The blog will be relatively quiet for the next few days, as we are working on a few changes here. The blog platform will be switched from Typepad to WordPress–which is a good thing, and something I’ve wanted to do for a long while. WordPress seems to be a much more versatile platform (any WordPress users out there concur?). But, expect Amish America to remain…
Amish and Mennonites have been putting on annual auctions for the benefit of people in Haiti for many years now. They take place in various locations across the nation, including communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Florida, and Illinois. Furniture, quilts and other items are auctioned off at these large events. The Florida auction, held in Sarasota, is in fact taking place this weekend. The photos…
Orange County, Indiana Amish farm photo courtesy of Cindy Seigle. Wintry weather means staying inside, mostly. Is this farmers’ favorite time of year?
Commercial dog breeders (also frequently described as ‘puppy mills’) have been in the news a lot lately. Recent changes in Pennsylvania law has made it difficult for breeders to operate, thus forcing many to begin to get out of the business. Opponents, most visibly in the form of activists such as Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue, have made headlines with their sometimes dramatic…
A while back I wrote a post on Raber’s Almanac, an annual guide used by the Amish. The Almanac includes an extensive listing of Amish church districts and their ministers. Â It also includes a Scripture and hymn schedule for church service as well as some folk wisdom and even a dab of astrology, which I examined in the original post. The other day I came…
David Luthy shares the history of Nathan Smiley, born in Ireland to a British mother in 1797. At age four, Nathan arrived in America with his mother, and for reasons unexplained was placed in a foster home in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. That home happened to belong to an Amish family. On coming of age, Nathan chose to join the Amish church, and later married. Nathan Smiley…
The Amish potential-exemption-from-health-insurance-requirement story has shot around the net and become something of a hot sub-story to the health care issue. Frankly I thought it would get some attention but the amount of media coverage surprised me a bit. A scan of commentary reveals some upset at what’s been called a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card for the Amish (and, presumably other religious groups who meet the criteria),…
A couple years back I did a post on the Holmes County Trail, a remarkable conversion of an old rail bed into a recreational trail and safe transport link for Amish traveling through Holmes and nearby counties in Ohio. The trail has an interesting design, which you can notice in the photo above. One half, with a rougher surfacing, is meant for buggy/horse traffic, while…
Behalt is a pictorial history of the Anabaptists from the time of European beginnings through their existence in America. Not only is it educational, it has been dubbed “the most exciting cyclorama in America”. Having only visited one cyclorama in America (the other–of the Battle of Raclawice in Poland being non-American and of a decidedly non-pacifist nature) I can’t say if the tagline is true or…
Across America, the cold and snow continues. An interesting shot from irishlady, of an Amish buggy, precise location unknown, that looks like it ran into a bit of trouble in the recent spell of harsh weather. Stay warm everyone!