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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Look Inside an Amish Mobile Home (15 Photos)

Look Inside an Amish Mobile Home (15 Photos)

Here’s one that’s not too common – a mobile home put up for sale by an Amish family. Amish do sometimes live in mobile homes, especially young families starting out. This one is located in Pomeroy, Ohio (Meigs County). I hadn’t heard much if anything of Meigs County, and for understandable reasons. The location is well off the beaten Amish path, lying on the West…

Ohio’s Best Sandwich Comes From Holmes County Amish Country

Ohio’s Best Sandwich Comes From Holmes County Amish Country

This is a fun story which made me crave an Amish Country favorite food. Food and Wine magazine decided to pick each state’s best sandwich. Ohio’s winner is the hot bologna and Swiss on a bun. The publication sampled this at a somewhat overlooked spot in Holmes County called Trail. Trail is known for its “Trail bologna” named for the little hamlet lying between Walnut…

Study: 75% Of Amish Would Reject COVID-19 Vaccine

Study: 75% Of Amish Would Reject COVID-19 Vaccine

A new study with COVID implications suggests that acceptance of vaccines by Amish in one of the largest communities (Holmes County) has plummeted in the past 10 years. It also finds that Amish would refuse COVID vaccination at a rate of almost 10-to-1. The key findings: The response rate was 39%. Among 391 respondents, 59% did not vaccinate their children, compared to only 14% that…

Amish Cook: Valentine’s Supper & Secret Sisters

In her latest column, Amish Cook Gloria Yoder describes the tradition of “Secret Sisters” in her community. This was tied to a Valentine Supper which is something you’ll see among Amish. Gloria first describes the Secret Sisters custom: Last night I was the recipient of the absolute kindness of the dear youth girls in our church. Really now, they all made a huge splash for…

Winter In The New Wilmington Amish Community (20 Photos)

Winter In The New Wilmington Amish Community (20 Photos)

How about some winter shots from the New Wilmington, Pennsylvania Amish community? This is one of my favorite Amish settlements, dating back to my first visit one autumn going on 15 years ago. While the sights I saw then were of hues that matched more closely to the distinct brown-topped buggies of the local Amish, the wintry images in these photos better reflect our current…

Audiologists Persuade Bishops To Accept Digital Hearing Aids – Helping Dozens Of Amish Children With Hearing Loss

Audiologists Persuade Bishops To Accept Digital Hearing Aids – Helping Dozens Of Amish Children With Hearing Loss

Here’s a remarkable feel-good story about a team of audiologists helping Amish children with hearing and ear issues. In one plain Amish community in southern Michigan, medical professionals saw an uptick of children losing their hearing (untreated or repeated ear infections can cause hearing loss). From the Michigan Health blog: In 2019, Winters and her colleagues noticed that a large group of parents within an…

Two Fatal Buggy Crashes Happened On Back-to-Back Days (Ohio & Michigan)

Two Fatal Buggy Crashes Happened On Back-to-Back Days (Ohio & Michigan)

Sadly, after a calm period of some weeks as far as buggy accidents, two fatal crashes occurred on back-to-back days, in Michigan and Ohio. In the first, a 39-year-old Amish mother was killed in Branch County, Michigan when the horse was “spooked” by an oncoming vehicle: ALGANSEE TOWNSHIP, MI (WTVB) – A Reading, Michigan woman was killed and six other family members were injured Friday…

700 Amish & Mennonites Singing On A Cruise Ship (Video)

700 Amish & Mennonites Singing On A Cruise Ship (Video)

This is not your typical Amish singing video. What we see here is something called the Sail & Sing Christian Cruise. It’s a tour company based out of New Holland, PA. So what are Amish doing on a cruise ship, you might be wondering? For those who wish to visit Europe (or anywhere overseas), ship travel is the only option sanctioned by many Amish churches…

Notice: Amish & Mennonite Church Meetings Shouldn’t Be Blamed For COVID Spread

Notice: Amish & Mennonite Church Meetings Shouldn’t Be Blamed For COVID Spread

Amish have been regularly faulted for failing to follow COVID regulations – going back to early on in the pandemic experience. Now, a public health body in Canada says local Plain groups are in fact complying with COVID regulations regarding church gatherings. This, despite apparent complaints from non-Plain neighbors. Farming in an Ontario Old Order Mennonite community Grey Bruce Health Unit has just issued a…

Lehman’s Is Getting A New Owner (Updated)

Lehman’s Is Getting A New Owner (Updated)

Lehman’s is a well-known business catering to Amish and – even more so – to non-Amish who like off-the-grid and low-tech tools and home products. Many readers here are familiar with it – we’ve had posts including 5 Interesting Facts About Lehman’s and 6 Lehman’s Products Used By The Amish. So I thought it might be of interest to share that Lehman’s is being sold:…