Today we have a winner of A Midwife in Amish Country – in fact, we have two winners, as author Kim Osterholzer has kindly offered a second signed copy for the giveaway contest. Kim also wanted to answer some more of your questions about being a midwife – so we’ve got about 10 more below (see part 1 of her answers here). You’ll find the…
Did you know that the South has more states with an Amish population than any other region? First, there’s the question of what defines a region. The South of today is a vast, diverse place. But I think it’s safe to say some states seem more traditionally “southern” than others. For instance, is South Carolina more southern than, say, Maryland? Other states sort of fit…
If measuring by sheer numbers of Amish, Branch County, Michigan is well behind Lagrange County, Indiana just to the southwest. Yet in another way Branch County is quite the “Amish County” – home to 5 separate Amish settlements, some of whom are very plain. The oldest, lying in California Township, has been around nearly six decades. So this is a community where non-Amish people have long…
How about a glimpse of Amish life through the eyes of someone living it every day? There are currently at least three Amish women writing columns published in newspapers across the nation. They are: Gloria Yoder Lovina Eicher Millie Otto These three columns follow a similar model, with reports from daily life running an Amish household, being a mother, and handling all the tasks and…
Will Amish vote in 2018? You might recall the Amish PAC which was created in 2016 to promote voting among Amish in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Lancaster Online reports that the Amish PAC has returned in 2018 to promote Amish getting to the polls for the midterm elections in November: Two years after it aimed to “unlock the Amish vote” for Donald Trump, the Washington-based Amish…
Do Amish parents have celebrations for new babies? Who is present at the birth? What does it take to be a good midwife? What if you get to the birth late? Do Amish have children out of wedlock? Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for A Midwife in Amish Country author Kim Osterholzer. I chose a selection of these which Kim has answered, plus a…
Amish pop up in the news all the time, but we can’t always do full posts on every story. So today we’ll briefly cover 5 of them. I’ve also shared some of my favorite recent reader comments at the end of this post. So here’s a new type of post to get you caught up. Hope you enjoy, and if you like this, we’ll keep doing…
Amish typically do not become doctors and nurses, but they do help save lives in other ways. For one, there is the Amish involvement in fire companies, particularly in Lancaster County, but not only there. Amish also work as Emergency Medical Technicians. Sisters Miriam and Karen Schlabach of Baltic, Ohio, are doing just that. From the Sugarcreek Budget (no longer online): Miriam’s journey to EMT…
Which states are home to the most Amish? Here are the top 15 states ordered by how many Amish people live in each. Numbers are based on the 2018 figures from the Young Center. I’ve grouped the states into 3 tiers below. You’ll also find a brief description of each state’s Amish population. The three figures in parentheses are: Number of settlements as of June 2018 Total number…
From the Associated Press: INDIANAPOLIS — An Amish couple with 13 children sued the federal government on Wednesday, accusing officials of violating their constitutional rights by insisting that they provide photographs of themselves before the Canadian wife’s request to become a permanent U.S. resident can be approved. The Indiana couple won’t allow themselves to be photographed “for any reason,” in keeping with their Old Order…