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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Amish Rebuild Barn For Non-Amish Family After Fire

Amish people in the Holmes County community have stepped in to rebuild the barn of a local non-Amish family, after a fire reduced it to rubble. The fire claimed the barn of the Linda Beachy family, located in the heart of the Holmes County community…and the new barn was up within a week of the fire. From the Wooster Daily Record: Dewey Mishler was one…

Missouri Amish Fish Fry Draws Hundreds

Missouri Amish Fish Fry Draws Hundreds

To help fund their schools and raise money for other purposes such as medical needs, some Amish communities hold fundraisers. The best-known and perhaps most common type is the benefit auction. There are other events as well – as in this story out of a small Missouri community, where we see a heavily-attended fish fry. Via the McDonald County Press: The Amish community generally holds two…

Amish Get Buggy Parking At Local Library

Amish Get Buggy Parking At Local Library

This story is a neat little slice-of-life in an area with a not-insignificant Amish population. Amish patrons of the Charlotte Community Library in Charlotte, Michigan will now have an easier time of visiting, thanks to new parking space installed for up to three buggies. What actually went in was a hitching post and painted markings designating the area as “Buggy Parking Only”: Some Amish regularly…

At The West Kootenai (Montana) Amish Benefit Auction (12 Photos)

At The West Kootenai (Montana) Amish Benefit Auction (12 Photos)

Given its remoteness and smaller population, we don’t get a ton of coverage on Amish in Montana. So it’s very nice that long-time reader Andrea D. shares some photos and a report from the West Kootenai Amish auction and community (this is the Rexford area settlement). Andrea writes that “I was visiting my sister in NW Montana this past weekend and we went to the…

Do Amish think technology is “evil”? (Video)

Do Amish think technology is “evil”? (Video)

Have you ever heard anyone make a claim like “the Amish are against technology”, or that they “shun” modern conveniences? There is even the idea that Amish think technology is “evil”. I recall the video for the silly Weird Al Yankovic song, with Amish feet stomping on a pile of gadgets in one scene. These ideas are out there, and they get perpetuated by television…

NY Man Charged With “Burning Down” Amish Mailboxes Using Molotov Cocktails

NY Man Charged With “Burning Down” Amish Mailboxes Using Molotov Cocktails

An upstate New York man used explosive Molotov cocktails to “burn down the mailboxes” of two Amish “business associates”. It’s been well-documented that Amish can be targets of vandalism and harrassment. Some cases are driven by pure dislike of the Amish, or as a sort of boredom-killing prank. This case seems to have had a financial motive behind it. According to the story in WNYT…

Young Amish Woman Killed, Young Man Survives NY Buggy Crash. Shadows At Fault?

Young Amish Woman Killed, Young Man Survives NY Buggy Crash. Shadows At Fault?

This happened Sunday in Oswego County, New York. From syracuse.com: Richland, N.Y. — A woman was killed Sunday afternoon when a pickup truck crashed into the back of an Amish buggy in Oswego County. Two people were thrown from the buggy after the carriage was rear-ended on county Route 41 in Richland, the New York State Police said. Susan Swartzentruber — one of the two…

A Short Film on Former Amish Convert – Now “Amish Atheist” – Kenneth Copp

A Short Film on Former Amish Convert – Now “Amish Atheist” – Kenneth Copp

“Amish Atheist” certainly feels like an oxymoron. That’s what I thought when first hearing about the turn in Kenneth Copp’s life in a story four years ago. Copp originally appeared on this site even earlier than that, when he was still with the Amish and living in the Unity, Maine community. In 2013 one of our readers contributed a guest post on Unity, much of…

The Amish of Daviess County, Indiana (17 Photos)

The Amish of Daviess County, Indiana (17 Photos)

I’ve got some photos of the community at Daviess County, Indiana to share with you today. These were taken by a friend of mine and emailed to me several years ago. For whatever reason, at the time I didn’t get around to posting them. I wanted to share them because we have surprisingly relatively little on Daviess County on this site – and basically no…

Non-Amish Girl Dons Amish Clothing To Learn The Pretzel Business

Non-Amish Girl Dons Amish Clothing To Learn The Pretzel Business

A non-Amish young lady has opened a pretzel business after learning the trade from Amish pretzel stand owners. And they are supporting her in her new venture. I found this a neat story (no longer online) for the fact that Serena Zentner wore Amish clothing while working at the Wyomissing (Reading, PA-area) farmer’s market: In December, Zentner was an apprentice at the soft pretzel corner. Wyomissing PA…