You might recall our recent look at the kid box, a special compartment on the backs of some open-top Swiss Amish buggies. These allow children to ride protected from the weather. Torey has sent in some further photos of much larger (adult-sized) carriage compartments, taken in the two large Swiss Amish communities in Indiana. The first photo is from the Allen County settlement: The second…
There have been quite a few interesting submissions on the question request post. Today’s topic comes from an old batch but we hope to get to some of your newer questions soon. A reader asks: Do they have books or normal furniture? Given the generality of that question I simply asked John to comment on the types of books and furniture seen in Amish homes….
A photo taken by reader Rose in the Kingston/Dalton Wisconsin Amish community. What do you notice? Madison WI Amish Furniture
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”…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…