than 1,600 text messages a month, including a recent one to her best friend, Elsie Wipf (no relation), that read like a typical young person’s lament: “[It] is so boring here at home.” The 28-year-old believes cellphones are a natural addition to the colony. “As the world changes, we change, too,” she says.

Men in the colony who want cellphones use work connections with non-Hutterites to get them. Several years ago, Mike Kleinsasser, the colony’s electrician, grew tired of standing in line to use the community’s only phone, tucked inside an elder’s house. Mr. Kleinsasser asked an electric-company representative for one — and had a cellphone within a week. “If you’re a businessman, you have to have one,” he says.

For teenage boys, cellphones can be a pathway to life outside the colony. Carnie Wipf, Elsie’s 18-year-old nephew, watched many of his friends take off for the oil fields and, thanks to his cellphone, got blow-by-blow accounts of their adventures going to movies, watching TV and buying clothes. He knew he could have a job waiting for him and that he could make $22.50 an hour — more than five times his monthly allowance in the colony.

So, last April, Carnie Wipf hitched a ride into Billings with other colony members. In town, he split from the group and said he would find his way back. That night, he used his cellphone to call his mother and tell her he had left the colony, with no immediate plans to return. Would he have left without a cellphone? “The honest truth, I’m not sure,” Carnie said.

Carnie, whose late father was a blacksmith at the colony, cuts steel at a local manufacturer and delivers pizza at night. He misses calving and harvesting but finds comfort in his friends, all of whom are ex-Hutterites with cellphones. He uses his cellphone to call his mom every day. “She wants to know, ‘How is life on the outside?’ and I tell her, ‘Going real well.’ ”

But he adds: “The grass is not as green as I figured it would be.”

—————- End of story ——————–

Additional Side Note: As a side note to this story. I pay for 2 of the cells phones that SOME of my family members have. The cell phone my father has is provided by the Colony.

Update 2010: Everything is still pretty much the same.  Cell phones are still a controversial topic in the Lehrerleut Hutterite Colonies.  Why? I cannot speak for that.  Rules are rules:)

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Comments

37 Responses to “Wall Street Journal Article: Hutterite Colony Allows Technology — for Work”

  1. Jerry Wipf on September 4th, 2007 6:29 pm

    My take on all this is very simple.

    Conservative Hutterites or any Hutterites for that matter will never stop the evolution of technology.

    Cell phones are a wonderful thing .

    What held all of us together through the tragic event and passing of Freddy Wipf last week was text messaging.

    I usually send about 800 text messages per month and last week alone I sent and received over 900 text messages. Most of them were to and from close friends of Freddy’s, and family members. In a way it helped us all cope. We were able to comfort each other through the amazing tech-spirit of cell phones. A tribute picture/music/text message was sent out and within minutes it was sent all over the Hutterite Colonies. It was without the shadow of a doubt one of Viral Texting’s Finest Hours

    Jerry

  2. aimenhoodle on September 5th, 2007 5:23 pm

    Great story, Jerry! The story of you and your family is a never-ending source of wonder and interest to me. I am waiting for my tour of the colony! I enjoyed meeting your sister; she is the most adorable person I have ever seen!
    Peace,
    Aimee

  3. cwoll on September 6th, 2007 1:42 pm

    I think that the story in the WSJ is totally pointless. I am a Hutterite and I could not see what the point of the article is. It surprised me that the the WSJ would publish such a poorly written article.

    clarence w

  4. Jerry Wipf on September 6th, 2007 3:23 pm

    cwoll said…

    I think that the story in the WSJ is totally pointless. I am a Hutterite and I could not see what the point of the article is. It surprised me that the the WSJ would publish such a poorly written article. clarence w
    ——————–

    You may find it pointless. The rest of the world finds it fascinating.

    Have a nice day.
    Jerry

  5. Willy on September 6th, 2007 6:57 pm

    Hi.

    I have studied Hutterites quite closely, and here is what I find fascinating, Jerry.

    Throughout Hutterite history, the communal lifestyle of the Hutterites has completely collapsed at least twice. From my studies, it is quite clear that the concept of “eigen-nutz” was a huge contributer to the collapses. ( “Eigen-nutz”: self-will; serving personal needs/wants versus those of the community; obtaining monies or goods for personal use outside the bounds of community expectations.)
    It is quite clear from the article, that this concept is part of the community that is discussed. Jerry, what I find highly ironic, given how you value the unique lifestyle of Hutterite people, is that by providing siblings with cell phones in exchange for items to sell on your great site, you participate in this concept that can potentially be a huge factor in the downfall of these great Peoples in the future. Now I’m not questioning or discussing the value of technology, but am rather fascinated by the irony of it all when I look at the greater theme.

    Sincerely,
    Watson

  6. Dorty on September 7th, 2007 7:41 am

    Jerry, great story!!! Just another example that one cannot lock inquisitive minds in a box. dorty

  7. R on September 7th, 2007 6:01 pm

    Thankyou “willy”. I’ve been trying to put what i’m feeling into words for the last couple days. Jerry keeps saying he respects the Hutterites. He has just proved to me how utterly…you’re a hypocrite, Jerry, and i’ll bet you don’t even know it.

  8. Jerry Wipf on September 7th, 2007 11:57 pm

    lol

    R.

    That was a humours response.

    I am not quite sure why you say that but all I can tell ya is… THERE IS A VIDEO COMING.. Watch for it soon…and if there is anyone else who needs to vent please do so… Let it all out… don’t hold nothing back folks..

    To all those people who absolutely loved the Wall Street Article and appreciated the story, thank you for your kind words and your support.. I love ya all and hey R I love you too. I would love to have coffee with you someday.

    CHEERS
    Jerry

  9. Jerry Wipf on September 8th, 2007 12:06 am

    WILLY

    The Lehrerleut Hutterites have NEVER collapsed.. NEVER… Yes they have their bumps in the road now and then but geez don’t we all..

    I will speak about your comment in my upcoming video..thanks for posting such a great question. I COMPLETLY DISAGREE WITH YOU.. but I do appreciate you speaking in a sensible manner..

    Peace
    Jerry

  10. Jerry Wipf on September 8th, 2007 12:07 am

    Dorty

    AMEN

    Thanks for the comment..

    Have a great weekend friend
    Jerry

  11. Jerry Wipf on September 8th, 2007 12:10 am

    Aimee

    You tell me when and I will take you to Martinsdale for the grand tour.. (including the wonderful little hoodlers) I know my nieces and nephews will love playing with em..

    See ya soon
    Jerry

  12. R on September 8th, 2007 11:44 am

    I didn’t mean that my response be humorous, Jerry. You insist that you respect us and at the same time you’re buying cell phones for members of a community that doesn’t look kindly on such things. Don’t get me wrong, i have nothing against cell phones…..some of the yp around here have one…. the difference is, they are accepted here.
    I do believe “willy” is talking about the collapse of the Hutterites when they were still in Europe and still one group, not four separate ones. Since they moved to North America, there has been no collapse.
    I’m glad you love me. Lets get married.

  13. Jerry Wipf on September 8th, 2007 12:41 pm

    OMG

    I just figured out what the R stood for. Mrs. Right

    I am ferclempt right now..

    :)

  14. Jerry Wipf on September 8th, 2007 12:55 pm

    OK R seriously..

    Where did you folks ever get the idea that cell phones are against the rules or the law at the Lehereleut colonies?

    And are you telling me that I do not have the right to give my loved ones a cell phone so that I can stay in touch with them? There is so much more to this story than you know.

    Have a Super Saturday.. and umm, just curious but..who pays for your computer, and stuff…

    ME

  15. R on September 9th, 2007 11:25 am

    The community payed for my computer and stuff.

    Like I said, some communities embrace technology, others don’t. We have to respect every community’s policies, whether we agree with it or not. Most people think every colony is exactly the same and “brand” the Hutterites in such a way. They have no idea how wrong they are.

    Sorry that i’m coming across as know-it-all.

  16. Jerry Wipf on September 9th, 2007 10:13 pm

    R, you said… “We have to respect every community’s policies, whether we agree with it or not”

    What about my rights and my fellow brothers’ and sisters’ (who have left) what about our policies and our rights? Do you respect them, or are we forever “branded” as those that do not deserve respect because we chose to leave?

    It’s a very fine line, and if you do not respect those of us that leave, I do not see how you can respect the policies of other Hutterite Colonies that you disagree with.

    Folks that live life “against others way of life” must have a very confusing time. “Life was never meant to be a struggle…Life was meant to be lived to its fullest as long as you still honor the higher power”

    That is what I do and I will continue to.

    LOVE and PEACE
    ME

    PS: I know there are Hutterites who have left the colony that read this Blog. I ask you to use your voice as long as you use it wisely. SPEAK UP!

  17. R on September 10th, 2007 8:23 am

    I have my own personal feelings towards those that choose to leave the colony, and I can only speak for myself:

    I do not disrespect them. I believe there are some who are not meant to live the Hutterite life. The Hutterian Brethren Church is not the only way to salvation. For me though, it’s the right place to be, even though I have very often considered a different path.

    Having said that, if one leaves a life to start a new life, the privileges of changing or improving the old life are gone, they are finished, they have no right to interfere.

    This is why, in the beginning people had a problem with you being a spokesperson, so to speak, for the Hutterites. But you understand that now…our misgivings about an outsider speaking for/about us.

    How you live your life, Jerry, is your business, and vice versa.

    Yes, respect to all. I firmly believe that.

    as a side note: IMO life WAS meant to be a struggle. I agree with you, though; life should be lived to its fullest with God fully in control. And what a challenge that is…..

  18. Jerry Wipf on September 10th, 2007 12:22 pm

    Thanks R

    I am not a spokesperson for Hutterites.

    I speak for ME

    Peace

  19. Anonymous on October 17th, 2007 8:58 pm

    The Lehrerleut have never collapsed? Actually…none of the ‘3 leut’ have collapsed since their inception. By collapse I mean community life was discontinued completely. This has happened twice, and every single Hutterite can trace their roots back to these events.

    Mark Hofer from Manitoba.

  20. s-wurtz on January 15th, 2008 8:55 pm

    The Hutterites are collapsed to me…My family wasn’t even allowed to pray at home, It had to be done in church..

  21. Bailey on February 10th, 2008 1:55 pm

    hey yall. I’m new here. My name is Bailey. I live in Wis. I’m 16 years old. I’m planning on joining a hutterite group/ amish group when I’m out of highschool which is when im 19 any advice?

  22. Anonymous on May 4th, 2008 9:36 am

    LOL at the WSJ article. Another awesome example of Hutterites being misinterpreted and misunderstood by others. How fitting that I found the article on this blog. :)

    Kudos to R for both your well-expressed opinions and for taking the time to present views opposing Jerry’s, even tho he seems to be finding some of them hard to swallow.

    I’ll be honest here, when I read Jerry’s comment that said, “Life wasn’t meant to be a struggle,” I almost decided that this guy must be crazy, in which case, what’s the point of leaving a comment and expecting a logical, reasonable answer? Obviously, I have opted to take the chance.

    Really, Jerry? Life wasn’t meant to be a struggle? There are many different viewpoints on what life is meant to be, meant to lead to, etc. But you’d be hard pressed to find any religion, philosophy, or principle that doesn’t at least admit that life IS a struggle. Most of them, in fact, believe that that’s the whole point.

    I don’t have very high hopes of getting a logical response, so I’ll leave it at that, and hope for the best.

    -regenwurm

  23. Jerry Wipf on May 4th, 2008 11:05 am

    You think however you want to think my friend..

    I choose to think that life was NOT MEANT to be a struggle.. and it isn’t.

    I don’t do negative..

    Have a great day

    Jerry

  24. m on August 18th, 2008 11:38 am

    Jerry no wonder u left; you think life is not meant to be a struggle.well is it so easy out there?

  25. Jerry Wipf on August 23rd, 2008 7:30 pm

    @m

    It is as easy as I choose to make it.

    Thanks for the comment
    ME:)

  26. rAinYdaY on August 30th, 2008 9:13 am

    Life is not meant to be a struggle??? What about the fact that the Bible tells us that we are given struggles and tests to define our character and to mold us into true Christians. Did Jesus not also have to face the struggles of this world??? I read that other day that He went through it all just for us…Just so WE know that HE knows who WE feel when it’s hard to keep going…What an inspiration.
    So in my opinion, we all have struggles, thats what life is all about. Each mold and shape us for the future, each has it’s good. You only have to look at them at a biblical point of view.
    As for the article, to me it is also poorly written though not irrelevant or pointless. Have you ever sat in a group of young people when every 2 minutes someone pulls out their cell phone and texts??? How utterly insulting!!! I think some colonies are definitely over doing it, but they also have their importance, so I am not completely against them.

  27. Jerry Wipf on September 11th, 2008 12:39 pm

    @rAinYdaY: You are entitled to your opinion but I highly DISAGREE..

    Cheers
    ME :)

  28. Mr.Hofer on October 7th, 2008 6:15 pm

    Sir Jerry: You said that the lehrer leut have never ever collapsed. I am an ex-schmied leut now living in close contact with a lot of lehrer leut. (In other words I feel I can relate very well to both or all 3 groups for that matter) a definition of “terms” or goals” is needed here. If the goal is to just live in in a communal setting regardless of the quality of life (spiritually and socially) and be a sucessful business then, yes, they have never collapsed. BUT, if the goal is still the same as the fathers of the anababtist movement, to live with such a deep devotion to Jesus, even to be tortured, and slaughtered for their love for Jesus Christ, if that is still the goal( and it should be), then they have utterly, utterly COLLAPSED.
    To live in a communal setting without true devotion to Jesus, doesn’t impress me a bit, as wolves live in a communal setting, but each is really out for his own interests. Likewise my own people the hutterites live in a communal setting but fall far short of the goals of their early founding fathers.
    I welcome any challenges to my opinions.

    Mr. Hofer

    I welcome any challange to this statement

  29. Jerry Wipf on October 7th, 2008 6:28 pm

    @Mr.Hofer: Great input and respectfully taken.

    When I speak of Collapse I speak not of Religion. I speak of economics.

    Cheers
    ME :)

  30. theodore hofer on October 19th, 2008 2:07 pm

    to god wouldnt the whole world be a communal setting? or was he born yesterday?

  31. Mr. T on November 16th, 2008 2:31 am

    Jerry, have you ever studied Postmodern theory. I’ve watched your video and on it you talk about college. I assume you know. You got balls man, can’t say as much about the grey matter. The world is not hungry for the hutterite way of life. The world is hungry for information, any kind of information. They, we are searching for a purpose. That purpose will not be found in cellphones, on the internet or in any technology. Look inside man. The hutterites are an enclosed society because happiness is to be found inside. No one understands that better than the person who is willing to live and die “vier seinen nechsten”.
    Postmodernism postulates that the world is an intertwined text and works inside an enclosed bubble. Think of the world as a huge hutterite colony, except with violent crime, prison, rape, murder etc. The Hutterites are not exempt. When the bubble bursts, well… You would be doing all the hutterites and exhutterites a huge favor if you would not confuse important details. There is no possible way you can “set the record straight.” The myths are there for a reason, everyone has them, everyone needs them, they die, the culture dies. Unless that’s what your trying to do? I recommend putting up a virtual signpost for people who are genuinely interested to gather the real story. That story will only be found through experience. This is not the real story, neither is the WSJ article, but people who don’t have a reference, think that it is. The hutterite culture is so different that anyone brought up in an individualistic society, i.e. the western world, will never comprehend with a true understanding, but they think they will. If you listened in German school that’s what your Schullehrer was saying. I dare you to write a poem about what you are trying to say on this site.

    A+ for effort though.

    From Canada

  32. Raymond on December 4th, 2008 2:52 am

    Bailey, you asked for advice, so I’m giving it:

    I’m a Evangelical Lutheran from Wisconsin. Perhaps you are a Lutheran, too? Every good teaching found among the Hutterites is also found among the Lutherans, too. The problem is just that many don’t know the Bible enough and don’t trust the Lord. You can still be very devout without withdrawing from modern life.

    Please, don’t just up and leave us. I know as a high schooler it is tempting to join a communal group and not have to make all of your life choices by your lonesome self. Seriously, in the upcoming years of your life you will see so much to consider. I know it is a lot of work to form your own unique identity, but you can’t escape it without shortchanging your future. Learn about everything in order to make your own choices rather than escaping from everything and therefore limiting your experiences.

    And remember, you are never alone, for the Lord is with all of his Christians. He is there to guide your choices with His Word.

  33. Dwayne on December 11th, 2008 4:42 pm

    hi
    yes some of them do fall short of the forefathers,,,but if you have ever read the geschichtbuch,,,,then you will find that back then too,,,,,,,,,some of them were just in the colony to have a easy living.
    still the same today…
    thanks
    Dwayne

  34. steven don stahl on December 15th, 2008 10:32 am

    Hi jerry I live in canada the name of the colony is Tschetter colony.

  35. steven don stahl on December 15th, 2008 1:35 pm

    Jerry which colony do you come from.

  36. Jerry Wipf on December 16th, 2008 12:11 pm

    @steven don stahl: From the Martinsdale Colony (Lehrerleut Branch)

  37. Jerry on January 31st, 2010 1:25 pm

    lol… Ah the good old blog days. Before The Hutterite Social Network I love it. I am reading through some of these comments and everything is still pretty much the same with the exception of the evolution of the Hutterite Voice on the web thanks to Social Networking. I personally have seen an acceptence now of the Hutterite Voice and it’s a very healthy thing. Keep it up folks. Just refrain from personal attacks. :)

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