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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
Articles on Amish auctions are fairly common this time of year. I found this one on the Clearview School Quilt & Consignment Auction (Green County, WI) more interesting than most. Here are 3 things from this auction that jumped out at me: 1. Food Out Of An Amish School Window – Food is not the main purpose of an Amish auction, but it is a…
Unlike yesterday’s lead story, this is not of the feel-good variety. The Jamestown Post-Journal reports on an incident which happened Sunday in Warren County, PA: WARREN, Pa. — Information is being sought after a youth riding in an Amish buggy was struck in the face by a BB fired from an SUV in Warren County. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, the incident took place…
Accompanied by their attorney, Amish shared their views on proposed regulations at a standing-room-only supervisors’ meeting in Washington Township (Lycoming County, PA) Monday. Township officials and other residents voiced their views as well. At issue are 3 proposed new requirements for Amish buggies: Horse diapers to prevent manure falling on roadways Rubber horseshoes to prevent damage to roadways 4-inch-high numbering on all four sides of…
How about a feel-good story? Delta, Pennsylvania lies in extreme southern York County. Amish live in two places in the county – five or six church districts lying across the Susquehanna river (technically part of the Lancaster County settlement), and a separate stand-alone community. It turns out local Amish have been glad for the generosity of one area business owner. From Reader’s Digest: In 2013,…
In February we had a look at the first Amish settlement in North America, located at Northkill in Pennsylvania’s Berks County (founded approximately 1740). I recently came across an interesting Ontario historical blog with a photo of a plaque marking the location of the first Amish settlement in Canada, which came about some 80+ years after Northkill. Here’s the text from the plaque: THE FIRST…