Since at least 2013, one Lancaster County Amish farm has been home to a herd of camels, roaming fields where one might otherwise expect a different sort of four-legged beast. But what in the world are Arabian dromedaries doing on an Amish farm in Lancaster County? From the original AP report: Camel’s milk has arrived in Lancaster County, courtesy of Little Bit, Twila and their herd,…
MinnPost.com has an interesting article exploring the stories of two Amish-raised women who decided to leave their Amish lives behind. The main focus is on how these women – Susan Miller, 21, and Rebecca Swartzentruber, 36 – are now getting an education and pursuing goals outside their birth communities. The women have enrolled in the Hawthorne Education Center in Rochester, Minnesota. This is a stone’s throw from…
An Amish-owned horse decided to go for a little ride with no one behind the wheel, so to speak. The incident happened Sunday morning in the Holmes County, OH community. From the Wooster Daily Record: Ohio State Patrol Sgt. C.O. Smith was the one of a a small group of law enforcement officers from the patrol, Wooster Police Department and Wayne County Sheriff’s Office who…
An interesting letter appeared at Lancaster Online today: In response to the June 10 letter “GOP and Amish: A match made in heaven”: Instead of imagining an Amish man as our nation’s president, let’s take a closer look at values and the purpose of the Amish culture in hopes of inspiring all people to seek and turn to God, the creator of all the universe! The Amish and…
Members of Amish and four other Lancaster County churches came together for a group singing recently, an event which happens every “couple of years.” If you’ve ever wondered what Amish church song sounds like, the audio clip below gives you a feel for it. You’ll hear “As Jesus Christ, the Son of God”, found on page 217 of Anabaptist songbook The Ausbund (note: to listen,…
Bill and Tricia Moser were living in one of America’s wealthiest communities when they stepped away, launching a journey of faith that ultimately led them to become Old Order Amish—adopting the plain life exemplified by the horse and buggy. They and their six children remained Old Order Amish for 15 years, but in 2014 they left their community and joined an Amish-Mennonite church in Missouri….
Farm co-ops connect Amish growers with urban markets they’d otherwise have challenges reaching by themselves. The Washington Post has a story on a co-op located in Franklin County, Pennsylvania called Path Valley Farms. The operation’s 20 Amish farmers provide produce for over 50 Washington, D.C. restaurants – items like heirloom tomatoes, horseradish, squash, and watercress. So how do low-tech Amish farmers coordinate, market and deliver…
From the Bangor Daily News: Despite a very divided vote by the legislature’s IFW Committee, the state’s Amish hunters won the right to wear red instead of orange while deer hunting in Maine. LD 426 was sponsored by Representative McCrea of Fort Fairfield, who was joined at the hearing by several young Amish men who testified that their religion forbid them from wearing orange because it…
In the market for a nice handmade basket? It you’re visiting a Swartzentruber Amish community, there’s a good chance you’ll find one. Basket businesses are pretty common among this very plain Amish group. For instance you’ll find one listed among this sample of companies from Ethridge, TN (home to a sizeable Swartzentruber settlement) or some more visual evidence among these photos from the same community. As you…
Three hundred people have been immunized following an outbreak of whooping cough in an Amish community in Missouri. The community in question is at Seymour in Webster County. This is the largest Amish settlement in the state, with a population of 1500-plus. As of yesterday there were 15 confirmed cases with 2 babies hospitalized. Whooping cough and measles are diseases which have shown up in Amish communities in recent…