Giving Up Electricity

A wood-fired stove at Lehman's (Photo: sonja/Flickr)

A wood-fired stove at Lehman’s (Photo: sonja/Flickr)

What started as a small hardware store serving the local Amish in Kidron, Ohio, grew into something much bigger than founder Jay Lehman ever dreamed. Gathering four pre-Civil War era buildings under one soaring roof, today the store is a place to embrace the past: from old-fashioned treats and sodas to practical, non-electric goods for a simpler life.

The story of the Lehman store is one of “peddling historical technology”. A story of being old-school. And being good at it. Their top-selling products have not changed for decades. Wood stoves, gas refrigerators, oil lamps, water pumps, and water filters are always popular: if you don’t have electricity, you still need ways to store food, stay warm, light the night, and access water.

“We’ve known the term ‘off-the-grid’ for many, many years,” Ervin says. “But now it’s a thing.”

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