Here’s a highlight reel of Amish America videos made over the past year. I took about a six-month break from making videos, from May to November (the reasons for which I discussed in this video), but still put out close to 30 videos in 2023. Here are some favorite moments from those videos in one 18-minute compilation. You’ll find a playlist containing all the featured…
The matter of Amos Miller, an Amish organic farmer in Lancaster County who has clashed with the government for years over the sale of raw milk products, is making headlines again. Miller’s troubles date to 2015, when the government alleged that a listeria illness which sickened two and killed one person had its source in milk from Miller’s farm. Miller in turn objected, claiming the…
Last year I made a Christmastime visit to a plain Mennonite bakery in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Weaver’s Market and Bakery is run by Stauffer aka “Piker” Mennonites, essentially the plainest of horse-and-buggy Mennonites. The group settled here from Lancaster County decades ago. They would be plainer and more traditional than some Amish. I was excited to have a chance to return. Especially since last year…
So I came across this Colorado Amish home which sold back in 2021. There are several spectacular images of this home at the listing, and which you’ll see in this post. And as tends to be the case in some Western Amish settlements, there are progressive elements to this home as well (more on that below). The settlement is at Westcliffe, Colorado. The backdrop in…
Thanks again for another nice year. As we usually do this time of year, here are some favorite posts of the past 365 days – most commented, most viewed, or just ones that stood out for other reasons. In more or less chronological order. On another note, The Amish State Guide pages are getting long-overdue updates. These were some of the first pages I created…
Jim Halverson shares another batch of photos from an Amish auction – this one in Gladwin County, Michigan. Gladwin County has two distinct Amish communities. This is a Swartzentruber group. We saw this community in the recent Amish barn-raising series. Jim shares some beautiful shots of an event that took place this autumn. In the foreground of this photo, we see a farm implement by…
While in Pennsylvania last week, my friend Ben and I managed to return to the Mennonite bakery I loved last year. This is a bakery run by “Piker” Mennonites (basically the plainest horse-and-buggy Mennonite group), right off the main highway in Snyder County. I saw a lot of the same favorites from last year, like fruitcake and pecan pie squares (I’ll do another post with…
Did you know that Amish celebrate three separate Christmases? By this I mean three separate days called by some variation of the name “Christmas”. Two of them occur in December, and one in January. Christmas (December 25) First of course, there is the Christmas we all know, on December 25th. This is the official Christmas, the traditional commemoration of Jesus’ birth, and is celebrated in…
Some of you might know Amish bishop David Kline from his books about nature, farming and life, such as Great Possessions or Scratching the Woodchuck. But you wouldn’t expect someone who is a church leader, preacher and public speaker to have dealt with a stutter. However, that’s what David has had to overcome in life. His story is recounted in a nice article/radio piece from…
I’m visiting Lancaster County and the big news since yesterday is the explosion at a Lancaster County hotel popular with tourists to the area. The incident happened in the wee hours yesterday morning in Bird-in-Hand. From PennLive: A loud “boom” early Monday morning in Lancaster County startled Tom Dobbs, nearly knocking him out of bed. The Leacock Township resident lives near the Bird-in-Hand Family Inn…