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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Do Amish evangelize?

Alice Mary writes: About 6 years ago, my husband & “kids” (then ages 23 & 29 at the time, daughter & son, respectively) were coming back from some concert in Millennium Park (or Grant Park?) and a young Mennonite woman (late teens, I’d guess) greeted me (I guess it was obvious I was the “Mom”) and handed me a brochure about Menonnite beliefs & Christianity…

NY Amish barn raising

Reader Roberta shares a photo of a barn raising she attended a couple weeks ago in a New York Amish community: This took place in the vicinity of Newport, which is in Herkimer County.  Roberta adds: They started on Wednesday morning. There are about a hundred men involved.  Most came in buggies but a few got rides. Since they don’t want their pictures taken, we…

Unusual Amish occupations

This summer I picked up a copy of the  2010 Michigan Amish Directory, which lists most of the Amish settlements in the state.  Amish directories vary; some can be little more than an address listing, while others include historical background, maps, and more. The Michigan guide, like a few other directories, contains a chart listing the occupations of household heads.  While the survey is not…

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Amish and the public

How much do Amish interact with the public?   It’s a broad question, without a straightforward answer.  Two recent stories show Amish crossing boundaries of sorts. Law Enforcement On the whole, Amish are less likely than your average American to call the police.  They have been criticized for this reluctance, particularly when criminal matters are involved.  Amish have cooperated with the law in the recent…

Free Amish Recipes

Looking for Amish recipes? Check our directory of PA Dutch & Amish recipes for over 300 dishes… …or read on to learn about one Amish business’s clever recipe giveaways (plus Amish takes on Tomato Gravy, KFC Cole Slaw, and Grape Nuts). This summer I visited R and E sales, a large bulk food store in the Amish community at Adams County, Indiana. R and E is…

Inside an Amish Quilt Shop

A few photos today of a quilt shop at the New Wilmington PA Amish settlement. The New Wilmington community does not attract a lot of tourists.  But there are a few shops and businesses scattered about the settlement. Teena’s Quilt Shop (Volant, PA) Teena’s Quilt Shop 435 Quilt Shop Lane Volant, PA, 16156 Teena’s quilt shop is one that doesn’t mind visitors.  Teena was kind…

An interview with Manitoba Hutterite Linda Maendel

Linda Maendel is a member of a Hutterite colony in Manitoba.  We last looked at Hutterites back in January in an interview with Mary-Ann Kirkby, the author of I Am Hutterite. Hutterites live primarily in Canada and the Upper Midwest, and have some similarities to Amish.  Hutterites share the same Anabaptist roots as Amish and Mennonites, maintain a plain form of dress, and live lives…

The Amish Beard Attacks

The Amish Beard Attacks

Chances are you’ve heard of the recent attacks on Amish by now.  Members of a small Ohio group have been entering Amish homes and cutting off men’s beards and men’s and women’s hair.  Authorities have gotten involved and now there are serious charges – kidnapping and burglary – against the perpetrators. The group in question is located near the town of Bergholz in Jefferson County…

Amish Making Apple Butter

Amish Making Apple Butter

The picture above was taken at an Amish farm in Hardin County, Ohio (we’ve mentioned this settlement already this summer, see the unusual buggy post). Can you guess what’s happening here? The family only does this once a  year.  Luckily, that was the day I stopped by! UPDATE: if you guessed apple butter, well done! See below in the comments for a bit more background…