Is Measles Spreading In Amish Communities? Nobody Will Officially Say, But The Stories Suggest “Yes”

Is Measles Spreading In Amish Communities? Nobody Will Officially Say, But The Stories Suggest “Yes”

ByErik Wesner
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Stories about measles in places where the Amish live keep popping up on my news feed, at a seemingly increasing pace. They’re showing up in different regions of the country – the East coast, Northeast, Midwest. They have titles or sections suggesting that an outbreak may be happening in or around “Amish Country”, but nothing really directly saying “the Amish are experiencing a measles outbreak”. So…

Lawyers Say Amish Will Leave New York If They Lose School Vaccine Mandate Case

Lawyers Say Amish Will Leave New York If They Lose School Vaccine Mandate Case

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

Lawyers for the Amish plaintiffs in New York’s school vaccine mandate case say their clients will petition the Supreme Court next month – and that if they lose there, the families intend to leave the state. That comes from the New York Post, which reported from the Fort Plain and Canajoharie area this week. Both points answer questions left open when we covered the Second…

An Amish Auction Will Change What You Think of as Junk (15 Photos)

An Amish Auction Will Change What You Think of as Junk (15 Photos)

ByHaley Straw
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Haley Straw is back with a look at the Jamesport, Missouri Amish School Auction. If that sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it covered here before – by Don Burke back in 2014. Let’s have a look at Haley’s experience at the big event, a dozen years later. My daughter and I arrived at the Jamesport Amish School Auction around 10 o’clock, two hours after…

Driver Had Cruise Control At 60 MPH When He Rear-Ended An Amish Buggy

Driver Had Cruise Control At 60 MPH When He Rear-Ended An Amish Buggy

ByErik Wesner

This Amish buggy wreck involves something you don’t often hear of in these crashes – cruise control. The rear-end wreck sent an Amish man to hospital. This happened last week – on August 21 – but is just being reported today. A note on the photo above. The image used in the article linked below is rather graphic, showing blood and also a horse lying…

“You Do It In The Dark”: Lovina Zook Describes Dating In One Of The Plainest Amish Groups

“You Do It In The Dark”: Lovina Zook Describes Dating In One Of The Plainest Amish Groups

ByErik Wesner

Last week we got to know more about Lovina Zook, a young Amish-raised woman who makes popular recipe videos. Since then, a reader brought to my attention a short video clip (at bottom) by CBS News, with Lovina describing dating practices in her community. The reader was concerned about people getting the wrong idea on what “Amish dating” actually is, based on this clip. This…

Resident: “The Amish Destruction” Has Torn Up County Roads. The Sheriff Says Nothing Can Be Done

Resident: “The Amish Destruction” Has Torn Up County Roads. The Sheriff Says Nothing Can Be Done

ByErik Wesner
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The Amish community in Lawrence County, Indiana is just a small one – maybe 10 or 12 households. But it’s still big enough to have earned the ire of at least one resident. That person voiced a number of concerns – on road damage and more – at a recent County Commissioners’ meeting. As reported at WBIW: [Resident Evan] Hunter addressed the commissioners to highlight…

A Truck Was Doing 75 MPH When It Hit A Buggy Full Of Amish Teens. Their Horse May Have Saved Them

A Truck Was Doing 75 MPH When It Hit A Buggy Full Of Amish Teens. Their Horse May Have Saved Them

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

Back in April, we learned of a bad hit-and-run buggy wreck in Geauga County, Ohio. The driver of a pickup truck hit a horse-and-buggy carrying several Amish teens on a local road at 1 AM. I was told then by a local source that the driver was from the Amish community, and “was traveling at a very high rate of speed at the time of…

Idaho’s Only Amish Community Lost Its Market To Fire. 6 Months Later It’s Back — And Bigger

Idaho’s Only Amish Community Lost Its Market To Fire. 6 Months Later It’s Back — And Bigger

ByErik Wesner
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Six months after a fire destroyed their country store, an Amish family in Lemhi County, Idaho has reopened it – despite the owner saying he was inclined, at first, to not rebuild at all. Baker Country Market is in the unincorporated community of Baker, about nine miles southeast of the larger town of Salmon, by which the community is sometimes known. Paul and Maria Miller…

Study: Only 154 People Have Joined the Amish in Nearly a Century

Study: Only 154 People Have Joined the Amish in Nearly a Century

ByErik Wesner
8 Comments

It seems there’s no shortage of curiosity about joining the Amish – especially given the recent “Suddenly Amish” television program. We’ve also covered the topic fairly often over the years here. One thing has been consistently true: while joining the Amish fascinates a fair number of people, it’s simply not that common, for reasons we’ve gone into before. Those include cultural differences, misperceptions or wrong…

Amish Auction Raises 6 Figures For A Genetic Clinic They Founded — Another Happens Next Week

Amish Auction Raises 6 Figures For A Genetic Clinic They Founded — Another Happens Next Week

ByErik Wesner

An Amish-organized benefit auction in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania – now in its 14th year – raised $130,000 earlier this month for the DDC Clinic. The Corry Journal reported on the auction’s success. The photos here are of the event and via the DDC Clinic Facebook page. And there is a second one in Ohio coming soon (more on that below). Local Amish families in the Spartansburg…

Inside An Ultra-Basic Amish Home With A Foosball Table — And A Trapdoor (24 Photos)

Inside An Ultra-Basic Amish Home With A Foosball Table — And A Trapdoor (24 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

The listing for this Amish home in Marshfield, Missouri opens in all capitals: “STEP BACK IN TIME AND BRING IT TO PRESENT DAY YOUR OWN WAY.” On one level, that’s a funny thing to say about a house that was only built in 2021. It’s not an old farmhouse that time forgot. And as you can see from these exterior photos, it does have a…

Driver Distracted By Notebook Hits Amish Buggy — 11-Year-Old Suffers Skull Fracture

Driver Distracted By Notebook Hits Amish Buggy — 11-Year-Old Suffers Skull Fracture

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

Four people were injured Monday evening when a car struck the back of a horse-drawn buggy on State Road 13 in Elkhart County, Indiana. This was another case of distracted driving, according to reports. Three of the four people injured were children. An 11-year-old girl was taken to the hospital with a “non-life-threatening” skull fracture. The crash happened around 5:50 p.m. on Monday, August 17,…

Amish Volleyball Has Gotten Bigger Than You Thought – 4 Takeaways From A New Report

Amish Volleyball Has Gotten Bigger Than You Thought – 4 Takeaways From A New Report

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran a long piece over the weekend on competitive Amish volleyball, reported from a tournament at Intercourse Community Park in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania back in June. I spoke to reporter Jason Nark on the Amish sports topic; his full report is here. A few things stood out to me – here are four. 1. Volleyball Holds A Special Function In Amish Culture…

Lovina Zook Left The Amish And Now Shares Her Recipes With 6 Million Followers — Without Breaking Eye Contact

Lovina Zook Left The Amish And Now Shares Her Recipes With 6 Million Followers — Without Breaking Eye Contact

ByErik Wesner
8 Comments

Amish born-and-raised Lovina Hershberger Zook has been getting a lot of media attention beyond her own success online. And for good reason – she now has around six million followers across social media, where she posts recipes and stories about the culture she left. That culture is a conservative Amish community. To my eye and ear she seems likely from a Swartzentruber Amish background (confirmed…

Dozens Of Amish Train For Rural Emergencies In This Pennsylvania Community

Dozens Of Amish Train For Rural Emergencies In This Pennsylvania Community

ByErik Wesner
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We often hear and read about accidents in Amish settings – whether on the farm, in recreational settings like hunting, or on the road. The Lewistown Sentinel reports on how one community has tried to address a gap in emergency skills in rural Amish-heavy areas. Forty-two people turned out for a free Rural Response and Rescuer Training program at the Central Pennsylvania Clinic for Special…

Iowa Is America’s #9 Amish State — Here Are Its 10 Biggest Communities

Iowa Is America’s #9 Amish State — Here Are Its 10 Biggest Communities

ByErik Wesner

Iowa is home to America’s ninth-largest Amish population, spread across about 25 settlements. The oldest dates to 1846; the newest on this list, to 2011. The following communities are the largest in Iowa, based on the most current Amish population estimates. Population numbers via Young Center for Anabaptist & Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College (source link at bottom). 1. Bloomfield Bloomfield (Davis County) Community founded:…

This Tricky Amish Buggy Passing Situation Just Put A Woman In The Hospital

This Tricky Amish Buggy Passing Situation Just Put A Woman In The Hospital

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

An Amish woman has been hospitalized after a wreck yesterday afternoon (Aug. 13) in Stark County, Ohio. This one resulted from a common and potentially dangerous situation that doesn’t get talked about enough. First, the key details from the Canton Repository: Trooper A. Burch said the Amish woman, who lives in the Navarre area, was riding her buggy south on Navarre Road SW. A man…

“A Danger To The Public”: Judge Shuts Down Former Amish Man’s Health Facility

“A Danger To The Public”: Judge Shuts Down Former Amish Man’s Health Facility

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

An Iowa health facility run by a former Amish man has been shut down by court order. A judge has ruled that those operating it are “a danger to the public.” We’ve looked at this case already on two occasions – once when the story of charges against clinic operator Eddie R. Gingerich broke back in May, and later when further details emerged on his…

Lancaster County Man Pleads Guilty In $402 Million ATM Ponzi Scheme That Hit Amish & Mennonites. But His Attorney Says The Loss Could Actually Be…Zero

Lancaster County Man Pleads Guilty In $402 Million ATM Ponzi Scheme That Hit Amish & Mennonites. But His Attorney Says The Loss Could Actually Be…Zero

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

Daryl Heller, the Lancaster County businessman whose ATM investment network drew money from Amish and Mennonites across the Lancaster County area, among others, pleaded guilty to securities fraud on Monday, August 10. However, no one has yet established how much his investors actually lost – with his attorney even claiming to the court that the figure could be zero. Charged In September 2025 This is…

A Visit To The Amish Of Prince Edward Island, Canada (16 Photos)

A Visit To The Amish Of Prince Edward Island, Canada (16 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
6 Comments

Judy Stavisky, author of In Plain View: The Daily Lives of Amish Women, shares her recent visit to an Amish community on Prince Edward Island, Canada, with us today. All photos in this post by Judy Stavisky. “Would you like to join us for a bowl of ice cream? We churned it ourselves.” A soft voice from behind a thin blue curtain invited us inside—a…

“People Spoke, They Don’t Want It” — Amish Rest Easier After Steel Wheel Buggy Ban Scrapped

“People Spoke, They Don’t Want It” — Amish Rest Easier After Steel Wheel Buggy Ban Scrapped

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

The Bedford Township ordinance we’ve been following for the past three weeks is not happening. And in contrast to the last township meeting, where residents spoke out passionately against the steel wheel ban and manure ordinance, there was no more drama to it. Supervisors have simply scrapped it. Residents arriving for the August 4th meeting found a sign posted on the door telling them the matter…

An Amish School Auction 7,500 Feet Up In Colorado (16 Photos)

An Amish School Auction 7,500 Feet Up In Colorado (16 Photos)

ByErik Wesner

So here’s something you don’t see every day – an Amish benefit auction held at over 7,500 feet, in country with vast views as far as the eye can see. Reader Alan LaFon checks in from an Amish part of America we don’t often hear too much from. These photos come from the annual La Jara Amish School Consignment Auction, held each July in Conejos…

Dirty Buggy? Amish Youth Will Wash It For You — While You Eat Ham Sandwiches

Dirty Buggy? Amish Youth Will Wash It For You — While You Eat Ham Sandwiches

ByErik Wesner

Just like your car, Amish buggies – not to mention their horses – need the occasional wash too. That’s the idea behind an upcoming event in the Shipshewana, Indiana area, passed along to us by Jim Halverson. This is the ad for a benefit buggy wash to be held about two weeks from now, on Saturday August 15: BENEFIT BUGGY WASH to be on Saturday,…

7 Ways Amish Families Keep Grocery Bills Low — Even With 8 Kids

7 Ways Amish Families Keep Grocery Bills Low — Even With 8 Kids

ByErik Wesner
4 Comments

Grocery prices are on a lot of people’s minds lately, and for good reason. The USDA’s moderate-cost food plan has a family of four at around $1,385 a month as of this writing. Scale that up to a household of ten mouths to feed, and you’re well past $2,500. Why do I say ten? Well, that’s an average-sized Amish family – two parents and eight…

The Amish “Black Box” Phone: The Device They Built to Keep Big Tech Out

The Amish “Black Box” Phone: The Device They Built to Keep Big Tech Out

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

Looking at its name alone, the Amish Black Box Phone has an air of secrecy or mystery to it. Is it some sort of clandestine Amish spy-ops device? A tool meant for conveying bad news? Of course, many of us will connect “black box” with the recording devices used to record communication in plane crashes, another morbid association. But it’s none of those things. Rather,…

This Idyllic Ohio Amish Homestead Has 3 Barns, an Icehouse, and Its Own Creek (35 Photos)

This Idyllic Ohio Amish Homestead Has 3 Barns, an Icehouse, and Its Own Creek (35 Photos)

ByErik Wesner

This Amish home listing in Frazeysburg, Ohio contains the description “some of the most beautiful farm ground you can imagine.” Hard to argue after seeing these lovely photos. The property is 25 acres with the Wakatomika Creek running right along its western edge (visible in the photo below). The presence of an icehouse building (we’ll see that farther down) suggests this is an Amish group…

The Amish Rarely Settle In This Southern State — Now It’s Getting A Second Community

The Amish Rarely Settle In This Southern State — Now It’s Getting A Second Community

ByErik Wesner

It appears the Amish are putting down roots in a state that they have rarely settled in the past — Mississippi. In fact, for the past three decades, the Magnolia State has had just one small Amish community. But a second is now arising in Prentiss County in northeast Mississippi, according to a new report. At least one family, and possibly more, has already moved…

5 Things You Should Never Say To An Amish Person (Or Should You?)

5 Things You Should Never Say To An Amish Person (Or Should You?)

ByErik Wesner
15 Comments

So I couldn’t resist commenting on this one. You may have come across slideshow-style “listicle” posts on mass media sites like MSN or AOL. I’ve been seeing a lot of them lately about the Amish (sometimes they link to this website as a source, so no complaints there). Things like “10 surprising technologies the Amish use” or “The 15 largest Amish communities”. Often enough, the…

Bread Soup, Oyster Stew & More: Favorite Dishes From My Ohio Amish Community

Bread Soup, Oyster Stew & More: Favorite Dishes From My Ohio Amish Community

ByErik Wesner
10 Comments

Nora Kurtz is a member of a Geauga County, Ohio Amish church. Today she shares some favorite dishes from her childhood – and some she still loves today, including bread soup and more. Anyone who lives in or around a large Amish community is probably going to be at least somewhat familiar with “Amish food”. Fried chicken, stuffing, mashed potatoes, creamed vegetables, pies and puddings…

A Return To Virginia’s Oldest Amish Community — And The Woman Who Left Something Beautiful Behind (15 Photos)

A Return To Virginia’s Oldest Amish Community — And The Woman Who Left Something Beautiful Behind (15 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

Reader Shawn has been visiting the Amish community at Pearisburg, Virginia for over a decade now. The first visit of Shawn’s we saw here was back in 2014, followed by a return in 2016 to check on the newly opened Walker Valley Market. I’ve made a couple of visits myself – one on a rainy February day in 2020, and another in December 2020 when…

“When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”: Ben & Rose Join The Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters

“When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder”: Ben & Rose Join The Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters

ByErik Wesner

So this one has been out a week and I missed it, for the same reason I missed “Would You Like To Buy Some Flowers” last year – it went up on somebody else’s channel. “When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder” is a collaboration between Ben & Rose and a group called The Alaskan Sunnyside Sisters. I’d never heard of that group before this….