One manner of thinking views Amish society as highly restrictive and devoid of most freedoms. By this view, Amish people are trapped in a harsh system which regulates nearly every aspect of their lives, leading to despair and misery. Amishman Aaron Miller previously discussed a pair of issues related to the idea of freedom–the Ordnung and Rumspringa. Today, Aaron shares his take on choice and…
Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia is a century-old institution in the heart of the city. There has been an Amish presence in the market for nearly three decades. I write about Reading Terminal in my book, as well as in a post last year on Amish markets. In a recent article, Summer Beckley of The Temple News gives a brief but interesting history of the…
Thought this might be a nice out-of-season shot to share, on yet another snowy day in my neck of the woods (and maybe yours, too). Rick offers us a pic from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, near the hamlet of Jackson Center, an hour north of Pittsburgh. There are at present 3 Amish settlements in Mercer County, the oldest and largest settled in 1942, and having 5…
Technically, I believe we are not in a recession anymore (though try telling that to any of the 10%+ unemployed, or those that have simply given up looking for a job and are no longer counted in that statistic; on that count it looks like the new buzzword to describe the current situation is “human recession”), but I just read a story about how Amish businesses…
The blog will be relatively quiet for the next few days, as we are working on a few changes here. The blog platform will be switched from Typepad to WordPress–which is a good thing, and something I’ve wanted to do for a long while. WordPress seems to be a much more versatile platform (any WordPress users out there concur?). But, expect Amish America to remain…
Amish and Mennonites have been putting on annual auctions for the benefit of people in Haiti for many years now. They take place in various locations across the nation, including communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Florida, and Illinois. Furniture, quilts and other items are auctioned off at these large events. The Florida auction, held in Sarasota, is in fact taking place this weekend. The photos…
Orange County, Indiana Amish farm photo courtesy of Cindy Seigle. Wintry weather means staying inside, mostly. Is this farmers’ favorite time of year?
Commercial dog breeders (also frequently described as puppy mills) have been in the news a lot lately. Recent changes in Pennsylvania law has made it difficult for breeders to operate, thus forcing many to begin to get out of the business. Opponents, most visibly in the form of activists such as Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue, have made headlines with their sometimes dramatic…
The Amish potential-exemption-from-health-insurance-requirement story has shot around the net and become something of a hot sub-story to the health care issue. Frankly I thought it would get some attention but the amount of media coverage surprised me a bit. A scan of commentary reveals some upset at what’s been called a ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card for the Amish (and, presumably other religious groups who meet the criteria),…
Behalt is the name of a pictorial history of the Anabaptists from the time of European beginnings through their existence in America. Not only is it educational, it has been dubbed “the most exciting cyclorama in America”. Having only visited one cyclorama in America (the other – of the Battle of Raclawice in Poland being non-American and of a decidedly non-pacifist nature) I can’t say…