The Amish are well-known for not attending higher institutions of learning. That noted, the business I want to share with you today might be the closest thing in America to an “on-campus” Amish operation. But first, a brief recap – I’ve just returned home after the better part of a week on an Amish trip. The centerpiece was attending the Health & Well-Being in Amish…
An intoxicated driver rear-ended an Amish carriage Friday, taking three young lives: A fatal Friday collision involving an allegedly drunk truck driver and a horse-drawn buggy killed three children, said Michigan State Police. The Algansee Township crash, in which the pickup truck driver drove into the back of an Amish buggy, threw seven passengers — five children and two adults — from the carriage. MSP trooper…
We have a winner today of Marcus Yoder’s new book, Cathedrals, Castles, and Caves: The Origins of the Anabaptist Faith. If you missed it, you can find the Q-and-A with Marcus here. Excerpt from Cathedrals, Castles, and Caves But before we get to the winner, an excerpt from the book. The following is the full Chapter 24, entitled “Preacher On The Run”. In this excerpt, we learn…
From the Portland Press Herald: AUGUSTA — Operators of horse-drawn buggies in Maine will be required to outfit their carriages with reflectors and lights due to a new law in the state. The proposal is designed to improve safety on the roads in Amish communities in the state, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed it into law on Thursday. The new law states that it…
Below are three stories of people who were born and raised Amish – but ended up leaving the church under widely differing circumstances. First a note: when we speak about “leaving the Amish”, this can mean more than one thing: One case are those born into the Amish, but who never choose baptism. These people are sometimes said to have “left the Amish” even though…
My friend Daniel Weaver belongs to a New Order Amish church. You might remember him from the Guardian article “Our faith will be lost if we adopt technology” (which is where this photo comes from). Daniel just opened a market in his community of Morris (Otsego County) in upstate New York. The Daily Star of Oneonta, NY profiles the new business in a recent article. Daniel…
Cathedrals, Castles, and Caves: The Origins of the Anabaptist Faith is the new book by Marcus A. Yoder. Marcus serves as Executive Director of the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center and the Ohio Amish Library. Marcus and I touched base last December when I dropped by the Center (this is where I took the photos of Amish women’s head coverings and Amish church clothing – it’s…
A community of conservative Amish in upstate New York (St. Lawrence County) have canceled a meeting with county officials to discuss adding additional safety reflectors to their buggies. Officials want the Amish to add strips of white reflective tape in two places on the buggy. Here is what the tape on the wheel spokes would look like: The “flash” such a strip would create as…
The first business I stopped at while in Charlotte County, Virginia last month was Esh’s Variety Stand. What is a “variety stand”? Well as you might guess, something like the more common variety store, but in stand form. I came across this neat little place shortly after arriving in the community, not far from where I took this buggy photo: It sat down a longish lane…
“We take horses as collateral all the time.” That’s Middlefield Bank vice president Al Thompson Jr. explaining how his institution works with Amish customers. Apparently, that practice goes against what lenders are taught (“never take anything for collateral that eats”). But for the Amish, the exception is worth it. “If they offer you the horse, you take the horse,” says Thompson. “That’s their transportation, after all.”…