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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Lancaster Amish Organic Farmer Must Pay $250,000, Faces Possible Jail Time For Food Violations

Lancaster Amish Organic Farmer Must Pay $250,000, Faces Possible Jail Time For Food Violations

ByErik Wesner
25 Comments

A Lancaster County Amish farmer faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and potential jail time for repeated violations of food safety laws. Miller’s Organic Farm, owned by an Amos Miller in Bird-in-Hand, has been described as “tangling with federal authorities for several years over its food handling practices” in this report by Fox43: U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith, Jr. found Amos Miller…

The Amish Wedding Announcement

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

Lovina Eicher shares some happy news in her latest Lovina’s Amish Kitchen column: After church services the bishop announced the wedding dates of two girls in our church. Mary and Danny chose September 24 for their wedding date, and daughter Loretta and Dustin chose October 1st for their wedding. Congratulations to both couples! “Announcing” a wedding date, is, as it suggests, the practice of formally…

The Amish of Parke County, Indiana (24 Photos)

The Amish of Parke County, Indiana (24 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
19 Comments

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of an unusual (at least at the time) Amish settlement in Indiana. In December of 1991, two Amish families departed Lancaster County for their new home 700 miles away in the Hoosier State. New settlements were less common then than they are today, and Lancaster Amish had rarely moved outside the state to form new communities….

Justo Smoker Pleads Guilty To Killing Linda Stoltzfoos; Will Serve Up To 88 Years. Plea deal made “to bring Linda home”

Justo Smoker Pleads Guilty To Killing Linda Stoltzfoos; Will Serve Up To 88 Years. Plea deal made “to bring Linda home”

ByErik Wesner
6 Comments

Justo Smoker today pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, kidnapping and other charges, admitting to killing Linda Stoltzfoos in June of last year. He will serve a sentence of 35½-to-71 years in prison as part of a plea deal. Smoker is 35 years old. He will avoid the death penalty. He also faces further charges over a parole violation which could add about 17½ more years. Lancaster…

Guilty Plea Expected Friday In Linda Stoltzfoos Case

Guilty Plea Expected Friday In Linda Stoltzfoos Case

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

It’s being reported that Justo Smoker is expected to plead guilty tomorrow (Friday) in the Lancaster County Courthouse. Smoker has been charged with homicide, kidnapping and false imprisonment regarding the disappearance and death of Linda Stoltzfoos. However, one – wrinkle? – in this report is the fact that it’s not being made known to which charges he’ll plead guilty. From Lancaster Online: The Lancaster County…

Recent Supreme Court Decision Could Help Stop Wind Farm Threatening Amish Community

ByErik Wesner
37 Comments

Amish in Farmersville, New York have threatened to move if a wind farm is built in their area. They are involved in a conflict between Alle-Catt Wind Energy (owned by energy giant Invenergy) and local residents organized as the Coalition of Concerned Citizens fighting the proposed 117-turbine farm. So it’s not just a case involving the Amish (I don’t know that the Amish are even…

Amishman “Feels Loved” Following Fire & Support From English, Emergency Crews

Amishman “Feels Loved” Following Fire & Support From English, Emergency Crews

ByErik Wesner
1 Comment

This is a feel-good story from an off-the-beaten-path Amish corner of Ohio. Amish had remodeled a barn into a two-story home in a small settlement in Harrison County, Ohio (this is about a 40-minute drive southeast of the Holmes County community). The newly-remodeled home burned down July 2. True to form, a week later, Amish were already putting up a new home. But for me,…

Amish Driver Fails To Yield, Causing Collision With Truck; 8-Year-Old Thrown From Buggy

ByErik Wesner
2 Comments

I’m highlighting this report to make the point that motor vehicle drivers are not always at fault in car-buggy accidents. In this accident, the buggy driver failed to yield. A reminder that Amish are humans and also do not drive perfectly. Fortunately, the eight-year-old passenger who was thrown from the buggy has only non-life-threatening injuries. From syracuse.com: Orleans, N.Y. — An 8-year-old boy was thrown…

St. Ignatius, Montana Amish Hold Auction After One-Year Break

St. Ignatius, Montana Amish Hold Auction After One-Year Break

ByErik Wesner

Last month we got a report and photos of the West Kootenai Amish auction (Rexford, MT). This latest report is from another Montana settlement well-known for its auction – the one at St. Ignatius. This single-church-district settlement is the Treasure State’s second oldest, having come into existence back in 1997. We’ve seen stories on this community before – including on the settlement’s Mission General Store,…

Old Order Amish Author Linda Byler On Writing 39 Novels

ByErik Wesner
9 Comments

Linda Byler is rare in the world of Amish fiction writing. She is an actual member of an Old Order Amish church in an industry dominated by non-Amish writers. That’s one reason I found this recent profile of Linda so interesting. It begins charmingly with Linda not being totally sure how many books she’s actually written since first picking up the pen in 2003: While…