My friend, country and folk musician John Schmid, is a favorite among the Amish. John’s story, at least in part, can be found here. John is the founder of Common Ground Ministries, and has been long active in prison ministry and other mission outreach via his music. If you’ve ever wondered if Amish like music beyond strictly religious songs, some – even many – do….
This caught my eye yesterday. I’ve not often seen an online fundraiser for a person who left his or her Amish community. But that’s what this is, for a 27-year-old woman named Millie: Hi everyone, Millie may the decision to leave the Amish very recently. She had been shunned by her family and they would not give her belongings to her unless she put on…
A 16-year-old was killed in Lancaster County Saturday evening, when the buggy he was traveling in was hit by a speeding pickup. Three others in the buggy were seriously injured. From Lancaster Online: Samuel K. Lapp died as a result of the accident along Route 372 in Eden Township, state police confirmed Monday. Lapp’s older brother, Benuel, who was driving the buggy, was seriously injured…
There is an interesting discussion on the Ag Talk forum about Amish pies. The original post is basically a complaint that pies made by the Amish in the poster’s area of central New York are not very good. An excerpt: I’ve tried 3 different Amish sources 2 on farms and one at a Amish store. Yesterday daughter brought on from a farmer’s market, also Amish. Every…
I share this news because a picture is worth a thousand words. And there are two “good” images of this bad accident. Bad, but not as bad as it could have been. A distracted driver hit a buggy in upstate New York on Wednesday, reports country radio station Big Frog 104 (as an aside, great name for a radio station). The location is Franklin County,…
Reader Romain Speisser has shared a guest post today on the history of the Amish in his region of Alsace in France. Romain writes about the “Heftler” people and some of the significant figures of the area – as well as one important oak tree over two centuries old. I share with you Romain’s post below, along with some photos, all taken by Romain. For…
This is the second Colorado Amish home we’ve seen here. In June we looked at a home in Westcliffe in Custer County, set against some stunning mountain views. This home is located in a different community in the state – Manassa in Conejos County, over a two-hour drive away. Both are within in the vicinity of the San Luis Valley, an area roughly the size…
Reader “The other Erik” recently asked concerning the Linda Stoltzfoos case: How focused on this are Amish people? I’ve noticed a lot of recent articles on this website about this topic. That made me wonder: Are the local Amish, and those in more distant settlements, paying a lot of attention to this crime? What are their thoughts? As it happens, Lancaster Online has just published…
Two updates in the Linda Stoltzfoos case. First, yesterday Justo Smoker pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and a related charge: Justo Smoker will waive his arraignment Friday and has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and false imprisonment in the disappearance of Linda Stoltzfoos, according to court documents. The 18-year-old Amish woman has been missing since June 21. She was last seen walking from church to…
A while back a reader asked if Amish obituaries are made public. I responded with a post on the topic. I see them appear in news feeds nearly daily. They are published in newspapers and find their way online. With that in mind this recent obituary caught my eye for two reasons. One is that it is from the Somerset County, Pennsylvania community. I typically…