Several years ago, Don Burke befriended an Amish family in the Jamesport, Missouri Amish community. Earlier this year, one of the daughters, raised Amish but not a member of the Amish church, asked Don to take the photos of her upcoming wedding. She wanted the event to have elements of both Amish, and other traditions – as she put it, “a little Old Order Amish, a little New…
Don Burke shares photos today from a special event in Jamesport, Missouri. This is the first of three parts. — Over the course of about four years and several trips to Jamesport, MO, I first become acquainted with and then made good friends with a special Amish family there. During that same time the Amish community has been going through some changes. A New Order…
Don Burke, who last month shared with us a visit to the Amish of Ethridge, Tennessee, is back with photos from the community at New Wilmington in western Pennsylvania. This time, Don’s wife Pam joins him for a little commentary on their visit. I’ve had the chance to visit New Wilmington a couple of times, the first time 10 years ago. I made it the topic of…
Don Burke, who’s previously shared photos from places like Kalona, Iowa; Jamesport, Missouri; and an Amish “ghost town”, today takes us to the Ethridge, Tennessee community. Ethridge is a conservative Swartzentruber community, and depending on how you define the region, the largest Amish settlement in the South. The people here are decidedly plainer than in communities like Lancaster County or those in northern Indiana. This shows up…
Don Burke shares some photos from a visit to the Amish community at Canton, Missouri (Lewis County). This nearly four-decade-old settlement was three church districts in size as of last year (2023). Canton is one of many Amish places in the Show-Me State. Today Amish live in over 60 locations in Missouri. These photos were actually taken in early 2015. I hope you enjoy this…
What happens in an Amish community at Thanksgiving? Today Don Burke takes us through the Amish community at Clark, Missouri to give us an outside visitor’s perspective. These photos were actually taken over Thanksgiving in 2014 (see Don’s full sets here and here). I hope everyone has had a great Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving Day from a Passerby’s Perspective It is an autumn day, late in the…
Don Burke today shares photos from a little visit to the Belle Rive/Opdyke, Illinois Amish community, taken last autumn. This is a small community in southern Illinois (Jefferson County), two church districts in size. As a state, Illinois ranks #10 in its total Amish population, which is dominated by the large Arthur settlement. Don gives you a tour around the settlement below. You can also think of it…
Contributor Don Burke recently paid a visit to the small Amish community at Garnett, Kansas. He calls the piece below “Not Exactly What I Expected to See.” Sure enough, you’ll see Don found some things not too common in other Amish places. Don’s virtual visit to Garnett gives us a good example of how Amish practices can vary–sometimes quite significantly–in different communities and regions. — After a recent…
I always like being out and about in Amish communities on Sunday morning. It’s a peaceful time on the roads, which are often full of buggies and people walking to church service. Don Burke recently visited a Missouri community and captured some of those images, which he paired below with a special selection from the Psalms. Here’s Don with background on the photos and his…
As you might have heard, Amish are constantly starting new communities – about once every 2-3 weeks. But not every new Amish settlement makes it. Some attract dozens of families and last decades before dwindling to zero. Others muster just a few short years before economics, church struggles, or other factors send settlers on to new pastures, or back to the old. Don Burke recently visited a newly-extinct…