Author: Erik Wesner

Erik Wesner is the creator of amishamerica.com, and author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look At Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Erik began visiting Amish communities in 2004 – eventually meeting thousands of Amish families while selling books.

He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.

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A Dozen Amishmen Collect Ice From A Frozen Pond (14 Photos)

A Dozen Amishmen Collect Ice From A Frozen Pond (14 Photos)

These near-perfect photos by David Marvitz almost look like something staged or taken from a film. Actually, the scenes remind me of some of Bill Coleman’s masterpiece photos taken in the Big Valley of central PA, which have a similar quality. But these are real Amish at work – cutting and collecting ice in the Hazleton, Iowa community. The ice will be used for cooling…

20-Year-Old Killed In North Country (NY) Buggy Crash

20-Year-Old Killed In North Country (NY) Buggy Crash

This fatal accident happened very early Sunday morning – in reality, more likely the tail end of Saturday night: GOUVERNEUR, N.Y. — A North Country man was killed in a crash after the horse-drawn Amish buggy he was riding was hit by an SUV, according to State Police. Troopers say the accident happened around 5:15 a.m. on Sunday on US Highway 11 near Bristol Road…

Inside An Amish Home With A Picture-Perfect Interior (21 Photos)

Inside An Amish Home With A Picture-Perfect Interior (21 Photos)

From the outside, this Pennsylvania Amish home is neat and tidy but not particularly remarkable: But inside, the photos are some of the nicest I’ve seen of an Amish home interior: I think that’s in part due to the quality of the photography, but the home is very neat with a lot of nice woodwork and furniture, crisp colors, and has a classic Amish look…

Amish Boy Helps Twin Brother Following Severe Burns (2016)

Amish Boy Helps Twin Brother Following Severe Burns (2016)

This story via WKYC actually dates back over four years. I came across it recently while searching for something else, and was moved to want to share it with you. It’s a remarkable story of one 11-year-old Amish boy helping his twin brother, who was severely burned in a fire. This happened in Holmes County in the spring of 2016: While John was in the…

Lovina Eicher On Losing Sister Susan

Since mid-January, Lovina Eicher’s sister Susan has been in the hospital battling serious health issues. In her most recent Lovina’s Amish Kitchen column, she shares about her sister’s passing. It’s frankly heartbreaking: Yes, the good Lord has knocked on our door again … Those words are from a song cousin Ernest wrote after losing his mother and brother in accidents years ago. Those words came…

This 2-in-1 Amish Shop Home Is For Sale (22 Photos)

This 2-in-1 Amish Shop Home Is For Sale (22 Photos)

We haven’t looked at a home like this before. When starting out in a new place, Amish families sometimes will build a shop building first, and live in a section of that, until they are able to complete a home. In a similar vein, this structure is a two-in-one deal – both the living area and workshop under one roof. The workshop is a woodworking…

Gloria Yoder: Why Aren’t Amish “Masking Up”?

Gloria Yoder: Why Aren’t Amish “Masking Up”?

In her latest column “Being Amish during a pandemic“, Amish Cook Gloria Yoder addresses the contention that “many Amish” are not wearing masks: I gaze out the window of our little office, wondering what tidbits to share with you all. My mind turns to the letters and notes I received from those of you who kindly alerted me that, sadly, many Amish seem to be…

Unity, Maine Amish: “Donut Day” Is Back

Unity, Maine Amish: “Donut Day” Is Back

Back in April, we learned that the ever-popular Wednesday donuts at Unity, Maine’s Community Market had been canceled due to COVID. Here’s a photo making the sad announcement (via Bangor Daily News): But the popular treats in this Amish-run destination are back: UNITY — A man driving a horse and buggy makes a sharp right turn into a long, snow-blanketed drive that runs along the…

Katrina Hoover Lee on From the White House to the Amish

Katrina Hoover Lee on From the White House to the Amish

From the White House to the Amish is the new book from Katrina Hoover Lee telling the story of Thomas E. Kirkman, who lived a remarkable life which took him from the highest corridors of power to becoming a convert to the Amish. The book is a real page-turner. Katrina wrote Kirkman’s story as a biographical fiction, which she explains in the Q-and-A below. Katrina…

Katie Troyer, The Budget & COVID in Pinecraft

Katie Troyer, The Budget & COVID in Pinecraft

This article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune attempts to examine if there are any connections between the behavior of the Amish and Mennonite population of the Pinecraft community, and the area’s high rates relatively high rates of infection. In a nutshell, the conclusion here is: it’s tough to say. You kind of get the feel that the writer wouldn’t mind making that connection, but the hard…