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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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…

Pony cart baseball-newest Amish sport?

Over the weekend the school age sons of a friend and I took scooters and a pony cart down to the local schoolhouse to work off some energy following a picnic. And in a flash of inspiration pony cart baseball was born. Pony Cart Baseball: Ingredients *One pony,with cart (A miniature horse should work too) *Any sort of rubber ball you can catch with your…

Falling asleep in church

Yesterday I attended an Amish church service in a friend’s district.  I only really fell asleep one time, during the ten-minute kneeling prayer near the very end. But I had at least roused myself by the time everyone stood up.  I clambered to my feet, but nearly keeled over sideways as I tried to shake the sleep out of my head. I can only imagine…

Do you believe in natural remedies?

Boy was I wiped out yesterday. I’m not sure if it was a stomach bug or something I ate (I did spend the morning munching on raw mint sprigs while composting a friend’s berry garden) but whatever it was put a hurting on me. Seeing my pain, my Amish hosts whipped up a couple of home remedies. After trying the first with no discernible effect,…

Kentucky Amish Mug Shots

The big story last week was the imprisonment of 8 Kentucky Amishmen for not displaying the Slow Moving Vehicle triangle on their buggies. Back in June we covered this issue with a lot of discussion on the implications of the case.  It’s an issue of freedom and safety, similar in a sense to controversies over raw milk or vaccines, and one that brings out strong…