The devotional Rules of a Godly Life is split into three sections, focused on Thoughts, Words, and Works.  We’ve looked at two Rules already–one from the Words section, on speaking evil, and another from Works, concerning  appearance. Number 15 from the Thoughts section is one of the shortest in the entire devotional, at just two lines: If you have an important decision to make, or you…
A black walnut dental treatment is apparently enjoying popularity in Amish (and I assume other) circles.  Black walnut extract is claimed to fix cavities, cracks, and toothaches. A local dentist, however, says it doesn’t work. Dr. Stephen Raffensperger is quoted on the treatment in this article.  He is adamant that it does not do what it claims.  But  he’s not being listened to. “If I…
Reader Darlene paid a recent visit to Amish near Stone Arabia, New York (Montgomery County). Â This is in the Mohawk Valley area of the state, near the Adirondack Mountains, and in the vicinity of the town of Fort Plain. In New York Amish, Karen Johnson-Weiner writes that Amish migration to the area began in 1986, when Byler Amish (New Wilmington, PA roots) settled in the…
Summer is when people travel. Â Many of those trips take in Amish areas. Â Actually, in a lot of states it’s getting harder to drive anywhere without passing near an Amish spot on the map. I also know a lot of you live in or near Amish settlements. Â So I thought I’d throw it out–are you visiting any Amish communities this summer? (or have you already?)…
How do Amish decide where to get medical treatment?  There are multiple factors that go into that decision, but since Amish pay cash for medical care, a big factor is cost. If you’ve ever traveled through Millersburg, the seat of Holmes County, you may have passed by Pomerene Hospital.  Amish are perhaps 40% of Holmes County’s population, one reason they make up a large part–20%–of the…
Visiting Amish communities you might notice people living in a building meant for something else. Tom shares a little today about these “shop houses” along with a few photos from Angelica, NY: Says Tom: “In Conewango and other conservative settlements I visit young married Amish couples often build a shop house. This a very simple house that they can live in until they are able…
There’s been a good bit of media this week on the use of the Amish name to sell things. If you recall we’ve visited this question on a number of occasions, most recently in “Is it wrong to sell using the Amish name?” One story in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette gives us an example of the potency of the Amish tag: In 2010, Unker’s, a homeopathic pain…
The Young Center of Elizabethtown College has just released annual Amish population estimates. Â The big news: over the past year Amish settled two states with no existing communities. Wyoming I had heard about Amish heading to Wyoming late last summer. Â I’m told the new community has ties with Amish in southern Wisconsin. At around half a million people, Â Wyoming is America’s least-populated state, but one…
Good news for Amish drivers in southern Indiana.  The Amish settlement in Daviess County will be getting buggy lanes on one major road.  The Odon-Cannelburg road runs north-south through the middle of this community.  The road, also known as County Road 900 E, is a major economic artery with Amish buggies, semi’s, cars, and all types of motorized transportation sharing the road, with sometimes disastrous results. The…
Rules of a Godly Life is a concise devotional read by Amish. Â Last week we looked at what it has to say on speaking evil. Â I thought I’d share another today. Â This is rule #11, from Section 3 (“Works”): Practice modesty in the wearing of clothes, and have nothing to do with pomp and luxury in raiment. It is great vanity to spend as much…