Do Amish people believe that when you take their photos, you also take their souls? I’ve heard this idea from time to time over the years. It has always seemed to me like an urban legend or romantic exaggeration – with perhaps just a loose basis in what Amish actually believe. The latest case comes from a wagon tour guide in the Ethridge, Tennessee Amish…
Are the Amish “backward”? Do they miss modern things we take for granted? What’s the correct way to pronounce “Amish”? Chuck Lofton of news station WTHR recently rode along with John Gingerich, an Amishman who operates a tour buggy in Shipshewana in northern Indiana. John shared several interesting insights as they rode around town. He seems like the kind of guy you’d want running your…
The Health & Well-Being In Amish Society Conference took place a little over a month ago. I’ve finally gotten around to putting together some photos and highlights from the event to share with you today. The event took place on the beautiful Elizabethtown College campus. Here is Leffler Chapel, where the main speakers delivered their presentations. There were around 200 attendees; many seemed to be…
On the heels of the “20 Unique Ways Amish Raise Their Kids” article, another click-magnet piece popped up on my news feed this morning. This one is called “15 Insane Rules All Amish Kids Must Follow” (source article removed at thetalko.com). “Amish People Rules” I believe the idea of “Amish rules” is appealing to people because the Amish are seen as a strict culture from…
Are the Amish starting to pay more attention to a state they have – til now – mostly ignored? A new community in West Virginia appears to be the latest example of a fresh trend of migration to the state. West Virginia lies wedged between Ohio and Pennsylvania, the two biggest Amish-population states. But for most of its history, it’s had little Amish settlement. However,…
The four Swartzentruber Amish plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the state of Minnesota over gray water disposal ended up losing their case in a ruling delivered in April. If you missed it, here’s a summary of the case/events, and our original post on the matter. Brian Lipford, the attorney for the Amishmen, has since asked for a new trial (article no longer online) along with…
What can you find in an Amish variety store? I’ve got over five dozen photos to share with you today from one of my favorites, so this should give you a pretty good idea 🙂 I recently returned, twice, to King’s Kountry Store in Halifax County, Virginia. I mentioned this place in my post earlier this year on the local Amish community. Bennie Ray and…
Where can you stay on an Amish farm? We often get this question, and happily around this time last year were able to point to amishfarmstay.com. The site lists Lancaster County Amish-owned properties where you can pay to stay overnight. As of last summer the site featured 6 Amish hosts; this year the listings have doubled to 12. So there are quite a few options now…
There is a small but longstanding Amish community at Guthrie, Kentucky, right near the Tennessee border. Guthrie is one of the more atypical Amish settlements, as it is an “electric New Order” community. The Amish here permit electricity in the home, and also fully use tractors, even for road transportation. Still they are considered an Amish community, as they dress plain, use Pennsylvania Dutch, and…
It appears that the Lancaster County area will see a second controversial development come to fruition. Following the newly-approved satellite casino in Morgantown (technically in Berks County, on the edge of Lancaster’s Amish region), the Oregon Village housing development has been approved on a 3-2 vote by the Manheim Township Board of Commissioners. The development will bring over 500 new residential units to the rural…