The Clinic for Special Children runs a number of auctions throughout the warmer months, to support its efforts in researching and fighting rare genetic illnesses. The Lancaster County-based clinic serves the local Amish and Mennonite population, as well as individuals from beyond the community. The annual series of auctions are a primary source of funding for the clinic, which is now in its fourth decade….
In this week’s Amish Cook column, Gloria Yoder’s mother Dorcas Raber fills in, as she does from time to time. She shares an account of a recent wedding in her community – that of her niece Rhoda. She shares what kinds of foods they serve, what goes into wedding prep, and so on. An excerpt: Every one of their family pitched in to get ready…
Brad Igou is the compiler of a new book, Amish Voices Volume 2: In Their Own Words, 1993-2020. This follows up the original Amish Voices. Both volumes are based on collected writings of Amish people in the publication Family Life. While Amish Voices covers the first 25 years of that monthly, Amish Voices 2 picks up where that left off. If you’d like to know…
Earlier this week we launched a new site design. This is the first update in many years, and probably long overdue. To be frank, I usually never love when sites that I’m used to go and change their design. But in this case, I think the changes should make the site more user-friendly – and I hope more pleasant for you, the readers. The previous…
We recently heard a rendition of the song “On the Winning Side” by a New Order Amish youth group. Here’s another nice Amish singing video by P. Thomas, from that same gathering. It turns out he actually recorded a number of songs from this particular singing (which you can find on his channel). I chose this group’s rendition of “‘Tis Marvelous and Wonderful” to share…
I want to share a set of photos with you today taken by Don Burke in an Amish schoolhouse in Missouri. This great set of shots shows a lot of detail inside a school in a fairly progressive Amish community. Even though I describe the community as “fairly progressive”, much of what you’ll see here has a quite old-fashioned look about it. Amish schools tend…
From time to time I draw attention to the more eyebrow-raising comments we get here on the site, or on the YouTube channel. They might contain very strong and certain claims about the Amish, or shine a light on popular misconceptions. For example, there was “Utterly NOT an Amish Home!“, or “Why are the Amish using plastic packaging? I am so disappointed.” Today’s entry is…
I landed on the adjective “fancy” to describe this home, and I think you’ll see why once we look inside. It’s not the fanciest of all Amish homes we’ve looked at here (that would be this one). But there are a lot of things here which give the home a sumptuous feel (at least by Amish norms). This one is in the Munfordville, Kentucky settlement,…
The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities will soon publish its sixth issue. From time to time, we’ll be sharing interesting findings from articles published in JPAC here at Amish America. This is the first featured post, written by one of its co-editors, Joe Donnermeyer, who was recently a Snowden Fellow at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pieties Studies at Elizabethtown College. ~Erik When No…
In a recent opinion column in the Columbus Dispatch, Cory Anderson takes a critical eye to Ohio House Bill 30, which last June became law requiring flashing lights on animal-drawn vehicles in the state. In it, he raises some interesting points – including on whether the single flashing light actually increases safety – and on how the law came about. The resulting predictable conflict with the…
The Amish use a wide array of health care and wellness solutions, including both “conventional” and “unconventional”. This can vary by the Amish group, community, or family. But generally speaking, natural remedies – those derived from plants, vegetables, herbs, and the like – make up a big part of what many Amish people use to treat common ailments. And this is not necessarily unique or…
Another nice Amish song video today by P. Thomas (video at end of post). This one is from an Amish school in Indiana. The song is called “Our God Is For Us” (or possibly just “God Is For Us”). Amish children don’t have formal religious instruction in their schools (Amish feel that’s not the place for it), but they do have prayer and sing Christian…
Our reader who previously shared how the most conservative Amish heat water and use wringer washers has some more interesting shots from inside a plain Amish home. Let’s have a look. Converted Sewing Machine First of all we’ve got a nice example of what looks to be an “Amishization” of more modern tech to fit the restrictions of church Ordnung. The reader describes this as…
Twenty-six members of the Amish community appeared in Ashland Municipal Court Friday to address fines levied against them for refusing to comply with Ohio’s new law requiring flashing lights on animal-drawn vehicles. At a hearing in January, the judge suggested that jail time would be coming in April if the fines were not paid. Predictably, the Amish involved have not changed their stance. And it…
So here we return to New York for a look at an Amish home that just appeared on Zillow a day ago. On first glance I must admit I wasn’t sure if it was an Amish-owned home (note the old-school TV antenna on top), but that it is. It’s simply a home that was previously lived in by non-Amish people (as other features in the…
Large Amish communities and those with a tourist focus (often one and the same) tend to get the most attention. Places like Holmes County, Ohio, Arthur, Illinois, and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are both well-known and frequently-visited. There are also a number of sizeable Amish communities out there that are overlooked. They are more off-the-beaten path, less touristy for whatever reason, or overshadowed by neighboring communities….
With inflation and the cost of things like food having gone up a ton in the past year or two, I decided to put together a few money-saving tips practiced by the Amish. Three of these have to do with saving on food bills, and two of them are for general money-saving (tips & video below). Are these completely revolutionary, reinventing-the-wheel ideas? Drumroll…no, they’re not….
A new cast member on the “reality” show Return to Amish named Johnny Detweiler has been sharing his wild Rumspringa life on TikTok. He has amassed a good-sized following of over 100,000 followers (I expect that will likely double or triple as the show has just started a new season). I’m not too keen on embedding TikTok videos, but you can check out the channel…
About six weeks ago, I came across two Amish homes for sale in the community of Tripp, South Dakota (the only Amish location in the state). It seemed then that it might mean the Amish are leaving. Then just recently, I found a third Amish home for sale in the community. This is in an Amish settlement of just (an estimated) 55 people. Three homes…
In a recent article by Mary Swander, writing for the Iowa Capital Dispatch, she describes receiving an abruptly direct call from someone Amish. I found this of interest because it raises the question of whether the Amish could be described as more rude – or lacking manners – compared with your average Americans. And if so, why that might be. Here’s how it opens: “What…
So I got another comment on the YouTube channel that made my head spin a little bit 😀 The commenter claims that an Amish home I showed in the video “Inside an Amish Home” is “Utterly NOT an Amish home!” The commenter includes a list of five points why he/she thinks it’s not Amish, adding at the end that the video was “total bologna.” This…
Anyone out there planning to burglarize the Amish, take heed (more on that below). Now, that notice is not meant for the vast majority of people reading this. But why am I writing about this? Well first – what prompted this post. Pennsylvania state police are reporting arrests in a burglary ring which allegedly targeted Amish properties. The ring apparently consisted of five teenagers operating…
![The 2023 Amish Mud Sale Schedule (Lancaster County Auction Calendar) [UPDATED]](https://amishamerica.com/images/bart-pa-auctioneer.jpg)
The Lancaster County mud sale schedule for 2023 is now available, with the first event happening just a month from now. These Amish-heavy events draw members of the community and outside visitors in support of the local volunteer fire companies. Many have large numbers of Plain volunteers on their rosters. A mud sale is an opportunity to enjoy an Amish-attended auction event, eat tasty auction…