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There are around 600 Amish settlements across North America, with new settlements being started at a rate of about one every 10 days. You may have even seen Amish start a new community near you recently – or you might sometime soon. At the same time, many Amish settlements have failed over the years. There […]
Continue Reading The 25 Amish Communities At Least 100 Years Old
An Amishman in Canada finds himself in an unusual and likely unique situation, serving as bishop for two Amish churches – one in New Brunswick province, and the other just across the border in the US, in Maine. That’s one of a number of interesting details in Gabriel Arsenault’s article “Understanding Amish Migrations to New […]
Continue Reading The Amish Bishop With Churches In Two Countries
Adams County, Indiana wants to build a municipal sewer system in a certain area of the county. And it wants Amish living in that area to “get with the program” and connect to the electrically-powered system. The Amish side attempted to reach a compromise first but were denied. Here’s the gist of the problem from […]
Continue Reading Adams County: Amish Must Connect To Sewer System. Amish Respond With Lawsuit
We have a winner of Who is Who in The Budget Volume III following our Q&A with Budget Publisher Milo G. Miller last week. Before we get to that though, a few excerpts from the book. First, an excerpt from Milo Miller’s Introduction: This is an informative reference book solely evolved from The Budget Newspaper; […]
Continue Reading Who Is Who In The Budget Volume III – Winner & Excerpt
If you drove by this home and this is what you saw, would you think it was Amish? How about if you drove down the lane and came upon this view? This home in the New Wilmington Amish community is described at its realtor.com listing as “English built – Amish Owned”. From both the outside […]
Continue Reading Inside An English-Built, Amish-Owned Brick Ranch Home (17 Photos)
Milo Miller is the Publisher of two publications widely-read in Amish circles – The Budget & The Diary. I had the pleasure of meeting Milo at his office for the first time on a visit to Sugarcreek, Ohio in 2019 (below photo). I asked Milo if he’d answer a few questions for us about The […]
Continue Reading Q&A with Milo Miller, Publisher of The Budget & The Diary (Book Giveaway)
It was reported by one news station yesterday that the station had been given confirmation by “the family” of Linda Stoltzfoos that the human remains found yesterday belonged to her. But no details beyond that were given in the station’s report. Linda’s uncle Mervin Fisher is now quoted in Lancaster Online on the discovery: A […]
Continue Reading Lancaster County DA: “We strongly believe” remains belong to Linda (Press Conference Video)
It has not been confirmed by authorities that these are Linda’s remains. The remains were found near the former workplace of Justo Smoker, who has been charged with homicide in the case. From Fox43: Police say they have located human remains while searching for missing 18-year-old Lancaster County Amish woman, Linda Stoltzfoos. The FBI and […]
Continue Reading Human Remains Found During Search For Linda Stoltzfoos
Similar to reports from northern Indiana and Lancaster County, the Amish in Daviess County, Indiana mostly seem to believe they have already had COVID-19, according to one of their own. And there is one further implication to that which you’ll see in this quote: “The COVID-19 went through the community last year,” said spokesman for […]
Continue Reading Daviess County Also Believes Everyone Had COVID Already
This is a neat story about a business called Amish Country Dairy which is now producing six types of flavored milk. It’s a good example of a business being creative to overcome the unfavorable milk market of recent years. The flavors (including peach, chocolate, maple, and coffee) are apparently all-natural (using real fruit, etc), and […]
Continue Reading Is Amish Country Dairy In Fact “Amish”?
In yesterday’s second emailed post on five Amish religious practices, I included the custom of home worship. I noted there are some exceptions, linking to my post on the Somerset County, PA Amish community. As it happens, a writer named Layne Deakins recently published an article about his visit to this same settlement. Somerset County […]
Continue Reading What An Amish Meetinghouse Looks Like
Another head-scratching headline following last week’s example. On Friday NPR published a report titled “Convincing Amish Communities To Get Vaccinated As Their COVID-19 Cases Surge“. The bold was added by me to draw your attention to that scary word. This was an “All Things Considered” audio report which became the article linked here. This headline […]
Continue Reading NPR Reports Non-Existent Amish COVID “Surge”?
I have to say this headline today caught my eye, for obvious reasons: “TJ’s Liquor stays busy with new Amish store“. Doesn’t that kind of sound like a liquor outlet is running a new store…catering to the Amish? Reading the article, however, you learn that this business is actually adding an “Amish Country Store”. But […]
Continue Reading Minnesota Liquor Seller…Adds Amish Store?
When I put together these posts every week, I try to think of a catchy description to capture some essential aspect of the home in question. And “cramped” was the first word that came to mind here. Maybe “cozy” is the positive-connotation alternative I could have used, but no, “cramped” seems to fit. The home […]
Continue Reading Inside A Cramped Amish Home (11 Photos)
On a post last week, Maureen asked where to find clothesline wheels. C.J. added: I too, would be interested in knowing where a wheel could be purchased and if they come in varying sizes. Do any hardware stores carry them, and could they be ordered online? Reader “Along 340” shared two favorite resources in reply […]
Continue Reading Where To Find Amish Clothesline Wheels & More
We’re back with the winner of Grounded Upon God’s Word: The Life and Labors of Jakob Ammann, a new book by authors Andrew V. Ste. Marie and Mike Atnip about the life of the early Amish leader. If you missed the Q-and-A with Andrew, you can check that out here. The book winner is at […]
Continue Reading Grounded Upon God’s Word: The Life and Labors of Jakob Ammann – Book Winner & Excerpt
A tractor and a four-horse team were used to move a historic Amish schoolhouse Friday from a location outside Arthur, Illinois to its new home at the Illinois Amish Heritage Center. It took around two hours to move it about nine miles. Image: Heritage Iron Magazine The school had been purchased by a woman named […]
Continue Reading Amish Move 100-Year-Old Schoolhouse (Video)
We recently looked again at Amish women’s occupations in the post 5 Jobs Done By Amish Women. In that post, commenter “Along 340” shared a personal list of 12 further examples of Amish women’s occupations which I felt deserved a post of its own. Photo: Kelsey Hochstetler/Keim Lumber By the way, some of you may […]
Continue Reading 12 More Jobs Done By Amish Women
Today’s Amish home comes from a little Swiss Amish community up in the northeast corner of Indiana. The Hoosier State is known for its Swiss Amish population, as it’s home to the two largest, at Adams County (Berne) and Allen County (Grabill). This Swiss settlement at Hamilton (Steuben County) has been there for over half […]
Continue Reading Inside A Cheerful Swiss Amish Home (30 Photos)
Grounded Upon God’s Word: The Life and Labors of Jakob Ammann is a new book by co-authors Andrew V. Ste. Marie and Mike Atnip. Ammann was the early leader of the Amish, for whom the group is named. For many years, little was known about Ammann, though in recent decades fresh research has revealed more […]
Continue Reading Who Was Jakob Ammann? Q-and-A & Book Giveaway
I just came across a video of the Beeville, Texas Amish showing footage from around the community. The video is six years old. I am not sure how I missed it before. We’ve had a half dozen or so posts on this community over the years, including one by Kevin Williams with a video showing […]
Continue Reading Ride Through The Only Texas Amish Community (Video)
In the latest edition of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC) we find an article by Henry Troyer titled “Change and Continuity in Amish Wedding Dates in the Holmes County, Ohio, Settlement“. I found several interesting facts in Troyer’s piece I’d like to share with you, concerning Holmes County wedding customs. Let’s start with the […]
Continue Reading 3 Interesting Facts About Holmes County Amish Weddings
The Walker Valley Market in the Pearisburg, VA community is one of the nicest Amish food-and-more stores I’ve visited. I was here once before, about a year ago, but only shared quick photos of the front of the store and a couple of food items. A reader named Shawn also visited this place which featured […]
Continue Reading Inside The Walker Valley Market (24 Photos)
Up to 90% of Lancaster County Plain families have had at least one family member infected with COVID-19, according to a local health center administrator. From Lancaster Online: Late last spring a COVID-19 wave tore through the Plain community when they resumed church services, infecting an untold number of Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County. […]
Continue Reading Have The Amish Reached Herd Immunity?
Will it be possible to attend a Lancaster County mud sale in 2021? Every year in early January I post a listing of the coming year’s mud sales. I have not done so yet this year due to the uncertainty (in 2020, many were cancelled due to COVID). Looking at the current schedule, things do […]
Continue Reading Lancaster County Mud Sales 2021 (The Sales Still Happening & Cancellations)
Molly asks a good question on the recent Lancaster farm stay post: Eric, would you tell us the differences between Lancaster county & Holmes county? We have visited Holmes county, but would like to know the differences. As the two largest and most-visited Amish communities, people often wonder which one of Holmes County and Lancaster […]
Continue Reading Which Community Should You Visit? 7 Differences Between Lancaster County & Holmes County
There is an interesting discussion on the Ag Talk forum about Amish pies. The original post is basically a complaint that pies made by the Amish in the poster’s area of central New York are not very good. An excerpt: I’ve tried 3 different Amish sources 2 on farms and one at a Amish store. Yesterday […]
Continue Reading Beware of Amish-Made Pies?
I came across something that got my attention while searching for Amish homes to share with you. Right now there are at least 7 Amish homes for sale in the community at Hillsboro, Kentucky (Fleming County). What’s going on here? It looks like a lot of people are moving out of the area for some […]
Continue Reading 7 Amish Homes For Sale In One Community (40 Photos)
A comment by Al in KY got me thinking about how many Amish settlements I’ve actually visited. I had tallied this up before, but it was years ago. So I thought it a good idea to put together a fresh list. I believe the very first settlement I went to was Lancaster County, but that […]
Continue Reading My Amish Settlement List (58 Communities)
On the heels of the “20 Unique Ways Amish Raise Their Kids” article, another click-magnet piece popped up on my news feed this morning. This one is called “15 Insane Rules All Amish Kids Must Follow.” I take “Insane” in this context to mean crazy, odd, or absurd (that is, according to the article writer/editor). […]
Continue Reading 15 “Insane” Rules All Amish Children Must Follow..?
Amish are well-known for living by guidelines and rules governing technology, dress, and other aspects of daily life. But Amish churches are not all the same. Some are more traditional, and others more progressive. Some do things one way, and others do things another way. So how do Amish know the dos and don’ts specific […]
Continue Reading 6 Examples of Amish Ordnung Rules
Donald Kraybill is the author of over a dozen books on the Amish, and currently serves as Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College. I asked Don if he’d answer some questions for us today on the Amish and his newest book, called Simply Amish: An Essential […]
Continue Reading Donald Kraybill on Simply Amish (Q-and-A & Giveaway)
