like a spider web

In an attempt to understand the changes happening in my own community, I determined to discover who was behind the purchase of two of our largest local hotels by a firm that seemed- from rumors- to be associated with an Amish couple.

The rumors about this couple did not add up, as rumors often do not, so I determined to find the truth, for the sake of truth. But rumors are like stained glass windows- they may look good on the outside but behind that window may still lurk a shadowy set of figures, especially if the buyers hide under an LLC.

If we compare the process to discovering where the spider is on a web, each silk is traceable after a gentle misting. Like observer, I went back to trace the web, from silk to silk, until I could find the spider, the one behind the LLC.

It led me to conflicting information, to a business first, and then a residence. Someone, as the brilliance of the internet will sometimes show, had linked the couple to a nearby management chain and asserted via the wide world web that the spider was, in fact, neither Amish nor Mennonite, but simply an "English" venture to make money in Amish Country and other locations in the Midwest and Florida.

Further "facts" posted online by a government entity suggested that the same couple purchased both hotels on the same date, using the same address, but different LLC names and a different arrangement. The government records indicated that the previous owner re-purchased one of the properties a month later for $50,000, which certainly looks like a mistake, but could give credence to the couple being associated, or a principal, in a venture actually managing hotels rather than buying them.

The truth is that the couple behind the LLCs, having a name that is so common in their area, and is one also used in association with the hospitality management company, are so ubiquitous to the region that I would have to speak with them directly to really know. And that, perhaps, is the moral of this ordeal, for if you want the whole truth, there is no excuse but to speak directly with the one purchasing the property.

I did discover further that the purchasers of the two properties have listed their address as a location next door to a series of cottages and a house used as a hospitality location, one that has been established in that area for decades. That fact, and the fact that the contact's name for that venue appears to be the same, suggest that the purchasers of the two hotels, are actually the managers of that long-time business in Holmes County, Ohio. 

But whether they are Amish or not is anyone's guess.