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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Amish Teen Killed In Rock Attack: Police Seek Help In 1969 Cold Case

Amish Teen Killed In Rock Attack: Police Seek Help In 1969 Cold Case

Indiana State Police announced today that they are seeking information in a cold case over half-a-century old – in which a 17-year-old Amish boy was killed when hit by a large rock thrown from a passing car. Mervin Lehman of LaGrange, Indiana died on March 22, 1969, after a rock entered the buggy he was riding in and struck him in the neck or chest…

Inside A “Classic-Modern” Amish Home (26 Photos)

Inside A “Classic-Modern” Amish Home (26 Photos)

Today’s Amish home is in Middlebury, Indiana (part of the large northern Indiana Amish settlement) and gives us a look at what life in a more materially progressive community looks like. There are a number of classic Amish accents in this home – combined with more modern ones as well. Together it creates the feel of a “classic-modern” Amish home (hat tip to Jim Halverson…

An Amish Winter Trip Gone Wrong (Part 2): The Call You Shouldn’t Take

An Amish Winter Trip Gone Wrong (Part 2): The Call You Shouldn’t Take

Author Haley Straw returns today with part 2 of a new winter-themed series, drawing on one of her more challenging experiences as an Amish taxi driver. Part 1 is here if you missed it. Have you ever known—deep in your bones—that you should say no… and said yes anyway? That was me on the eve of Christmas Eve, standing outside the barn at our farm…

Peek Inside the Best Amish Bakery in Holmes County, Ohio (17 Photos)

Peek Inside the Best Amish Bakery in Holmes County, Ohio (17 Photos)

Hershberger’s Farm and Bakery is one of the best-known – and if you ask me, best – bakeries in the Holmes County, Ohio Amish community. Now, have I been to every last one? No, definitely not. But Hershberger’s has a lot going for it: Big selection of quality, tasty things (not only baked goods, but canned goods, produce, bulk items, cheese and more) A signature…

Amish Put Their Money Down For Road Safety: Helping Fund Studies For Proposed Overpass

Amish Put Their Money Down For Road Safety: Helping Fund Studies For Proposed Overpass

Amish in one community are putting their weight – and money – into efforts to make buggy travel safer for their people. In Seymour, Missouri, the “Main Street Overpass” project is heading to state officials for consideration, backed by local representatives along with the area’s considerable Amish population. The overpass would span a local highway, providing a safer route for Amish buggy traffic, among other…

Amish Mothers Face Riskier Births After A Hospital in Maine Closed Its Maternity Unit

Amish Mothers Face Riskier Births After A Hospital in Maine Closed Its Maternity Unit

Amish mothers in Aroostook County, Maine are among those who now face increased risks following the closure of a local hospital’s maternity unit – one of 11 to shut down in the past decade in the state. It’s true that many Amish mothers do give birth at home, with the help of midwives – often Amish women themselves, but also often not. That doesn’t mean…

New Ben & Rose Short: “Tomorrow In Your Hands”

New Ben & Rose Short: “Tomorrow In Your Hands”

Another short clip of a new song is out now from Ben & Rose. A nice simple video of the couple sitting with producer Conrad Fisher as they sing, while he plays guitar and also sings. The caption says simply “Ben and Rose rehearse an old hymn called ‘Tomorrow in Your Hands’“. I’m not able to find who wrote this one and when, but here…

“Double-Barreled” Amish Buggy Does Snow Donuts In A Tennessee Parking Lot

“Double-Barreled” Amish Buggy Does Snow Donuts In A Tennessee Parking Lot

It’s been awhile since we’ve had a good “Amish fun in the snow” video. So it seems apt that the arrival of the Big Winter Storm of 2026 would also bring us a good Amish-buggy-doing-snow-donuts video (at end of post). The person who filmed this, Casey Jones Springer, captioned it simply “Only in Tennessee”. While that’s not technically accurate (for instance, here’s a buggy snow…

Man Charged With Felony DUI While Driving Amish Children

Man Charged With Felony DUI While Driving Amish Children

An Amish taxi driver has been charged with DUI while he was transporting several Amish people, including two young Amish children, in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania. On stopping the driver, 58-year-old Patrick Allen Reitz Jr., police discovered marijuana in the vehicle, in addition to a strong burnt marijuana smell. Here’s what happened according to the report at Explore Jefferson: According to a criminal complaint, the incident…

An Amish Winter Trip Gone Wrong (Part 1): When “Amish” Isn’t Just One Thing

An Amish Winter Trip Gone Wrong (Part 1): When “Amish” Isn’t Just One Thing

Let’s welcome author Haley Straw back today as she shares part one of a new winter-themed series, drawing on one of her more challenging experiences as an Amish taxi driver. We all have moments that redraw the maps of our lives. For me, it was driving the Amish through the Christmas break of 2022. It was a blur of 3:00 AM calls and whiteouts that…