Amish people aren’t afraid to move, and do so for different reasons. One of the main reasons is in response to material progress–or “drift”, a word used by those who frown on too much change happening too quickly. The three Amish congregations at Yoder, Kansas, are rather progressive, permitting technology use other Amish do not, such as driving tractors as part-time road vehicles. An article in…
We’ve seen plenty of examples of beautiful Amish-made quilts, treated as artwork and displayed in galleries. But what about the heavier, less-stunning bed coverings, the ones you might want to actually wrap up in rather than hang on a wall? Today, Janneken Smucker explains “haps”, which, depending on where you live, you may know by another name entirely. — This time of year my bed is piled…
What color is an Amish buggy? If someone asked you that, what would your answer be? Odds are you’d first think either black or gray, the two most prevalent hues. But as you may know, those aren’t the only Amish buggy-top colors. Here are the six colors of Amish buggies (listed from most common to least), and a little background on each color: The Six Amish…
There’s a communication challenge Amish people deal with that most of us do not. It’s the fact that in Amish communities, names repeat themselves. With a limited pool of surnames, and the popularity of Biblical and other traditional names, it’s inevitable that you find people with the same first and last names. How many Sam Stoltzfuses are there in Lancaster County? Or Mary Lehmans in northern Indiana? Or…
With the recent Amish smoke alarm controversy in mind, Tom Geist may very well have found a solution to the problem. Clearly, Tom has a sense of humor. Apparently the Swartzentruber Amish people he shares this with do too: “They all seem to laugh” says Tom. As you can see from these photos, this is very low-tech indeed. With the added bonus of being easy-to-construct…
Jim Cates returns today with the second part of his look at the Amish at wartime. Here is part 1 if you missed it. Jim’s last post generated a good discussion on the terms “pacifism” and “nonresistance”. As some of you commented, if pitting the two terms against one another, “nonresistance” is favored by Amish and other conservative Anabaptists, in part for its scope covering a broader…
How do Amish religious beliefs shape their views of nature? What outdoor recreational activities do they favor? What can be learned about their approach to gardening, animal husbandry, and agriculture? David McConnell and Lyn Loveless are exploring many questions like these in a new book project on the Amish and nature. Lyn Loveless is a professor of biology at the College of Wooster, and David is…
Reader Andy shares photos of the annual school auction held in Texas’ sole Amish community, in Bee County (Beeville). Some of them are a bit blurry, probably due to the low light, but you can see some of the items up for sale including a pretty fancy buggy (rest assured you won’t see Amish driving this model). The buggy may very well be the work of Truman Borntrager,…
On a post about an Amish store, reader Terry wrote: We have a bulk food store about 15 minutes from us, but what fun is that…to just go and buy what you need and come home? We save $ at that store, but it’s just not the same “experience” as traveling the back roads in rural Wisconsin, heading to Amish country, and spending the whole…
Amish in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin seem to have changed their tune regarding smoke detectors. When the issue arose in 2013, it appeared they rejected a scheme which would have had them install smoke detectors to satisfy local building code, only to remove them after inspection. Amish in New York did something like this in 2012 to resolve a similar dispute. Reports on the Eau Claire group said that…