Three high-profile cases involving Amish are happening right now. When Amish are involved in legal disputes, religious arguments tend to come up. But is it always valid to invoke religion? To take one example, Sam Mullett, leader of the Bergholz beard-cutting group, claimed authorities shouldn’t be involved in what was a religious issue. Shocking claims about Ohio Bergholz group To follow up on this story,…
Eastside Enterprises Harness and Tack Shop 701 E Lake St. Topeka, Indiana, 46571 Inside an Amish Harness Shop While in the northern Indiana Amish community this summer, I paid a visit to the Eastside Harness and Tack Shop. Eastside is located in bustling little Topeka, a few blocks down from the center of town. Harley of Eastside was kind enough to show me around the…
Do you know where these 3 photos were taken? (UPDATE: see “Clues” in the comments section) Photo 1: Photo 2: Photo 3:
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…