The horse-drawn buggy is essential to Amish society. Amish buggies are both practical transport, and symbolic of the people. Though most Amish allow riding in motor vehicles such as cars and buses, no Amish permit ownership of the automobile. Amish feel the horse-drawn carriage promotes a slower pace of life and greater reliance on community. Amish buggies are not all alike. Different designs designate specific…
Amish are well-known for their produce, which they sell at stands and auctions. Produce season is in full swing, with lots of tasty garden treats to be had. You can usually find some great buys for relatively little money. On my recent trip I bought a lot of fruits and veggies from Amish produce stands (to counter the caffeine and other unhealthy stuff I inevitably…
I’m working on a huge Amish buggy post for Friday. Many photos, including some lesser-known buggy styles and designs. One example: Extra credit to anyone who knows where this photo was taken.
Amish-owned Raber’s book shop in Holmes County, Ohio Raber’s Bookstore 2467 County Road 600 Baltic, OH 43804 We’ve featured Raber’s Bookstore a number of times on this blog. Raber’s is a longstanding Amish book seller in the heart of Holmes County. Mary Raber, who runs the place, let me shoot a few photos during a recent visit. The outside of the shop. It is the…
There are many hundreds if not thousands of Amish furniture craftsmen across America. They make bedroom sets, cabinets, children’s pieces, patio furniture, and on and on. I’ve been lucky to spend a good bit of time in and around their shops. This past trip, I visited everything from a one-man operation running on belt and pulley power, to a 180-man factory driven by automated CNC…
Two weeks, 5 states, 15 communities. Five (plus) pounds. It was a whirlwind trip as I packed a month of visiting into 2 weeks of time. I spent the past weekend zonked out and resting up (3700 road miles will do that to you). But I’ve recovered enough to put together a collection of highlights from my recent Amish trip: Dessert at the home of…
If you’re near Hicksville, Ohio, tomorrow, you might want to drop in on the Defiance County fair for one of America’s rarest sporting events: I picked this flyer up at the Topeka auction house here in Indiana. I found the terms of the race pretty interesting–“a limit of five horses per race”; “all drivers must wear a helmet”; “any type of cart or buggy may…
Branch County, Michigan is home to 5 Amish settlements. I visited two of them a couple of days ago. Some photos: On a little red potato treasure hunt. My favorite kind of sky. Tetherball! Can you say sunny. Healthy stuff. While farming is still important to many Amish, others have started small enterprises. Michigan Amish businesses include small stores, carpentry crews, and woodworking shops (read…
SMV triangle, streamlined top, mini-door. What is this thing? A road-ready chicken coop? I took this photo yesterday in the Allen County (Grabill) Indiana Amish settlement. Today I’m off to Michigan. Will have more on this photo tomorrow, but til then, what do you think? Update: Mystery shack explained? We got a lot of interesting guesses on the Allen County mystery shack. Everything from a portable…
I’m off to Indiana this morning. A few highlights of the past week in Ohio: Sitting with an Amish friend one afternoon, we made plans to take my truck up the road to visit his father. “Do you want me to drive?” asked my friend. I turned around and checked with his wife. “Can he drive?” “Well, he can” came her response. “I wasn’t asking…