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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Sexual Abuse Awareness Program Leads To Arrest, Conviction Of Amishman

Sexual Abuse Awareness Program Leads To Arrest, Conviction Of Amishman

An Amishman was sentenced Thursday in Dauphin County, PA for sexually abusing four girls when he was a teenager. From Penn Live: The 11 ½- to 23-month prison term President Judge Richard A. Lewis imposed on King was set in an agreement King reached when he pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including aggravated indecent assault, in April. King, now 33 and a Lebanon County resident,…

25 “Secrets No One Knows” About The Amish

Dubious Amish content lists continue to pop up online. They must really be generating traffic for these sites! I debated whether to even post about this one, but I couldn’t resist. Following 20 Unique Ways Amish Raise Their Children and 15 “Insane” Rules For Amish Children, we come to “25 Little Secrets No One Knows About The Amish,” from thethings.com. You’ll have to Google this…

90 Amish Move Another Building (Video)

Plain teamwork was on display again in June, and again in the Geauga County Amish settlement. We last saw the Amish of this community picking up and moving a barn in March. In the video below, around 90 Amish lift and move a building described as a shed by video author Bill Jancsurak. Jancsurak commented the following to Global News: Bill Jancsurak told Global News…

5 Interesting Facts About Lehman’s (Kidron, Ohio)

5 Interesting Facts About Lehman’s (Kidron, Ohio)

Ever heard of Lehman’s? If you’ve been to the Holmes County Amish settlement, chances are you may have heard the place mentioned or seen it advertised. I have visited two or three times in the past. The store, technically located in the Amish area of Wayne County, has a direct connection with the Amish, dating back to its founding. It’s a really nice store, though it…

Michigan County Deems Amish Homes “Unfit For Human Habitation”

Michigan County Deems Amish Homes “Unfit For Human Habitation”

Amish in Lenawee County, Michigan were told they had until last Friday to leave their homes – due to “unsafe living conditions.” This comes after a years-long conflict between the county’s Amish and local authorities. Here’s a summary of the story til now, from WTOL: The first group arrived four years ago after branching off from an Amish community in Camden. They bought a few…

The Ugly Reality Behind Amish “Reality” TV

The Ugly Reality Behind Amish “Reality” TV

Have you ever watched Amish “reality” TV? This type of programming made its first big splash in 2004 with “Amish in the City”. The series followed five Rumspringa-age Amish youth paired with a similar number of non-Amish young people living in a home in Los Angeles. “Amish in the City” was just a precursor of what was to come. The genre’s heyday came about a…

5 Insights From Illinois Amishman Reuben Mast

Reuben and Wilma Mast belong to a New Order Amish church in Ava, Illinois. They live with their 10 children on a farm in this settlement of three church districts. Isaac Smith of The Southern Illinoisan visited the Mast farm on several occasions this spring and summer. His article shares extensive comments from Reuben on Amish life and beliefs. We also get some nice photos of the…

Amish Exile John Shrock Helps Teen Who Left Same Community

Amish Exile John Shrock Helps Teen Who Left Same Community

“The main thing I miss is my family. That’s the only thing I’d like to go back for.” John Shrock was one of several people featured in our recent 3 stories of leaving the Amish post. The now 25-year-old man grew up in a Wisconsin Amish community before leaving at age 17. Now he’s helping a teenager who has left the community as well. It…

New York Vaccination Law Could Keep Amish Schoolchildren Off Buses

New York Vaccination Law Could Keep Amish Schoolchildren Off Buses

From the Salamanca Press: Amish school children in Cattaraugus County will probably have to find another way to school this fall if they currently are transported by school bus along with public school students. New York’s new vaccination regulations eliminating religious exemptions — such as those claimed by the Amish — go into effect this September at the start of the school year. It also…

A Visit To An “Off The Map” Amish Dry Goods Store

A Visit To An “Off The Map” Amish Dry Goods Store

So after I visited Charlotte County, Virginia in April, I wrote about a local Amish variety stand. In that post I mentioned the following, about a different place: As I finished up my purchase, the girl directed me to a dry goods store not too far away. After she gave me directions explaining that it was down a long lane, and I was confident I had…