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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New Short Clip From Ben & Rose: “Twilight Is Stealing”

New Short Clip From Ben & Rose: “Twilight Is Stealing”

We’ve got another new short clip of a presumably upcoming song by Ben & Rose – called “Twilight is Stealing”. “Steal” here (I believe) in the sense of the less-commonly-used definition of “to move somewhere quietly or surreptitiously”. This song is an older hymn – maybe the oldest they’ve done so far – written by Aldine Kieffer and B.C. Unseld in the late 1800s. Here’s…

Ben & Rose Join Amos & Margaret Raber on New Song: “Fill My Cup, Lord”

Ben & Rose Join Amos & Margaret Raber on New Song: “Fill My Cup, Lord”

Ben & Rose previously teamed with Amos Raber on (perhaps my personal favorite of their releases) “Would You Like To Buy Some Flowers“. Now they’ve teamed up again along with Amos’ wife Margaret on a new tune called “Fill My Cup, Lord”. It’s a really nice tune with Christian lyrics, and this rendition has a jaunty country feel. Rose and Amos trade off singing lead…

Amish Van Wreck: Investigators Reveal More Details, Continue Looking Into Crash

Amish Van Wreck: Investigators Reveal More Details, Continue Looking Into Crash

Investigators are continuing to put together the details of the tragic crash in Tuscola County, Michigan Tuesday, which claimed the lives of five Amish people traveling in a passenger van, and a sixth person in a pickup truck. According to reporting at ABC 12, some additional facts are now known: This Amish group was from the Cass City, Michigan community (this was what I supposed…

Mayor: Amish Builders Reject Permits & Insurance…They Aren’t On “A Fair Playing Field”

Mayor: Amish Builders Reject Permits & Insurance…They Aren’t On “A Fair Playing Field”

The mayor of a village in Tioga County, New York is drawing attention to a complaint that has existed for a long time – that Amish contractors don’t have to follow the same rules as non-Amish contractors. More: WAVERLY — After tempers flared last month during a Town of Barton meeting in which contentions arose from whether the Amish should be required to obtain building…

Five Amish Children in Serious-to-Critical Condition After ANOTHER Michigan Crash (Update: 4-Month-Old Baby Dies From Injuries)

Five Amish Children in Serious-to-Critical Condition After ANOTHER Michigan Crash (Update: 4-Month-Old Baby Dies From Injuries)

I know I’ve been beating this drum a lot lately…but I really can’t believe how many accidents (and some of them not at all accidents) we’re seeing reported out of Michigan lately. When I started drawing attention to the seemingly high number of incidents out of the state back in March – and things seem to have only gotten worse. Following Sunday’s report of six Amish…

Inside An Amish “Hobby Farm” Home (22 Photos)

Inside An Amish “Hobby Farm” Home (22 Photos)

Let’s check out another Amish home in the Harmony, Minnesota community. I’ll note that this is at least the third Amish home I’ve come across up for sale online in this conservative Swartzentruber Amish community. Others included this picture-perfect farm home (and dawdihaus), and this “simple & cozy” home. This one is described as a “Hobby Farm” in the listing, so that’s what I’m going…

Amish Firewood Business Burns In Early Morning Blaze

Amish Firewood Business Burns In Early Morning Blaze

A blaze at an Amish firewood business in Parke County, Indiana required intervention by ten separate fire departments to subdue. Thankfully no one was hurt in the fire, which started in a mechanical room in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. More on the incident via mywabashvalley.com: MARSHALL, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)— Ten fire departments responded to a fire in Marshall, Indiana, at a company filled with…

Five Amish Killed In Van Wreck – After Truck Runs Stop Sign

Five Amish Killed In Van Wreck – After Truck Runs Stop Sign

Another tragedy involving Amish victims in Michigan – but this time there were no buggies involved. Six people, including five members of an Amish family are confirmed dead after their van they were traveling in was hit by a pickup truck – which ran a stop sign at a rural intersection. This happened in Tuscola County, MI late Tuesday afternoon. More: TUSCOLA COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT) – At…

Six-Year-Old Amish Boy Killed By Skid Loader

Six-Year-Old Amish Boy Killed By Skid Loader

Just an awful story out of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. An Amish boy lost his life after being hit by the arm of a skid loader, operated by an Amish teenager. From Lancaster Online: A 6-year-old boy was killed in a Paradise Township farming accident Thursday afternoon, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Troopers said they responded just after 3:30 p.m. to Cherry Hill Road where the…

Inside A Michigan Amish Market Store (17 Photos)

Inside A Michigan Amish Market Store (17 Photos)

Today Jim Halverson takes us inside a market (and variety store) in the Cass City, Michigan Amish community, which he visited this past Saturday. We had a look at this community in Jim’s photo set from last year. It’s a community of around 1,000 people. Once you get over a few hundred Amish residents, there should be a nice variety of businesses in a settlement…