Salvage grocery stores, aka “bent ‘n’ dent” shops, are common in Amish communities. They’re popular among Amish with many mouths to feed, and English bargain hunters as well. I’ve bought from them a number of times (hot sauce and other goodies). I just came across a 2008 article on Amish salvage stores (no longer online). By the author’s tone, she seems to want to cast suspicion…
Mary Brandenburg shares photos of a basement and washing machine from an Ohio Old Order Amish home. Basements in Amish homes typically have cinder block walls and cement floors. You’ll have a sink and an area to process food. You’ll also have a stove of some sort piping heat throughout the house in winter. Card tables for summer lunches and games like ping pong are…
If you’re thinking you’d like to join the Amish, odds are it’s the wrong decision. As we’ve discussed many times (see “If you left the English, what would you gain?“), there are too many challenges for most people to adopt an Amish life. Still, some kindle a desire to become Plain. Many are younger individuals. But sometimes it’s older adults. A few days ago Don…
Amish women let their hair grow, so they have a lot of it. Hair pins keep all those locks in place, up underneath a prayer covering. I thought I’d give you a look at some plain hair pins. I picked these up at an Amish dry goods shop (not for personal use, demonstration purposes only, ha-ha). They’re thick and sturdy, about 3 inches long, and…
Another home interior courtesy of Karen Johnson-Weiner. Today, an Amish bedroom and lamp in a progressive Michigan Amish home. This type of cabinet design typically holds a propane tank. These usually have wheels on the bottom making them easy to move about, with a holder for magazines, papers, or books. However if you look close you’ll notice that there is a curly Q type light…
The Amish home is changing When you visit Amish communities, can you pick out the Amish homes? As a general rule, the more conservative the community, the easier it is to tell the Amish dwellings from the English. The lack of power lines is one giveaway. So is the style and design. A Swartzentruber Amish farm home has a distinct angular look to it. The (often…
New York Amish have been in the news a lot lately. We’ve seen stories on vandalism against Amish in Steuben County, new stats showing NY Amish continuing their growth, and of course this week’s tragic accident in which five Amish were killed. The Amish who died in the van wreck also came from Steuben County–the Jasper/Woodhull settlement. The Jasper community, founded 1983, predates the recent…
Today we’ve got 6 winners of Ira Wagler’s Growing Up Amish. If you missed the original interview, in which Ira discusses Amish life, family relationships and how he ended up in Lancaster County, you can read it here: Growing Up Amish interview. Growing Up Amish winners I’ve tallied up all additional Facebook and blog entries. If you commented more than once in the comments section…
It’s been a terrible two weeks for Amish on the road. The Friday before last, a semi crashed into a carriage in Christian County, Kentucky, killing an Amish toddler. The driver was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence. The next day a van driver, apparently also inebriated, hit a horsecart in northern Indiana, killing a 12-year-old Amish boy. Now, five Amish have been…
Thar she blows! A nice photo of what looks like Lancaster folks* at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone park. I’m pretty sure these guys are on vacation and not scouting settlement locations. Amish do take vacations, some more extravagant than others. Summer is upon us which means road trips. Though with gas up and the economy down maybe less than usual. This summer I…