This is the second time the trial of Shawn C. Cranston, accused of killing 23-year-old pregnant Amish mother Rebekah Byler, has been moved. Cranston was originally meant to be tried in June, but the defense team got a continuance due to having to process “large amounts” of evidence. Cranston had a preliminary hearing in March, which revealed that he had driven for the Amish. Later,…
Some Amish homes we see are spick-and-span clean, staged to look beautiful for their photo shoots. In others, Amish family life is captured in all its messy glory. This home belongs to group #2. Here’s the description of this Wisconsin Amish home: Amish farmette. Trophy white tail and turkey hunting with Grant River across the road. Fences around property line. Natural spring. Land levels off…
Marlene Lehman and I sat down this week (virtually, that is) for a talk about a wide range of topics. Here is the first part of it. In this 22-minute vid, we discuss Amish artists, signs of autumn in her Shipshewana-area Amish community, fall craft shows & festivals, “male” and “female” jobs on the farm, and more.  Amish & Mennonite Autumn Festivals If you’re…
A non-Amish man sees a tragedy waiting to unfold in his Wisconsin community – and is trying to prevent it. As reported at WKOW, Jim Kostohrys says this “blind curve” & hill – right before drivers reach an Amish school – are a potentially deadly combo. Have a look. Just past it, dozens of Amish children walk to, or get dropped off at school each…
JPAC Highlights Amish Attitudes and Identity in Relation to Pennsylvania Dutch, by Rose Fisher, Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities, volume 4, issue 1, 2023 Rose Fisher is a Ph.D. candidate in German Linguistics and Language Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. Her dissertation is about the use of Pennsylvania Dutch (PD) by current members of the Old Order Amish and Old Order Groffdale Conference Mennonites…
I usually post home photos that show a lived-in space. But sometimes it’s interesting to see what an emptied-out Amish home looks like (like this Mississippi Amish home from earlier this year). That’s what we have again here today with these photos from the atypical Amish community at Enon Valley, PA. According to the description, an Amish family is actually still living here. So these…
Rosanna was wounded in the school shooting as a first grader – just 6 years old at the time. Many felt her survival was a miracle. From Lancaster Online: An Amish woman who was wounded as a child in the 2006 mass shooting at West Nickel Mines School in Bart Township died Tuesday, according to sources familiar with the circumstances of her death. Rosanna King, 23, died in her Paradise Township…
Are the Amish driving Teslas now? If you glanced at recent headlines, you might come away with that idea. Ben Zook runs Belmont Solar, located in Lancaster County. According to the story at teslarati.com, they install solar panels in 90 local homes, mostly Amish, each year (I’ve heard of this company before, but never had any direct dealings with it). The hook of the story…
This story appeared several days ago with scant details attached. Now more has come out and (a bit to my surprise) it’s starting to get national attention. Besides getting a lot of local coverage, Newsweek has now picked it up. Amish in the neighborhood of LaValle, Wisconsin (Sauk County) had been getting harassed in their homes at night. Nine juveniles were cited for disorderly conduct….
Remember the story of a New York State trooper who saved an Amish girl in a runaway buggy? Last month, the NY State Police also released video of the incident, which I filed away, and, frankly, forgot to share with you 🙂 So I’ve got that for you today. To recall what happened, as reported in the Sun Community News: On May 16, Trooper James…