The first clue that I’d arrived in the Amish area of Charlotte County, Virginia was a sign warning of buggy traffic for the next 15+ miles. The second indication was this little building on the side of the road: There were phone shacks (or shanties) just like this one found throughout this community of two churches. The Amish here have ties to the Mechanicsville (St….
Yesterday I visited the small Amish community in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. It was a crisp early spring day. The people in this community, a Union Grove, NC daughter settlement, certainly chose a beautiful area to settle in. It’s a area of rolling hills, with lovely valleys and spans of thickly-wooded land. The settlement itself lies near the town of Chatham. The countryside has a lot…
How many eggs do Amish eat? How much do they can? How often do Amish order pizza or other food to the home? I’m currently reading the new book Nature & The Environment in Amish Life. Authors David McConnell and Marilyn Loveless include a survey revealing interesting – even surprising – points about the Amish diet. They compared the four major affiliations of Amish in…
An Amish boy in Highland County, Ohio was diagnosed with Hepatitis A on March 21. Due to the close-knit nature of Amish communities, and their overall lower vaccination rates, this posed a particular threat. But swift action by health department officials, and cooperation by the Amish community seems to have stopped a potential outbreak. From the Hillsboro Times-Gazette: Warner said health department nurses met with…
How about a little tour through Holmes County, Ohio? I realized I still have a lot of photos from last year’s visit. Since I’ll be going to some new communities starting next week, I thought it would be a good time to share them with you. These were taken over a couple days in early December. You’ll notice the changing weather conditions, from bright and…
I came across some remarkable historical photos on the PBS American Experience site. I believe these were connected with the release of the documentary film “The Amish” in 2012, but I missed them the first time around. There are a total of 13 shots in the gallery which you can view in full, and in larger sizes, here. I pulled a few of my favorites…
I have lately been seeing a lot of list posts on one or another aspect of Amish life. These typically have catchy titles and are designed to get you to click on them. Hard to resist a list! (I’ve been known to create a few myself 😉 ) One caught my eye this week – “20 Unique Ways The Amish Raise Their Kids (That No…
Have a look at this buggy wreck photo…can you believe the driver escaped “shaken, but not injured”? The accident happened on Prince Edward Island, first settled by Amish in 2016. From the Canadian Press: A horse-drawn buggy was destroyed Wednesday morning after colliding with a truck on a rural road in the New Perth area, near where many Amish families have bought farms in the last…
How to move a barn from point A to B with little more than bodies and hands? A gathering of Amish people recently showed how in the Geauga County community. The report is that “over 250 Amish men and others were there to to help move a pole barn from one side of a farm to the other.” If you look at the video I…
From time to time runaway Amish buggies make news, though it’s not something you come across often. However the past several days saw two such incidents reported. Luckily, no one was hurt in either case. But runaway horses have caused severe accidents in the past. The second incident in particular seems like it could have been especially bad. More on that below. Here’s the first,…