Lehman's. Enough said. Whether you're in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country or nearly anywhere else on the planet, Lehman's means the world's largest purveyor of historical technology. It means a place where you'll find a huge collection of old-fashioned, hand-crafted, hard-to-find tools, appliances, kitchenware, toys, books and much more. It also means you absolutely, positively must visit this store, and the sooner the better! A half-million people visit Lehman's every year, so don't be left out. Even if you're not looking for anything, you'll end up finding it at Lehman's.

Jay Lehman started the retail store in Kidron back in 1955 as a supplier to the local Amish. His hardware and appliance store served the non-electric community by selling farming and gardening tools, wood stoves, oil lamps, hand-cranked ice cream freezers, apple peelers and butter churns. Over the years, the store has expanded many times, a nook here, a cranny there.

Recently, they took on their biggest expansion to date, doubling their current retail space, and on July 14, the public will be invited to the grand opening. There will be lots of demonstrations, both for adults and kids, music, lots of food, and tours of the totally re-designed store.

Jay recently purchased an 1840-era barn at an auction about 10 miles northwest of Kidron, and it has been reconstructed, beam by beam, just off the current Lehman's store. Connecting the two structures is a large display area that, from the outside, looks like a typical Amish home. The barn area then opens up further into an area previously used as warehouse space.

"We want to provide a better shopping experience for our customers, as well as interactive displays and educational information about Amish Country and the old-fashioned way of doing things," said Galen Lehman, President and son of Jay.

"First, we've built two new entrances to the store," explained Vice President of Marketing Glenda Lehman Ervin, Jay's daughter. "The main entrance will come in from the east from a large parking lot off Kidron Road, eliminating the congestion we had when the front door was at the corner of Kidron and Emerson roads. There will also be a west entrance off our existing lot off Emerson Road."

Visitors will enter the new barn area to views of massive hand-hewn beams, two stories high. This 4,000-square-foot dairy barn was mainly made of oak, although there was some hickory and beech used, as well. The longest members are the bottom plates, which measure 48 feet, and the ties across the top of the barn are 41 feet. All the timbers are joined the way they were originally, with wooden pegs (albeit new ones) that fit into holes in the mortise-and-tenon joints. No nails were used to hold the main frame together.

"Most people who come to Lehman's have never been inside a hand-hewn barn before," Glenda said, "so we're providing a brand new experience for them. There will even be some pigeons and a raccoon (fake, of course) up in the rafters, because when I first went to look at this particular barn, that's what I saw when I looked up!"

An old buggy barn has also been moved on site to act as a high-tech gathering area for visiting groups. Amish-crafted church pews will seat bus tours and/or groups of school children on field trips.

The Cast Iron Cafe will be a welcomed addition to Lehman's, allowing weary shoppers an opportunity to sit, have a light lunch (salads, sandwiches, soups, ice cream sundaes, coffee and other drinks) at tables graced with red-checkered tablecloths. Or, during warm weather, customers may take their lunch outside to a charming patio area.

"We've never had the space for people to sit, rest and visit before," Glenda said.

All the new space means everything in the store will be moved. An expanded kitchen-wares area means there will now be room for demonstrations of products.

"Many people have a renewed interest in getting back to the basics," Glenda said, "and they want to learn how to do things the way they used to be done. For instance, we sell all the canning supplies, but now we'll be able to have a canning demonstration to teach people how to do it themselves. There are so many things we'll be able to share, helping to educate our customers."

A newly constructed library area, complete with those charming old-fashioned rolling ladders, will stock a large display of books and have a seating area. Adjacent will be large, new restrooms.

"Hopefully, people won't have to stand in line to use the restroom anymore," Glenda chuckled. "I think these will be the most popular part of the addition!"

The new stove showroom allows the displayed stoves to be vented so you can actually see what a particular stove will look like when lit. Before, you had to sort of use your imagination for that!

Of course, Lehman's will still be selling all the merchandise it has always sold, and it is often the only place in the world to get many such items. Many manufacturers have quit making products such as old-fashioned treadle sewing machine cabinets and wooden wheelbarrows. So Lehman's has hired local Amish crafters to create such wares.

Lehman's is the place to buy coffee, tea and beverage supplies; housewares; butchering supplies; juicing equipment; canning supplies; cheese and butter supplies; a pantry of ready-made food; grain mills; cast cookware; crocks, kettles and soup pots; barrels; bells; books and manuals; ice cream freezers; old-fashioned toys (the non-electric kind, like Tiddly Winks, jacks, a Jack-in-the-box and sock monkeys) and children's wagons; furniture; lighting and oil lamp supplies; heating stoves and cooking stoves and accessories; refrigerators; toilets; water-equipment supplies; washers and other washday needs; cleaning supplies; personal care items; lawn and garden implements; tools; farming supplies; and much, much more.

They also carry many uncommon items such as a four-pronged marshmallow roaster, a clothesline ratchet (to keep the line taut), a cherry handcrafted noodle cutter, a hog scraper, a 10-gallon crock (you can use this for making pickles and sauerkraut or as an umbrella stand!), corks in 28 different sizes, non-electric door bells, a solar-powered attic fan, Aloe Castile and Fels Naptha soap, "flour sack" dish towels, shaving mugs and brushes (and the shaving soap, too), fly paper and a weather stick (this balsam fir stick serves as a weather barometer ... and it actually works!).

Lehman's was the place to be just before Y2K, as people from all over the country became concerned about being without basic utilities. Then, September 11, 2001, brought the threat of terrorists, and once again Lehman's became a hot spot of activity as folks realized they may someday need a backup for their utilities (oil lamps, crank-powered radios, etc.).

Hollywood film directors and prop masters, on the lookout for authentic, working props for their movies, have also discovered Lehman's. Movies such as Cold Mountain, Open Range, Pirates of the Caribbean, K-19: The Widow Maker, The Mask of Zorro, Little House on the Prairie and the new Next, all have authentic products from Lehman's.

"For example, if, in Cold Mountain, Nicole Kidman puts corn in a grain mill and turns the crank, she'd better get cornmeal coming out," Glenda said.

With the new expansion, Lehman's can now be an all-day destination when traveling to Amish Country. As for the locals, they won't have to shop during "off" hours to avoid the crowded aisles. As usual, you can also shop at Lehman's online at www.lehmans.com or by catalog (available for $5 on the Web site or by writing or calling the store).

So come enjoy all the new features Lehman's has to offer and see what's new in old-fashioned.

Glenda summed it up best by saying, "We're so old-fashioned, we're hip again!"

Lehman's - One Lehman Circle, PO Box 41, Kidron, OH 44636, (330) 857-5757 or (888) 438-5346, http://www.lehmans.com ; hours: Mon.-Sat., 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Thu., open late until 8 p.m.; closed on Sun.; open some major holidays, so please call ahead.