John Stoltzfus is a friend of mine and member of the Lebanon County, PA Amish community (you may recall reading his comments on this blog from time to time). Like any Old Order Amishman, John’s home is not wired, but he does have access to a computer via his job and neighbors, which isn’t commonplace but not too rare either. John also has an interesting…
I’ve finally put together some trip highlights from Lancaster County. Today begins a new trip, a week-long journey across Indiana and Ohio. Â Before we get into that, here’s what I liked from last week’s visit: Seven nights, four bonfires, two mountain pie feasts. Amish people like to burn stuff in the summer time. Mostly wood from what I can tell. It makes for a nice…
The big Amish news this week is the trial of 16 members of the Bergholz group, which opened in a Cleveland federal court Tuesday. Â The accused are charged with hate crimes for their roles in the beard and hair-cutting attacks. Some face sentences of 20 years or more if convicted. Defendants have rejected plea bargain deals offering much shorter sentences, and have argued that their…
I’ve just gotten back from Lancaster County after what felt like 2 days in the car driving home yesterday (trucks can be bumpy on highways). I’m going to catch up on comments now and will be sharing more as I settle back into English America for a couple days here before the next trip begins. This photo of a friend of mine was taken a…
I’ll be posting some photos and more from my PA Amish trip when I can get back to a computer (this is another late night flashlight Kindle post, the easiest kind when you’re staying in an Amish home)…For now I thought a quiz would be fun. Do you know what these 10 Amish-related terms mean? Pretty much all of them have come up on this…
Number 5, from section 2 (WORDS), in Rules of a Godly Life: Confide to no one your personal secrets unless you have beforehand found him to be worthy of your trust. Here is one way to prove him and learn to know him well: confide to him some secret of small importance; if he keeps it to himself it is an indication of his trustworthiness….
Amish: A Secret Life is a new BBC documentary following David and Miriam Lapp of Lancaster County. From the description on the BBC website: An intimate portrait of Amish family life and faith – this film opens up a world usually kept private. Miriam and David are Old Order Amish and photography is not permitted under the strict rules of the Amish church. So when…
Following up our discussion on how Amish choose hospitals, a regular reader has shared observations of how his Amish friends choose and pay for conventional care. Â You’ll see that sometimes creativity is involved. Per request I’ve changed the names of the locations, substituting generic names for the actual town names. Â The Amish community in question is a small one and quite conservative: My friends prefer…
Do you recall the 12 Amish children orphaned last year when their parents died in a highway accident in New York?  The  Hershberger children were officially adopted this past Monday by an uncle and aunt from Ohio. From the story: The judge asked each soon-to-be parent and the older children if they wanted to move forward with the adoption: Are you willing “to create a…
It’s been some time since we’ve covered the Bergholz beard-cutters, though pieces of news have been trickling out here and there. Â The trial of the 16 defendants in the case is fast approaching, with proceedings set to begin August 27. The accused have sought certain allowances in the lead-up to the trial. Â The latest objection is over language used to describe the group: Members of…