Anyone out there in Amish America-land catch the eclipse yesterday? I noticed a few news articles today referencing Amish and the event, such as this report or this one referencing a meeting “with some 1,200 other Amish and Mennonites on a large hill on an Amish farm.” More than a handful of Amish communities were in the path – going by NASA’s eclipse map below and state maps…
Terri Roberts was the mother of Charles Carl Roberts IV, the man responsible for the Nickel Mines Amish school shootings in 2006. Terri passed away this weekend following a 13-year battle with cancer. I met Terri briefly on one occasion, at the Forgiveness conference at Elizabethtown College in 2011. She seemed full of life and a lot more energy than you’d expect despite the disease…
The Amish community at Fort Fairfield, Maine is turning 10 years old, and Bangor Daily News has an article on the community with comments from founder Noah Yoder. With his wife and 11 children, Yoder moved to the area from upstate New York as the settlement’s first family in August 2007. We have looked at this settlement once before in 2013, following a piece in…
Don Curtis was one of our oldest readers and, writing here well into his 90s, pehaps our oldest active commenter. I just got word from Al in KY that Don passed away July 30th, at the ripe old age of 94. Al learned the news from the latest edition of the Budget newspaper. Here’s the information from the paper’s Bellefontaine, OH scribe: “Bellefontaine, Ohio Aug. 3 — Don,…
The Young Center at Elizabethtown College now has estimates available for the Amish population in 2017. Amish are currently found in 31 states, three Canadian provinces, and two South American countries (Argentina and Bolivia). You’ll find the population overview here. You can view state/province/country figures here. One new addition this year: interactive maps showing the population in each state and province. You’ll also find a list of the 12…
“I believe God made us equal. But with that said, I believe there is a headship order also.” In this brief audio interview (~3 min) Amish couple Ivan and Ruth Chupp of Burr Oak, Michigan discuss the roles of women and men in the Amish church. Ivan starts by describing Amish beliefs on headship and the woman’s role in church, with Ruth adding some comments at the…
It’s been awhile since we’ve had a nice photo post. Today reader Frank Trestka shares a set of shots from visits to Holmes County, Ohio. So enjoy some beautiful summer views of one of my favorite Amish communities. These were taken in June. I’ve added my own comments along with a couple of anecdotes from Frank. This might be my favorite shot of the bunch (well…
How different are High German and the everyday language of the Amish*, Pennsylvania German (aka Pennsylvania Dutch)? In today’s video, a High German speaker converses with three Amish people – first Menno Petersheim of Shipshewana, IN, then Ivan and Ruth Chupp of Burr Oak, MI. You can see how well they are able to understand one another, and follow along thanks to the English subtitles. The…
You might recall the story of Kenneth Copp, a Pentecostal-raised man who joined the Amish and was last living in the Unity Amish community in Maine. We previous looked at the Copp bakery and furniture shop in a post from a reader who visited the family (Visiting the Unity, Maine Amish Settlement). Things have changed in Kenneth Copp’s life since that post appeared in 2013. Bangor Daily…
Did you know that Amish in one community are heavily involved in building luxury recreational vehicles? According to one source, “more than 80 percent of global RV production is based throughout the region”, the region being northern Indiana. This includes the 3rd-largest Amish community, at Elkhart and Lagrange Counties, along with the sizeable next-door Nappanee settlement. While that 80%-plus feels like it could be a bit…