Amana Colonies

Blankets for sale at Amana Woolen Mill hang on racks beside the mill’s machinery.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

A wool blanket bears the logo of the Amana Society, a company established in the mid-1800s to serve the needs of the small religious group after its members settled in eastern Iowa.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

The main drag through Amana, Iowa — the most visited of the seven villages that make up the Amana Colonies — is lined with well-maintained homes, restaurants and shops dating to the 1850s.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

In the Amana Furniture & Clock Shop’s factory, Karolee Mell pieces together pieces of walnut that will become a handcrafted, tambour clock. Visitors can observe workers from above the factory floor.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

A giant rocker billed as Iowa’s largest rocking chair greets visitors to the Broom & Basket Shop in West Amana, Iowa.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

Originally built to serve members of the Amana commune, the Amana General Store now caters to tourists with items such as candles and Christmas ornaments.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

A wide variety of sausages are sold at the Amana Meat Shop & Smokehouse. Meats are cured using techniques handed down from generation to generation.   ( Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

Streusels with various flavors of fillings are displayed at Hahn’s Hearth Oven Bakery in Middle Amana, Iowa. Owner Doris Hahn often sells all of her baked goods within two hours of opening.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

Using a long-handled wooden paddle, Doris Hahn removes a streusel from her oven. It’s been used to bake breads and pastries in Middle Amana, Iowa, since the 1860s.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

Three churches, including this one in Middle Amana, remain to serve those who still practice the Amana faith. Women and men continue to sit on opposite sides of the church during services.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )

Jon Childers, one of eight elders of the Amana church, stands beside an exhibit in the Amana museum that he manages. Childers enjoys sharing the history of the colonies with visitors.   (Jay Jones/Chicago Tribune )