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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Quadruplets!

From the editor’s notes of a recent issue (August 2012) of The Diary: The Diary has something this month that it has not had for nineteen years! Under BIRTHS this month, you will see that the very first entry is quadruplets! These four girls were born to Amos Masts of Granton, WI.  Congratulations.  And good luck. Nineteen years ago, Amos Eshs of Lancaster County also…

Hit-and-run driver accused of intentionally killing Amish horse

Over the past weekend a driver apparently purposely drove his car into a horse pulling a buggy full of Nappanee, Indiana -area Amish teenagers. Francisco Gonzalez was captured on a Wal-Mart parking lot camera turning around and returning to the road to run into the buggy horse, which was killed instantly.  The boys were shaken but unhurt; what the driver left behind was described as…

Country Style Deli at Shrewsbury Markets

Country Style Deli at Shrewsbury Markets

Country Style Deli @ The Markets at Shrewsbury 12025 Susquehanna Trail Glen Rock, PA 17327 (717) 235-6611 How about a few photos today from Country Style Deli at the Markets at Shrewsbury (York County, PA). This deli is run by the Riehl family, friends of mine from Lancaster County. Amish markets are typically open for business 3 days per week (Thurs-Sat), though some stand owners…

Lock up beard-cutting parents (pre-sentencing…and pre-harvest)?

You have probably heard by now that the Bergholz beard-cutters were convicted in the federal hate crimes trial last week. They will have to wait four months for sentencing, however, until January 24 (appeal remains a possibility as well). Now attention has shifted to whether some of the convicts should remain free or be imprisoned leading up to sentencing. According to the lead of this…

Mary Ann Kinsinger on an Amish upbringing + Life with Lily 3-book giveaway

Mary Ann Kinsinger grew up Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  Mary Ann has teamed with Suzanne Woods Fisher on a series of children’s books, the first of which is called Life with Lily.  The four-book series is based in part on her Amish childhood. I’m not the target market for this series, but it looks like a wholesome and fun read if you have children….

Amish smoke detector dispute resolved

News came earlier this week that the long-running dispute between Amish and authorities in Morristown, New York, has come to an end.  You might remember a post last spring on the Amish smoke alarm issue; if you viewed the PBS documentary The Amish you would have seen this case discussed. To review, Amish had refused to follow local building codes (updated by the town in 2006), arguing…

What is this buggy doing in Adams County, Indiana?

This one has been fun to ponder.  The above is not something you’re supposed to see in Swiss Amish communities like those of Adams County or Allen County, Indiana.  The Swiss Amish churches are known for a number of characteristic practices, including using only open carriages.  This photo was taken in the Adams County settlement not too far from Berne.  So what is going on? A…

Amish Teeth: From Dentures to Braces

Amish Teeth: From Dentures to Braces

Back from vacation – and thank you for all the nice wishes.  It was a (mostly) restful week spent at the ocean with family, with no sunburns, and a little extra sleep, so I guess I’m coming out ahead here. After a week off there’s a lot out there to comment on. This might not be the most important news in Amish America, but over…

Cruise Night at Shrewsbury Amish Market

I’ve been hearing about Cruise Night at the Markets at Shrewsbury for years now. I finally got to attend on this recent PA trip. First, a word about the venue. The Markets at Shrewsbury is one of the nicer and more extensive Pennsylvania Dutch markets I’ve visited. I’d say the vendor breakdown is majority Amish, with a number of English stands as well. Most of…

An Amish Rodeo

An Amish Rodeo

I’m calling it “Amish” in the title, though that’s not totally accurate. More of the participants were probably non-Amish, though there were quite a few Amish riders as well, and a heavily Amish crowd. Riders perform each Monday in the spring and summer, but as I understood it the August 27 event at Hill Brook Farm Arena was the highlight show of the season.  I…