Alice Aber shares a pile of pics from a recent trip to the Arthur, Illinois Amish community. A special thanks to Alice; I think you’ll enjoy these photos: See Alice’s photos of the Roselen’s Amish coffee shop at Arthur. Read more on the Arthur Amish and Amish furniture in Illinois. And: contest tomorrow.
Continue reading Arthur Amish photos
When I first began spending time with the Amish, I felt like I was entering another world. I would drive my car from gritty Decatur, Illinois, where I was living for the summer while selling books, 45 minutes southeast to the farms, fields and fresh air of Moultrie County. Crossing into “Amish territory”, it seemed [...]
Continue reading Do we romanticize the Amish?
Today is the first day of spring (also known as the furthest day possible from next winter). Depending on your latitude, you may need the calendar to tell you that. But even if your weather this morning doesn’t seem so springy, it will be here soon enough. With spring, plants know the wait is over. [...]
Continue reading 5 signs of spring in Amish America
In last Friday’s brain dump I mentioned Roselen’s Coffees and Delights, a drive-thru coffee shop in the Arthur, Illinois Amish community. Roselen’s is operated by Amish sisters Rose Plank and Lena Otto. I guess we can figure out where the shop’s name comes from (but why did poor Lena have to lose her “a”?). Alice [...]
Continue reading Roselen’s Amish coffee shop at Arthur, Illinois
It’s become something of a habit to share a few thoughts, comments, and links every couple weeks in what I call a “brain dump”. It’s not as scary as it sounds: Reader Steve recently asked “Where are the Texas Amish?” We don’t have a Texas Amish State Guide entry yet, but I can point you [...]
Continue reading Friday brain dump: Lone Star Amish, getting hitched, and an Illinois buggy “brew-thru”
Amish have lived in Illinois since the early 1830s. The Arthur community, with a population of around 4,000 Amish, dwarfs all other settlements in the state, most of which measure at most a few hundred souls. The Arthur Amish settlement holds a special place for me, as it was the first community where I met [...]
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I sent a thank-you copy of my book to an Amish friend in PA. He received it yesterday. He thanked me and let me know that he would read it asap, but admitted that “reading in the summer is like swimming in the winter for us here”. Which cracked me up, but made sense. I [...]
Continue reading Odds and ends and another great photo
A farmer works in the fields in the Arthur Illinois Amish community. Courtesy of Walter Blackledge. I spoke with Abe in Lancaster County today. He is doing what many farmers are right now–planting. In his case, eggplants and Romaine lettuce. And tomatoes of course. As we’ve discussed in the past, intensive produce farming has become [...]
Continue reading Illinois Amish farmer
