Michigan Amish

Buggy signs, part 2

After regretting (on the original buggy sign post) that we had no Allen County, Indiana sign, reader Torey has kindly shared this photo, taken near the town of Grabill. You may be aware that Amish in Allen County are considered “Swiss Amish”.  Swiss Amish differ in a few ways from most other Amish (most Amish are considered to be of “Pennsylvania German” ethnicity). Swiss Amish…

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Amish auction

Rustic Russ reports on the Yoder Horse and Carriage Auction in Mount Pleasant, MI.  Russ has a nice site with a number of Michigan Amish posts and photos. Furniture is among the many items sold at Amish auctions; woodworking has become a chief industry among Amish, many of whom have opened small businesses in recent years. Read more on Amish woodcraft in the state: Amish…

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Amish Settlement Facts

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 in Ohio was founded in 1914, yet comprises just one…

Amish in Montcalm County, Michigan

Shannon shares some nice photos from the Amish settlement at Montcalm County, Michigan. Shannon says that the family she knows here belongs to the ‘Troyer Amish’ group. There are currently 24 Amish settlements in Michigan, according to the latest Calender, the almanac-and-guide to Amish church districts. The oldest Michigan settlement, that in the vicinity of Centreville in St. Joseph County, dates to 1910. It is…

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Leaving the Amish behind

In 2003 Melvin Mullet chose to leave his Amish upbringing behind, and in this interview he explains some basics of Amish life (no longer online) as well as offering a little insight on how he sees the group, now that he is ‘on the outside’. One of the pluses of Amish life, according to Melvin, who grew up in a Michigan Amish settlement:  ‘I miss…

Peach pie and the latest from the Amish Cook

Busy Amish mom Lovina Eicher writes a weekly column from her home in a Michigan Amish community.  It’s carried in over 130 papers across the country. This week she shares some thoughts on spring cleaning and how Amish and non-Amish kids get along. Kevin Williams, Lovina’s editor, also runs an interesting blog-and-news site on the Amish.

An Amish killer’s attempt to return

The crime was horrendous. But the point now is not the crime–it’s the hard issues at hand for the Amish community of Ed Gingerich–allegedly the only Amishman ever tried and convicted for the death of another human being. Gingerich killed his wife in a fit of insanity in 1993. A paranoid schizophrenic, he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served a few years in a…

Barefoot with the Amish Cook

Ever wonder why many Amish moms seem to prefer going barefoot while shucking corn or canning beans? The Amish Cook, Lovina Eicher, shares a bit in this excerpt from her column: The children just can’t wait until they can run outside barefooted. I caught a few of them trying to do it already. I don’t think the ground is warm enough yet, maybe once the…

Thinking Ahead

‘We didn’t get out soon enough.’ In an article (no longer online) from the Toledo Blade, an Amish patriarch talks about moving from a liberal settlement to a more conservative one. This grandfather of 82 laments losing his two oldest boys to the world.  Had the family moved sooner, they may have avoided the influences that caused his sons to leave the faith. The Amish…

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Debunking some Speech Myths

The Amish don’t use ‘thee’, ‘thine’, or ‘thou’, as you might think after watching Weird Al’s video. Neither do they speak like Alexander Godunov or Jan Rubes did in Witness. Check that, at least one Amishman today does–but he was born in Germany and converted to the faith in his 20’s. They mostly speak English like any rural Americans would.  Though you could say there…