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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Amish paintball?

A reader shares a photo of an Amish-owned business in the Shipshewana area of northern Indiana. Is paintball popular among young people in this community?  I’ve heard of paintball guns being used by Amish youth before, notably in a tragic incident involving Amish teen pranksters in Ohio. This isn’t the only sports facility owned by an Amish person.  The 850 Center is another notable one in…

The Amish Dinner Table

How do Amish families eat? I want to thank reader Lattice for sharing her experience eating with Amish friends, in response to Slightly-handled-Order-Man’s question (“how do Amish families serve their food on a day-to-day basis?).  I am reposting Lattice’s comments here with a few of my own thoughts: I would be happy to tell you how it goes with my Amish friends. There is a…

Amish Furniture in Pennsylvania Dutch

I must say Pennsylvania Dutch tickles my ears.  Listening to the language is like hearing two tongues spliced together–one I understand, one I most surely do not. You’ll catch a good bit of that even in the first five minutes of this video tour of Schrock’s of Walnut Creek. Numerous English words trickle out from amongst the Deitsch as Schrock’s Marvin Miller takes you through…

Old-fashioned Amish washer

We started the week with Amish GPS but now head in the opposite direction, technologically speaking. Brenda shares photos today from the Carroll County, Tennessee Amish settlement, of an old Maytag washing machine.  Brenda has previously shared photos from Amish wash day in this settlement, so this makes a good follow-up.  Amish are known to use old-fashioned machines but this one seems more venerable than the norm. You…

3 Amish Bread Spreads

3 Amish Bread Spreads

A reader in Illinois shares a photo of 3 spreads given by an Amish neighbor, along with a loaf of bread and a thank-you note.  I have eaten 2 of these 3 (tasty).  Do you know what they are, and when they’re usually eaten?  Ever had some yourself? Update: Below, a larger photo of the note with reference to the spreads: The peanut butter (right) and…

Who counts as “Amish”?

I got an email this morning from Linda raising the question: …have you heard, too, the idea that Amish could be an ethnicity or ethnic group.  People that have an Amish heritage may not be Amish any more, but they might think in Amish ways, or be ethnically Amish?  I’m not sure I agree, because the lifestyle and beliefs are much intertwined.  In the secular…

“Amish Mafia” on Discovery

We’ve had comments on other posts about “Amish Mafia” and request for a thread on the upcoming show, so here it is.  The Discovery Channel program doesn’t premiere until Dec. 12. I don’t really have much comment as far as the substance behind it.  I will say that I am not surprised following the success of recent Amish-themed TV shows. When it comes to public…

Amish GPS

Today’s photo, from Mike of Primitive Christianity: Mike adds:  “I know Old Order Amish are not opposed to some forms of modernity. It just strikes me as a good representation of the mixture of old and new. Somehow one doesn’t seem to think that GPS units are needed on such a slow-moving, short-distance vehicle.” I first assumed this is a youth buggy, though, perhaps not….

One man’s view of Amish women

The same reader who shared with us about Ada the quiltmaker offers some impressions of Amish women in general: How many never-married 60-something Amish women are out there?  The one I know has a very distinct individuality that I believe is due to her single status which has freed her to be the open, in-your-face sort of gal she is.  Not that Brownville is lacking strong-willed women…

The story of the Anabaptists in 8 minutes

If you ever find yourself wondering just how the Amish, Mennonites, or Hutterites came to be, you might enjoy today’s video. Mike of Primitive Christianity has put together a short (8 min) and entertaining video detailing how each Anabaptist group ended up where they are today. I particularly like his use of maps to tell the story (on one map he has highlighted the precise…