Kansas Amish

Since I’ve been back in the US I’ve finally had a chance to watch the National Geographic Amish specials (on ex-Amish, and Amish courtship and marriage) in full. You may recall a couple of posts on these last fall: Leaving the Amish and Amish dating.  I didn’t comment too much at the time, having only seen the [...]

Continue reading National Geographic Amish specials–another look

The Great Plains have long attracted Amish settlement.  However, Amish populations in most Great Plains states, such as Oklahoma and Montana, remain low. Kansas holds to this pattern; despite a history of Amish settlement stretching back 140 years, the Sunflower State is today home to only about a dozen church districts. There are some interesting [...]

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Sunday is the day Amish youth groups gather, and when dating couples traditionally meet.  So I thought it would be a good day to share this. National Geographic is airing a new show called “Amish at the Altar”. They describe the show as: Three couples–two Amish and one ex-Amish–reveal courtship, engagement, and marriage among the [...]

Continue reading Amish dating

Just got a hot tip from the Young Center that the 2009 Amish population statistics are up at the Amish Studies web site. A couple quick things I noticed between this year’s and last year’s numbers:  on the lower end, Arkansas has jumped from 1 to 3 settlements, and the Maine Amish, Montana Amish, and [...]

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The latest issue of Family Life includes an article by David Luthy entitled Amish Settlements Across America: 2008. It’s a comprehensive listing of Amish settlements along with some commentary and analysis.  Last time Luthy did one of these was in 2003. Interesting facts: Some settlements are very old, yet due to various factors, are very small today. Hicksville [...]

Continue reading Amish Settlement Facts