Inside an Amish Home: Heat & Wash
A photo taken by reader Rose in the Kingston/Dalton Wisconsin Amish community. What do you notice? Madison WI Amish Furniture
Author: Erik Wesner
Erik Wesner is the creator of amishamerica.com, and author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look At Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Erik began visiting Amish communities in 2004 – eventually meeting thousands of Amish families while selling books.
He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.
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He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.
Music Village Brain Drain
Thoughts, articles, links following last week’s Ohio visit: My new favorite soup? Cheeseburger. To the extent that you can call it soup. So thick it’s really a stew. Or let’s cut to the chase, this is basically a liquefied cheeseburger. Had a rib-sticking bowl last week at my Amish hosts’ table. By the way, is this an “Amish soup”? What makes something an “Amish soup”…
What do these Amish women have on their heads?
I got an email yesterday from Bill Coleman’s archivist asking about an unusual photo found in his collection. He described it as “one of Bill’s earliest Amish photographs” and that he had not seen anything similar in any of Bill’s other photos. This photo “was taken in the early 1980’s…”[women in] scoop hats” is the only thing written on the negative sleeve, which is odd…
Inside an Amish Home: Musical Clock
What do you find on the walls of Amish homes? As we discussed in a previous post on Amish wall decor, these items tend toward the practical–things like decorative calendars or zip code charts. Even the ostensibly “non-practical” pieces are practical in their own, higher-purpose way–a framed inspirational saying or Biblical verse, for example, daily reminders of where to set one’s heart and head. One…
Ask an Amishman: Submit your Questions
Pennsylvania Amishman John Stoltzfus has agreed to take some reader questions. We can’t guarantee answers to everything. But if you’ve got something you’d like to ask John about the Amish, leave it in the comments here, and you might get an answer in a future post. And as John noted in his first post, “my views will not be the only view from our people,…
Donald Kraybill: Beard-cutters not Amish
In an article in the latest Mennonite World Review, Donald Kraybill, who served as expert witness in the trial, had this comment on Sam Mullet’s group: “I call them a clan, and I do not consider them Amish at all.” More: In September, Kraybill gave five hours of testimony in a crowded courtroom. He visited the Bergholz area last year and interviewed about 15 people, including…
When a son joins the Amish: Dollars, Degrees, Dentists
After sharing some of the hard times in her son’s Minnesota Amish community, including health and financial concerns, Anne writes that she has received another letter from Ed and Ruth. When I read the account below I thought about how different this picture is compared to what 90% of America imagines Amish life to be. It’s not about idyllic farm life or Amish mafias or…
Do Amish People Celebrate Valentine’s Day?
An Amish Man on Valentine’s Day In anticipation of February 14th, I passed this question along to John Stoltzfus, an Amish husband and father of five living in a Pennsylvania community: Do Amish people do anything for Valentine’s Day? How do they observe the day? John’s response hints at differing attitudes about Valentine’s Day. The usual caveat about Amish customs being different in different places…
Revisiting Isaac the sheep shearer
I just returned late last night from a trip which took in four Amish communities in Ohio. Over the roughly three-and-a-half days I spent in the state there was a lot of visiting with Amish and English friends and acquaintances. I just did a count and besides things like auctions, shops and church gatherings, I was able to squeeze in sixteen visits over that time….
Degraff, Ohio Amish settlement
Meet you in the middle? There is a small Amish settlement near Degraff, Ohio, which I passed through while leaving Logan County this morning. At one stop a dozen eggs were had for just $1.50 (follow the “Produce” arrow to get there). They’re not very good eating raw though, so may need another snack to get me home. Read more on the Amish in Ohio.