New York Amish

Amish horse vaccination

Not all Amish vaccinate their children, with concerns over safety, money and thwarting God’s will.  Amish apparently also vaccinate their horses at a lower rate. Human vaccination has been a hot issue for many years.  We don’t really think as much about animal vaccinations.  However animal-borne diseases are a potential danger, and not just to a farmer’s bottom line. Officials in New York are trying…

Amish, NY school board resolve busing dispute

Do you remember the controversy over busing Amish students in New York back in January? By a 6-0 vote, the Marathon school board has elected to offer the Amish “special busing”, which will apparently do enough to alleviate Amish concerns.  To recap the Amish side: The Old Order Amish community in the hill towns around Marathon had sought separate busing for their children on a schedule…

An Amish Greenhouse

Attention green-thumbers–here are some photos from an Amish greenhouse near Summerhill, New York (Cayuga County): “It is getting so the Amish are all over the place,”  observes Tom.  On this trip he traveled through Amish communities including “Romulus, Marathon, Summerhill, the Swiss in Clyde and finally North Rose”–just a few of the 40+ Amish settlements in New York. About these photos: “The folks that run…

New York Amish relief auction

It’s become a near-weekly thing to hear from our Empire State correspondent Tom about some Amish corner of New York.   This week he checks in with photos of an Amish relief auction in New York’s Conewango Valley, the most heavily-settled Amish area in the state. The auction took place in Cherry Creek, NY. Below, the livestock barn. Amish quilts are a big seller. Amish…

Amish, smoke alarms, and eternity

The Amish smoke alarm issue has been ongoing for a number of years in New York state. David Belton, who made the PBS Amish documentary, has written an article on the topic for BBC. Swartzentruber Amish in northern New York have violated building codes by not installing smoke alarms in their homes, leading to fines and court cases. The core of the objection appears similar…

Romulus, New York Amish Community

We have another nice batch of photos today from Tom in NY, though I hesitated to post them at first.  Not because they are controversial, but because the weather depicted in them is so different from what I have been enjoying the past few days–a perfect 70-75 degrees and sunny as anything.  But in the end I’m hardly superstitious, so why not. Tom took these…

Amish tarp shop

Amish tarp shop

Today Tom has some photos for us of an Amish tarp shop in Conewango Valley in New York. Though we just had a look at odd Amish jobs, I wouldn’t place tarp shops on that list, as they aren’t that unusual, and can be found in many communities. If you didn’t know better you might find yourself impressed by this Amishman’s taste in recreational vehicles… …and his boat…

Amos Hertzler Benefit Breakfast

Amos Hertzler is a one-year-old Amish boy who was born with a rare esophageal condition.  His story came to public attention last October as his parents were having difficulties raising the funds for the expensive procedure Amos needed. Thankfully, Amos has since had his surgery and now the family is trying to pay off the remaining $60,000 in debt (having already covered $175,000). Last Saturday…

Amish Youth, Alcohol and Rumspringa

Four youth of the Chautauqua County, NY Amish community were arrested for illegal alcohol possession last Sunday. Normally I don’t find the mundane “Amish behaving badly” stories all that post-worthy, but this one has been getting so much coverage I think it’s worth mentioning. Scouring the web I’ve found reactions usually land in a few categories: 1) If they weren’t Amish, this wouldn’t be a…

NY Amish school bus controversy

A controversy has erupted in a small New York Amish community (near Marathon in Cortland County, 1 hr S. of Syracuse) over busing of Amish schoolchildren. New York state law requires busing to be provided to private school students as well as those attending public schools. This would include the local Amish community. The issue has to do with Amish kids mixing with non-Amish children….