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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Four Amish Youth Plead Guilty To Underage Drinking, Disturbing The Peace

Four Amish Youth Plead Guilty To Underage Drinking, Disturbing The Peace

“This kind of stuff happens all the time with them.” That’s area resident Cyndi Tipton, on an incident involving local Amish youth. The young men’s behavior led to charges including underage drinking and disturbing the peace. The four young Amish men, ages ranging from 19 to 20, also were charged with providing false information to an officer. The area in question is Gladwin County, Michigan….

3 Things I Like About Millie Otto’s Weekly Column

Millie Otto is an Amish woman living in the Arthur, Illinois settlement. I’ve mentioned her here before, including in the “3 Amish Columnists You Might Enjoy” post. From time to time I read her column, which is carried in several news outlets, including the Champaign, IL News-Gazette. She is one of several Amish columnists printed in non-Amish newspapers (others include Lovina Eicher and Gloria Yoder)….

Favorite Posts Of 2019

Favorite Posts Of 2019

As we wrap up the 2010s, a look back at some favorite posts of the past 12 months. My thanks to all of you who took the time to read, share and comment on posts this year. Wishing you all good things in 2020 ~ Erik Church 6 Examples of Amish Ordnung Rules Colorado Amish To Build Meeting Hall Attending Amish Church All About Amish…

Visiting North Carolina’s Swartzentruber Amish Community (31 Photos)

Visiting North Carolina’s Swartzentruber Amish Community (31 Photos)

We caught a glimpse of North Carolina’s Swartzentruber Amish settlement when someone interviewed a man from this community as he waited at an Alabama Amtrak station. I also previewed the community auction which was to take place in late November. Amish began moving to the area near Ellenboro, NC (Rutherford County) in 2015. Today this Swartzentruber community sits at about 16 families (apparently two families…

Michigan County Seeks Compromise With Amish In Sewage Conflict

Michigan County Seeks Compromise With Amish In Sewage Conflict

Lenawee County, Michigan authorities hope to find a compromise with Amish over sewage and water violations in an ongoing conflict in this southern Michigan community. That’s according to a new article in the Daily Telegram. The report contains more details about how waste is handled by the Amish: The health department said it started receiving complaints in 2015 about how the Amish were disposing of…

Amish Delegation Visits White House

Amish from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana visited the President and Vice President in the Oval Office Friday, as reported in the Washington Times. This was apparently the first time Amish people have visited the White House in this capacity (with one possible exception, see below). The Amish as a whole are not overtly political, so this type of event gets attention. While relatively few Amish visit…

ACLU Sues To Stop Michigan County From Demolishing Amish Homes

In August we learned that a Michigan county had deemed Amish homes “unfit for human habitation.” The reason? Outhouses and lack of running water, which created what were described as unsafe living conditions. Photo by Mary Speer/WTOL Eviction loomed, and jail and fines were possible. There was even a threat of the homes being bulldozed. Now the Lenawee County Health Department has been sued by a…

Amish Saw Blade Art by Edna Troyer

Amish Saw Blade Art by Edna Troyer

One of the more memorable experiences of my Holmes County visit was an early-morning stop at Indian Trail Harness Shop. Rich Stevick and I were out for a day of visiting. This was our first stop of the day, and a random one (sometimes those are the best). We noticed the place traveling up from Walnut Creek to an Amish acquaintance of Rich’s in Wayne…

20 Snapshots From My Holmes County Visit (Updated)

20 Snapshots From My Holmes County Visit (Updated)

Following up 8 Snapshots From My Lancaster County Visit, here are 20 photos from my recent stay in Holmes County. The weather was on the gloomy side, and though my trip was short, I managed to pack a lot into 24 hours. That included 9 or 10 visits (some with old friends, some with new ones). My friend Rich Stevick was along with me for…

Amish Guy Buggy Skiing, End-Of-Year Edition (Video)

Amish Guy Buggy Skiing, End-Of-Year Edition (Video)

In what’s become a winter tradition, another Amish Guy Buggy Skiing video has emerged. This latest one comes from Long Prairie, Minnesota, where we see an Amish fellow skiing by the roadside, pulled by an open carriage. I checked and this is actually our second skiing video of this calendar year. Maybe the incidence of Amish Guys Skiing has increased. Or maybe bystanders are filming…